Search Results for 'Kevin Filan'

Last Sunday’s county Junior and Intermediate finals were certainly a day for the underdog with Castlebar Mitchels B team and Ballyhaunis prevailing as county champions.

Last Sunday’s county Junior and Intermediate finals were certainly a day for the underdog with Castlebar Mitchels B team and Ballyhaunis prevailing as county champions. I predicted both games incorrectly as I expected Achill and Hollymount/Carramore to win their respective finals. The win for Castlebar in the junior final is an amazing feat considering it is their second string outfit, and with their seniors also in the final it could be an unprecedented double for the county town. In the current climate when it is hard to get 15 for a club they have exceeded expectation to remain competitive on all fronts. Before anyone uses the “look at the size of the pick they have or the size of the town” as an explanation of their recent successes, it should be noted that not too many moons ago their first team were playing intermediate football so it is quite remarkable that their second string will compete in that competition next year.

If they had lost it, they would really have no-one else to blame but themselves, but come crunch time Castlebar Mitchels centre-half-forward Adam Murphy had the wherewithal to do what so many of his team-mates had failed to do before that and put the ball between the posts deep into injury time on Sunday. Mitchels were by far the better team on the day, but they left the backdoor open with their wayward shooting and Achill found themselves in with a chance of lifting the McDonnell cup against the odds at the end.

Come Sunday evening shortly after 5pm, they’ll be building bonfires on the way into Hollymount and Carramore or Ballyhaunis to celebrate either the amalgamation from south Mayo or the east Mayo men returning home with the Mayo intermediate title in their arms and a return to senior football.

In a repeat of last years county final Breaffy and Castlebar met in round two of the Mayo GAA SFL league in Breaffy on Saturday night and it was the hosts who came out on top with a 2-13 to 0-7 win over their neighbors. The visitors lined up without Richie Feeney and Barry Moran at their services, while Breaffy weren't able to call on Seamus O'Shea who picked up a knock in their defeat against Ballintubber the previous week.

The game was on the line, it was all or nothing when Neil Douglas stepped up and leveled the game up in Hyde Park on Sunday afternoon for Castlebar Mitchels. While it looked a simple free that any senior club free taker would slot over the bar, there was serious pressure on Douglas' shoulders as he did it. After the game we spoke to some of Douglas' team-mates and his manager as to what was going through their heads as Douglas placed the ball, took a few steps back and connected with the ball. Mitchels manager Pat Holmes, even admitted he did briefly consider bringing in veteran Kevin Filan to take the pressure kick for a few seconds. “My heart was in my mouth because he hadn't been hitting them all day and Tom had been hitting them and Tom had gotten the thing (knock in the build up to the free).We were considering putting on Kevin Filan to take it, but he would have been coming in cold and 'Duggie' in fairness took on the responsibility and buried it over.”

Castlebar Mitchels’ main goal at the start of this year was to claim the Moclair Cup for the first time in two decades, a goal they successfully achieved a fortnight ago with a win over Breaffy. But while that success was the one they craved the most, this coming Sunday they have a chance to push their championship ambitions a step further when they take on Corofin in the semi-final of the AIB Connacht Senior Club Championship in Tuam at 2pm.

Castlebar Mitchels county champions 2013 has a nice ring to it particularly if you are from the county town. The Mitchels won with a bit to spare, however they did their level best to keep us on the edge of our seats giving Breaffy a glimmer of hope with some wayward shooting, they did not put this game to bed until the 56th minute despite being so comfortable. When you are only a goal up there is always a chance your opponents could sneak in against the run of play. It is hard to believe it is 20 years since Castlebar won the Moclair Cup. Little did Tom Reilly know when he captained them back in 1993 he would have two sons playing against each other in a county final. I could still nearly name the Castlebar team that claimed that crown.

Castlebar Mitchels 1-11

Ballintubber 1-10