Castlebar Celtic boss Gavin reflects on the Mayo side's FAI Cup exit

Castlebar Celtic manager Stevie Gavin insists that his side will have taken plenty of learnings from their 3-0 FAI Junior Cup loss at the hands of Villa FC on Sunday in Waterford.

Celtic were under no illusions that they would face an almighty challenge travelling to the 2022 champions, and so it proved.

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Former Waterford FC man Conor Whittle’s strike 20 minutes in was the catalyst for a comfortable win for the hosts.

Tony Ebonhauye doubled the lead in the 68th minute, before Dean Walsh sealed Celtic’s fate and saw them leaving the South-East empty-handed.

Gavin and his players took a lot from their match against such a well-oiled Villa machine according to the man who has guided Celtic to unprecedented success in their domestic competitions.

“They’d a great standard of player, and they’d a few former League of Ireland players in their squad,” he stated. “It felt more or less like a semi-professional setup. It was a step up for us and there is a gap there.”

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Gavin will be happy to have made it out of Connor’s Park with no injuries.

Now, with former Finn Harps and Sligo Rovers attacker Jordan Loftus returning, the competition for places with a full deck to choose from only mounts.

“We’ve a few bumps and bruises but nothing too serious to worry about,” the manager said.  “Jordan isn’t too far away, but it was just too much of a risk. We’ve worked hard on getting him back to the stage that he’s at.

“He’s nearly available for selection and we’ll be at full strength from then on.”

Next weekend, Celtic have an early break in the Super League schedule, as the Oscar Traynor Cup resumes and Mayo head north to face the Donegal Junior League.

The Celtic manager will be keeping a keen eye on reports, with nine of his players in the squad heading to the quarter-final in Ballyare.

Should they come through unscathed, it’ll be full steam ahead, with the goal of making it three Super League titles on the bounce.

“On the bus back on Sunday, we were determined to take from the loss and get stuck into the season ahead,” he stated.

“It turns out that we’ll be up against Ballinrobe next. We’ll have to be on the ball from the off if we’re to put up points,” the Celtic manager concluded.