Year: 2001

John Ruddy on tour in the US
Our roving sports reporter is spending this summer in the USA:

The Connecticut Crazy Golf Open 2001
The CCG0 2001 time has once again came around and I am sorry for the late report but better late than never.

This year the Competition attracted players from Ireland such as The Devers from Currane….Andrew, Micheal and Barry who were passing through and just couldn’t resist entering the prestigious Competition. Last years winner Tommy Moran was also in the competition representing School Street, Fairfield CT and feeling very confident. And thrown in for good measure were the two outsiders Ronan O’Malley and myself.

To start off we had a bit of a warm up on the near by driving range, there were some very impressive shots taken and at the same time some not so impressive. With the sun beating down in Redding Connecticut at 2pm in the middle of June the Connecticut Crazy Golf 2001 Competition started.

The first hole was a tense hole with everyone performing rather well bar John Ruddy who dropped about three shots. The next few holes things tightened up with everyone starting to get rid of the pre-game nerves and start playing some good golf, Tommy Moran and Micheal Dever began to lead the field with Andrew, Barry, Ronan and Myself staying tight behind.

The 7th hole proved to be a decisive hole in the match Ronan, Andrew, Micheal and myself all having an impressive round where as Tommy and Barry made their chances of lifting the title very slim.

The back nine the game saw Ronan, Micheal and Barry play some impressive golf but it was Andrew and John Ruddy who were beginning to make a two horse race out of it. The holes were very tight with both players trying not to drop shots but in the end the experienced Andrew Dever kept his nerve to clinch the CCGO 2001 Trophy. Andrew was very honoured to have won such an important Competition. Tommy Moran however felt it was very good for the game to see the Championship being won by more than one person for a change.

Please stay tuned as I have yet to bring a report on The Stamford GAA Volleyball Competition and much, much more so from Fairfield, Connecticut, USA. signing off till next time.

John Ruddy

Sligo aware of Carlow danger
The Dolmen county look to be finally getting their act together after years in the Leinster wilderness, beating Wicklow before giving Kildare an anxious time of it at the start of the month. At Dr. Cullen Park, backed by an increasingly fervent support, Carlow could be an accident waiting to happen for the Sligo men. Not if Paul Taylor can help it, however.
“Anybody I speak to about Carlow tell me that the whole county is firmly behind their new manager, Pat Rowe,” he said. “He has done a huge amount of work since he took over, and for the first time in years, the players are really responding. They will be one team that’ll be hard to beat, that’s for sure. They have a good combination of strength and speed.

Match report
Derry 0-10 Antrim 0-07
Derry laid to rest the myth that a team cannot come back, six days after a defeat, when they outplayed Antrim in this All-Ireland qualifier in Casement Park on Saturday evening.
The 10,000-strong crowd witnessed little to enthuse over in a game of poor football, missed chances and niggling fouls throughout. Derry hung on in the final ten minutes, after corner forward, Johnny McBride, received his marching orders.
One player emerged with full marks from this dour encounter. Derry’s midfielder, Fergal Doherty, from the Bellaghy club, was making his first full county appearance and he gave an exhibition of high fielding and first class distribution.
Anthony Tohill, who played with a broken toe, had a very quiet game and Derry missed his free taking. The Oak Leaf County used four players during the 70 minutes, with only Paddy Bradley being successful.
Antrim played some attractive football, but their lack of penetration in attack was evident throughout.
Aidan Morris at centre-half back, and Joe Quinn in midfield with Anto Finnegan, were their most prominent players, but overall, they lacked the commitment of a Derry side that had, in Paul McFlynn, Enda Muldoon and Gavin Diamond, players of top quality.
Derry full back, Kevin McCloy, better known as a hurler, had an outstanding game and, two minutes from time, he saved a certain goal with a brilliant high catch.
Derry led from the start and they were three points ahead in the opening twelve minutes, with two Gavin Diamond points and one from Fergal Crossan. It was the 16th minute before Peter McCann scored Antrim’s opening point.Derry, with Patrick Bradley and Jonathan Niblock coming through from deep, added points before Peter McCann gave Antrim some hope. Derry led by 0-6 to 0-4 at half time, but eight first half wides, added to a further nine in the second half, must have caused manager, Eamonn Coleman, some worries as he prepares his team for the next round.
Derry increased their lead eight minutes into the second half with points from Johnny McBride and Enda Muldoon and, although Anto Finnegan pointed an Antrim free, Derry’s resurgence continued with Jonathan Niblock and Gavin Diamond adding points to give them a five-point lead with ten minutes left to play.
It was at this stage that Derry were reduced to 14 players. Antrim moved up a gear to secure points from Aidan Morris and Anto Finnegan, but these scores came too late as Derry held out for victory.

