Hollymount Carramore 2-14   Davitts 2-15 (AET)

Davitts withstood the typically massive challenge that Hollymount Carramore always pose to earn a one point victory and promotion to Division 1 of the Senior League after extra time following a titanic battle in the league semi-final played in Hollymount on Saturday evening. It was fitting that a gigantic 55 metre free kick from Davitts veteran talisman Ronan McNamara, a second half substitute, secured the win, an unbelievable strike (but not a surprise to the big crowd) as the big man has made a reputation from those types of conversions over the last few decades.

Davitts made the early running and led by three points after the first ten minutes with scores from Evan Ronane and Jack Ronayne (2) before the home side got off the mark with a point in the twelfth minute. Davitts replied with a brilliant goal a minute later when their very impressive midfielder Fenton Kelly got on the end of a terrific move involving Johnno Clarke, Darragh McGale and Niall Treacy to finish emphatically. Hollycarra didn’t let this setback bother them unduly as they took the game by the scruff of the neck and rattled off five unanswered points to level matters after 26 minutes. Davitts had spurned three great goal chances at this stage and could have been punished badly but for an excellent penalty save by Keith Prendergast in the 27^th minute. Niall Treacy put the visitors back in front a minute later and after Hollycarra shot the equaliser, a Fenton Kelly point on the stroke of half time left Davitts ahead, 1-5 to 0-7 at the break.

Hollymount Carramore opened the second half scoring in the first minute but Davitts points by Niall Treacy, Evan Ronane, Jack Ronayne and Shane Treacy, with Hollycarra adding a single point to their tally, before a Niall Treacy goal, after being set up by Darragh McGale in the 43^rd minute, put Davitts six points ahead and looking set to coast to victory. Jack Ronayne extended Davitts lead to seven points with a fiftieth minute point but a sloppy crossfield pass three minutes later resulted in a Hollycarra goal which gave them hope and revitalised their challenge. They pointed again in the 54^th and 55^th minutes before Evan Ronane put Davitts three ahead with a great point in the 56^th minute. Davitts appeared to be well in control at this stage but a Hollymount Carramore goal in the last minute sent the game into extra time as the tension ramped up.

The homeside pointed in the second minute of extra time before two Jack Ronayne points put the visitors ahead.  Another Hollycarra point just before the halftime whistle left the sides level again.

Hollycarra regained the lead in the second minute of the second period of extra time with this score being cancelled out by Niall Treacy with two minutes remaining. Both sets of players had given their all and were out on their feet at this stage. Ronan McNamara’s massive point with the time up looked like to have finally put an end to Hollycarra’s stubborn resistance but referee John Walker played on. The homeside were awarded two frees in the extra three and a half minutes added on (for some unknown reason) but spurned both chances as Davitts clung on to gain a very hard earned victory.

Experienced players such as Keith Prendergast, Colm Boyle (who gave a powerful exhibition, especially in the second half), Johnno Clarke, Darragh McGale and Ronan McNamara (0-1) led their young teammates by example. Charlie Phillips, Dmitry Trench, Thomas Ronayne, Jordan Flanagan and Micheal Hett were excellent in defence.

Cathal Higgins worked tirelessly in midfield alongside Fenton Kelly (1-1) who was most impressive throughout. Evan Ronane (0-3), Jack Ronayne (0-6), Shane Treacy (0-1) and Niall Treacy (1-3) were always lively and threatening in attack.

Substitutes Brian Clarke, Ryan McLoughlin and Brian Og McTigue did very well when introduced as Davitts secured promotion and a place in the Division 2 league final against either Belmullet or Parke Keelogues Crimlin.

Our U-11 squad had their first taste of playing in Croke Park last Tuesday when they participated in a blitz there. A wonderful experience for them and they all had a great day. They are pictured here along with their coaches Denis Bradley, John Brogan and Martin Sheridan.

Davitts 4-10  Kilmovee Shamrocks 2-14

The County U-17 div 3 League final was played in perfect conditions in Claremorris on Sunday evening with Davitts defeating Kilmovee by two points, withstanding a late rally from the East Mayo outfit. When those two side met earlier in the League Kilmovee were the winners by a five point margin but this time it was Davitts who made the running and just managed to keep their heads in front after a very entertaining game of attacking football.

