November 18th 2018
Mayo U21 “B” Championship 
Ballintubber 2-9 Burrishoole 1-12
Our U21 team had to be satisfied with a draw in Newport today as Burrishoole came from behind to salvage a point. Despite being deprived of some of our best players in Senior panellists Ciaran Gavin, Jamsie Finnerty and the injured Stephen O’Malley, our lads gave a good account of themselves on their first day out as team.
Having lead by seven points at one stage, our scoring came to a complete halt for the rest of the game. This gave the home side enough time to level matters though a Fintan McManamon free which proved to be their final kick of the game.
Playing with the breeze underneath glorious sunshine, we were undoubtedly the better team in the first half. The influence of senior regulars Damien Coleman and Cathal Hallinan certainly appeared to rub off on their young side, judging by the manner in which we contested and won several 50/50 balls. 
Leading the line at full-forward, Darragh McGovern pointed our first score with scarcely thirty seconds played. Points followed from Alan McHale and Noel Geraghty before Burrishoole’s scorer-in-chief Fintan McManamon pointed his first free. We then strung together six successive scores, including three superb efforts from Hugh Geraghty and Keelan McDonnell. 
With us leading 0-9 to 0-4 at the start of the second half, Fintan McManamon fired the home side firmly back into contention with a free before finding the net after seeing his initial shot saved by Niall Staunton.
However, his green flag was cancelled out promptly when Darragh McGovern won a penalty for us in the seventh minute. There was no better man to dispatch the spot kick than Ballyglass FC regular Keelan McDonnell, who blasted it hard and low to put us four points in front again.
We added a second goal two minutes later when Darragh McGovern lashed the ball into an empty goalmouth after a beautiful exchange of long and short passes between himself, Noel Geraghty and Alan McHale. 
The All-Ireland winner with Ballinrobe Community School nearly got a second goal when Alan McHales’s pass across the goal proved a touch too high for the man from Rinaneel. 
From then on the scores dried up as Burrishoole began to take control. The Lilly Whites pointed seven without reply as we simply couldn’t find the decisive score. Shortly after Fintan McManamon had pointed the equaliser Mel Kenny blew the final whistle, meaning we had to be content with a point.
While there was plenty of good to take from this performance, we were ultimately left to rue some poor missed chances in both halves which would have seen us through comfortably. With Ballinrobe having withdrawn from the competition, a win against Kilmeena ought to see Damien Coleman, Cathal Hallinan and Seanie Larkin’s charges progressing into the knockout stages.

Ballintubber team that lined out: (1)Niall Staunton (2)Jack Walsh (12)Finian Bourke (4)Luke Murphy (5)Cillian Redmond (6)Hugh Geraghty (0-2, 1f) (7)Aaron Lally (8)Keelan McDonnell (1-1, 1P) (18)Jack Doocey (10)Alan McHale (0-1) (11)Noel Geraghty (0-4, 1f) (17)Matthew Fox (15)Darragh McGovern (1-1) 
Substitutions used: Gavin Roache for Aaron Lally, Louis Hoban for Matthew Fox

Report by Oisín McGovern