 

Connaght Championship
Galway 3-24 Leitrim 3-5
Match Report
Galway annihilated Leitrim in the Connacht Senior Football Championship to set up a semi final clash with Roscommon one June 3rd.
A much stiffer examination awaits the Tribesmen in a fortnight’s time against John Tobin’s Roscommon.
A man of the match display from Padraig Joyce who contributed three goals and three points was today’s main talking point.
Leitrim’s championship preparations had been badly hit through emigration and injury problems. Joy Reynolds’ side began the game with only eight players who started in last summer’s Connacht final.
Galway’s preparations hadn’t gone to plan either, and the Donnelan controversy dominated the pre-game headlines.
Top-class intercounty hurler, Alan Kerins, was given his first competitive footballing outing for the county. Kerins captained Trinity College in this year’s Sigerson Cup and also impressed for Salthill in the county senior football league recently.
Two goals arrived in the opening four minutes. Leitrim drew first blood when Shane Canning took full advantage of a mix up in the Galway rear guard to goal following Padraig McLoughlin’s high delivery.
Padraig Joyce scored his first goal on four minutes when he fired home after a long Sean O’Domhnaill pass. Galway took control, and with Ja Fallon, Joyce and Kerins all impressing in the forward line, scores were inevitable.
Joyce bagged his second goal in the 23rd minute, following an excellent move that involved Shay Walsh and Lorcan Colleran.
Galway reigned supreme and led by 10 points at the break. It could have been more as Galway hit seven first half wides.
Joyce completed his hat trick following the resumption after combining with, captain, Kieran Comer.
Leitrim manfully kept battling and left corner forward, Shane Canning, scored his second opportunist goal on 48 minutes.
Six minutes later, Johnny Guckian palmed home Leitrim’s third goal, but Galway’s lethal forward line continued to wreak havoc with a litany of classy points. Out of Galway’s final tally of 3-24, an amazing 3-22 were scored from play from 11 different players.
Galway fared well on Sunday without the mighty Donnelan brothers. However, one got the feeling that their brilliance may be needed later this summer if Galway are to reclaim a much-coveted Sam Maguire.

Crunch Ulster Match
Armagh 1-09 Tyrone 1-14
Armagh are no longer the Ulster champions after they were dethroned by Tyrone at Clones on Sunday afternoon. They were defeated in the Bank of Ireland Ulster Senior Football Championship 1-14 to 1-09.
A goal, 15 seconds into the match, from Eoin Mulligan set this match up perfectly. The following 70 minutes proved to be full of drama, as both teams remained close until the closing stages.
Oisin McConville got the defending champions on the scoring board, with a fine point three minutes into the match. However, Tyrone continued to dominate the opening minutes as they score two more points to lead 1-02 to 0-01, before Cathal O’Rourke grabbed a point for Armagh.
The remainder of the first half was a tight affair, as both sides exchanged points, but it was Tyrone who held the advantage at half time as they led 1-06 to 0-06.
The second half started brightly, with Steven MacDonald grabbing a goal, to level the match, less than a minute after the restart. Two morepoints from Oisin McConville and Steven MacDonald saw Armagh move into the lead for the first time in the match.
However, Tyrone were not finished and produced a terrific comeback. Three points, without reply, from Stephen O’Neill, Cormac McAnallen and Brian Dooher saw the eventual winners move back into the lead.
Armagh needed to score a goal in the closing stages, but they were unable to find a way through the tough Tyrone defence, and they eventually succumbed to a 1-09 to 1-14 defeat.

