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The Mayo League and clubs have been in the headlines of late over off the field issues, but on Sunday all eyes will be where they should on the park as the Mayo League kicks off for the 2012 season across five divisions. The Premier A and B along with division one and two will get proceedings underway on Saturday evening at 6pm, with the main attraction the Super League, kicking off on Sunday at noon with the meeting of Castlebar Celtic and Westport United in Celtic Park, with the action in the other games in the division getting underway at 2.30pm.

Ballina Town are on the look out for a new manager following the news that Brendan Kenny has decided to step down form the position of manager. Kenny who led Ballina Town to back to back Super League titles stood down this week following Ballina’s elimination from the FAI Junior Cup last weekend. He told the Mayo Advertiser this week that, “It’s been a great four years with the lads, but I think it was time to step away. It’s been all go in the Mayo League because your going all year round and I feel like I have brought them as far as I can. A big thing for me was retaining the Super League title, but I don’t have the energy to give it all the time you need anymore so I’m taking a step back. I’ve been there for four years now and the lads need a new fresh voice to push them on further, and it’s a great opportunity for a manager to come to a side who are the top of the tree in Mayo. The club has come on leaps and bounds over the last few years not just off the pitch, we have the new club house and the astro turf which is a great credit to all those involved and I’m pleased to have been involved in that.”

There is a busy weekend of action in store on the local junior soccer scene in Mayo. Four Mayo sides will be in action in the FAI Junior Cup fifth round, with two more in Connacht Junior Cup third round contests and one side in the Connacht Junior Shield.

The Mayo League Oscar Traynor side will go to McSharry Park in Sligo on Sunday afternoon knowing that only a win will do if they want to progress in the competition this season. A fortnight ago Brendan Kenny’s side played their first game in the competition at home to the Roscommon League and were only able to come away from the game with a draw. However Kenny was happy overall with the performance of his players. “It was a tough game and the lads hadn’t played for a long time,” he said. “We were going into the game soft, having only a few training sessions under our belts. We went behind three times and pulled it back each time which was a positive itself. You can’t doubt the commitment of the lads, you can have the best players in the world but if you don’t have the commitment you won’t win anything. Everyone of them showed pride in the jersey which is something you can’t buy.”

“It’s a cup competition in reality, you can’t afford to lose a game,” is how Mayo League manager Brendan Kenny sees Sunday’s game against the Roscommon side in the Oscar Traynor Trophy. Weather permitting, Kenny’s Mayo will host neighbours Roscommon on Sunday in Milebush Park at 2pm in their first game in this year’s Oscar Traynor Trophy. It will be the visitors’ second game in the competition this year after going down 3-1 to a Sligo/Leitrim side a few weeks ago, meaning it is do or die on Sunday for them.

Iorras Aontaithe were able to keep ahead of the back in the Elverys Sports Super League last weekend, but they can’t afford to slip up as the season enters it’s final third. Last time out they came to Celtic Park and went away with the points thanks to a 2-0 win. Brendan Nallen and Garrett O’Malley were the men to hit the back of the net for Iorras. This weekend there on the road again when they head to Swinford to take on a side that are sitting comfortably in mid table at the moment. Last weekend however didn’t go to plan for the east Mayo men with Westport United putting them to the sword in the sports park. The home side knocked four past the Swinford goal keeper Neil McNicholas. Mark McNally opened the scoring in the first half, with second half strikes from David Horkan, Danny Scahill and Vinny O’Malley rapping up the game for Barry Kilgallon’s men. Westport now sit in third place in the table two points behind Iorras but they have a game in hand on the north Mayo men and last year’s champions Ballina Town where are currently in second spot one point ahead of Westport.

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The last chance of a Mayo side bringing national glory at junior level back to the county this season disappeared last Sunday when Ballina Town bowed out at the sixth round stage of the FAI Junior Cup. Shangan Athletic, who had seen off Straide and Foxford United in the previous round, came out victorious once again over Mayo opposition; this time they saw off Mayo’s top side. Despite going one up and being in control of the game early on Ballina conceded three first-half goals in quick succession and were never able to get back into the contest.

Mayo Oscar Traynor team manager, Declan Kilkelly, announced his squad of players for the forthcoming group one games in the National Oscar Traynor Trophy competition. The panel includes four new players (Emmet Peyton, James Jennings, Paul Walsh and David Reilly) receiving their first call up along with another three players who have been added to last year’s squad (Ronan O’Boyle, Andy Neary and Gerry McLoughlin). Mayo will be competing in group one with the Inishowen League (away) and the Galway League (home).

Mayo will make the long trip north this weekend to take on the Inishowen league in their opening game in this season’s Oscar Traynor Trophy. For the second year in a row Castlebar Celtic manager Declan Kilkelly will be taking charge of the side and after narrowly missing out on qualifiying from the group stages last year Kilkelly will be hoping to at least improve on that this season. This year’s competition sees Mayo in a three team group with this weekend’s opponents the Inishowen League and the Galway League and with only one team to qualify for the next round of the competition.