Mayo Under-19 soccer finals day serves up plenty of drama

There was drama until the death in the Mayo Under-19 Girls' soccer final over the weekend, as well as the Shield final.

Over the course of a thrilling Sunday of football in Milebush, two sides made it a winning finale to their season as they got back aboard the team bus and headed for home with the silverware in tow. Here, we run you through the happenings.

CUP FINAL

Ballyglass 3 - 2 Manulla

The battle to become the best in Mayo soccer came to an exciting conclusion on Sunday afternoon when Ballyglass and Manulla came toe-to-toe in an exhilarating clash.

Both sides had shown skill, passion, and drive in abundance over the course of the earlier rounds, setting the stage for a clash of two talented sides with silverware on the line.

The game got off to a flyer for Ballyglass as Kate Brennan got on the end of a Sari Vahey pass to fire past Kate Guilfoyle and into the lead after a matter of seconds.

Just after the quarter-hour mark, both Ballyglass and Brennan had another.

Manulla were trying to feel their way into the clash, but 15 minutes after the changing of ends, they were at the base of a mountain.

Brennan was purring in front of goal and pounced to score the third of her hat-trick.

Manulla were undeterred, and Nicole Ryan set her side on the comeback within a minute of going three down.

With two to go, the game was injected with real spice by Sophie O’Donnell’s net-shaker, setting up tantalising final furlongs.

In the end, the day belonged to Ballyglass, who were left to toast their status as the county champions.

SHIELD FINAL

Killala 2 - 0 Castlebar Town

This Shield tie served as a worthy prelude to the Cup final, and took red-hot two minutes from lethal forward Ella McLoughlin to seal the deal.

The two losing semi-finalists were in fine fettle all season, making this a tantalizing match-up.

All throughout the first half, the tie was deadlocked. Enter Ella McLoughlin. She exploded into life in the 51st minute, rattling the Castlebar Town net to edge her charges ahead.

Within a minute, she had her second, continuing her fine showing and taking the game beyond the reach of the county town side. By the full-time whistle, the silverware was Killala’s, as they capped off a memorable campaign.