The pedal remains firmly stuck to the floor in the Mayo GAA Senior Football Championship this weekend with round two coming hot on the heels of round one last weekend.
There will be action over three days starting tonight in Aghamore with their clash with Charlestown under lights at 8pm, and there are seven other intriguing games coming up then over Saturday and Sunday.
Group One
Ballina Stephenites v Claremorris
Sunday, October 3 at 1pm
After going down to Ballintubber last weekend this is a must-win game for the hosts. Claremorris head north on the back of a confidence-boosting derby win over Davitts by a single point and will be aiming to book their place in the last eight of the competition. Ballina got off to a flying start against Ballintubber with Dylan Thornton hitting the net, but their youthful team were rocked by a seasoned Ballintubber who hit three first half goals to ease them into a commanding lead. Claremorris edged Davitts, having trailed by three points at the break, and thanks to a Conor Diskin goal and late David Gannon effort, they picked up the two points. This will have it all on Sunday and should go to the wire - Ballina's need is greater and it might just swing it, but Claremorris will not go easy.
Verdict: Ballina Stephenites
Davitts v Ballintubber
Sunday, October 3 at 3pm
Ballintubber haven't gone away - and they showed that with a top-class display against Ballina Stephenites last weekend. They conceded an early goal - but hit the net three times themselves through Ciaran Gavin, Bryan Walsh and Michael Plunkett to go team points clear at the break. The 'Tubber know how to win big championship games and with a solid defensive unit and smart attacking players, they will go deep this year again, you'd imagine. Davitts will be disappointed they didn't take anything from their local derby with Claremorris, the border side have backed youth along with a sprinkling of experience and they led right till when it mattered the most with Josh Ronayne kicking seven points, six from play, and Jack Ronayne chipping in with four. Davitts are gong in the right direction, but this will probably be a bridge too far for them against a teak tough Ballintubber.
Verdict: Ballintubber
Group Two
Aghamore v Charlestown
Friday, October 1 at 8pm
This will be something different - a senior championship game under lights on a Friday night and an east Mayo derby thrown into the mix. Neither side picked up a win in round one, but the visitors will be bouncing into this one after coming back from an early defeat to get a point at home to Belmullet. Paul Towey and Jack Reilly led the scoring stakes for Charlestown in that one, kicking nine points between them - edging them in front before Belmullet hauled them back right at the death. Aghamore had the unenviable task of facing off against the defending county champions last weekend and were kept at arms length by Knockmore. Fergal Boland was, as expected, their main man on the scoresheet contributing 0-8 of their 0-10, but they will need a far bigger spread of scorers to get them over the line in big games. Home advantage will help along with the novel nature of this clash, but the visitors should edge it.
Verdict: Charlestown
Belmullet v Knockmore
Saturday, October 2 at 4pm
After grabbing a draw at the death in a game in which they were well ahead early doors in last weekend, Belmullet have to welcome the defending county champions this time around. Knockmore got up and running in impressive style last weekend with six points to spare over Aghamore at home - their swift transition play from back to front that saw them claim the Moclair Cup is still there and they got the job done, leading 1-10 to 0-4 at the break. They can spread the scores with Aidan Orme (0-3 ), Peter Naughton (0-4 ) and Connell Dempsey (0-3 ) all getting good returns. Belmullet will be happy they left Charlestown with at least something to show for their efforts, Ryan O'Donoghue showed his class and nerve to kick the levelling score - while Eoin O'Donoghue got a goal for them. Belmullet will be a tough task for Knockmore, but the county champions should have too much and will look to have their progress to the last eight wrapped up before round three.
Verdict: Knockmore
Group Three
Castlebar Mitchels v Westport
Saturday, October 2 at 4pm
Both of these teams got off to winning ways last weekend and a win here will set them up nicely for their final group game. The hosts faced into a tough battle with near neighbours Balla last weekend and emerged victorious, having done enough all the way to keep their noses in front of last year's intermediate champions. Paddy Durcan was the key man for Alan Flynn's side, who showed their experience to shake off Balla who drew shoulder-to-shoulder with them in the second half - with Neil Douglas shaking off a jittery start to finish the day with 1-5. Westport looked to be in cruise control against Ballaghaderreen, leading by seven at the break - but they had to work hard in the final quarter to shake off a brave challenge from the East Mayo men. Kevin Kane continues to excel at full forward and Westport have an unrivalled depth of quality young players to pick from and could go all the way. This will be another examination of those credentials and one there might not be a winner in.
Verdict: Draw
Ballaghaderreen v Balla
Saturday, October 2 at 4pm
Both sides will want to have a chance of progress to play for going into the final day and this is a must-win game for both teams. Balla will have been heartened by the fact they didn't look at all out of their depth at senior level in their first game since the late 90s at this level, a few sloppy passes that went amiss here and there in the game could have spun it for them against Castlebar. This is one they'll be targeting to try and pick up some points in. Gary McHale, Matthew Flanagan et al will have to have big games again this time out. Ballaghaderreen have been hamstrung by injuries to key players - but they showed their fighting grit against Westport last weekend; they may have lost by eight on the scoreboard but it was much closer in reality - they just ran out of puff a bit at the end and Westport's strength and depth got them over the line from the bench, but with Andy Moran, Seamus Cunniffe, Ryan Lynch and Shaoise Akram on board, they'll still fancy their chances in this one.
Verdict: Ballaghaderreen.
Group Four
The Neale v Garrymore
Sunday, October 3 at 1pm
When these teams met in the first round of the championship last year, The Neale created a bit of history by pinching a late win against their fellow south Mayo men in their first ever senior championship game. It's back to the scene of the crime in Cong this weekend and Garrymore will be looking to avenge that loss. The visitors got their championship campaign up and running with 3-8 to 1-6 win over Kiltane last weekend, with Liam Òg Horan getting two goals inside the opening 15 minutes and finishing up with 2-1 over the hour. The hosts were well beaten by Breaffy on the road last weekend, but they will have taken plenty from it. Tommy Conroy hit nine points and never stopped going all day and if they want to have a chance of making the last eight for the second year in a row, they'll have to win on Sunday. Garrymore look to be moving well and with the likes of Enda Hession, Caolan Crowe, Shane Nally and Cathal Slattery alongside the aforementioned Horkan, they have lots of quality. An away win looks on the cards, but the hosts won't make it easy.
Verdict: Garrymore
Kiltane v Breaffy
Sunday, October 3 at 2pm
Breaffy went about their business in impressive style last Sunday against The Neale, hitting 1-23 and having this game put to bed long before the full-time whistle. Having lost last year's final - Martin McIntyre's men will be happy with how this season has gone so far, winning division 1B and welcoming back their county men to the fold the last day. Conor O'Shea hit five points, big brother Aidan got four and sub Kevin Curry put his hand up for a starting spot, landing four points from the bench. Breaffy have their eyes on the big prize but can't afford to take it off this weekend's game either. Kiltane showed plenty of determination and grit against Garrymore after gong behind following the concession of two early goals, but they didn't get Tommy Conroy or Mikie Sweeney into the game enough and they only registered one score from play - they'll relish one of the perceived big guns coming to Bangor and won't make it easy, but it is hard to see past Breaffy.
Verdict: Breaffy.
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