Davitts, playing with the wind advantage in the first half, opened the scoring with a classy Dylan Gallagher point in the second minute. Peter Horan, an excellent forward, equalised a minute later. The rampaging Sean Keadin and Peter Horan exchanged points before Davitts struck for their first goal with Ethan Boyle getting on the end of a great move involving Ciaran Treacy and Fionn McLoughlin to finish with style in the 10^th minute. Two minutes earlier Kilmovee had a great goal chance themselves but were denied by a miraculous goal line intervention by Brian Hett. The very influencial Dylan Gallagher extended Davitts lead with a 12^th minute point with Oran Frain replying for Kilmovee thirty seconds later. Dylan Gallagher pointed in the 20^th minute and further Davitts points from Fionn McLoughlin and Ronan Kelly sandwiched two Peter Horan points before Conor McDermott bagged Davitts second goal in the 26^th minute after being cleverly set up by Dylan Gallagher. Peter Horan pointed for Kilmovee before Davitts struck for a third goal in the 29^th minute with Fionn McLoughlin, who had a superb game, finishing after great work by Ciaran Treacy and Sean Keadin. Peter Horan fired over the last score of the half as Davitts went in ahead by 3-6 to 0-7 at the halftime break.

Kilmovee needed a good start to the second half but it was Davitts that started the brighter. Dylan Gallagher pointed in the first minute of the half and the same player set up Fionn McLoughlin for his second and Davitts fourth goal in the 32^nd minute to give his side a commanding twelve point lead. Kilmovee knuckled down and began to chip away at the lead. Two Peter Horan points, one each from Colin Duffy and Oisin Duffy and an unfortunate own goal narrowed the deficit to five points before Davitts scored again, a 50^th minute Fionn McLoughlin point. Davitts excellent goalkeeper Dylan O Brien pointed a 45 in the 54^th minute with Ciaran Treacy, another Davitts player of real quality, getting his name on the scoresheet with a 58^th minute point. Colin Duffy and Peter Horan pointed for Kilmovee,  and in a grandstand finish, Horan again goaled, a piledriver of a shot from a twenty metre free kick. The same player pointed three minutes into stoppage time, to leave just two points between the teams. The referee John McHale blew the full time whistle after the resulting kick out as Davitts clung on to the delight of the Davitts team and supporters.

Kilmovee showed terrific spirit especially in the second half and they have top notch players in Colin Duffy, Sean O Dowd, Oisin Duffy, Declan Duffy and Peter Horan, players we will hear more about in the future.

In Dylan O Brien (0-1), Davitts have an excellent goalkeeper. Brian Hett and Sean Keadin (0-1) were outstanding defenders in the full back line. Noah O Brien, Aaron Trench and Ethan Boyle (1-0) formed a very effective halfback line. Tadhg Feerick and Brian Corless both made fine contributions when introduced to bolster the defence in the second half. Team captain Mark Birmingham led by example at midfield with Burke Briere getting through an amount of work beside him. Conor McDermott (1-0) had a superb game as had Dylan Gallagher (0-4) and Ciaran Treacy (0-1) in the half forward line. Fionn McLoughlin (2-2) and Ronan Kelly (0-1) worked tirelessly inside with Aaron Conneely Basham an energetic sub after he was sprung from the bench. Sean Meehan, Conor Feerick,Ben Corless, Fionn McTigue, Harry Fallon, Darragh Garvey and Ruadhan O Conaire completed the Davitts panel.

Well done to the whole squad and the team management of Lawrence Daly Jnr, Frank Kelly, Padraic Moran and Liam Nyland.

Davitts qualified for the Division 2 Senior league semi-final after a hard fought victory over Ballyhaunis in Ballindine on Saturday. With ten minutes of normal time left the visitors led by two points but Davitts shot six unanswered points in a powerful finish to claim the spoils.

Both sides adopted a cagey approach with a strong emphasis on the defensive side of the game. Ballyhaunis opened the scoring with a Conor Freeley point in the fourth minute. Diarmuid Phillips doubled the lead a minute later with a superb point from beyond the 45 metre line. Ronan McNamara pointed in the sixth minute for Davitts and six minutes later his midfield partner Fenton Kelly equalised the game with a fine point after a searing run. Niall Treacy became the first forward to get on the scoresheet with a sixteenth minute point for the homeside. The impressive Jason Coyne replied for Ballyhaunis two minutes later with a neat point. Jack Ronayne for Davitts and Jason Coyne exchanged points before  Shane Treacy shot the last score of the half, a 26^th minute point, to leave Davitts ahead by 0-5 to 0-4 at halftime.

