Mayo Senior Football Championship Round 3
August 22 2020 – Ballintubber 1-16 Davitts 0-5
Our Seniors have qualified for the Quarter-Finals of the Mayo Senior Football Championship with an impressive fourteen-point win over Davitts in Ballinrobe this evening.
Aghamore’s win over Moy Davitts means that we have topped the group on scoring difference, and will contest the knockout stages along with Aghamore, Westport, Breaffy and Ballina.
In the absence of the injured Cillian O’Connor and Brian Murphy, the rest of the lads stepped up to deliver an impressive and clinical team performance.
With ten different players scoring, every man played their part in a game which we held a six-point lead from the tenth minute.
With fluid attacking play and another assertive midfield display from Jason and Diarmuid, we dominated every area of the field.
Likewise, we were rock solid in defence, where Michael Plunkett gave an outstanding display at centre half-back.
While Davitts’ long ball strategy helped yield four points in the first half, their effort wilted in a second half in which we pulled out of sight.
Indeed the South Mayo men only managed a single point in the second half before we reeled 1-6 without reply over the remainder of the game.
Played out in an eerily quiet Flanagan Park in Ballinrobe, we impressed right from the beginning.
No man was left to do it all himself as Ciaran Gavin, Jason Gibbons, Diarmuid O’Connor, Stephen O’Malley and Bryan Walsh pointed 0-6 after only 11 minutes.
With Davitts posting big Ronan McNamara at full-forward, the border men had some success hitting long ball in his direction, managing 0-2 from advanced marks.
However, we were far more impressive, continuing to rattle off scores before a clever move ended with Jamsie Finnerty blasting a goal attempt off the upright.
While Evan and Jack Ronayne looked lively for Davitts, the likes of Gary Loftus and Joe Geraghty matched nearly everything that was thrown at them in the full-back line.
Michael Plunkett was also superb in guarding the defence from centre-back, making a number of key interventions.
Points from Jamsie, Alan Dillon, Ciaran Gavin and Bryan Walsh saw us take a 0-10 to 0-4 lead at half time, with no clear way back for Davitts.
The third quarter was a quieter affair, yet we still outscored our opponents 0-3 0-1 before the water break.
Davitts became more competitive at midfield when Ronan McNamara moved into the engine room with Stephen Nyland. However, with Colm Boyle having a quiet display, their attack was unable to penetrate the Red and White defence.
Any hope of a Davitts revival was snuffed out when Diarmuid O’Connor fired in our only goal with a low shot after receiving a clever pass from Stephen O’Malley.
Victory was a mere formality at this point, with veteran forward Alan Plunkett getting on the scoreboard shortly after being introduced.
The younger brother Michael capped a superb display when he made a rare burst forward before sending the ball straight over the black dot for the game’s last score.
Ballintubber team that lined out: (1)Brendan Walsh (2)Gary Loftus (3)Joe Geraghty (4)Myles Kelly (5)Damien Coleman (6)Michael Plunkett (0-1) (21)Hugh Geraghty (8)Jason Gibbons (0-1) (8)Diarmuid O’Connor (1-2) (10)Ciaran Gavin (0-3, 2f; 1am) (11)Keelan McDonnell (0-1) (12)Bryan Walsh (0-2) (13)Jamsie Finnerty (0-1) (18)Alan Dillon (0-1) (15)Stephen O’Malley (0-3, 1f)
Substitutions used: Alan Plunkett (0-1) for Jamsie Finnerty, Jack Walsh for Damien Coleman, Finian Bourke for Myles Kelly, Jarlath Staunton for Hugh Geraghty, Noel Geraghty for Alan Dillon
Referee: Paul Lydon
Report by Oisín McGovern