Cup semi-final up for grabs for Celtic

Fri, Apr 30, 2010

Castlebar Celtic will be pushing on for a place in the Newstalk Cup semi-final over the next six days, when they entertain both Sligo Rovers and Galway United in the group stages of the competition. Declan Kilkelly’s men have Sligo Rovers first up on Sunday evening at 7pm, with Galway United making the trip north on Wednesday evening in a rearranged fixture. It’s a hectic few days but Celtic manager Declan Kilkelly is hoping that his side will face into another tie the following weekend in the cup semi-final. “It’s good to have the games, we’ve had a break since the Finn Harps game in the league cup because the Galway game was put off, but I’d rather we didn’t. The semi-finals of the cup are down for the weekend after the Galway game and we’ll be looking to be there.”

Back to basics this weekend

Fri, Apr 30, 2010

The National Football League has been put to bed for another year, last Sunday’s disappointing capitulation at the hands of Cork will have to be put to bed this weekend as clubs around Mayo welcome their stars back. This weekend’s round of club games could give the players and opportunity to exorcise some of the demons from Croke Park. Sunday sees action return to Division 1A and 1B at 2pm with a full round of games in both the top divisions. Shrule Glencorrib, who currently sit top of the table thanks to wins over Claremorris and Ballaghaderreen, will make their way to Ballintubber looking to make it three out of three, while James Horan’s side have won one and drawn another. Crossmolina Deel Rovers are just behind Shrule-Glenncorrib in the table on points difference, and John Maughan’s men will be looking to make it three out of three when they venture to Claremorris. The south Mayo men shook off their opening day defeat to Shrule Glencorrib, to see off Moy Davitts in the last round by five points. Last year’s league and championship winners Charlestown will be hoping to shake off a lacklustre start to their campaign for 2010 when they host Moy Davitts, Ciaran McBrien’s men have lost their first two games this season going down to both Ballina and Ballinrobe. Moy Davitts are in the same position as their east Mayo neighbours having lost to Crossmolina and Claremorris. Ballinrobe, who started off last season in a good vein of form before fading away in the championship, have had a similarly good start in 2010 with two wins out of two under their belt. This weekend Norman O’Brien’s side will make the short trip to take on last season’s intermediate champions Westport who have only played once so far this year in the league picking up a draw against Ballintubber.

Mayo crumble against Cork

Sun, Apr 25, 2010

Cork 1-17 Mayo 0-12
Five weeks out from the start of the championship and Mayo were humbled by Cork in Croke Park on Sunday afternoon. The Rebels’ comprehensive eight point victory combined with Sligo's success in the division three final the previous evening leaves the June 5 clash in Yeats county looking like a far sterner test than it did on Saturday morning. Cork romped home to victory in a soulless Croke Park where many of the 27,005 who made the trek were well on their way home before Daniel Goulding finished the ball to the back of David Clarke's net with eight minutes to go, and put Cork 11 points in the clear.

'No choice but to be positive' – O'Mahony

Sun, Apr 25, 2010

It was an afternoon where nothing changed, or where everything changed. Mayo went to Dublin full of hope and expectation and once again headed west with a lot more questions than answers in their pocket. Is it Croke Park? Are Mayo just not good enough? Is it history? These are all questions that John O'Mahony will hope to have the right answers for come the end of the year. But for now, the only way is forward as he sees it, and what's done is done and it's now about the next challenge.

After Conor Counihan waxed lyrical about the virtues of winning the league and what Cork have ahead of them come summer, John O'Mahony was up to face the music after another disappointing Mayo performance in Croke Park.

Higgins and Varley out as Mayo name unchanged side

Sat, Apr 24, 2010

Mayo will definitely be with out the services of both Keith Higgins and Enda Varley for Sunday's National Football League final against Cork it was reveled on Saturday afternoon. Both men who won u21 All Ireland titles against Cork back in 2006 underwent fitness tests on Saturday morning before Mayo departed for Dublin. Higgins picked up a knee injury in Mayo's win over Monaghan in the penultimate round of games in the league stages of the competition, while Varley aggravated a hamstring injury while playing for his club Garrymore in the opening round of league games at the start of the month. The UL student did make a cameo appearance for his club last weekend, but failed to make the grade for Sunday's game.