 

Champions at Last!!!!
Mayo 0-13 Galway 0-12
30/04/01: Mayo’s hot streak continues.

Since the run of disappointments stretching back to Penal times or thereabouts was seen to end a fortnight ago with Crossmolina’s All-Ireland club final victory, the County has been on a roll. Latest up was yesterday’s Allianz National Football League final at Croke Park.

A poor match came to a gripping conclusion as Pat Holmes’s team hung on grimly while Connacht champions Galway desperately tried to pull back the one-point deficit. The favourites enthusiastically dug their own grave with a catalogue of squandered chances in the first half and having established what was looking like a decisive three-point lead towards the end of the third quarter, they promptly downed tools and failed to score for almost half an hour.

Despite being opened up frequently by the pace of the Galway attack, Mayo held on and slowly began to overhaul the deficit. As was the case with last week’s semi-final, substitutes made a big difference. James Nallen came in after half-time at centre back and made a significant impact and Maurice Sheridan kicked two of the comeback points.

This was a deserved win. Mayo showed tenacity and never stopped working – three times retrieving three-point margins – whereas Galway’s was a flashier, less consistent effort. By the end of the match, a number of familiar faces had returned. Tomás Mannion made only his second appearance since returning to the intercounty scene, Jarlath Fallon had his first run for the county since injuring his cruciate ligament last summer and Richie Fahy came in at corner back. Mannion and Fahy looked solid but Fallon was obviously just feeling his way.

Useful as it undoubtedly was to give a run-out to such players, Galway manager John O’Mahony admitted afterwards that the changes were less for reasons of rehabilitation than because “we were under pressure a bit”. All of the substitutes took the place of youngsters and cast some cold light on the likely composition of Galway’s championship team.

Before the start Crossmolina’s Tom Nallen came in at full back in place of Aidan Higgins with Kevin Cahill switching to the left corner and setting the scene for a major battle with Derek Savage. The Galway corner forward started in red-hot form.

In the opening three minutes, he kicked the first score of the match, was beaten to a one-on-one goal chance by the run of the ball and got fouled for a pointed free. Several times in the opening half he manoeuvred openings but couldn’t quite finish the chance. Yet all the while Cahill wasn’t losing heart in the struggle to mark him, principally because Galway insisted on firing high ball into the corner – placing someone of Savage’s less-than-imposing physique under pressure against the lanky Cahill.

The match’s tortoise-and-hare pattern started early with Galway running away with things, taking a rest while Mayo scrapped their way back into the match. During their less engaged periods, Galway came up with some frightening wides and missed opportunities, while Mayo let off some warning signals.

By the 21st minute, Mayo had caught up with Galway – David McDonagh getting his team’s first score from play. But it seemed like only a matter of time before Galway found their range and started to inflict some real damage. Padraig Joyce began to play himself into the game and worked some fine moves with Savage; still the scores didn’t come in profusion.

While not exactly free-scoring, Mayo’s forwards were eking out enough to keep pace. In injury-time at the end of the first half, Savage got on the end of another quick move but was blocked by Cahill and the ensuing ruck ended in a free out despite some Galway grievances about a possible penalty. The teams broke with a point in it, 0-8 to 0-7 for Galway. By now the Mayo defence was looking more assured. Marking was tighter and players swarmed back to cut off options. Even Michael Donnellan found space hard to come by.

