Ballyvary draw with Westport, Iorras and Rangers draw in final Mayo Masters action

THE temperatures may be beginning to plummet, but the action on the astro pitch at Solar 21 Park was red hot in what is now the final week of action in the Westaro Masters League before the Christmas break, following a full postponement of this week's fixtures due to the inclement weather.

Divisions 2 and 3 took centre stage last Wednesday and there were goals galore on the night, 52 in all.

The first game in Division 2 saw Ballyglass go top for a couple of hours after an 8-3 win over Achill Rovers, which saw the Ballyglass duo of Alan Plunkett and James Killeen run riot.

Both men scored four goals apiece, with Alan Fee, Michael Sweeney and Martin Moran netting for the islanders.

A feisty north Mayo derby was next, with Conn Rangers and Iorras Aontaithe having to settle for a point each in a match not short of talking points.

Brendan Nallen’s free kick for Iorras was cancelled out quickly by Michael Meenaghan. Iorras re-took the lead through a rocket by John Gaughan, only for Rangers to equalise in equally impressive fashion through a stunning curling effort by James Noone that came off the underside off the bar.

Iorras hit the front through Henry Gaughan’s free kick and a shot by Mark Gilbert but Rangers levelled once again in the second half through Patrick McHale and Brendan McShane.

Tensions rose as both sides looked for a winner, with Nallen shown a red card, and Rangers thought they got a winner through McHale. But despite being a man down, Iorras made it 5-5 through Liam Donohue, with Gilbert missing a gilt-edged chance late on to win it for Iorras.

The final game in Division 2 saw Arek Tobiaz in red-hot form as he scored six for Ballyheane in their 8-6 victory over neighbours Castlebar Celtic to move them back above Ballyglass at the top of the table, with their other goals coming from Gary Dillon and Sean Kelly. Celtic’s goals on the night were from Sean McHale (two), Declan Lavelle, Stephen Jennings and Ciaran Heffernan (two).

In Division 3, Killala came from behind to beat Ballyhaunis Town 5-3. Two goals from Keith Robinson, either side of a header from Brendan McNulty, put Ballyhaunis ahead at the break. Killala made sure of the points in the second half through an own goal, another from McNulty, a David Cadden penalty and a strike from Mark Moyles. Robinson completed his hat trick for Ballyhaunis late on, but it would be little more than a consolation.

In an east Mayo derby, Straide & Foxford United kept pace at the top with a 6-2 win over Swinford. Sean Walsh, an own goal and Mark Howley put S&F three to the good, with Jakub Gawalkiewicz pulling one back before half-time.

There was no let up from S&F in the second half as Michael Prendergast, Michael Smyth and Walsh’s second goal of the evening cemented a fine win, Gerry Henry netting the other for Swinford.

The other game in Division 3 saw Ballyglass B concede against Ballinrobe Town B.

On Thursday night Westport United dropped their first two points of the season as Ballyvary Blue Bombers earned a share of the points with them in an eight goal thriller. It was a tale of two inform strikers as Simon Cloherty and Mark McNally both hit hat-tricks for their respective sides. McNally took his tally to fourteen league goals this season as he continues to lead the goalscoring charts in Division One while Cloherty has now hit nine goals for the Bombers. Kevin Mannion was also on target for Ballyvary while David Hoban got Westport’s fourth goal.

At the same time Ballina Town cut Westport’s lead to one point at the top of the table with a 4-3 win over Claremorris. Paul Moran scored his third hat trick of the season, with his strike partner John Durkan getting the other while Gavin Brady scored twice for Claremorris and Conor O’Keefe was also on target for the men in green.

Ballinrobe Town moved six points clear of the relegation zone with a 4-2 win over Kiltimagh/Knock United who are still looking for their first points of the season. Pat O’Sullivan’s side have not looked out of place in the top division and their goals this week came from Brian Maloney (two), Mark Gibbons and J.P. O’Gorman, while Paul McNicholas and Damien Gallagher got the goals for Kiltimagh/Knock.

Goal of the week: While there were plenty of clashes off the ball, the battle between Conn Rangers and Iorras Aontaithe also provided two brilliant strikes. John Gaughan’s thunderbolt into the top corner for Iorras and James Noone’s sweet strike for Rangers off the underside of the bar are joint winners this week.

Goalkeeper of the week: Swinford got little joy in front of the Straide & Foxford goal, largely due to the performance of Anthony Hennigan after he made a number of fine stops.

Player of the week: The Ballyglass duo of Alan Plunkett and James Killeen gave Achill Rovers a torrid time, scoring four each, and Simon Cloherty also put in a strong performance against Westport United, but Ballyheane’s Arek Tobiaz’s proved unstoppable against Castlebar Celtic, netting a double hat trick.