Juniors v Eastern Gaels–Junior B Championship – Match Report
Davitts met Eastern Gaels in the Mayo Junior B Championship in Ballyhaunis on Saturday evening with Gaels winning by 0-8 to 0-7 after a tense battle. The game was played in difficult wet conditions and while the quality of the football may not have been the finest, the crowd got full value as there was never more than a kick of the ball between the teams, who both gave their all over the hour.
Eastern Gaels were the better team in the first half. They led by 0-3 to 0-0 after fifteen minutes before three quick Davitts points by Clive Hennigan, Gerald Griffin and Thomas Corless tied the game. Gaels added two more points before the break as they went in ahead by 0-5 to 0-3 after playing against the wind in the first half.
Davitts came out a much more determined team for the second half and driven on by the excellent Lawrence Daly, Kevin Gallagher, Martin Cosgrove, Michael Waldron, John Costello, Tommy Clarke, Richie Kilkenny and Thomas Corless, they began to take the game to the Gaels. Eastern Gaels opened the second half scoring but two excellent Michael Waldron points and another from Martin Cosgrove levelled the game with ten minutes to play. Eastern Gaels were down to fourteen men now, after a red card incident, and when Clive Hennigan shot Davitts into the lead for the first time in the game, it looked good for his side as the game entered stoppage time. Eastern Gaels showed great bottle however and fought back to equalise. Davitts now had to try and get a winner because the draw was no good to them but it was the Gaels who got the winning point deep into stoppage time, as they advance to the quarter-finals.
Davitts: Shane Mitchell, Gerard McWalter, Lawrence Daly, Kevin Gallagher, Patrick Keadin, William Freeley, Martin Cosgrove (0-1), Michael Waldron (0-2), John Costello, Thomas Corless (0-1), Gerald Griffin (0-1), Micheal Mangan, Tommy Clarke, Clive Hennigan (0-2), Richie Kilkenny. Subs used: Seamus Roche, Darren Connolly, Donal Kirrane.
