Search Results for 'Brendan Kenny'

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.”

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.”

After the cold weather put paid to most football across the county since the middle of December eight Mayo sides will be back in action in round four of the FAI Junior Cup this Sunday. There are four games down for decision between eight Mayo teams. Super League champions Ballina Town, who after claiming to titles in a row will be looking to make a dent on the national stage, will make the trip to Carnenash to take on Iorras Aontaithe in what should be a tight encounter. While Ballina Town were deserving league champions the men from Erris pushed them all the way along with Westport United finishing only four point behind back in third place. When the sides met back in June Ballina won 4-1 in Belleek and the sides played out a seven goal thriller in Sunday’s venue in August with Brendan Kenny’s side coming out 4-3 winners en route to the title.

The ice and snow claimed many victims since before Christmas and with some more severe weather in the offing over the next few days, Mayo League manager Brendan Kenny is hoping that it will not claim his side’s Oscar Traynor Cup clash with the Roscommon and District League for a second time. “Hopefully it will go ahead this weekend, it’s been a long time coming now,” he said. “The weather is the weather and there’s nothing much you can do about it. But on the positive side it has given the lads a break that they would have needed. You have to have a break from the game for a while or lads will get burnt out or lose their appetitive for the game. I suppose you could also say that it has shown well for the Mayo League, with the amount of postponements, their decision to change to summer soccer a few years ago.”

“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.

The last round of games in the local stages of the FAI Umbro Junior Cup are down for decision on Sunday all over the county. With four games down for decision, there are a number of interesting contests to whet the appetite of the soccer supporter. The big game of the day is the meeting of Iorras Aontaithe and Ballina Town in Carnenash at 2pm. Ballina Town picked up their second Super League title in a row in the autumn and will be looking to make a splash in this competition.

Ballina Town retained the Elverys Sports Mayo Super League title on Sunday afternoon in Belleek Park. Brendan Kenny's men went into the game knowing that they had their fate in their own hands, a win and they took the title. Ballina Town duly delivered seeing off the challenge of Swinford 4-0. Ballina Town's nearest challengers Westport United were waiting to pounce if Ballina slipped up, however it was the west Mayo men who slipped up and were held to a 2-2 draw by Castlebar Celtic in Celtic Park.

After what must seem like a never ending hiatus for both Ballina Town and Westport United, the final round of games in the Super League finally rolls around this Sunday, and in one of the most exciting title races in years it is all still up for grabs for both sides. After 17 games only a point separates both sides at the top of the table, with last year’s defending champions in the driving seat ahead of the weekend.

Mayo will be represented in the first round of the Champions League next week when Damien McGrath steps out on to the field in the biggest club competition in the world. McGrath’s stock has risen highly in Mayo and nationally over the past number of years and this is just the latest high level promotion for him. McGrath will be first assistant referee, alongside the all Irish team of Alan Kelly who will be the referee, Ken Hennessey, and Paraic Sutton, who will act as fourth official. The two additional assistants are Anthony Buttimer and Neil Doyle. “It’s a great honour for me and also for the Mayo referees branch,” McGrath said.

The action in the Super League will take a back seat for a couple of weeks as attention focuses on the league cup final this weekend and the outside competitions in the next few weeks.