Search Results for 'Pat Fallon'

A strong second half showing by Balla sent them back into the Mayo GAA Junior Football Championship final in a few weeks time.

The race to follow in the footsteps of last year's Mayo GAA junior champions Lahardane begins in earnest this weekend.

On Sunday in MacHale Park the junior semifinals of the Mayo GAA championship will be played as a double header with the action getting under way at 2pm, with the meeting of Kilmaine and Ballycastle. The north Mayo men booked their place in the final four last Saturday night when they saw off Kilmeena in a quarterfinal replay by five points in terrible weather conditions, their opponents booked their spot in the final four with a big  3-16 to 1-9 quarterfinal win over Killala a few weeks ago.

Conditions were terrible and some of the football left a lot to be desired, but that won’t matter to Balla who are into the semi-finals of the Mayo Junior championship after a four point win over Achill on MacHale Park on Saturday night. Achill only managed to score once from play in the entire game and Balla were only able to add on one more point to the ten they hit in the second half.  Come the semi-final Pat Fallon’s men know they will have to up their game if they are to make it into their second successive junior final.

Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in! I could apply that quote to the Mayo Advertiser asking me to return for a one-off All-Ireland final article or to Mayo football itself. Either way, I am delighted to be in this position in mid-September. As ardent football fans we have been deservedly rewarded in this county. Supporters have fed off our team’s energy and vice versa. That relationship is an essential component for a successful season so do what you can to make it to Dublin this weekend and bring the colour, bring the noise. When the 66-year drought ends this Sunday and the pent-up euphoria is unleashed with little hope of abating, my one concern is that the names of the men who built a football-loving county and laid the foundations for thousands of fanatics and players may be lost in the many celebratory renditions of The Green and Red of Mayo.

When Matthew Flanagan drove the ball over the Louisburgh bar five minutes from time from a free well out beyond the 45m line in MacHale Park on Sunday, it looked like the McDonnell cup would be making the short 11km journey out the road to Balla for the Winter. But Louisburgh hadn’t read that particular script and the seasiders dug deep from there on in and through injury time to rally and hit the final two points of the day to seal a historic win for John Kelly’s outfit.

It is an all West Mayo decider in MacHale Park on Sunday in the county junior final when Louisburgh and Balla meet at 3.30pm. It has a been a long time coming for both sides who are looking to make their way back out of the the junior ranks and into the intermediate grade for next year.

And then there were four, the Mayo junior championship is rattling its way to a conclusion, with last weekend's replayed quarter-final between Ballycastle and Crossmolina sorting out the last spot in the final four. Tomorrow evening a double header of games will take place in MacHale Park to decide the final two in the competition and two thrilling encounters should be in store.