Mayo outfit reaches FBD Connacht Minor B Club Championship final

An incredible burst of scoring at the start of the second half ensured that Ardleathmaigh’s progression through to Friday FBD Connacht Minor B Championship final was wrapped up long before the final whistle on Tuesday evening, writes Kevin Egan.

The north Mayo combination (Ardagh, Lahardane and Moygownagh) will go into that decider against St. James' (Galway) high on confidence after comprehensively outplaying their Roscommon opponents, winning on a scoreline of 5-15 to 1-11.

Mayo clubs generally tend to be better placed than Roscommon sides for this competition as they have a clear programme of games, whereas there are only even-age championships in Roscommon, and a one-day blitz is the qualification path for their clubs through to this competition.

Still, such was the quality of this Ardleathmaigh group that they would have been hard beaten by any side, regardless of any advantages in terms of preparation.

Adam Sweeney and Conor Carey were outstanding at midfield, a perfect mix of craft, graft and grit, while up front they offered a varied and sharp attacking threat, led by Tadhg Coyne, who struck 0-7 from play over the course of the hour.

Add in Darragh Moore leading a solid defensive unit with authority and there was only ever likely to be one winner here, even after Eoin Callaghan took advantage of a handling error to open the scoring for Western Gaels with a close-range goal.

Declan Moran cancelled out that score when he palmed the ball to the net to ensure that Carey’s strong run down the right side of the attack didn’t go to waste, and even at that early stage, Ardleathmaigh had served notice that they were capable of cutting open this Western Gaels defence.

Coyne had already had one fisted effort for a point come back off the post and Carey had a goal effort saved, and in general, Western Gaels were the side absorbing pressure for the majority of the first half, even with the wind in their favour.

Nathan Sharkey landed a two-pointer to nudge the Frenchpark-based club in front coming up to half-time, but out of the 17 scores that Ardleathmaigh registered in this game, the most important was surely Adam Sweeney’s goal before half-time, where he snapped up a loose ball in the middle of heavy traffic and then powered through a couple of tackles before placing the ball into the bottom corner of the net to make it 2-3 to 1-4.

With the rain pelting down, Western Gaels took shelter in the dressing room while Ardleathmaigh stayed out for half-time, conducting another warm up to ensure they were ready.

A sample size of one is not sufficient to endorse any hypothesis, but the evidence in favour of the Mayo team’s approach was overwhelming here. Within five minutes of the restart they had another 3-4 on the board and were out of sight.

Conor Carey had the ball in the net after just 15 seconds and he added his second goal five minutes later, opening up the Western Gaels defence with a gorgeous chip lift and then exchanging passes with Coyne to set up his finish.

In between, Declan Moran added his second goal and also helped set up a well-taken point for Coyne, while Jack Gallagher also got in on the action with an elegant left-footed strike to punish an errant kick-out.

Western Gaels lacked nothing in terms of character or heart and they continued to battle manfully to the end, with midfielder Noah Giblin and centre-back Luke Freyne particularly prominent, hitting five points between them into the wind.

Still, Ardleathmaigh weren’t going to waste the wind, now stronger than ever, and between Coyne and Gallagher, they sent three two-pointers over the Western Gaels crossbar in the last 20 minutes to keep their side’s momentum going, ensuring they will make the trip back to Bekan on Friday high on confidence for what’s sure to be a much trickier test.

Ardleithmaigh: Rory Moore; Feilim Doyle, Darragh Moore, Fintan Reape; Sam Lattimore, Byron Leonard, Joe O’Boyle; Conor Carey (2-3, 1f, 1 45), Adam Sweeney (1-0); Jack Rooney, Cillian Reilly, Shane Murphy; Ross Gallagher (0-4, 1tp), Declan Moran (2-1, 1f), Tadhg Coyne (0-7, 2tp).

Subs used: Geoffrey Hurst for Doyle (46), Eoin Staunton for Gallagher (53), Pádraig Lynn for Lattimore (54), Luke Jordan for Coyne (56), Reece Finnerty for Gallagher (60).

Western Gaels: Luke Callaghan; Jack McCormack, Callum Queenan, Patrick Sharkey; Adam Creighton, Luke Freyne (0-2), Senan Flanagan (0-1); Noah Gill (0-4, 2f), Jamie Lavin; Ryan McGarry (0-2, 1f), Nathan Sharkey (0-2tpf), Dylan Giblin; Ciarán Higgins, Eoin Callaghan (1-0), Cathal Regan.

Subs used: P.J. Cregg for Regan (39), Daniel Grady for Flanagan (56), Andrew O’Connor for Higgins (56).

Referee: Patrick Holohan (Galway).