Ballyheane continued their march towards their first ever Super League title with a 4-1 win over an understrength Castlebar Celtic side at Pat Quigley Park on Saturday evening.
Celtic lined up without both Jordan Loftus and Jason Hunt and without their main goalscoring threats they were always up against it against the league leaders. Ballyheane were two goals in front at the break and added two more before Corey Scahill pulled a goal back for Celtic. Nathan Reilly-Doyle hit a brace for Ashley Stevenson’s side while the other goals came from Paddy Bourke and Jack Rochford.
In the other Super League game that took place on Saturday evening, Westport United moved back into the top five with a 3-1 win over Ballyhaunis Town at Station Rise. Westport were gifted an early lead when after only four minutes, James McGrath’s left-wing free kick was headed into his own net by a Ballyhaunis defender under very little pressure.
They doubled their lead on twenty-seven minutes as Dylan O’Malley raced clear to finish superbly after Cillian McGlade tackle in the middle of the pitch diverted the ball into his path. Ballyhaunis got themselves back into the game very early in the second half with an excellent strike from Andrew Cunnane who hit a first time shot from twenty-five yards past Gary Cunningham after a defensive header from Joe Lawless fell into his path. Westport had to wait until fifteen minutes from the end to get their all important third goal and it was Mikey O’Brien who was in the right place at the right time as he reacted quickest after Dylan O’Malley’s cross was parried by the Ballyhaunis keeper.
On Sunday morning Ballyglass and Glenhest Rovers had to settle for a point each in an entertaining 2-2 draw in Michael Keaveney Park. Glenhest took the lead ten minutes from the break thanks to a goal from Levi Barrett but Ballyglass were level minutes later as Darren Murray fired home from the penalty spot. Mark Forrestal put Glenhest back in front only for Ballyglass to equalise for a second time as Liam Hughes got his second league goal of the season. The point keeps Ballyglass four points clear of the relegation zone while Glenhest are still searching for their first league win of the season.
Two early goals at the start of each half earned a point each for Claremorris and Swinford in a tough encounter early on Sunday morning in Concannon Park. Swinford took the lead inside the first five minutes as James Devaney scored an important goal for Chris McHale-Roe’s side. Claremorris though are still fighting to make the top five at the break in the season and equalised after only two minutes of the second half when Caolan Walsh got on the end of a Dean Roddy cross to level matters. Swinford came close to winning it late on, but they could not find a winner despite hitting the woodwork on two occasions.
Ballina Town moved back to within five points of Ballyheane at the top of the table with a scintillating performance as they put five past Manulla on Sunday afternoon to make it six wins in a row for the North Mayo side. Jamie Cawley and Benny Lavelle have been two key players during this run, and they were both in top form on the day as they hit a brace apiece. Cawley gave them the lead after only ten minutes and Lavelle added a second midway through the half. The best strike of the day though came from a different source as Dylan McKee fired in a screamer from forty yards ten minutes before the break. They added two more goals midway through the second half when Cawley and Lavelle were on target again with the goals coming just five minutes apart.
FAI Junior Cup action tis weekend
All the action on the adult level this weekend will be in the FAI Junior Centenary Cup first round, with all games taking place on Sunday. Ballina Town will be at home to Kiltimagh-Knock United at 2.30pm, also kicking off at that time will be Kiltimagh-Knock United B at home to Super League leaders Ballyheane. The three other games in this round down for Sunday all get underway at 11am and will see Castlebar Celtic host Claremorris, Conn Rangers travel to Ballyglass and and Westport United host Crossmolina. Also taking place this weekend is the u21 Division Two League final between Straide and Foxford United and Swinford at 2.30pm in Solar 21 Park Milebush.
