No-one can deny that Westport United have been the best team in the Mayo League and they capped a remarkable league season last weekend when they went through the whole campaign unbeaten. Dropping just two points over the whole season is a remarkable achievement, but knowing the hunger there is in that Westport United side their draw against Straide and Foxford in the middle of July will be something they will look back on with a tinge of regret over the winter.
At the bottom of the table, Moy Villa joined Fahy Rovers in making the drop to the Premier A for next season last weekend when they went down to Ballina Town. Iorras Aontaithe secured their proud status in the Super League for another year after pulling off one of the great escapes over the past few weeks, winning their final four games of the season on the bounce. When the pressure came on the men of Erris stood up to it and another season in the Super League was their reward.
Conn Rangers claimed the Premier A title last Sunday, when they put Snugboro United to the sword and in the process killed off any chance the Conway Park club had of staying in the division. Ballyglass will join them in the top flight next season, but their push for the title was halted by Westport United B, who held them to a 2-2 draw last Sunday. Both teams had a shot at the title when the game kicked off, but it was not to be for either.
In the Premier B, Kiltimagh/Knock United are the champions with Glenhest Rovers going up alongside them. Castlebar Celtic B dropped out of the division alongside Iorras Aontaithe B, with Manulla B and Bangor Hibs passing them on the way from League One. In a fitting finale to the season in League One, both Manulla and Bangor Hibs could have claimed the title when they met in Carramore last Sunday, but it was the home side who took the crown thanks to a 2-2 draw after the 90 minutes, with Manulla taking the title by two points. Heading out of the division are Ballyvary Blue Bombers, and Straide and Foxford United B, with Fahy Rovers B and Ballina Town B booking their promotion up from the bottom tier of Mayo football.
It has been an exciting year of action in the Mayo League, with Westport United’s excellence at the top of the Super League and Iorras Aontaithes’s fighting spirit two key factors in the top division, while the battle for the title went right to the wire in the Premier A and League One. More of the same again next year please. The attention for the winter will now focus on the external competitions in both the Connacht Cup and FAI Junior Cup.
Mayo League scoops provincial title
Fresh from facing off against each other week in week out, the best and brightest from the Mayo League came together over the past few weeks in the Connacht Inter League Championship. On Wednesday night, the Mayo League team under the guidance of the Westport United managment duo of Kieran Mulchrone and James Fahy saw off the challenge of the Sligo/Leitrim League 2-0 in the final in Sligo, thanks to goals from Castlebar Celtic’s Jason Hunt and Ballina Town’s Brendan Lavelle. The previous week the Mayo League had beaten the Roscommon League 3-1 after extra-time in Lecarrow with Lavelle bagging two and Hunt the third goal in the win.
