Mayo IFC Final: Davitts win coveted title

Davitts were crowned Intermediate Football Champions for the first time since 2011 after they defeated Ballinrobe 0-23 to 0-17 at a blustery Hastings Insurance MacHale Park.

The conditions were testing for both sides, with the swirling wind causing unforced errors, with misplaced passes frequent throughout the tie.

Davitts began the first half at a brisk pace, with Ciaran Treacy popping over a point inside the first minute, and the black and red almost netted a goal shortly after, however, Shane Treacy’s strike was thwarted by the alert Luke Jennings in the Ballinrobe goal.

Ballinrobe then opened their account after two minutes, courtesy of a fine point from Cian May.

The wet and windy conditions hampered both sides style of play, and the next score did not arrive until the sixth minute when Davitts’ Niall Treacy forced the umpire to reach for the white flag.

Ballinrobe needed some inspiration, and it seemed to arrive after eight minutes when their team captain Ewan Duffy landed an awesome two-pointer.

The maroon and yellow seemed to be getting to grips with the contest, and Ryan Corcoran slotted over a tidy single on 10 minutes, but that was as good as things would get for the maroon and yellow in the first half. Davitts Niall Treacy guided over a free on 14 minutes and the same player slotted over a gem of a two-pointer on 15 minutes.

O’Connell added a free for the Robesiders on 20 minutes, but the border men finished the half strongly and a peach of a two-pointer free from Jack Melvin, coupled with a fine point by team captain Niall Treacy, helped garner a healthy 0-12 to 0-6 half-time lead for their team-mates.

Mark Concannon’s troops blitzed Ballinrobe on the resumption and three points on the bounce from Ciaran Treacy, Mayo star Fenton Kelly, and the imperious Melvin, left the Robesiders with plenty to do.

The Ballinrobe custodian Luke Jennings was proving accurate from the placed ball, and he guided over a well-taken ’45 before also guiding over a gem of a two-pointer free.

The Davitts response was impressive though, and Melvin struck for another two-pointer free on 39 minutes to glean a seven-point cushion for the black and red.

Ballinrobe tried their level best to get back into the game, however, the maroon and yellow made some bad shot selections in the contest, and kicked eight wides in total, whereas Davitts were more economical and kicked only three wides.

At one stage, Eoin Hughes’ Ballinrobe reduced the deficit to an attainable five points, 0-20 to 0-15 as the game ticked towards the 55th minute.

Nevertheless, Davitts always seemed to be able to keep Ballinrobe at arm’s length and a superb two-pointer free from Melvin helped secure the spoils for the border men.