Goals galore in opening round of Mayo Super and Premier Cups

Westport United B are into the quarterfinals of the Connacht Cup as there were plenty goals in the first round of the Calor Gas Super and Premier Cups.

Westport United B joined Castlebar Celtic in the last eight of the Connacht Cup after an impressive 4-2 win over Colga B in United Park. Conor Calvey opened the scoring on nine minutes as his fierce shot from outside the area found the top left hand corner of the Colga net. Colga equalised midway through the first half but Westport were back in front just after the half hour mark as Calvey turned provider as he set up John Murphy to hit their second of the day.

Colga levelled the scores for the second time after 56 minutes only for Westport to retake the lead as Dan O’Malley poked the ball into the bottom left hand corner of the net following good work by Cillian McGing down the left wing. Conor Calvey added a fourth in injury time as he tapped the ball into an empty net as Alex Halpin squared the ball to him across the six yard box. Westport B will now play Mervue United in the quarterfinal on April 9.

In the first of two early kick-offs in the Calor Gas Super Cup ten man Glenhest Rovers were made to work for their win by Premier League side Claremorris after going three goals in front inside the first half hour. Cathal Chambers set up Pat Mulchrone to give Glenhest an early lead and Stephen McLoughlin’s side added a second through Shane Finnerty before Mulchrone made it three minutes later.

Claremorris were thrown a lifetime inside five minutes as they were awarded a penalty that was converted by Simon Butler and Butler second goal on 70 minutes left the minimum between the teams.

Cathal Chambers received his marching orders for a second yellow card with 15 minutes to go but Glenhest held on to reach the quarterfinals despite Claremorris putting them under a lot of pressure after the sending-off.

John Durkan rolled back the years with a man of the match performance as Moy Villa beat Fahy Rovers 6-1 in Attymass. Durkan scored a hat-trick and assisted the other three goals in a mouth-watering display for Aiden Gaughan’s side. Durkan scored twice in the first half and John Judge got the other.

Andrew Ruane made it four early in the second half before Durkan completed his hat-trick and substitute Ciaran Gaughan added a sixth a minute after coming on. Luke Napier got a consolation goal for Fahy with 20 minutes to go but that was as good as it got for the west Mayo side.

The tie of the round took place in Belleek as Ballina Town knocked out last year’s finalists Kiltimagh/Knock United in a five-goal thriller. Ballina took an early lead as Raff Cretaro set up Oisin Tighe to score the opening goal on ten minutes and the home side added a second as Benny Lavelle slotted home a penalty just before the break.

Kiltimagh/Knock were level within five minutes of the second half starting as Cormac Caulfield and a penalty from Jack O’Connor set up a grandstand finish to the tie. Kiltimagh/Knock became heavy favourites when Matt Hamilton received his marching orders for a second bookable offence with 20 minutes remaining but it was Alan Henry’s side that found the winner when Dylan McKee scored his first goal of the season to send Ballina Town through.

Cup holders Castlebar Celtic are also in the quarterfinal draw after Mark Cunningham scored the winner with the last kick of the game to earn a 2-1win over Super League Champions Ballyheane. Neil Douglas got his first start of the season for Celtic and he opened the scoring from the penalty spot after just 11 minutes. In a pulsating game that was end to end at times we had to wait until the dying minutes when it looked like the teams would need extra-tie to separate them as Nathan Reilly-Doyle equalised in the third minute of stoppage times but Celtic had other ideas when right back Mark Cunningham scored the winner just a minute or so later.

Manulla proved much too strong for a young Swinford side as they recorded a big win in Carramore. Shea Benson (two), Cian Benson, Padraig Beirne, Darragh Byrne, James Dunne and George Boyd got the goals for Walter Barrett’s side while Adorn Biju scored a consolation goal for the away side.

The Coggins brothers did the damage for Crossmolina against Ballyhaunis Town as they hit a hat-trick each in a 7-0 win in Abbeyview. Niall Coggins is no stranger to scoring goals for Michael Canavan’s side but his younger brother Aaron made a big impact in his first start for the side with a hat-trick of his own. The other goal was the opening goal of the game as Shane Hennigan broke the deadlock after just seven minutes.

In the Calor Gas Premier Cup, Ballyheane B came from a goal down at the break to earn a 2-1 win over Castlebar Town as two second half penalties from Jude Lavin did the damage for Sean Kelly’s side. Castlebar Town had taken a first half lead through Kevin Walsh after he was set up by their newest signing Moo Paw.

