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Castlebar Celtic got their season off to a winning start in the EA Sports Cup with a 1-0 preliminary round win over Salthill Devon in Celtic Park on Tuesday night. Peter Dravins was the hero for Celtic scoring an 87th minute winner over the Galway side who were promoted from the Newstalk A league to division one of the Airtricity league last season, a feat Celtic will be hoping to emulate this season. The win puts Castlebar Celtic into the first round proper of the competition where they will take on Finn Harps at home. A win over the Donegal men will keep Celtic moving in the right direction ahead of their kick off in the Newstalk A league in May.

The last chance of a Mayo side bringing national glory at junior level back to the county this season disappeared last Sunday when Ballina Town bowed out at the sixth round stage of the FAI Junior Cup. Shangan Athletic, who had seen off Straide and Foxford United in the previous round, came out victorious once again over Mayo opposition; this time they saw off Mayo’s top side. Despite going one up and being in control of the game early on Ballina conceded three first-half goals in quick succession and were never able to get back into the contest.

Ballina Town will be looking to pick themselves up from last weekends defeat at the hands of Ballinasloe Town in the Connacht Cup fourth round at home this Sunday where they have a place in the FAI Junior Cup seventh round at stake. Standing in their way in Beleek are Shangan Athletic from Dublin who overcame the challenge of Straide and Foxford United in the last round of the competition. Ballina came from three goals down before half time last weekend to pull the game back to 3-2 but were not able to find that third goal they needed to force the game level. Mick Duffy and Daniel O’Hara were on the scoreboard for Brendan Kenny’s men and Duffy in particular will be looked for to spearhead their attack on Sunday against the side from Ballymun. Ballina booked their place in this round of the competition thanks to a comprehensive win over Cashel Celtic in the fifth round with Brendan Lavelle scoring a hat trick, the aforementioned Duffy a brace, and Ross Kenny getting himself on the scoreboard before the end of their trouncing of Cashel Celtic. Shanagan Athletic used their home advantage to see of Straide and Foxford United in the last round by 3-1, they went one up before Straide and Foxford levelled through, Chris Downey on the half hour. But the Dublin outfit had enough class to see off the Mayo men to book their date with Ballina.

After this weekend’s round of games in the Mayo league the corner flags and nets can be put away for a couple off weeks around the county as the Mayo League takes its mid-season break. In the Super League most sides will have played at least 15 games, leaving three to play after the break and Castlebar Celtic manager Declan Kilkelly reckons that the league is Westport’s to lose, but he can’t see them doing that. “I knew it was always going to be hard coming in mid-season, but I’m delighted to be back with the club and in the game. It’s been tough though because it’s been all go since then. We’ve had a good few weeks where we’ve been playing Thursday and Saturday or Sunday, that’s not leaving you much time to do anything on the training field. We’re still fighting for the league, but realistically you have to say it’s Westport to lose, they’re top by a point and have two of the bottom three at home in their last three games.”

This year’s Chadwicks Cup final (Mayo League FA Cup) sees the meeting of two Uniteds who have seen their historical positions flipped this year. Straide and Foxford United, one of the blue ribbon names in Mayo soccer saw themselves relegated at the death of the 2007 season to the Premier League, while Snugboro United surrvived and launched an all out assault on the higher reaches of the Super League this season. This assault proved ultimately unsuccessful but Johan Collins’s first year in charge of the side can only be marked out as a success so far. And if he is able to guide his men to pick up the Chadwicks Cup the season will have been an unqualified success.

A new season begins for An Cearnog Nua, Moycullen basketballers on Saturday when the National League division one gets underway.

It's a simple task for Mayo on Sunday: win the game and book their place in the last eight of this season's Oscar Traynor Cup; while for Galway all they need is a point to reach their the last eight.

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.

Neither Iorras Aontaithe nor Westport United took the easy road into the last 32 of the FAI Junior Cup last weekend. The two remaining Mayo sides in the competition were made to sweat it out right until the end, with Iorras having to endure the dreaded lottery of penalties to book their place in the next round. Indeed both sides had to come from behind in their games, Erris trailed Dublin Bus by 2-0 just before half time in their encounter in Carnenash.

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.