Big guns advance in first round of Mayo Super League Cup 

MAYO Super League champions Castlebar Celtic kept one arm on the Mayo Super League Cup with a hard-fought win over Ballina Town on Sunday. 

Stevie Gavin’s men secured passage to the second round of the competition alongside Ballinrobe Town, Manulla, Westport United and Ballyheane in a weekend of Super Cup soccer that produced 18 goals. 

Ballina Town 1 Castlebar Celtic 2

In Beleek 

Goals from Eoghan Hughes and Luke Kelly made the difference for Castlebar Celtic as they eked out a hard-fought win over their Mayo Super League rivals Ballina Town. 

The reigning Super League, Mayo Super Cup and Connacht Junior Cup champions were kept on their toes all the way, particularly after Ballina Town made it 2-1 with a Benny Lavelle penalty in the 75th minute.

Celtic, who were missing their key striker Jordan Loftus, took the lead in the 40th minute when Eoghan Hughes finished after good work by Jason Hunt. 

In the second half, Ballina Town sprung veteran goalscorer Benny Lavelle from the bench as both teams struggled occasionally with an uneven playing surface. 

Regardless, Celtic pressed ahead and made it 2-0 through Luke Kelly in the 66th minute. 

Ballina Town - who were missing Chris Maughan - kept up the pressure, with PJ Gilmartin forcing a really good save from young goalkeeper Peter Basquille. 

‘Town goalkeeper Emmett Peyton also made a number of stops as Benny Lavelle made it 2-1 with a well-struck penalty kick. 

Celtic hung on for the win, ending a fixture their manager, Stevie Gavin, described as a ‘toughly contested, good game’.

“I felt it was a good showing early in the season for both teams,” Gavin told The Mayo News. 

Ballinrobe Town 3 Glenhest Rovers 1

In Milebush 

Chris Magauley’s first competitive game as manager of Ballinrobe Town began with a two-goal win in the home of Mayo soccer.

Goals from Jonathan Lawrence, Sean Vahey and Matthew Walshe secured the win for Ballinrobe Town against the newly promoted Glenhest Rovers, who got their only goal in injury time through Eoghan Wright.

With former Mayo senior footballer Aaron McDonnell shining at centre-half, Ballinrobe took the lead just before half-time when the outstanding Johnathan Lawrence slotted home a penalty. 

‘Robe added a second and third through Sean Fahey and Matthew Walshe as ‘Rovers, who were missing Mark Forrestal and Conor McCarthy, pulled one back in injury time to lose out 3-1. 

Conn Rangers 0 Manulla 3 

In Mount Falcon 

The sending off of centre-back Chris Moore proved costly as Conn Rangers were beaten by Manulla on home soil. 

The hosts gave as good at they got in the first half, which produced its fair share of chances for both sides. 

Manulla’s Padraig Beirne missed a good chance to open when he shot wide at the end of a counter-attacking move. 

Conn Rangers began strongly and saw a good chance stopped by Manulla’s Jack Livingstone after he won a one-on-one battle with ‘Rangers winger Tadgh O’Sullivan. 

The hosts nearly scored yet again when Adam Gallagher and AJ McGrath sent efforts wide. 

The sides remained deadlocked until the 58th minute when full-back James Bolster won a ball out in front of AJ McGrath and attacked down the wing. Bolster beat Alan Dempsey before crossing the ball to Shaun Dempsey who flicked it into the bottom right-hand corner to put Manulla 1-0 up. 

Conn Rangers were then set back when their centre-half Chris Moore was sent off for a second yellow after 64 minutes. 

Manulla then made it 2-0 when Eoghan McNamara’s clearance landed straight to Colm Murphy who finished with the goal at his mercy. 

The visitors rubber-stamped the win when Gavin Jennings delivered a neat left-footed finish in the 80th minute.

Kiltimagh/Knock United 1 Westport United 2 

In Knock

Anthony O’Neill’s Westport United enjoyed a win on the road thanks to two strikes from Cian Halpin on Sunday morning. 

The hosts held the Covies scoreless in the first half before Halpin gave them the lead from the penalty spot in the 68th minute.

Three minutes later, Kiltimagh/Knock United equalised through Ronan Clarke before Halpin put ‘United ahead again less than two minutes later. Two goals were enough for Westport United to journey west with the win. 

Ballyheane 5 Ballyhaunis Town 0 

In Ballyheane 

Ballyheane continued their good run of form with a convincing win over Ballyhaunis Town in Pat Quigley Park. 

Ashley Stevenson’s side scored all five of their goals in the second half against a visiting team with eight different nationalities in their ranks. 

The hosts were dominant from the start in difficult playing conditions, with defender Jack Tuffy coming close with a first-half effort. 

With Dan Purcell and Sean Kilcoyne showing well for the locals, Ballyheane eventually broke the deadlock after half-time when Purcell assisted Kilcoyne for the opening goal. 

Nathan Reilly Doyle added a second from a Kilcoyne corner in the 63rd minute before Purcell made it 3-0 two minutes later. 

Ballyhaunis lost their winger Lukasz Roda to a second yellow in the 76th minute and leaked two further goals through Dylan Stevenson and Alan Hegarty, which crowned a fine win for the 2021 and 2022 Super League champions. 

Further coverage will be carried in Tuesday’s print edition of The Mayo News.