A superb second half performance from Hollister earned them a place in the Quarter final draw after a 5-1 win over Claremorris B. Martin Delaney scored his first of the day to give Hollister the lead on thirty three minutes only for Davy Hennessey to equalise for the home side a few minutes later. Delaney proved to be the key player in the second half as he completed his hat-trick after Danny Langdon had got their second goal early in the second half. Michael Ginty completed the scoring in the final minutes as Vinny Coen’s side recorded an impressive win in Concannon Park.

Manulla B and Conn Rangers C played out a seven goal thriller in Carramore as the home team had a 4-3 win over the north Mayo side. Manulla took the lead as Anthony Coyle scored his first for the club before Kaylum Murphy levelled the scoring ten minutes later. Iago Moura Rocha then had Manulla back in front midway through the half and they took full control of the game early in the second half as Chris Colley and Jason Barrett both found the net inside the opening three minutes.

Rangers refused to give up and Aaron McDonnell scored his first of the day on 57 minutes and he narrowed the gap to a single goal as he converted a penalty on 67 minutes but this was to be the final goal of the day as Manulla held on to reach the quarterfinals.

Dylan Felle scored a hat-trick as Castlebar Celtic B had a 5-0 win over Ballyvary Blue Bombers in another of the early kick-off’s at Solar 21 Park. Felle opened the scoring after just 11 minutes and Conor Joyce added a second three minutes later.

Felle then made it three on 58 minutes before he created the fourth for Declan Ruane on 80 minutes after Ballyvary had been reduced to ten men as Simon Cloherty seen red. Felle completed his hat-trick in injury time as Celtic B showed they mean business under their new management team of Ronan McTighe and Daire Duffy.

Ballinrobe Town B and Crossmolina B were involved in the highest scoring game of the weekend as Ballinrobe ran out 7-4 winners in Abbeyview after an exciting first half were behind 4-3 at the break. Simon Boyle opened the scoring after just three minutes but Eoin Corcoran had Crossmolina level seven minutes later. Adam Thornton restored Ballinrobe’s lead on the half hour mark but then Crromlina scored three goals in five minutes to go 4-2 in front through goals from Billy Loftus, Ciaran Traynor and an own goal from Thornton before Sean Vahey pulled a goal back for the away side just before half-time.

It was all Ballinrobe though after that as Matthew Walshe became the star of the show with a second half hat-trick and Jamie Muniz scored the other for Greg Keleghan’s side as they set up a second round tie with Ballyglass.

Ballyglass reached the second round as an early Darren Reilly goal got them back to winning ways in a tough 1-0 win away to Killala on Sunday afternoon.

Kilmore made it four wins from four this season with a comfortable 3-0 win over Partry Athletic as they scored all three goals from set-pieces while keeping another clean sheet at the other end. Padraig Doherty gave them an early lead as he picked the ball up just inside the area on the left after Partry failed to clear a corner and his chip back across the box found its way over everyone and into the back of the net.

They had to wait until the second half to add a second as Ryan McIntyre headed in a right wing corner from Brian Keane before Justin Healy put the game beyond doubt as he headed in a corner for Sean Brogan five minutes later.

League One side Achill Rovers had an impressive 4-1 win over Premier Division side Kiltimagh/Knock United B in Fr. O’Brien Park on Sunday afternoon. Jamie McGinty gave them the lead after only two minutes before Michael English doubled their lead from the spot ten minutes later. English added a third on 33 minutes before he set up Keith McGinty to make it four on fifty-one minutes. Youngster Padraic McLoughlin did get a consolation goal for Kiltimagh/Knock late in the game but it was Coleman Randle’s side that have their name in the quarterfinal draw in a few months time.

Conn Rangers B ran out 4-0 winners over Fahy Rovers B in Solar 21 Park as substitute Darragh Holmes made a huge difference with two second half goals. They had taken the lead late in the first-half as Fahy defender Tom Keane scored an unfortunate own goal.

Holmes added the second and third goals before Caolan Hopkins completed the scoring in the final five minutes.

The tie of the round took place in Carne Nash as League Two side Iorras Aontaithe knocked out the reigning champions Ballinrobe Town on a 3-2 scoreline. Iorras playing with the advantage of a strong wind led 2-0 at the break as Nathan Reilly headed in a Ryan Ruddy corner midway through the half and Luke O’Reilly made it two on forty-four minutes as Ruddy got another assist. Ruddy made it 3-0 on 55 minutes as Iorras looked to be cruising into Round Two but Ballinrobe hit two late goals to make a game of it in the dying minutes as the home side held on to set up a clash with Ballyheane B in Round Two.

- Report provided by the Mayo Football League.

* Full match reports from Castlebar Celtic v Ballyheane and Glenhest Rovers v Claremorris in tomorrow’s print edition of The Connaught Telegraph.