His great, thumping deliveries helped initiate more fruitful attacks but Mayo were giving less and less away. In the 48th minutes, Donnellan set up a score for Joyce to push the team three points clear, 0-12 to 0-9. It was – astonishingly – to be their last score of the match. When the lengthy injury-time was taken into account, that added up to 28 minutes. Mayo’s recovery was hard earned.

James Nallen provided a platform and beside him Noel Connelly had an excellent game driving the team forward, snapping up loose ball and chipping in two excellent points as well as setting up the winning point. At centrefield David Brady put in an enormous amount of work and bore frequent physical punishment as a reward. Still Mayo made heavy duty of closing the deal. Sheridan and Connelly cut the margin to a point with an hour gone.

Pat Holmes later paid tribute to the gutsy nature of the comeback – strewn as it was with demoralising inaccuracies, each of which could have become a turning point had the team allowed heads to drop. Eventually and within the 67th minute the tables had turned. Sheridan kicked a 45 and Marty McNicholas came on to a ball from Noel Connelly and took what turned out to be the winning score.

As the clock ran down, Galway launched wave after wave of frantic attacks but they were undone by calm defending and inaccuracies. Savage made one last raid but kicked a wide. John Divilly was done for charging on a galloping foray from the back and finally Michael Donnellan’s huge, last minute launch was gathered by Ray Connelly. All over bar the shouting and there was quite a bit of that to come.

 

An Interview with Kevin McStay, Mayo U-21 manager and former Mayo Senior Footballer

Congratulations on your superb Hastings Cup win! Did you expect the team to do so well in the competition?
Yes

What do you think are the chances of the U-21’s winning the All Ireland this year or in the next few years?
Quite good this year – probabaly better next year. Unfortunately getting out of the Province is very difficult every year.

Who do you believe are the key players in your U-21 team which could have a vital role to play in the Mayo Senior team in the near future?
David Clarke, MJ Meenaghan, Ronan Loftus , James Gill and all the forwards have possibilities. But it is very difficult to be definitive – ones you expect often disappoint, injury , etc

How do you rate Crossmolinas chances on St. Patrick’s day?
Very highly – they will win by a few points if they don’t freeze and as they are a mature team that is very unlikely. They have NO Under 21s so you can see how experienced they are.

Do you believe the Mayo championship is strong enough to keep producing clubs which will challenge for the All Ireland Club Championship yearly in the future?
Definitely – just look at the recent record; Castlebar, Knockmore, Ballina and now Crossmolina

The Mayo Senior Team are doing very well in the League. Do you believe there will be many changes in the squad which will feature in the championship panel?
Very few as Pat will have to show faith in a squad that has progressed fairly well

How do rate Mayo’s chances in the All Ireland this year and do you think Mayo are capable of getting Sam back in the next 5 years?
Not great this year but in about three years or so there will be alot of very talented players around
the scene.

There is a lot of concern about Mayo’s run in the League, for example Derry did very well in it last year but they were flops in the Championship. Do you think Mayo may suffer the same hangover?
Nobody knows for sure how the new championship will pan out but Mayo will be in for a difficult time against Sligo and then possibly a difficult draw if they were to lose to them.

How do you rate Mayo Minors chances of bringing home the bacon this year?
No idea

Who in your honest opinion do you believe will be All Ireland Champions 2001 and why?
Galway – they will have JA Fallon back and that was all they were missing this year.

Thanks very much Kevin for your time.

 

Apologies to my readers!
I would like to extend my apologies to my loyal and dedicated sports readers for my delay in bringing you the latest sports news, due to post Christmas exams I have been very busy studying and have been unable to get the time to fit in both “The Ruddy Report” and my revision. But this week I will make amends by bringing you a bumper packed “Ruddy Report” .
So sit back and enjoy!!!

