Celtic playing like champions

Mayo Super League

Castlebar Celtic 4
Loftus 13, Edwards 20, 55; Hunt 84

Ballyheane 2
Edeh 35, Stevenson 86

“WE were well on top and should have won by more, if we were more clinical,” Celtic manager Stevie Gavin told The Mayo News. “We have to be better than we were in the second half,” he added. “But we created the chances and deserved the win.”
The winners had thirty chances to Ballyheane’s nine. It’s a remarkable achievement to create thirty chances in a single match, and it statistically demonstrates the superiority of the league leaders.
Celtic heavy-hitters Johnny Walsh, Joe Slevin, Oran Groarke and Jason Hunt couldn’t get in the starting eleven and when they were introduced had a point to prove.
Ben Murphy and Fionn Mahon, regulars no so long ago, had to sit the match out.
On the other side, Ballyheane were without regular ‘keeper Luca Meldrum, full-back Darragh Ludden, midfielders Keelan McDonnell and Michael Fahy, and striker Nathan Reilly Doyle. With a smaller squad than Celtic’s, these absences were always going to affect the outcome.
Ballyheane were overrun in midfield where Johnny Cocozza and Colm Nevin were outstanding for Celtic. On the occasions they did get forward, Ballyheane found it hard to penetrate the impressive Celtic defence, where Ioseph O’Reilly and Brian Walsh won everything in the air.
But the match belonged to the superb Jordan Loftus. What a player.
His vison, skill and distribution are a joy to watch. He repeatedly held-up or switched the play as the opportunity demanded, varying with subtle touches and flick-ons, sending precision passes sometimes fifty metres, to carve Ballyheane open.
He scored one, tried too hard with another, and saw a superb long range effort bounce millimetres over the crossbar.
The hard-working Dylan Edwards got a brace for Celtic, and Jason Hunt reminded everyone of his skill with a fine goal.
Ben Edeh returned to the Ballyheane scoresheet with a cracking shot, ten minutes from the break and the goal of the evening came from Ballyheane substitute, Dylan Stevenson, who curled a free-kick over the wall and into the top left hand corner of Stefan Hester’s net.
A few minutes later, Hester palmed away another free-kick from the youngster, this time on the opposite side.
“We knew it would be difficult to hold on to our title when we lost a few games early on,” Ballyheane coach Joe Redmond said afterwards.
“It’s Celtic’s title to lose now. They are playing really well this season and have a big squad. “We were missing a lot of players this evening, but we have brought through a lot of young players and the Super League experience will be good for them.”

Castlebar Celtic
S Hester, M Cunningham, I O’Reilly, B Walsh, M Howley, C Nevin, J Cocozza, E Hughes, P Walsh, J Loftus, D Edwards.
Subs: J Hunt, J Slevin, O Groarke, J Walsh.

Ballyheane
S Rabbette, J Rochford, C Redmond, J Tuffy, D Behan, S Kilcoyne, R Morris, D Purcell, B Edeh, N Vahey, A Dunleavy.
Subs: K McGreevy, D Stevenson, A Blake, J Lavin.

Referee: D McGrath