Mitchels ace Neil Douglas back in the groove at just the perfect time
BIG MATCH VIEWPOINT
Castlebar Mitchels are safety through to the Connacht Club SFC final for the first time since 2015 by comprehensively defeating London Irish by 1-22 to 1-9 in this afternoon's semi-final encounter is Ruislip.
Although it was far from an inspiring performance by the Mayo champions, they did exactly what they needed to do with clinical efficiency.
There was only really one period in the encounter when the county town club appeared to be under any serious level of threat.
That was when the home side reduced the margin between the sides to three points a quarter of an hour into the second half when Niall O'Leary struck a brilliant goal to leave it 0-11 to 1-5.
If the large attendance of Mitchels supporters were feeling a little anxious as the watched from the sidelines, they were not left worried for too long.
Immediately spotting the prospect of Fulham Irish tails being raised, big Bob Tuohy made a timely intervention with a magnificent point, a telling response that put the hosts back in their proverbial box.
Calum Finan and Paddy Durcan followed up with two further quick-fire scores to re-establish Castlebar's control in commanding style.
While Mitchels goalkeeper Rory Byrne was forced to make a magnificent save moments later, the arrival on the pitch of substitutes Ben Joyce and Neil Douglas had the devastating dual impact of delivering an impressive finale for their side.
Douglas, the former Mayo star, registered a stunning 1-3 in the closing stages while Joyce, a future Mayo star in the making, registered two points in an exhilarating display.
Okay, it was not the perfect performance by Mitchels by any stretch of the imagination despite enjoying a blistering start to open up an eight-point lead after just 12 minutes.
Fulham Irish did not notch their first score until the 27th minute when Colum Gallagher finally knocked the ball cleanly over Byrne's crossbar.
Mitchels were prone to periods of poor concentration and untidy play, factors manager Kevin Finan will be keen to eradicate ahead of the provincial final in two weeks time in Castlebar.
A talking point on the lead-up to the game was the loss of influential defender Donnacha McHugh, ruled out for the rest of the campaign due to shoulder surgery.
It's impossible to replace an inter-county player of such calibre when bidding for provincial glory.
But there is something about this Mitchels team that cannot be underestimated even if they are inclined to switch off at times.
And that's got to do with quality in so many areas of the pitch.