Only a handful capable of winning Mayo GAA's Moclair Cup

by John Melvin

SIXTEEN go to post this weekend for the first round of the Connacht Gold Mayo Senior Football Championship with hopes of winning the Moclair Cup, which currently rests at the home of Ballina Stephenites – who finally got their hands on the trophy last year following a 17-year wait.

The quest for the title is in many ways comparable to the Grand National.

For various reasons there will be a few stragglers, one or two will fall at the some of the major fences, and, ultimately, two will clear the last fence in a race to the finishing line.

Last year it was Ballina and Breaffy who made the cut, the latter still searching for their first ever senior title and you sense the sands of time are turning into quicksand, although the arrival of new manager Sean Deane has given the Breaffy lads an injection of hope and belief following their success in avoiding relegation from Division 1 in the league.

If the league is the barometer by which you measure the ability of a team to win the championship, then Westport are on top of the list – and this is reflected in their odds; they are 15/8 favourites.

While I wouldn’t place too much emphasis on some league results, they do at least give us a few guidelines as to where some teams are in terms of injuries, fitness levels and general health.

The David Gavin Memorial Cup was presented to Westport following their impressive win over Castlebar Mitchels, but I expect Mitchels joint managers Barry Moran and Neil Lydon will be telling their charges that they have been put on notice of just how high they need to raise their game as it is clear that Westport, the champions of two years ago, have set the standard.

However, I’m sure Westport manager Martin Connolly will also be telling his boys to put that league win out of their mind and perhaps reflect on where they went wrong when they made a surprise exit to Breaffy last year in the quarterfinal.

Balla and Mayo Gaels find themselves in the same group as Westport and Ballina Stephenites, and the only question that needs to be answered is the order in which the two big guns will finish and whether it will be Balla or Mayo Gaels will be in a relegation battle – and you sense Balla would win that argument.

Ballintubber inevitably come into the conversation when title contenders are beng discussed, and when Ballintubber are being discussed, the O’ Connor brothers, Cillian and Diarmuid, are usually the hot topic.

Cillian will be watching from the wings for the opening two games as he serves a two-match suspended sentence hanging over him from last season, but you sense they should still be able to find a way out of a group that contains Aghamore, Kilmeena and Breaffy.

Kilmeena are well capable of upsetting the odds given the form they showed last year at intermediates level.

Then there is Knockmore.

In search of the three-in-a-row before they crasshed out in 2022, they bounced back last year only to lose to their great local rivals Ballina Stephenites, who went on to win the title against Breaffy, but they should come out of a group that contains Ballaghaderreen, Claremorris and Belmullet.

GROUP 1

Aghamore v Ballintubber (Saturday, August 17, 5 p.m. in Aghamore); Breaffy v Kilmeena (Saturday, August 17, 7 p.m. in Breaffy – live on Mayo GAA TV)

Breaffy’s survival instincts kicked in against Aghamore in a league relegation playoff, and the arrival at the helm of former Mayo minor manager, Sean Deane, has clearly had a positive impact, and Breaffy still have the resources to make the last eight.

Aidan O’Shea will be married man when this fixture comes along and his presence, as it was last year, is going to be vital to the club’s quest for their first ever senior title.

Kilmeena moved up to the senior grade having won the intermediate title last year (they also won the junior All-Ireland the previous year), and are a team that know how to get out of tight corners.

They could bring a new energy to a senior championship which sagged last year and ended up with one of the lowest scoring finals in recent years (Ballina 0-6, Breaffy 0-4).

Both Breaffy and Ballintubber look like the teams likely to qualify but of the two, Ballintubber could find themselves under pressure should they lose their opening game against Aghamore, a result which would put the men from east Mayo in with a shout of the last eight.

GROUP 2

Balla v Westport (Saturday, August 17, 7 p.m., Balla); Mayo Gaels v Ballina Stephenites (Saturday, August 17, 5 p.m., Mayo Abbey)

This is a tough group for both Mayo Gaels and Balla, who have been thrown into the lion’s den where Ballina and Westport are lurking.

Only one outcome seems likely, but Westport have the tougher of the two opening games as they travel to Balla.

Champions Ballina will be looking for a good start to the defence of their title and I expect we will see just what the champions have to offer this year when they travel to Mayo Abbey.

GROUP 3

Ballaghaderreen v Knockmore (Sunday, August 18, 12 p.m., Ballaghaderreen); Claremorris v Belmullet (Sunday, August 18, 3 p.m., Claremorris – live on Mayo GAA TV)

This is a tough group which is likely to throw up a surprise or two.

You’d fancy Knockmore to get back up on the horse yet again when they travel to Ballaghaderreen, while Belmullet, who will be without top gun Ryan O’Donoghue as he is still in the States, will do well to return from Claremorris with a win.

The return of Mayo’s top scoring ace should settle the Belmullet for round two and I expect they will get through to the last six just behind Knockmore, who look poised for another good rattle at the championship.

GROUP 4

Ballyhaunis v Garrymore (Saturday, August 17, 7 p.m., Ballyhaunis); Castlebar Mitchels v Charlestown Sarsfields (Saturday, August 17, 5 p.m., Josie Munnelly Park, Castlebar)

Straight up it looks like Castlebar Mitchels and Garrymore will make the cut from this group, but things don’t always pan out as you might expect.

Ballyhaunis will feel they should have beaten Castlebar when they clashed last year in the group stages, while Charlestown on a given day are well capable to putting any team to the sword – a point they proved last year when they recovered from an early hammering at the hands of Westport to reach the quarterfinals.

Last year’s beaten semi-finalists, Castlebar Mitchels, who unexpectedly crashed to local rivals Breaffy, will need to take full advantage of Josie Munnelly Park to conjure up a home win against Charlestown, while experienced campaigners Garrymore showed good league form and should get by Ballyhaunis.