Ladies National Football League
Monaghan 2-8
Mayo 1-7
Mayo Ladies Football got a well-deserved defeat in Monaghan. The Ulster Champions made it clear to Mayo that they will have to work hard to retain their double this coming year. Mayo did go into the game missing Helena Lohan, Rachael Barrett and Claire Egan due to a variety of reasons. By half time Mayo were trailing the home side by one point. Diane O’Hora clinched a superb goal for the Mayo Ladies, and also contributing to Mayo’s first half points tally were Sabrina Bailey, Cora Staunton and Diana O’ Hora herself.
Cora Staunton brought the sides level midway through the second half with a well taken point. Cora Staunton and Diana O’Hora’s scoring threat wasn’t enough to keep up with Monaghan; the best efforts from Niamh Lally, Nuala Ni She , Assumpta Bohan, Marcella Heffernan, Sabrina Bailey and Orla Casby were not good enough on the day for Mayo to sneak into the lead.
Monaghan on the other hand netted a second goal, took their point from a penalty kick and scored a late point to wrap things up for the Ulster Champions.

Allianz National Football League Division 1B
Mayo 2-14
Clare 1-9
Mayo went top of Division 1 B after giving Clare a whipping at McHale Park, Castlebar. Apologies to any Clare supporters reading this but a “whipping” is what Clare got!
Clare were playing with no purpose or style, their pattern of football was all over the place. On the other hand Mayo were playing with a bit of style and were moving forward with the ball nearly all the time. The Forwards were exceptional with Maurice Sheridan looking very impressive in his first start in a Mayo shirt since the defeat to Cork in the All Ireland Semi Final in 1999, as were Stephen Carolan and Micheal Moyles.
Carolan played a superb game scoring 1-3, Micheal Moyles who came on as a sub in the first half scored 1-2. Mayo went into the game with a job to do and like any other dedicated worker they had it done by half time. To put it one way Clare’s football was brutal: Pat Spillane would say that it’s Junior Level, but taking no credit away from the defence who also played a great game with Kevin Cahill, Aidan Higgins and Alan Roche dealing with everything superbly. Colm Mcmanamon and David Brady along with Michael Coleman, who was taken off prematurely, had a lot of possession in the middle of the field. The forwards were so spoiled with ball supply that they were leading by 1-7 to 0-5 at half time. Stephen Carolan scored Mayo’s first goal after 4 minutes with a superb finish. Four points from Maurice Sheridan with Trevor Mortimer, James Gill and Micheal Moyles adding the others. Clare snatched scores wherever they could get them basically. Denis Russell tacked on two frees while Ger Quinlan and Ger Keane added a couple more but it was scant consolation.
In the second half Mayo did some extreme damage by getting a goal and 5 points in succession and it left Clare crawling behind. David McDonagh, Micheal Moyles and Stephen Carolan (3) all drilled over points from a variety of angles and distances as the lead was swollen to double figures. Micheal Moyles made up the crowds mind that they had seen enough when he fired in a goal that left Clare shattered and wishing they were on their way home on the N17.
Trailing 2-12 to 0-6 Clare had nothing else to play for but pride. They brought on some subs and started to put some scores on the board. Des Molohan, Ger Keane and Denis Russell all scored points and then midfielder David Russell scored a goal which somehow went under Peter Burke. James Gill and Maurice Sheridan wrapped things up for Mayo with two points. It’s a good job they have dual carriage ways on their way to Clare or it would have been long trip home for the men from the banner county.

Genfitt Connaght Colleges Senior A Football Championship Quarter Final Results
Carrick On Shannon 2-10 St Colmans, Claremorris 0-9
Ballyhaunis Community School 1-7 St Nathys College, Ballaghaderreen 0-8
St Jarlaths College, Tuam 5-15 Balinrobe Community School 0-6
O’Mara Cup Round 1 Results
Mayo Gaels 0-9 Ballinrobe 0-5
Garrymore 2-11 Claremorris 1-7
Hollymount 0-10 Davitts 0-7
Carramore 1-10 Kilmaine 0-6

