Seán Regan, Ballina Stephenites, and Kieran King, Knockmore, in Mayo SFC Final action. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
Mayo SFC Final
Ballina Stephenites 1-12 Knockmore 0-8
By Colm Gannon in Hastings Insurance MacHale Park
Ballina Stephenites put together back-to-back Mayo Senior Football Championships with a commanding seven point win over their near neighbours Knockmore in Hastings Insurance MacHale Park.
The defending champions went in leading by six points at the half time whistle after an impressive 30 minutes of football. The Stephenites hassled and harried Knockmore from pillar to post and were well deserving of the lead.
Frank Irwin opened the scoring from a close range free two minutes in and that was followed not long after by Evan Regan’s first effort of the day also from a placed ball. On the eight minute mark, Regan hit a goal that will be long remembered on Moyside.
Luke Jordan picked the ball up on his own 45m line and strode forward, he spotted Regan in behind the last line of the Knockmore defence and picked him out with a brilliant pass. Regan collected the ball and drove for goal and let fly from 25 meters out and arrowed the ball brilliantly to the bottom right hand corner of the net giving Colm Reape no chance.
Knockmore registered their first score of the evening through a Caolan Hopkins free after he was fouled himself just outside the D. Sam Callinan responded for Ballina from close range to have his side leading 1-3 to 0-1 after 13 minutes.
Keith Ruttledge and Aidan Orme got points back for Knockmore either side of Regan free to leave four points between the teams with 20 minutes gone. The Stephenites pushed that lead out to six by the half time break thanks to efforts from Sean Regan and Frank Irwin. Sean Regan had missed lining out with the Tooreen hurlers earlier in the day in their Connacht Intermediate Hurling Championship quarter-final against Four Roads from Roscommon which was won by the Mayo champions.
The second half was more of the same with Ballina choking the life out of their neighbours who failed to get up to speed at all. Conor McStay and Mikey Murray swept over points inside the opening ten minutes of the half before Caolan Hopkins got his sides fourth point of the evening.
However, a run of points from Irwin, McStay and Niall Feeney had Ballina leading 1-11 to 0-4 with a quarter of the game left to go and from then on it, it was all about seeing it out, which they did at their ease with Murray getting their final score to round off the dozen points, while Knockmore managed to tag on four points of their own before the end, but there was never any doubt where the Moclair Cup was going to winter for the 38th time in history.
Scorers for Ballina Stephenites: Evan Regan 1-2 (2fs), Frank Irwin 0-3 (3fs), Mikey Murray 0-2, Conor McStay 0-2, Sean Regan 0-1, Sam Callinan 0-1, Niall Feeney 0-1.
Scorers for Knockmore: Aidan Orme 0-4 (2fs, 1m), Caolan Hopkins 0-3 (2fs), Keith Ruttledge 0-1.
Ballina Stephenites: David Clarke; Liam Golden, Padraig O’Hora, David Tighe; Sean Regan, Sam Callinan, Luke Jordan; Mikey Murray, Frank Irwin; Luke Doherty, Conor McStaty, Niall Feeney; Evan Regan, Luke Feeney, Brendan Collins.
Subs: Ciaran Boland for Sean Regan (30), Ciaran Tracey for Padraig O’Hora (Blood Sub - 38), Dylan Thornton for Luke Doherty (57), Ciaran Sweeney for Luke Feeney (57), Stephen Mullins for Liam Golden (59), Padraig O’Hora for CiaranTracey (Blood Sub Reversal - 60), Ciaran Tracey for Niall Feeney (64).
Knockmore: Colm Reape; David McHale, Kieran King, Adam Battle, Nathan Armstrong, Conor Flynn, Sean Holmes; Connell Dempsey, Kevin McLoughlin; Oliver Armstrong, David McHale, Keith Ruttledge; Liam Durcan, Aidan Orme, Caolan Hopkins.
Subs: Adam Naughton for Connell Dempsey (38), Billy Ruane for Conor Flynn (38), Charlie Bourke for Keith Ruttledge, Peter Naughton for Liam Durcan (52), Darragh Staunton for Oliver Armstrong (56).
Referee: Jerome Henry (Castlebar Mitchels).
