All-Mayo Connacht shield final ends in victory for Castlebar school

St. Gerald’s College Castlebar were crowned Under-19 (A) Schools Connacht Shield champions after defeating Ballinrobe Community School 4-1 at Moyne Villa, Headford.

The slick 4G surface led to a fast-paced game and Ballinrobe took the lead in this all-Mayo provincial final after just five minutes. After a spellbinding Ballinrobe move, the poaching Theo Bellanger saw his diving header find the back of the net, much to the delight of his team-mates.

The game continued at a hectic pace, with St. Gerald’s Kian Redmond unlucky to see his thunderbolt hit the crossbar on seven minutes.

Ballinrobe Community School were the better team during the first half, but they failed to add a vital second goal during their period of dominance.

St. Gerald’s soaked up the pressure and the Castlebar students levelled matters on 41 minutes, courtesy of Fionn McHale.

Just before the break, a rejuvenated St. Gerald’s seized the initiative when Ronan McElevey rustled the back of the net.

Ballinrobe very nearly restored parity one minute into the new half, but Stephen Gibbons’ drive whistled inches wide.

The south Mayo school’s game plan then suffered a setback on 52 minutes when Niko Petrovic was shown a red card by the referee.

On 60 minutes, St. Gerald’s added a crucial third goal. Ryan McNamara saw his header hit the crossbar; however, the recycled possession fell to his Castlebar team-mate Ryan McNamara and the latter’s crisp volley flew into the corner of the net.

With just 12 minutes of normal time remaining, St. Gerald’s added a fortuitous fourth goal. This time McNamara was the instigator, as his in-swinging corner-kick was inadvertently diverted to the back of his own net by the under-pressure Ballinrobe centre-back Evan Lydon.

A gallant Ballinrobe tried to reduce the deficit, but they could find no way past a resolute St. Gerald’s defence and the Castlebar students savoured a provincial success at the full-time whistle.