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It was a bad weekend for the two Mayo sides who were in action in the fifth round of the FAI Junior Cup last week. Both Castlebar Celtic and Manulla took their leave from the competition. Celtic will be the ones feeling hard done by as some strange refereeing decisions cost them their place in the sixth round of the competition. Celtic managed to get the ball in the back of the Rathkeale net three times but two of them were struck off the record. The Castlebar men headed to Limerick with a depleted squad with both Andy Neary and Declan Flynn ruled out through injury. But they thought they had hit the front early on when Peter Dravins fired the ball to the back of the net after a flick on by Sean McHale only for the linesman’s flag to go up. However, 31 minutes in they were rewarded when Sean McHale, was able to direct the ball to the back of the net following a scramble in the box from a Ger O’Boyle corner kick.

The Mayo league made their mark last weekend when they comprehensively beat the United Churches Football League in the last eight of the Oscar Traynor Trophy by 3-0. Setting up a February 15 clash with Athletic Union League in the semi-final at the AUL Complex in Clonshaugh. In horrendous weather conditions the Mayo League side were comfortable winners leading the game 2-0 at half time thanks to goals from Westport United’s Martin Geraghty and Castlebar Celtic’s Sean McHale. The final nail in the UCL coffin was drilled home by Stevie Gavin from the penalty spot with time almost up.

This Sunday afternoon sees the Mayo League take to the field in the semi final of the Oscar Traynor Cup in the lion’s den of the AUL complex in Clonshaugh, Dublin. Their opposition, the much fancied Athletic Union League, are the favourites to lift the cup this year. Mayo manager Declan Kilkelly was confident going in to the game when he spoke to the Mayo Advertiser earlier this week. “We have a great squad here and if we play to the maximum of our potential, we have a great chance of making the final.” The Mayo side had a warm up game last week with a charity match against Iorras Aontaithe in Carne, which Mayo won 3-2, which Kilkelly believed to be a “great bonding session for the lads and preparation for this weekends challenge.”

While Christms is only around the corner the never-ending road that is Mayo soccer continues apace this weekend. Last weekend saw the Oscar Traynor side slip into the knock-out stages of the competition, this weekend the attention turns to the FAI Junior Cup. Both Castlebar Celtic and Manulla will be looking to make it into round six of the competition while Westport United and Mulranny United will battle it out to escape into the national stages of the competition.