League title there for the taking

Fri, Apr 23, 2010

Opportunity knocks for Mayo footballers next Sunday in Croker. A victory over Cork in the National League final would be an enormous achievement for this present group of players. On the basis of the compelling evidence of Mayo’s victory over the same opposition two weeks ago, I really do think a National League title is imminently achievable. Granted, next Sunday’s opposition have been making all the right soundings in their impressive league campaign with a number of good victories to their credit, but Mayo have also enjoyed a terrific league campaign, with six out of seven victories in the campaign. The question is being asked in these quarters, however, were Cork really trying in that last league game in Pairc Uí Chaoimh two weeks ago? As we know, Cork had already qualified for the league final before the last game and, to a certain extent, they had an influence on who they played in the final. To step off the gas and allow Mayo win without too much exertion might just present a handier opportunity to win a league title in Croker. A final against the Dubs in front of a large Dublin crowd just might not have been as easy, they might have been thinking. A few people have suggested to me that once Cork discovered that the Dubs were trouncing Tyrone in the first half in Omagh that same Sunday, their intensity dropped quite noticeably and they ambled through the remainder of the match unconcerned about the result. Nonetheless that was not the situation in the other games played in Division 1 when Mayo ground out impressive results against formidable opposition.

Athletics

Fri, Apr 23, 2010

The Mayo AC Road League to kick off in Carramore in May

You can’t afford to get cut adrift - Wallace

Fri, Apr 23, 2010

“It’s 18 cup finals we have this year not 18 league games, and the lads know that if you get cut a drift early on from the pack you are probably not going to make it back.” That’s how new Snugboro United manager Mick Wallace sees this years Super League campaign for his side and most of the others in the league, it is all about survival. The pragmatic as always Wallace knows that it is going to be a hard fight to stay in the top division with four teams going down this season, but he is ready for the battle. “Being realistic, you’ve got Ballina Town, Westport, Iorras Aontaithe, and maybe Manulla who’ll be scrapping it out at the top. The rest of us are fighting to survive in the top flight.” When he took the job he knew that this is what the season was going to be like and Wallace said he laid it out to his squad on the very first day. “I said it to the players straight off, that we are going to be in the thick of it. But we’ve got great numbers out training and everyone’s working hard. I’m disappointed that we didn’t take the points of Fahy Rovers last week, I thought we did enough to win the game against a very tough physical side, we need to be winning these games.” This weekend Snugboro United will open their home account for the season when they host Ballina Town who have six points from two games in the bag already. Wallace knows it is going to a be a big ask for his side to stop Brendan Kenny’s men. “They’re the league champions, and if someone came along now and said here, you can have a point from this game, I’d take the hand off them. There a quality side, but we’ll go out and give them a game and not let our heads drop.”

Keeping heads up when results go against you is something that Wallace thinks will be very important. “Before you could see teams had this attitude of letting their heads drop when things went against them and they lost a few games. But I don’t want to see that happen this year, every game is going to be a cup final and we have to be up for it or we are going to end up going down.”

GAA Mayo look to crush Rebel uprising on Sunday

Fri, Apr 23, 2010

In just over six weeks time the real deal will get under way when Mayo head to Sligo in the Connacht championship. But on Sunday all roads lead to Croke Park and a second joust with Cork inside three weeks. But this time national honours are at stake. It has been an impressive league run so far by Mayo, picking up tough away wins against Tyrone, Derry, Kerry, and Cork along with home victories over Galway and Monaghan. The only black spot on the copybook so far this term was the single point defeat to Dublin in McHale Park, but in the grand scheme of things Mayo supporters can have nothing to complain about so far this term. When the league started back on the first Sunday of February, most people’s expectations and hopes were that Mayo did enough to survive in division one. But since their blitzkrieg start against Galway, John O’Mahony’s men have barely paused for breath, as the faced down nearly all comers, with the exception of Dublin, a game they should have won, kicking 18 wides over 70 minutes.

Golf Good weather sees fairways full

Fri, Apr 23, 2010

Balla
Jim Conlon won the men’s section of the Sheridan Electric’s stableford competition last weekend with a score of 36; his back nine scoring separated him from Michael Gannon, who finished in second place also on 36. Third place went to PJ Brett who finished with a score of 35. The ladies’ competition was a tight affair with the top three all finishing on 34. Geraldine Evans won out thanks to a fine back three finish, Aine McDonald’s back nine scoring saw her hold off Lynn Coffey in third. The youths competition was won by Dara Cawley. This weekend there will be a waltz competition with teams of three competing, sponsored by Heiton Buckley, Castlebar.

Jim Conlon won the men’s section of the Sheridan Electric’s stableford competition last weekend with a score of 36; his back nine scoring separated him from Michael Gannon, who finished in second place also on 36. Third place went to PJ Brett who finished with a score of 35. The ladies’ competition was a tight affair with the top three all finishing on 34. Geraldine Evans won out thanks to a fine back three finish, Aine McDonald’s back nine scoring saw her hold off Lynn Coffey in third. The youths competition was won by Dara Cawley. This weekend there will be a waltz competition with teams of three competing, sponsored by Heiton Buckley, Castlebar.

Mayo Ladies on lookout for new management again

Fri, Apr 23, 2010

The Mayo ladies senior footballers are on the look out for a new management team once again following the resignation of Pat Costello and his selection team on Monday night. Costello only took over the role before the start of this year’s National Football League campaign which saw Mayo win three of their seven games and losing four.