Westport reach Mayo senior football final after epic encounter with Crossmolina

Westport qualified for the Connacht Gold Senior Football Championship decider following a magnificent 1-24 to 1-20 victory over Crossmolina in the semi-final in front of a huge attendance at Fr. O’Hara Memorial Park, Charlestown, this evening, writes Aiden Henry.

This last four encounter was expected to be a classic, and it proved to be just that as Westport and Crossmolina produced one of the best senior championship games seen in the county for a long number of years.

Played in ideal conditions, this game ebbed and flowed from minute one right up to the final whistle in extra time.

In the end, Westport’s greater experience got them over the line after a gripping encounter. But in truth it was Gaelic football that was the real winner.

While all the players from both sides left nothing on the pitch, there were some outstanding performers in this cracking contest. For Westport, the likes of Conal Dawson, Eoghan McLaughlin, Lee Keegan, Killian Kilkelly and Joey Holmes all had standout moments, while there was little doubt their best player on the day was Brian O’Malley. At times O’Malley’s fielding was a delight to watch.

Crossmolina, who certainly lost nothing in defeat, also had many outstanding performers. However, their star player on the day was young Kobe McDonald. The 17-year-old gave a five-star display and treated the very large crowd to some wonderful score-taking.

In the opening half, Crossmolina who got off to the perfect start with two points inside a minute from Conor Loftus and McDonald. However, once Killian Kilkelly opened Westport’s account with a pointed free in the second minute, they settled into their stride and followed up with the next four points, one of which was a two-pointer by Luke Tunney.

So, with just seven minutes played, Westport led by 0-5 to 0-2. However, for the remainder of the half, they would add just two more points, both coming from Colm Moran.

Meanwhile, Crossmolina added six more points to their tally, three from McDonald, two from James Maheady and one from Dylan Flynn, which gave them a one-point lead at the interval (0-8 to 0-7).

There was plenty of drama and excitement after the resumption, with each side awarded a penalty. Crossmolina were awarded theirs in the 36th minute. However, Conor Loftus’s driven shot came crashing back off the crossbar before the ball was cleared to safety.

The north Mayo side did raise the first green flag in the 48th minute after Kevin Mulhern joined the attack to side-foot the ball to the back of the net, which brought his team back on level terms. However, within three minutes the goal was cancelled out when Kilkelly brilliantly converted a penalty which was awarded after Joey Holmes was pulled down.

Now three points in front again, it looked as if Westport finally had the upper hand and would go on and win the game. But Crossmolina – or rather Kobe McDonald – did not agree. The young man landed three outrageous points to level matters before Maheady appeared to have scored the winning point as the game entered injury time.

That wasn't the case, though, as Kilkelly pointed a free to draw the sides level and send the game into extra time.

After the first period of extra time, Crossmolina held the edge as they led by 1-19 to 1-18. In the second period, both sides exchanged points before Westport finally gained the upper hand and scoring the last four points of the game, finishing off an epic encounter with a two-pointer from goalkeeper Paddy O’Malley to finally seal the win.

*See Tuesday's print edition for a comprehensive report on the match