Ballinrobe Town beat Ballyheane in five-goal Super League clash

Mayo Super League

Ballyheane 2

Nathan Reilly Doyle '2, Liam Morris '90+1

Ballinrobe Town 3

JP O’Gorman '17, '86, Dean Shaughnessy '46

In Ballyheane

A DOUGHTY Ballinrobe Town edged a high-tempo five-goal thriller in Ballyheane this evening, with the game in the melting pot right until the final whistle.

Ashley Stevenson’s Ballyheane made the ideal start, with Nathan Reilly Doyle’s daisy-cutter on two minutes nestling sweetly in the bottom corner of the net.

If the Robesiders were rocked then they didn’t show it, with the red and white levelling matters on 17 minutes. In what was a free-flowing move, both Danny O’Toole and Dean Shaughnessy combined to set up striker JP O’Gorman, who applied a tidy close-range to the back of the net.

The sides were deadlocked at the break, however, Xavi Vazquez’s half-time pep-talk seemed to have worked wonders for Ballinrobe as the visitors snatched the lead inside the opening minute of the second half, courtesy of a sublime strike from outside the box by the dynamic Shaughnessy.

The locals could well have levelled matters on 61 minutes when they were awarded a penalty. However, Dylan Stevenson’s spot-kick flashed narrowly wide.

Ballyheane crafted some decent chances during the second half, but it appeared that the South Mayo side had sealed the deal on 86 minutes. Some beguiling build-up play from Garry Mellett Connolly saw the midfielder play a splendid slide rule pass into the path of the scuttling O’Gorman, who rounded John Vahey and guided the ball home.

One minute into stoppage time, Ballyheane’s Liam Morris pulled a goal back to set up an anxious finale for the away side. 

However, Ballinrobe displayed a strong work ethic during the dying embers of the tie and the visitors held on to claim the spoils.

A full report will be carried in Tuesday's Mayo News Sport.