Mayo 3-14
Galway 0-16
MAYO CELEBRATED A fantastic four this afternoon as they clinched their fourth straight Connacht Senior Football title in Castlebar.
Goals from Lee Keegan, Jason Doherty and Barry Moran gave James Horan’s men a seven-point win against Galway, and their first provincial four-in-a-row since 1951.
As a contest, this was far more competitive than the 17-point hiding Mayo handed out in Salthill last summer. Galway fought until the final whistle and, had Shane Walsh scored his second-half penalty, they could have been even closer.
But keeper Rob Hennelly got down smartly to tip the ball around the post and Mayo’s win never came under serious threat.
They will return for the quarter-finals in a few weeks’ time while Galway’s young side head for the qualifiers with reasons for optimism.
They set out to defend in numbers and smother Mayo’s attacks but they never got enough of a foothold in midfield in the first half.
It gave Mayo plenty of possession to feed Cillian O’Connor who was in his usual sharp form and gave Donal O’Neill a torrid afternoon. He finished with eight points, including three from play, and was at the heart of Mayo’s opening goal when it arrived on 24 minutes.
O’Connor did brilliantly to engineer some space and then picked out Keegan who punched the ball past Manus Breathnach.
Mayo led 1-9 to 0-5 at the break, helped in part by some wasteful shooting by Galway’s forwards.
But the Tribesmen roared out of the traps in the second half and scored four of the first five points to cut the gap to four.
That was as close as they got and moments after the crossbar denied Keegan his second goal of the afternoon, Kevin McLoughlin picked out Doherty and he coolly rolled the ball past Breathnach in the 48th minute.
Galway rallied again and cut the gap to six, 2-12 to 0-12, but any hopes of a comeback were doused when Moran fisted home Mayo’s third with 14 minutes to play.
Scorers for Mayo: Cillian O’Connor 0-8 (5f), Jason Doherty, Lee Keegan 1-1 each, Kevin McLoughlin 0-3, Barry Moran 1-0, Alan Dillon 0-1.
Scorers for Galway: Shane Walsh 0-7 (5f), Paul Conroy 0-4, Sean Armstrong 0-2, Michael Lundy, Danny Cummins, Gareth Bradshaw 0-1 each
MAYO
1. Robbie Hennelly (Breaffy)
2. Chris Barrett (Belmullet)
3. Ger Cafferkey (Ballina)
4. Keith Higgins (Ballyhaunis)
5. Lee Keegan (Westport)
6. Colm Boyle (Davitts)
7. Donal Vaughan (Ballinrobe)
8. Seamus O’Shea (Breaffy)
9. Barry Moran (Castlebar Mitchels)
10. Kevin McLoughlin (Knockmore)
11. Aidan O’Shea (Breaffy)
12. Jason Doherty (Burrishoole)
13. Cillian O’Connor (Ballintubber)
14. Andy Moran (capt, Ballaghaderreen)
15. Alan Dillon (Ballintubber)
Subs: Mikey Conroy for Dillon (44), Alan Freeman for A Moran (52), Jason Gibbons for B Moran (black card, 58), Kevin Keane for Boyle (69), Diarmuid O’Connor for Doherty (69), Mikey Sweeney for A O’Shea (70).
GALWAY
1. Manus Breathnach
2. Donal O’Neill
3. Finian Hanley
17. Aonghus Tierney
5. Gareth Bradshaw
6. Gary O’Donnell
7. Paul Varley
8. Fiontan O’Curraoin
9. Tomas Flynn
10. Michael Lundy
11. Shane Walsh
12. Damien Comer
13. Paul Conroy
14. Eddie Hoare
15. Danny Cummins
Subs: James Kavanagh for Comer (23), Daithi Burke for Tierney (44), Sean Armstrong for Cummins (44), Greg Higgins for Hoare (55), John O’Brien for Lundy (58)
Referee: Rory Hickey (Clare)
Congrats to everyone who got an award there tonight, all well deserved. Thought probably the most hotly contested one was the young player of the year award. I’d have given it to Jeremy Loughman but equally it could have been Fineen wycherly too and in the same breath you cAnt argue with goggin winning it either.
@Jim Demps: g’wan Jim Jim. We know you want an award as well: The mystic meg memorial award
@Roibeard O’ Beachain: good contribution.
@Jim Demps: Goggin looked sharp when he came on the other day, like to see more of him AND Sammy, and Bill, and Casey, and Flannery and both Wycherly’s AND the list goes on.
@thesaltyurchin: yeah I’d fully expect you’ll see plenty more of them next year. This season seems to be about sorting out the squad in terms of the players Van Graan wants and thinks are up to it and the ones who will move on. The young players he likes have seen plenty of action. It’ll be very interesting to see the academy players once it’s finalised. I know James McCarthy and Matt more are gone and I’d expect some more as well and then there will be plenty of additions.
A Cork person was definitely picking those awards…!
@Treaty Bhoy: why do you do it
Will never understand giving awards to referees?? They should all be doing the exact same job, so why pick one out and say you are doing it better. Is there any other sport that does this??
@Kyle Mac Creddin: Soccer, GAA do it. Plenty others as well.
Why not recognise referees as much as players/coaches/teams for work/successes during the season?
@Ormond: Exactly. Players are thought the same things but some perform better than other, it’s the same for referees.
@Kyle Mac Creddin: Is there a sport that doesn’t do this? If you don’t have referees, you don’t have games. Playing is the easy part, I often wonder what makes someone want to ref. They deserve the awards and recognition for excelling as much if not more than players.
Unbelievable performance from Donal L.
Congrats to all the award winners. A special congrats and thank you to Donal Lenihan, Munster’s and Ireland’s
greatest rugby performer on and off the field.
Think Goggin had a fantastic season very strong and quick in the centre. I would have had no complaint if whycherly got it as he has also been fantastic this season.
@Top Class: hopefully Wycherley has a good future ahead of him in Red, and he’s only 21. Agree he would have been a worthy winner of the award, he’s made a great impact this season.