Westport can gatecrash Ballina’s three-in-a-row party in Mayo SFC final
There was little time for either Ballina Stephenites or Westport to tend to any wounds that may have arisen from last weekend’s Connacht Gold Mayo Senior Football Championship semi-finals as they clash in the final on Sunday (October 19) in Hastings Insurance MacHale Park, Castlebar, at 4 p.m., writes John Melvin.
It's a repeat of the 2022 final, which was played at the same venue and where Westport made history by winning their first ever senior football title on a scoreline of 1-9 to 1-6.
The significant difference in this rematch is that Westport were in a battle, if not a war, with Crossmolina last Saturday and needed 20 minutes of extra time before finally claiming victory. In the other semi-final, Ballina took Knockmore on a guided tour of St. Tiernan’s Park in Crossmolina, the three-in-a-row-seeking champions hardly breaking into a sweat – and that could be a factor if this final, as I expect it will, produces a tight finish.
The other side of that same coin is that Westport will be fully motivated and bring with them the psychological momentum gained from what was a terrific win over Crossmolina in an epic encounter played with the choke out.
The question being asked all through this championship was whether the young guns of Crossmolina could ever be silenced. Westport came up with the answer, and the man who played a key part in solving that puzzle was their manager, Pat Holmes, who has stayed mostly in the shadows and deserves huge credit for what he has done with this team in this his first year at the helm.
The Deel Rovers will be back sooner rather than later, and they deserve enormous credit for what they have achieved with such a young and maturing team. They pushed Westport all the way and looked to have the winning of the game in normal time but – and not for the first time in this year’s championship – Westport dug deep to pull something from the depth of their soul when they needed it most.
Holmes has clearly brought a new awakening to a team that almost faded into obscurity since winning the title three years ago.
One thing Westport have is a bench. The injury problems which plagued them in two quarterfinals they lost to Breaffy in the past two years are seemingly behind them.
The Stephenites, of course, bring the experience of winning back-to-back county titles to the table and, as they showed against Knockmore, they know how to manage and control a game.
However, Knockmore showed a lot of naivety around the middle of the field, where Ballina hoovered up all the breaking ball, but I’m sure both Niall Heffernan and Cora Staunton, who paced the sideline in Crossmolina, will know that a bigger return on the scoreboard will be necessary if they are to become the first team to win the three titles in a row since Castlebar Mitchels (2015-2017).
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One thing is for the sure, Westport won’t sit back and be dictated to. They allowed Breaffy do that against them in the first half of their quarterfinal but changed the script for the second half with a high press game that forced their opponents to concede territory, which in turn forced mistakes.
They did something similar against Crossmolina, only this time when the winning line was in sight, Westport had the bench players and the experience to see them through.
Lee Keegan’s leadership is a huge plus for Westport, who also have a key player in Paddy O’Malley, their goalkeeper, who can nail those two-pointers from dead balls. They have talent and determination all over the field: Eoghan McLaughlin, Neil McMenamon, Conal Dawson, Killian Kilkelly, Neil McDermott, Brian O’Malley, Joey Holmes, Colm Moran, Finbar McLaughlin and Rory Brickenden have stepped up to the plate to get Westport to this final.
The worry for Ballina is that they have sauntered into this final lacking a serious test in the semi-final.
That, of course, will ensure they are mentally and physically ready, and they have strength around the middle of the field in Mikie Murray and Frank Irwin, both playing well, but I can’t see them winning so much breaking ball against Westport as they did against Knockmore.
Sam Callinan brings huge pace coming forward, Padraig O’Hora is still a wily old owl, David Tighe, Luke Jordan and Liam Golden were well on top in that semi-final, and David Clarke is belying his years with some fine goalkeeping.
But they will need a lot more cutting edge up front. Conor McStay and Niall Feeney have been turning in good displays, along with Dylan Thornton and Luke Doherty, but I do feel Westport just might have the edge with their bench players, Pat Lambert and the experienced Kevin Keane just two who were drafted in to guide them home against Crossmolina.
Evan Regan has been the top gun for Ballina all season but he was well marked in the semi-final, failing to score from play, and he can expect the full attention of one if not two Westport players in the final. If he is marked out of the game it is hard to see Ballina winning, but likewise if the talented Killian Kilkelly can be kept under wraps, the Westport scoring machine may not be oiled enough for them to win their second senior title.
There are a lot of things that can go wrong and probably will go wrong in the heat of battle, but hand on heart, Westport have bought a new energy to this championship battle since they found a way to overhaul a nine-point deficit with 14 men against Breaffy.
I do believe they can, and will, spoil Ballina’s three-in-a-row party.
TEAMS
The teams for the final have been named for the match programme.
The Ballina starting team is: David Clarke; Liam Golden, Luke Jordan, Ciaran Boland; Sam Callinan, Padraig O'Hora, David Tighe; Mikie Murray, Frank Irwin; Dylan Thornton, Conor McStay, Niall Feeney; Evan Regan, Brendan Collins, Ciaran Treacy.
For Westport, the starting 15 are: Paddy O'Malley; Ben Doyle, Niall McManamon, Brian McDermott; Conal Dawson, Eoghan McLaughlin, Finbarr McLaughlin; Rory Brickenden, Lee Keegan; Luke Tunney, Joey Holmes, Brian O'Malley; Lorcan Silke, Killian Kilkelly, Colm Moran.
It won't be a surprise to see a few changes to both teams ahead of throw-in and both teams have plenty of options in that regard.