Ballyhaunis took a firm grip on the game in the third quarter. Their midfielder Kevin Byrne scored a fine point in the first minute of the second half and three quickfire Jason Coyne points between the 35^th and 39^th minutes put the visitors three points ahead and looking the likely winners. Davitts had other ideas though and a Jack Ronayne point in the 44^th minute got them back on track. The excellent Niall Treacy shot a tidy point in the 51^st minute and Evan Ronane squared the match a minute later with a fine long range point. It was all Davitts now and they tagged on points from Jack Ronayne, Jack Trench and Niall Treacy to finish the game off in style.

Davitts displayed an excellent workrate throughout the field and this was a real team effort with Niall Treacy giving a man of the match display.

Ballyhaunis best players were John Cunnane, Diarmuid Phillips, Kieran Kiely, Kevin Byrne, Jason Coyne and Cathal Carney.

Davitts: Keith Prendergast, Micheal Hett, Charlie Phillips, Jordan Flanagan, Dmitry Trench, Colm Boyle, Jack Trench (0-1), Ronan McNamara (0-1), Fenton Kelly (0-1), Johnno Clarke, Evan Ronane (0-1), Shane Treacy (0-1), Darragh McGale, Jack Ronayne (0-4), Niall Treacy (0-3). Subs used: Danny Corless, Brian Og McTigue.

Ballyhaunis: Neil Carney, Conor Freeley (0-1), John Cunnane, Liam Herr, Brian Hunt, Mark Phillips, Diarmuid Phillips (0-1), Kieran Kiely, Kevin Byrne (0-1), James Lyons, Jason Coyne (0-5), Barry Cribbin, Cathal Carney, Aidan Sloyan, Morgan Lyons. Subs used: Daniel Murray, Joshua Webb.

Davitts 2-8  Garrymore 3-7

This replay of the South Mayo Junior Championship semi-final was just as close a battle as the drawn game but Garrymore just edged it by two points to advance to the A final against Claremorris. Davitts will play The Neale in the B final.

Garrymore scored the first point in the 2^nd minute but this was matched by Brian Og McTigue, Davitts dynamic corner back, two minutes later. Garrymore, wind assisted, were enjoying a lot of possession but found the going tough against a very youthful Davitts defence. Indeed, both sets of defenders were on top in the opening period. Garrymore added points in the 6^th, 13^th and 16^th minutes and when they goaled in the 21^st minute and added another point three minutes later, things looked very bad for the homeside. Davitts did rally however and a Darragh McGale goal in the 29^th minute after excellent work by Jordan Flanagan, Johnno Clarke and Ryan McLoughlin, left four points separating the sides at the break.

Davitts were right back in the game in the 33^rd minute when a great move involving Davy Hennessy, Jack Trench and Darragh McGale was finished to the net by Johnno Clarke. The same player equalised the game with a 55^th minute point and Richie Kilkenny pointed a minute later, after another sweeping move, to put Davitts ahead for the first time in the game. Garrymore shot a levelling point in the 36^th minute but Richie Kilkenny and Darragh McGale fired over in the 40^th and 41^st minutes as Davitts went two points ahead. Garrymore goaled in the 46^th minute when a long delivery wasn’t dealt with and this score saw the visitors regain the initiative. They pointed again in the 47^th minute and a third goal two minutes later saw them take a five point lead into the closing ten minutes. Darragh McGale shot Davitts points in the 52^nd, 54^th and 56^th minutes to narrow the deficit to two points but Garrymore hung on as the exchanges were getting more heated.

This was a well contested match with the large attendance entertained right up to the final whistle. Davitts had top class displays from Brian Og McTigue, Jordan Flanagan, Fionnan Gallagher, Micheal Hett, Sean Feerick, Johnno Clarke, Davy Hennessy, Darragh McGale and sub Richie Kilkenny.

Davitts: Tristan Diskin, Brian Og McTigue (0-1), Lawrence Daly, Jordan Flanagan, Fionnan Gallagher, Micheal Hett, Sean Feerick, Shane Mitchell, Charlie Phillips, Jack Trench, Johnno Clarke (1-1), Tom Corless, Davy Hennessy, Darragh McGale (1-4), Ryan McLoughlin. Subs used: Richie Kilkenny (0-2), Danny Corless, Brian Birmingham, John Costello.

Claremorris 2-14  Davitts 3-11

Davitts needed a win against Claremorris to qualify for the semi-final of the County U-19 A Championship and, after a very entertaining match, they came up just short with the sides ending up level at the final whistle.

Claremorris looked the better team in the first half and led by 0-8 to 0-4 at halftime. Dylan Gallagher (3) and Fenton Kelly were the Davitts scorers in the half. Things could have been worse for Davitts were it not for some excellent goalkeeping by Tristan Diskin.

