June 09 2021
West Mayo Junior B Championship
Ballintubber 3-15 Castlebar Mitchels C 0-8
The hollowed soil of Clogher was once again echoed with the sounds of our national game when our juniors defeated Castlebar Mitchel’s third team by a comprehensive sixteen-point margin.
Gary Walsh’s side put in a convincing display from once we began to pull away after the first-half water break.
With some men lining out along side players more than twice their age, experienced heads and young guns alike all pulled their weight.
We were better again in the second, where we held our opponents to just 0-3 while we continued to dominate all areas of the field.
Playing with a powerful breeze, goals from Ray Geraghty and Adrian Murphy were the highlights of a fine first-half display.
While the similarity of the jerseys certainly dampened some of the tempo and spontaneity, our lads were sharp, skilful and clinical throughout the game.
An even exchange of scores in the opening quarter saw us lead by a point at the first half water break, with Padraic O’Connor, Alan McHale, Adrian Murphy and Ray Geraghty among the scorers.
Making his first appearance in the Red and White for a number of seasons, Murphy impressed throughout and was unlucky to see his first attempt at goal tipped over the bar.
Our first three-point arrived in the 24th minute when Matthew Fox found Ray Geraghty with a clever foot pass before Geraghty did the business.
Geraghty turned provider for Murphy minutes later when his pass bounced up for the Moorehall man to cleverly fist home our second goal.
Leading 2-7 to 0-5 at the break, we maintained our dominance despite being against the wind in the second half.
David McHale and Darragh McGovern were a competent pairing at midfield, with McGovern netting our third goal with an outstanding shot which nestled in the top corner.
Our subs - which included many new and returning faces - all made telling contributions, with no man shirking his responsibility.
Hugh Geraghty in particular caught the eye with a haul of 0-3 after being introduced at half time.
Alan McHale was forced to be content with a point after he forced a save from the Mitchel’s goalie after a mazy run at one point.
At the other end, Frank Walsh once again proved to be a reliable pair of hands when he got down low to superbly block a Castlebar penalty.
With the result all but wrapped up for most of the game, we continued to press on and eventually notched up 3-14.
Under the stewardship of Gary Walsh and Noel Finnerty, youth and experience will once again be the backbone of our juniors’ 2021.
After the longest winter in living memory, the return of Gaelic football to our parish has never been more welcome.
We are Ballintubber!
Ballintubber team that lined out: (1) Frank Walsh (2) Paul Earley (3)Kevin Shannon (4) Darragh Fahy (5) Cillian Redmond (6) Aaron Lally (7) John Kerrigan (8) David McHale (9) Darragh McGovern (1-0) (10) Matthew Fox (11) Padraic O’Connor (0-2) (12) Seanie Larkin (13) Alan McHale (0-2) (14) Ray Geraghty (1-6, 5f) (15) Adrian Murphy (1-2)
Substitutions: Hugh Geraghty (0-3, 1f) for Matthew Fox, Ryan Wilson for Darragh Fahy, Cian Barrett for Seanie Larkin, Cillian Joyce for Aaron Lally, Declan Murphy for Paul Earley
Referee: Kevin Corcoran