This time last season Iorras Aontaithe were on the brink of relegation and they needed a moment of magic to spark their season into life. Thankfully they survived and maintained their position in the upper echelons of the Mayo Football League.
And what a difference a year makes, they are now working away nicely and only a late flourish by Westport Utd last weekend denied them a Connacht Gold Super Cup semi-final ticket. “It’s such a huge difference. I suppose this year the lads are a bit more convinced by our own interests and we have been able to hold a lot of the players together,” and more importantly, “we don’t have to depend on GAA footballers as much, even though we still welcome them into the side,” according to manager Martin McIntyre.
The win over Ballina Town in the quarter-finals seemed to galvanise Iorras and they have not looked back since. “To get Ballina Town on their own patch and to come back from being down so early in the game was hugely impressive. Once Kyle O’Reilly got himself into the game and imposed himself he played very well. They were determined and didn’t panic and just got on with their business and took their chances,” in a 4-2 win.
The challenges were coming thick and fast at this point and a hard-fought 4-3 win over Castlebar Celtic parachuted them into the decider. With regards to the league they still have a slender chance of success but will have to be more clinical in the final third of the park. “We are in with a huge fighting chance. We were unlucky to come away without another win in the other cup [Connacht Gold Super Cup]. We felt we were the better team against Westport Utd,” added McIntyre.
There are lots of areas to improve on in particular “our last 15 minutes is where we need to smarten up and if we can maintain that and continue moving and progressing all the time you know at the end of the year you are going to get something,” he concluded.
Manulla looking for cup magic
Meanwhile, Manulla who suffered a 5-1 defeat to Westport Utd last Sunday will be raring to go against their north Mayo counterparts. It has been a mixed bag this season thus far for Manulla, and manager Tom Healy finds it hard to understand where it has all gone wrong. “It’s very hard to put a finger on it. We lost Conor Byrne and goalkeeper James Jennings. We just seem to have lost that momentum that we seemed to have. We got off to a bit of a flier and we started off well, but we drifted off a bit.”
When Iorras set up camp in Milebush on Sunday Manulla will be faced with a monumental task but Healy knows what to expect. “I was impressed with them in the game in Manulla. I half knew what to expect. We started the game very well and it has been typical of us lately that we started well, but we haven’t put our chances away.”
Like Iorras they had to take down some big guns en route to the final, none more so than the experienced Ballyheane outfit. “Any time you go to Ballyheane and come out with a result is a great result. It really was a milestone for this young Manulla team because we’ve struggled to go to these teams and come away with a result.”
Other finals in the past have not quite lived up to expectation but this decider will certainly go down to the wire with both sides leaving nothing to chance. Expect lots of goal in a high scoring thriller.
