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The last time that the Mayo hurlers made a trip across the water to take on London in competitive action they made the headlines for all the wrong reasons when they missed their flights back from the UK capital. And less than two months on, the gods that governed the draw for the second round of the Christy Ring Cup ensured that Mayo would have to make that trip all over again.

They will go in as the underdogs on Saturday, having never claimed the senior championship title, but Martin Brennan’s charges from the west coast served fair warning last weekend when toppling one of the two east Mayo giants of the small ball game in the county. The narrowest of margins was all that separated Westport when they saw off Tooreen in McHale Park at the semi-final stage on a scoreline of 1-13 to 1-12. But were it not for a late long range goal from Kenny Feeney for the vanquished side, the gap would have been more comfortable for the former Mayo manager’s side. Stephen Broderick was the main man for Westport, scoring eight points for his side in the semi-final and they will need big performances from him along with the likes of Eoin Madigan, Rory Brennan, and Adrian Connolly if they are to knock Ballyhaunis off their perch.

The Mayo senior hurling team go into this weekend staring elimination from the championship straight in the face. Last weekend they opened their account in the Christy Ring Cup with a defeat against Wicklow.

Roscommon 0-17

Mayo               1-11

They have been here before so often, and while familiarity can lead to things becoming stale, there will be nothing stale about the action on the field on Sunday when Ballyhaunis and Torreen get to grips with each other in the Mayo senior hurling final. The game which throws in at 3pm in Ballyhaunis has the makings of another classic, both of these giants of Mayo hurling have been the standard bearers for the small game in the county for decades now.

Mayo 0-19

The Mayo management team of Martin Brennan and Pete Finnerty have made four changes to their side from the one which lined up against Kerry last weekend in their opening National Hurling League game to the side who will face Armagh in Crossmaglen tomorrow. Into the side come Shane Morley after a recent hamstring problem, Kenny Robinson who scored a goal after coming on against Kerry gets the nod at number 15. Sean Markham will make his debut in the half back line while Brian Moran who fired over four points after he came on against Kerry will come into the half forward line. Keith Higgins who will also be on duty with the Mayo football team on Sunday drops to the bench for Saturday’s game.

While the footballers have been doing the business on the field picking up two wins from their opening games in the national league, it is now the hurlers’ time to go into competitive action this weekend. Martin Brennan and Pete Finnerty are back on board for this year following initial murmuring that they were not going to take charge of the side again following their exit from the Christy Ring Cup at the semi final stage last term.

Mayo 3-16