After a shaky start that saw them go down to league leaders Connemara and Ballinasloe in the opening two rounds, Westport picked up their fourth win in a row in the division 1A of the Connacht Junior League last weekend, with a 24-17 win over Galwegians in Carrowholly.
The seven point win has cemented the Bulls spot in the top three after six games in the division. First half converted tries from Seán Tobin and Tom Geraghty had them clear by four points at the break and in the second half, with Kevin Corcoran touching down for their third try in the second half. Tobin also kicked three conversions and penalty in the game to seal the win. That victory coming off the back of a win over OLBC in the previous round, along with wins over Monivea and Ballina in recent weeks, has seen them shake off their early season worries.
Mayo’s other representatives in division 1A, Ballina also had seven points to spare in their game last weekend when they saw off Corinthians 35-28 in Heffernan Park in Ballina. That was Ballina’s third win of the year and an important victory after they had been turned over in two of their previous three games by Galwegians and Westport.
Ballina came back from an early deficit of 11 points and ran in five tries last Sunday from five different players which will have been very pleasing to their coaching ticket. David Twomey, Conor Forde, Michael Murphy, Conor Mason and Kevin McCarron all crossed the whitewash for Ballina with McCarron kicking two penalties and converting two of their tries. Next up for Ballina in a fortnight is league leaders Connemara away from home. The Galway men have been in flying form so far this season and sit three points clear of Monivea at the top of the table. Connemara have managed to run in 20 tries in their six games so far and only conceded six, while Ballina have managed to touch down only nine times so far this season, five of them last weekend and their last line of defence has been breached 16 times. Connemara warmed up for their meeting with a four point win on the road against second placed Monivea in the last round.
Castlebar keep on winning
In division 1B, Castlebar are the men out in front with five wins from their six games leaving them three points clear at the top of the table. Last weekend they put up 40 points on local rivals Ballinrobe in Cloondeash to leave them sitting pretty ahead of the bank holiday weekend break. Martin Moran and Mark Staunton both touched down for two tries each, with Conor O’Malley and Ronan Hughes also crossing the line. Full back Ronan Conway kicking four conversions and Stephen Rogan also kicked three points from a penalty in the win. For Ballinrobe, it was a tough lesson, they managed two tries themselves from James McTigue and Michael Walsh. Castlebar have scored 15 tries so far this season and will be hoping to cross the line a few more times in a fortnight when they make the trip to Athlone to take on third placed Buccaneers in round seven. For Ballinrobe who currently are sitting in fifth place, they welcome sixth place Corrib next time out in a local derby against the borderline men.
Ballyhaunis picked up their fourth win of the season last weekend when they had 20 points to spare over Corrib in a 37-17 win on the road. It was big result for the east Mayo men after they lost out by a single point to table toppers Castlebar in the previous round in Cloondeash. They picked up the win thanks to tries from David Morley, Kieran McDermott, Darius Ivoska, Gary Paterson and Mantus Smirnovas. Next up for them is a the visit of second placed Loughrea, who warmed up for this game with a 13 point win over Creggs.