Allianz National Football League Preview
Sligo vs Mayo
Mayo will travel to Markievicz Park this Sunday to take on Sligo in the Allianz NFL.
Pat Holmes will go head to head with ex-colleagues Peter Ford and T.J Kilgannon, and last weeks win over Sligo in the FBD Connaght League will mean nothing this Sunday. Revenge will be on the cards for it was last year in the same competition that Sligo defeated Mayo, and this gave the Yeats county a boast in morale which no doubt had a part to play in the next meeting between the sides in the Connaght Championship. Both teams are doing quiet well in the League, which will add an edge to this epic encounter. Fergal Costello and Noel Connelly, who missed the Clare match, will both be available for selection. Colm McManaman will be a worry after hurting his ankle in a 50-50 with Eamon O Hara against Clare. Crossmolina have made available four players including James Nallen, Tom Nallen, Peader Gardiner and Micheal Moyles. Kieran McDonald is not expected to play.
Three members of the U-21 squad are expected to feature: James Gill, Martin McNicholas and Trevor Mortimer. These three will be playing on Saturday in the Connaght U-21 Championship opener with Roscommon. Mayo should be strong enough to keep their 100% record. So I Predict a Mayo Win.

Mayo Senior Football Championship Odds
Last week the draw was made for the Mayo Senior Championship and these are some of the odds a bookmaker gave!
Crossmolina 5/2
Ballina 3/1
Castlebar 6/1
Knockmore 6/1
Hollymount 6/1
Swinford 8/1
Kiltane 8/1
Charlestown 8/1
Burrishoole 10/1
West Mayo 12/1

AIB All Ireland Club Football Championship Semi Final
Crossmolina went to Brewster Park in Enniskillen on Sunday last to go one step further than they did last year. A large following headed up from Crossmolina to follow their local Football team as they have all year. Bellaghy, who have got to the Semi Finals by playing some good football, decided to mix it with the Connaght Champions but the boys from Mayo, as ever, were well capable of matching them. Crossmolina refused to let their football suffer and played a nice fair game, although Bellaghy tried their best to vex the men from North Mayo.
Crossmolina controlled the game from the Throw-in and gave Bellaghy a limited number of chances. The first half was more of a physical battle than anything with both teams trying to put their foot down, although the method Bellaghy were using was letting their football suffer. Pat McAndrew finished off a rampage in front of the Bellaghy goal and smashed a loose ball into the back of the net. Beforehand Joe Keane, James Nallen, Peader Gardiner, Johnny Leonard and Micheal Moyles all notched up scores. At half time it was 1-5 to 0-4 in the Deel Rovers Favour. Gavin Diamond scored 3 points for the Derry men and looked capable of scoring more. Things began to get dirty in the second half with Bellaghy putting in vicious challenges, which the ref let go too many times.
Crossmolina stood firm but Gavin Diamond scored two consecutive points for the Derry men. To the delight of the Crossmolina contingent, in stepped Kieran McDonald but after a missed free Kick and a misplaced pass the crowd were having second thoughts. Liam Moffat ended Crossmolina’s goal drought with a well taken point in the 52nd minute. The Kieran McDonald scored his first point to put a bit of a gap between the teams. Tom Nallen, Damien Mulligan and Francis Costello were all kept busy in the backs. Kieran McDonald then confirmed Crossmolina’s place in the Final with a 45-yard kick.
Next are Cork’s Nemo Rangers who beat Castlebar in ’94.
Prediction: If the Deel Rovers don’t do it this year they won’t for a long time to come.

