May 12th 2019 Mayo Senior League Division 4
Knockmore 4-6 Ballintubber 0-6
It was a game of two halves for our Juniors in Knockmore today as four second half goals from the home side killed any chance of us coming away with a result.
Lining out without the experienced heads of Tom Earley and Stephen Broderick and with some lads playing their second game in 24 hours, we were below strength from the start. The cool, swirling breeze blowing across the field made kicking awkward for both teams, resulting in only three points being scored in the first half. Several of our shots dropped short in the opening exchanges, with the first thirty minutes producing few noteworthy moments.
Our first score didn’t arrive until the 23rd minute when Finian Bourke pointed to the level the game. Matthew Fox added a second from the left-hand side two minutes later for the final point of the half. A goal before half-time from wing-forward Stephen Finnerty was ruled out for being fist-passed into the net, leaving the half-time score at an uninspiring 0-2 to 0-1 in our favour.
With both teams playing well within themselves, a Hugh Geraghty free for the Red and White cancelled out an earlier Knockmore score. The hammer blow then arrived in the 41st minute when a long when the hosts got their first goal. A long, looping ball appeared to hit the back of Niall Staunton’s goal before Knockmore’s full-forward made sure by burying the rebound in the back of the net. Hugh Geraghty would  v add another free before the North Mayo side raised two green flags in a minute through James Ruddy and Kieran Langan. With the scores at 3-4 to 0-4, there was well and truly no way back for the Abbeysiders.
We managed to muster two points through Alan McHale in the final ten minutes as James Ruddy and Kieran Langan raised a white flag each. The home side put the foot down in injury time when they added Goal Number 4 to stretch the deficit to 12 points, an outcome which few would’ve envisaged at the half time break!
Ballintubber team that line out: (1)Niall Staunton (2)Jack Walsh (3)Kevin Shannon (4)Finian Bourke (0-1) (5)Jarlath Staunton (6)Paul Earley (7)Aaron Lally (17)David McHale (9)John Kerrigan (10)Stephen Finnerty (11)Hugh Geraghty (0-2, 2f) (12)Gavin Roache (13)Matthew Fox (0-1) (14)Dean Loftus (15)Alan McHale (0-2, 1f)
Substitutions used: Liam Feeney for Hugh Geraghty, Seamus Thomas for Gavin Roache, Adam Lally for Jarlath Staunton, James McGing for Matthew Fox