Fenton Kelly pointed in the first minute of the second half and Cathal Corless goaled in the 36^th minute to tie the game. Claremorris replied quickly and had the ball in the Davitts net within a minute. Two Cathal Corless points were cancelled out by two similar Claremorris scores. Fenton Kelly narrowed the deficit to two points with a 48^th minute point but Claremorris capitalised on a Davitts handling error two minutes later to fire home their second goal. They added a point 30 seconds later but a neat Jack Devane point kept Davitts in touch. Two Claremorris points in the 53^rd and 54^th minutes put them seven ahead and looking like the certain winners but Davitts were not finished yet.

A long ball into the Claremorris goalmouth was cleverly flicked by Cathal Corless to centre back Thomas Ronayne and he was hauled down by the Claremorris keeper, who was black carded. Cathal Corless converted the resulting penalty to narrow the lead to four points with five minutes normal time remaining. Dylan Gallagher and Fenton Kelly ensured a grandstand finish with points in the 56^th and 59^th minutes. Claremorris tagged on a point in the 60^th minute but two minutes later, another long delivery by Conor McDermott into the danger area was flicked across the square by Cathal Corless to Jack Devane who gleefully finished to the net past a hapless Claremorris keeper to level the match. Davitts were hoping for one last play but the ref blew the final whistle after the kick out.

Both teams played some great football in the tricky conditions. Claremorris are a good strong side and will take some beating in this competition. Davitts slip up in the opening round, losing to Castlebar Mitchels when they really should have won, came back to haunt them. They are a fine side though with some excellent football players.

Tristan Diskin had a great game in goals. Micheal Hett and Thomas Ronayne were solid central figures in a defence where Brian Birmingham, Mark Birmingham, Brian Og McTigue and Fionnan Gallagher all had their moments. Sean Keadin, Ethan Boyle and Aaron Trench did well when they were introduced in the second half. Fenton Kelly (0-4) was very good at midfield, producing an energetic display and giving an exhibition of high fielding. He got great support from young Burke Briere, a rapidly improving player. Cathal Corless (2-2), Dylan Gallagher (0-4) though obviously carrying an injury, and Jack Devane (1-1) showed their undoubted class. Conor McDermott covered every blade of grass over the hour with Fionn McLoughlin and Davey Hennessy also working tirelessly throughout the game. Injury deprived Davitts of the services of Jack Melvin.

2022

Kilcommon 1-10  Davitts 2-14

Davitts made the long trip to Glenamoy on Sunday and came away with the two Senior League Div 2B points to secure second place in the League table and a home draw in the Quarter Final.

Davitts were playing against the wind in the first half and, after dominating for the entire half, led by 0-7 to 0-2 at halftime. The first half point scorers were Cathal Corless, Jack Ronayne, Shane Treacy, Fenton Kelly (2) and Niall Treacy (2).

Kilcommon came out fired up for the second half and they shot the first two points of the second period before Jack Ronayne replied for the visitors. Kilcommon gave their supporters some hope with a goal in the 40^th minute. This hope was short lived however as Davitts goaled  two minutes later, Niall Treacy supplying the finish after great work by Dmitry Trench, Ronan McNamara and Jack Ronayne.

Two points for the homeside in the 45^th and 46^th minutes left Davitts in front by two points. Davitts were going through a sloppy phase and a red card for Ronan McNamara in the 48^th minute as the proceedings heated up only seemed to fire up his Davitts teammates who upped the ante straight away. A second Davitts goal, brilliantly finished by Fenton Kelly in the 50^th minute, after Evan Ronane and Niall Treacy ripped open the home defence, killed off the Kilcommon challenge. The home team did shoot three more points before the end of the game but Davitts tagged on five via Shane Treacy (2), Jack Ronayne (2) and Evan Ronane to end up victorious by a seven points margin.

Outstanding for Davitts were Jordan Flanagan, Dmitry Trench, Jack Trench, Johnno Clarke, Fenton Kelly, Shane and Niall Treacy, Jack Ronayne and Evan Ronane.

Davitts: Ronan McNamara, Micheal Hett, Jordan Flanagan, Brian Og McTigue, Dmitry Trench, Cathal Higgins, Jack Trench, Fenton Kelly (1-2), Johnno Clarke, Cathal Corless (0-1), Jack Ronayne (0-4), Shane Treacy (0-3), Niall Treacy (1-3), Evan Ronane (0-1), Danny Corless. Subs used: Keith Prendergast, Tom Corless, Thomas Ronayne, John Kilkenny, Fionnan Gallagher.