Hastings Cup U-21 Football Final
This is the method which Kevin McStay chose to prepare his team for the Championship which starts next week. Whether his commitment to this method pays off we will have to wait until Saturday next to find out. Mayo U-21’s travelled to Micheal Fay Park in Longford to take on the All- Ireland Champions in the Final of the Hastings Cup. Tyrone fielded a team consisting of a bulk of the members who won National medals last season, plus one Senior, so Mayo knew they had a tough match in front of them. The last time these teams met they drew in a hard fought game in Omagh.
Tyrone took advantage of Mayo’s disastrous start to the game through Eoin Mulligan and Aidan Lynch. Mayo were not winning balls in Midfield, not making space in attack and conceding frees in Midfield. Trevor Mortimer scored Mayo’s only first Quarter score from a free. Tyrone defended well and gave Mayo as little space as possible, which forced Mayo to take their chances, and most of them were wides. Mayo began to work around this obstacle and Breaffy’s Marty McNicholas scored a beauty of a point after 16 minutes and James gill followed up with a long-range effort, which closed the gap to 1 point. But the Tyrone forwards were not lying down and Mulligan stretched the lead with two points from free kicks followed up by Ryan Mellon’s point.
Mayo’s Conor Mortimer responded with 3 points to bring the gap back to minimum. Mayo were trailing 6 points to 7 points at half time. In the second half Mayo tore into the opposition, although Tyrone’s Eoin Mulligan pointed straight away from the throw-in but it did not deter the Mayo men. McNicholas and Trevor Mortimer hit beauties from 30 yards and Trevor’s brother Conor hit two. A Lynch Free Kick for Tyrone slowed things down temporarily but James Gill drove a massive point to leave two between the teams. Lynch added another free for the Tyrone Boys but McNicholas replied to put Mayo even clearer. Tyrone began to respond with Mullin and Lynch (2) all getting scores to put the Ulster men 1 point ahead. James Gill equalised with three minutes left, then Peter Donnelly seemed to have won it for the Ulster men on the stroke of Full Time until Shrule-Glencorrib’s Conor Mortimer sent the tie into extra time with a 35-yard free kick.
Tyrone began the opening half of extra time with three free- Kicks from Stephen O’Neill, but McNicholas and the Mortimer brothers made it 0-18 to 0-17 in Mayo’s favour at the break. O’Neill levelled matters soon after the break for the Tyrone men, Mayo’s defence consisting of Pat Kelly, Alan Moran and M.J. Meneghan began to get to grips with the opposition. Team Captain Ronan Loftus and Micheal Keane gave Mayo the initiative once more, but O’Neill fired home another free kick for Tyrone immediately after. Then Alan Dillion with the help of a short free kick from Loftus secured the Hasting’s Cup for Mayo for the first Time.

Connaght U-21 Football Championship Match Preview
This Saturday Mayo face Roscommon in the Championship opener at Dr Hyde Park, Roscommon. Three changes are made for the Hastings Cup Champions side with M.J. Meenaghan of Tourmakeady, Pat Kelly of Kilmaine and Micheal Keane of Balinrobe coming in, while Ronan Walsh, Enda Casey and Brian Maloney all drop down into the substitutes.
The knowledge of Roscommon’s team is minimal. John Hanley at Centre Half Forward, a Sigerson Cup player with UCD, seems to carry the biggest threat in the forwards for Roscommon. In Midfield they have Seamus O’Neill and Karl Mannion, two strong footballers not noted for their mobility. Stylish Fergal Carroll from Kilmore is captain of the team. Mayo should win this one comfortably.

2nd Round O’Mara Cup Results
The Neale 1-11 Balinrobe 0-9
Claremorris 2-5 Shrule/Glencorrib 1-8
Garrymore 0-17 Kilmaine 0-9
Mayo Gaels 2-14 Hollymount 1-6

SuperMacs Mayo Senior Football Championship Draw
Castlebar Mitchels vs South Mayo
Knockmore vs Ballinrobe
Ballina Stephenites vs Burrishoole
Charlestown vs Crossmolina
Garrymore vs Ballintubber
Moy Davitts vs Swinford
East Mayo vs Hollymount
Byes:
Kiltaine, Mayo Gaels, North Mayo, Davitts and West Mayo