Castlebar Mitchels driven on by poor showing in All-Ireland final

Castlebar Mitchels 3-13 Knockmore 0-10: Their failure to perform in the All-Ireland club final last March was a major driving force for Castlebar Mitchels as they retained their Mayo SFC title on Saturday night at MacHale Park.

Second half goals from man-of-the-match Paddy Durcan, Neil Douglas, and Barry Moran propelled the champions to their first back-to-back county championships since 1970. And according to Mitchels joint manager Declan Shaw, Castlebar’s lacklustre display against Ballyboden St Enda’s more than seven months ago was a major factor.

“We were bitterly disappointed with our performance at Croke Park and that was something that was in our heads coming here,” he admitted.