WELCOME INN HOTEL MAYO LEAGUE PREMIERSHIP CLIMAX
Soccer News 23 October 1996
Unbeaten Ballyglass strike the jackpot!
Ballyglass . . . . 4 Achill Rovers. . . . 1
Tom Kelly reports on an historic victory for Ballyglass
Ballyglass put the finishing touches to the club's second
Mayo League Premiership championship triumph at their newly
completed stadium on Sunday with a title-clinching victory
over Achill Rovers.
With the race for the richest prize in the game going right down to the last sequence of matches, the South Mayo side could not afford to slip up with Urlaur United breathing down their proverbial neck.
Displaying the nerve and character required in such a tension-filled climax, Ballyglass delivered on their magnificent run of consistency by achieving the desired result in emphatic style.
The win over Achill ensured them of the coveted crown by just a single point over a determined Urlaur challenge which succeeded in defeating defending champions Manulla in their final match at home.
Barring a number of anxious moments, Ballyglass left nothing to chance in accomplishing the three points they needed to secure the championship in their 21st season in existence.
The club's success is all the more remarkable when it is considered they did not lose a game in the entire 18-match series. It is the first time, since the Premiership was enlarged to ten teams, that the champions have gone through the campaign unbeaten. If that is not a clear vindication of their title-winning worthiness, I don't know what is.
They finished the campaign with forty-two points, a figure which represented twelve wins and six draws. Ballyglass also had the distinction of scoring the highest number of goals in the league, a grand total of fifty, as well as conceding the lowest number of goals, which was twenty-two.
You cannot argue with statistics, and Ballyglass had all the right numbers when they struck the Mayo League jackpot. In analysing the story of the club's championship success, there is no question that three factors, in particular, come directly to the fore.
FACTOR ONE: Self-belief. They always believed they were going to win the title, and were never prepared to accept second best. A number of performances during the campaign underlined this key component.
On the first Sunday in September, they secured a 1-1 draw away to Manulla when, after being reduced to ten men, they scarcely deserved it.
A week later, they displayed the same never-say-die attitude by drawing 2-2 with Urlaur United when they had looked dead and buried.
This crucial characteristic also emerged with telling effect when they came from being two-goals down against Achill Rovers away before winning 3-2.
There were the results, more than any other, which illustrated the Ballyglass spirit and hunger for success.
They were also helped significantly, of course, by Achill Rovers defeating Urlaur 1-0 at home in the East Mayo side's third last game of the campaign.
FACTOR TWO: Virtually faultless home form. They won eight out of their nine home games, which ensured them of 24 of their 42 points. The only setback came in the 2-2 draw with Urlaur on September 7th. Away from home, they drew five out of nine and won the remaining four.
FACTOR THREE: Strength in depth. They had the strongest squad in the league, and never really suffered because of injuries or suspensions. Players who did not start Sunday's match against Achill included Vinny Keane (injured), Kenny Staunton (suspended), Shane Trench, Fergal Conroy, Joe Glynn, and Michael Ryan, all of whom played a part in the title success.
EARLY BREAKTHROUGH
Ballyglass got the breakthrough they needed against Achill as early as the 24th minute when John Noonan produced a goal to match the occasion.He brilliantly caught out Achill goalkeeper Cormac Holland with an audacious twenty-five yards drive from a tight angle on the left.
It may have represented only his third goal in the campaign for Ballyglass, but it was certainly one of the most crucial. The goal helped Ballyglass to settle down after a relatively shaky start, and there was no looking back for them after that.
Ray Prendergast extended the side's lead eight minutes before half-time when he scored from an indirect free inside the Achill penalty area. The free was awarded by Castlebar referee Michael Cresham for a short back pass to his goalkeeper by Rovers midfielder Kieran Gallagher, a decision which infuriated the islanders even through the referee had applied the letter of the law. Kevin Connolly, the Clonbur based striker, rolled the ball sweetly to Prendergast who drilled it past a line of Achill defenders.
Prendergast as much as admitted afterwards the goal was pot luck. "I just kept my head down and let fly," he said.
If the circumstances which led to the second goal did not exactly enamour those on the Achill bench, it was nothing compared to their displeasure six minutes into the second half when a penalty was awarded against them.
To be fair, they had grounds for complaint. Achill goalkeeper Holland appeared to be harshly penalised when John Noonan went down in the area after clearly missing his scoring c
hance. Holland and Alan English, for expressing his dissatisfaction, were both booked.
COMMANDING POSITION
Joe Reapy, the resourceful Ballyglass midfielder, converted his fifth penalty of the season to put his side in a commanding position.The Ballyglass supporters now knew it would take a disaster of monumental proportions to deny the club the title.
Niall McDonnell, another of Achill's emerging young stars, pulled a goal back for Rovers with twenty-five minutes remaining.
But Ballyglass put the gloss on their victory seven minutes later when Paul Connolly headed the ball powerfully into the net following a corner-kick by John Noonan.
Few could argue that Ballyglass were deserving champions. They led the series virtually from the start and kept their noses in front throughout.
On Sunday, the result was always going to be more important than the performance. But there were a number of good personal displays.
For Ballyglass, Michael Kelly, Justin Keady, Colm Burke, Martin Vahey, John Noonan and Ray Prendergast were particularly outstanding, while Vincent John Gallagher, Brian McNulty and Noel Cooney were impressive for Achill. Ballyglass: D. Prendergast, M. Kelly, J. Keady, C. Burke, M. Vahey, M. Diskin, J. Reapy, P. Connolly, R. Prendergast, K. Connolly, J. Noonan.
Res: J. Glynn (for K. Connolly); S. Trench and F. Conroy (for Diskin and Noonan).
Achill Rovers: C. Holland, J.P. Keane, P. McGinty, B. McNulty, V.J. Gallagher, N. Cooney, D. O'Malley, A. English, K. Gallagher, N. O'Donnell, C. Gallagher.
Res: N. English (for C. Gallagher); M. McGinty (for O'Donnell).
Ref: M. Cresham (Castlebar).
* Star Rating: Martin Vahey. . .prime contender for Footballer
of the Year'.
Connaught Telegraph - News - October 1996
Connaught Telegraph - Sport - October 1996
