Search Results for 'Connacht Junior League'

Both Castlebar and Ballina bowed out of the Cawley Cup last weekend at the quarter-final stage. The county town side lost out in an all Mayo clash against a Westport side who are ramping up their preparations for the Connacht Junior Cup final next weekend, while Westport lost out Monivea in Heffernan Park.

Despite a very brave effort in Monastery Field, Ballina came up just short on a scoreline of 12-11 against Connemara on Tuesday afternoon when they lost out to an injury time drop goal from the boot of Shane Sweeney which sealed the league title for the Gaeltacht All Blacks, but confirmed that Ballina will now have to battle for survival in Division 1A of the Connacht Junior League in the promotion/relegation play-off.

In the battle of the Mayo sides in division 1a of the Connacht Junior League it was the Bulls from Westport who came out on top for the second time this season, when they faced Ballina in Carrowholly last Sunday. JP Walsh’s side ran out comfortable 16-3 winners over their north Mayo rivals thanks to a try from David Keane, with Seán Tobin kicking the other 11 points from three penalties and converting Keane’s try. Westport put themselves in front early on and went in leading 10-3 at the break thanks to Keane’s five pointer and two kicks from Tobin, Ballina responded with a penalty from James Coppens but it was the only score they would register on the day. The win sees Westport push six points in front of Ballina with three games left for each side before the end of the league season. The win also puts Westport just three points behind third placed Ballinasloe in the race for place in the Irish junior cup next year.

This weekend sees a break from the action in the Connacht Junior League after eight hectic rounds of action. In the top division, Westport remain as the main men from Mayo, currently sitting in fourth place in the table behind the Galway trio of Connemara, Monivea, and Corinthians, and they will be well buoyed by the last second draw they got against league leaders Connemara in Monastery Field. The Bulls trailed by 14 points at the turn around. Westport did narrow the gap back to three points midway through the second half, but Connemara scored a break-away converted try to push their lead out to 24-10, but with a few minutes left Mike Cronin touched down for Westport, with Séan Tobin converting the try and then kicking a late, late, penalty to grab a draw for Danny O’Toole and JP Walshe’s charges. Next up for the Bulls is sixth place Ballinasloe in Carrowholly on Sunday week. When the team met in round two in September, Ballinasloe emerged two point winners against Westport condemning the Bulls to their second defeat of the season, but they have been on a steady upward trajectory since then, with their only blip a loss to Corinthians a fortnight ago.

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 two Mayo sides in the top tier of the Connacht Junior League came face to face last Sunday in Heffernan Park, and it was the visiting side that went away with the spoils. Westport went home 10 point winners over their hosts Ballina and in the process leapfrogged them in the table moving up to fourth place. Having lost their two opening games to Connemara and Ballinasloe, Westport have now won two on the bounce with a nine point win over Monivea a fortnight earlier. This weekend Westport will be on the road again, this time on Saturday night when they are down to play Corinthians in Galway in what should be a tough encounter. The Galway side had won their first three games this season, before they went down by 10 points to Ballinasloe last Sunday. Westport will be hoping that Kevin Corcoran can keep up his scoring form from last week when he ran in two tries against Ballina, and Matt Dempsey has his shooting boots with him.

NUI Galway Rugby are in the shake-up for another trophy to add to their burgeoining collection when they face Sligo RFC in a top-of-the-table Connacht Junor League clash.

The rugby club in UCG was founded in 1874, which makes it the oldest such club in Connacht. They played in the Bateman Cup competition many times and won their first Connacht Senior Cup in 1897. They have held this trophy aloft 34 times in all, more than any other club in the west, and they have won the senior league 16 times. They won the Dudley Cup for the first time in 1905. Many of their players have played for Irish universities international teams, and 10 have been capped for Ireland, several while playing for UCG. One of those, Ciaran Fitzgerald, captained the British and Irish Lions. The UCG colours are maroon and white.

Renmore Ladies Hockey 's first X1 will face Kinvara in the Connacht Junior Cup final this Saturday in Dangan at 12.30pm.

Galwegians First XV face a difficult assignment on Saturday when they host first division outfit St Mary’s in the Bateman Cup (2.30pm).