Crossmolina's energy too much to handle for Ballintubber

MAYO SENIOR FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 1 GROUP 3

Crossmolina Deel Rovers 1-26

Ballintubber 0-22

In Crossmolina

What a way for last year’s semi-finalists Crossmolina to get their championship bid under way. Anyone who might have had doubts, about the team’s potential after Kobe McDonald’s departure for Australia, was treated to a display of excellent attacking football on a mild Saturday evening in St Tiernan’s Park.

The team managed by Brian Benson possesses a plethora of potent scoring threats, full of pace and skill, that will make the North Mayo team tough to beat in this year’s race for the Moclair Cup.

Josh Moyles, part of Mayo’s U-20 team this year, lit up the pitch and caught the eye. He started instead of All-Ireland winner Jordan Flynn and Moyles never ran out of energy and power, much like Flynn himself.

Moyles might have only contributed one point, but he worked tirelessly in the middle eight, won turnovers, drove the ball forward and played the right pass in the right moment. An impressive game by a promising talent.

Dylan Flynn, Jordan’s brother, scored two two-pointers, the second one a free, which was a joy to behold, as it had a beautiful curve on it. A classy strike.

James Maheady was on the mark as well, kicking seven points, his work rate and composure was especially valuable in the first half. Also Oisín Deane, Diarmuid Coggins and Conor Loftus had brilliant performances.

Each time Crossmolina had a few patches of open grass in front of them, they played with speed. having said that, their half-time lead of 0-15 to 0-11 should have been bigger, some might say, as they opted for a point instead of going for a goal in a few instances.

Ballintubber’s contribution to a quality football match should not be underestimated, as their firepower and smart, direct kick-pass play was effective and efficient.

Stephen O’Malley scored 0-2 and did a great job in manipulating space and opposition defenders to make room for the likes of Ciarán Gavin and Keelan McDonnell also required a lot of attention by Crossmolina defenders.

When Cillian O’Connor came on in the second half, he showed that he is still a reliable shooter, tallying 0-5, including two two-pointers.

Eventually, Crossmolina’s dominant start into the second half decided the match. After points from Maheady and Conor Loftus, it was a dream combination of the latter and Mayo senior team mate Jordan Flynn, which led to the match’s only goal in the 40th minute.

Loftus drove the ball beyond the two-point arc, and Flynn’s shrewd move behind the defender was rewarded by a perfectly timed pass by Loftus into space. Flynn turned and fired the ball into the net. Crossmolina were up 1-17 to 0-11 at that stage, as Ballintubber only got their first second-half score in the 43rd minute.

Next up for Crossmolina is an away trip to Aghamore in two weeks and Ballintubber will take encouragement from this performance, as they await Mayo Gaels in Clogher.

Ballintubber have made it to the quarter-finals every year since they came up from intermediate in 2008, and based on what was on display in St Tiernan’s Park, two wins from two should be within their powers.

A full match report will be carried in Tuesday’s Mayo News.