Manulla pushed themselves out in front of the rest of the pack in the Elverys Super League last weekend, when they brought the long unbeaten run of defending champions Ballyheane - to an end on the road.
Ruairi Henry’s goal after he got on the end of an Aiden Dunleavy ball - was what separated the sides at the end of 90 minutes in Quigley Park. The Carramore men will be looking to keep their noses out in front of the rest again this weekend when they welcome Straide and Foxford United on Sunday evening.
The Green Road men are currently sitting second bottom of the table, drawing two and losing one of their opening three games so far. Last weekend they were beaten by Ballyhaunis Town at home thanks to a Jamil Kezze goal that moved the Station Rise side out of the relegation zone and ahead of United.
The east Mayo men will have a difficult task this weekend when they travel to United Park to take on an in-form Westport United side who put four past Ballina Town last weekend in a 4-1 win.
United, like Castlebar Celtic, have only played two games to date in the league, and have picked up a win and draw and will fancy their chances of making it win number two this weekend when Ballyhaunis Town come calling.
In their win over Ballina Town, Westport United hit the front through a Darren Browne goal after he headed it over the advancing Emmet Peyton, who had misjudged his attempt to get to the ball ahead of Brown.
Westport doubled their lead on 37 minutes when Caoimhin O’Toole - driving the ball home after a free - was parried into his path. Ballina Town did pull one back back before half-time through a Benny Lavelle effort to look like making a game of it. But five minutes into the second half, Jack Murphy pushed the lead back out to two goals and late on, Browne slotted home a penalty for his second of the day.
Mark Beattie's side will be hoping that they can get back on the winning path when they travel to play an out-of-sorts Claremorris on Saturday evening. The Concannon Park outfit are currently rooted to the bottom of the table without a point, following their three opening games to date. Last weekend they were roundly beaten by Castlebar Celtic who hit them for six in a 6-1 win for the Hoops.
Claremorris went into the lead through an early Mark Maloney goal, but a Basho Hay effort had the game level by half time and in the second half, Celtic hit five unanswered goals. Corey Scahill bagged two after coming off the bench, with Oran Groarke, Mark Howley and Jordan Loftus also getting in on the act.
Celtic, as mentioned earlier, have a game in hand, due to their Connacht Cup commitments and they’ll be looking to keep up their good form when they take on this year's surprise side, Kiltimagh-Knock United, on Sunday morning.
Kiltimagh-Knock United are unbeaten after three rounds, with two wins and a draw under their belts. Their most recent outing saw them edge Glenhest Rovers 2-1. Second half goals from Jack O’Connor and Owen Carroll was enough to see them hold on for the win despite Pat Mulchrone pulling one back for Rovers with plenty of time left on the clock. Rovers, who have had a decent start to the season themselves with a win and a draw in their opening two rounds before last week, will be heading to the home of the champions on Sunday morning for their game this weekend.
Fixtures
Saturday, April 2 at 6pm: Claremorris v Ballina Town, Manulla v Straide and Foxford United, Westport United v Ballyhaunis Town. Sunday, April 3 at 11am: Ballyheane v Glenhest Rovers, Kiltimagh-Knock United v Castlebar Celtic.
