Mayo Under 16 hurling titles for Ballyhaunis and St. Ciaran's

Ballyhaunis and St. Ciaran's have captured the Mayo Under 16 A and B hurling titles, defeating Westport and Castlebar Mitchels respectively in Friday's finals at Hastings Insurance MacHale Park.

A rip-roaring Under 16 A final unfolded under the floodlights at Mayo GAA headquarters in Castlebar as Ballyhaunis overcame Westport on a scoreline of 4-11 to 1-15.

The opening exchanges were nip and tuck but a goal from Ballyhaunis’ Matthew Waldron after 19 minutes illuminated proceedings, leaving the east Mayo boys ahead by 1-6 to 0-4.

If Westport were rocked then they didn’t show it, and when Cohan O’Grady pilfered a goal on 24 minutes the sides were level at 1-6 apiece.

Westport ended the half in a sprightly fashion and three points on the spin from Matthew Ó Raghallaigh (free), Ben Jennings and Dan Lambert mustered a 1-9 to 1-6 interval lead for the Covies.

Ballyhaunis upset the Westport applecart four minutes into the new half thanks to a goal from Cian Warde, and when the same player added another goal on 36 minutes, his team enjoyed a 3-8 to 1-12 advantage.

Westport tried to halt their opponents' newfound momentum and the see-saw nature of the game continued apace when a marvellous long-range point by Dan Lambert levelled matters at 3-9 to 1-15.

Extra-time seemed a real possibility but a resilient Ballyhaunis notched a late goal courtesy of Warde who, in the process, duly recorded a hat trick of majors.

Westport poured forward as they tried to salvage the situation but Ballyhaunis held on for a famous and cherished victory.

In the B final, St. Ciaran’s recorded a hard-earned 2-14 to 3-8 victory over Castlebar Mitchels.

This game was full of drama and remained in the balance up until the final whistle as the eventual victors had to survive a last-ditch piledriver free from Castlebar’s Cian Byrne.

The Mitchels made an explosive start to this game, racing into a 1-4 to 0-2 lead after 13 minutes, with the goal arriving from Laughlin Moore.

Gradually the chasers settled into the tie and when Joe Doocey landed his third free of the evening on 21 minutes, there was just the bare minimum separating the sides (1-4 to 0-6).

The amalgamated club then notched a goal of their own on 25 minutes thanks to a superb finish by Paddy Cloherty, but Mitchels’ Byrne (free) gleaned the final score of the half, leaving the sides level at the break at 1-7 apiece.

St. Ciaran’s dominated the opening quarter of the second period and a goal from Rian O’Grady helped shunt them into a 2-11 to 1-8 lead after 45 minutes.

However, Castlebar plundered a goal out of the blue on 48 minutes courtesy of substitute Conor McDonnell, and the deficit was reduced to four points.

Two further frees from St. Ciaran’s talisman Doocey and a point from Cillian O’Grady would prove crucial in the end, and despite McDonnell adding his second goal for the Mitchels on 59 minutes, St. Ciaran’s withstood the late rally from their opponents.

*See Tuesday's print edition for more from both games