Mayo 1-16

Roscommon 2-11

Kevin Egan reports from Dr. Hyde Park

MAYO HAVE ONE foot in this year’s Allianz Football League final after they just about held off a late Roscommon surge this afternoon at Dr. Hyde Park, though Roscommon will arguably be at least as happy about their future prospects after this tie, based on the manner in which they worked their way back into contention despite enduring a truly dreadful first quarter.

The shadow of next month’s Connacht quarter-final clash between these two sides looked like it was taking some of the edge of matters in the opening half, as the Rossies struggled to gain traction in any section of the field, while Mayo quickly built up a seven-point lead without ever having to reach their customary “whirlwind” style of play, instead just banking on their solid physical presence and the sharp form of Cillian O’Connor up front.

0-9 to 0-4 after a wind-assisted first half was the least that Mayo deserved, but muscle memory and competitive instinct wasn’t long about bubbling up to the surface after half-time. Goals from Enda Smith and Conor Cox set up a dramatic finish in front of 12,491 enthralled supporters, before Matthew Ruane’s late score saw them over the line.

It didn’t look as if any such drama was in store early on, when Mayo moved 0-7 to no score up with 18 minutes on the clock. A series of sloppy errors in possession from Roscommon certainly didn’t help the home side’s cause, but there was plenty to be happy about from a Mayo perspective as well, even aside from O’Connor’s form and Tommy Conroy’s return to a starting lineup.

Jack Carney linked up the play incredibly well, while Sam Callinan and Jack Coyne more than justified their selection in the full back line, making light of the absence of the in-form Enda Hession.

Even as Roscommon mustered something of a kick coming up to half-time, with Diarmuid Murtagh kicking three points and Conor Daly bursting forward to split the uprights from 25 metres out, it still felt like Mayo had them easily contained. The powerful running of wing forwards Fionn McDonagh and Jordan Flynn was breaking tackles and creating overlaps, while Roscommon’s talisman players weren’t making anything like the same impression.

A gradual increase in the tempo of the play after half-time saw the two sides split six points evenly between them, with Cillian O’Connor and Enda Smith kicking the highlight reel scores for their respective sides, before Mayo suddenly surged eight points clear thanks to TG4 man of the match Jack Carney, who was first to pounce when Conor Daly spilled a pass from Colin Walsh.

Within six minutes of that concession, Roscommon were back within three points, their own goal coming from Enda Smith with a quarter of an hour remaining.

Initially, it seemed like Mayo steadied the ship, scoring three out of the next four points. They also had a glorious chance to kill the game entirely when Ryan O’Donoghue weaved his way through on goal from the left corner, floating a handpass in towards Tommy Conroy, who palmed it against the crossbar.

They paid the price for that miss when Ciaráin Murtagh chipped over a free, Brian Stack played in Conor Cox for a second goal, and suddenly Roscommon were one white flag away from parity.

A well-worked Matthew Ruane score, with O’Donoghue again assisting, forced the Rossies to chase a third goal, and it might have happened too, as Ben O’Carroll won possession in a crowd of players and then got his shot away on goal, only for Diarmuid O’Connor to make a decisive block with the last play before Brendan Cawley’s final whistle.

Scorers for Mayo: Cillian O’Connor 0-7 (0-6f), Jack Carney 1-1, James Carr 0-3, Tommy Conroy 0-1, Fionn McDonagh 0-1, Rory Byrne 0-1 (45), Bob Tuohy 0-1, Matthew Ruane 0-1.

Scorers for Roscommon: Diarmuid Murtagh 0-4 (0-3f), Enda Smith 1-1, Conor Cox 1-1 (0-1f), Ciaráin Murtagh 0-2 (0-1f), Conor Daly 0-1, Daire Cregg 0-1, Tadhg O’Rourke 0-1.

Mayo

16 Rory Byrne (Castlebar Mitchels)

17 Sam Callinan (Ballina Stephenites)

3 David McBrien (Ballaghaderreen)

2 Jack Coyne (Ballyhaunis)

20 Paddy Durcan (Castlebar Mitchels)

6 Conor Loftus (Crossmolina Deel Rovers)

5 Stephen Coen (Hollymount-Carramore)

8 Matthew Ruane (Breaffy)

9 Diarmuid O’Connor (Ballintubber)

10 Fionn McDonagh (Westport)

11 Jack Carney (Kilmeena)

12 Jordan Flynn (Crossmolina Deel Rovers)

23 Cillian O’Connor (Ballintubber)

14 James Carr (Ardagh)

18 Tommy Conroy (The Neale)

Subs: Bob Tuohy (Castlebar Mitchels) for McDonagh (48), Aidan O’Shea (Breaffy) for Flynn (55), Ryan O’Donoghue (Belmullet) for C O’Connor (62), Jason Doherty (Burrishoole) for Conroy (68), Conor McStay (Ballina Stephenites) for Carr (68).

Roscommon

16 Colm Lavin (Éire Óg)

2 Conor Hussey (Michael Glaveys)

3 Conor Daly (Pádraig Pearses)

18 Colin Walsh (Oran)

4 David Murray (Pádraig Pearses)

6 Brian Stack (St. Brigid’s)

7 Niall Daly (Pádraig Pearses)

8 Tadhg O’Rourke (Tulsk Lord Edwards)

9 Keith Doyle (St. Dominic’s)

11 Ciarán Lennon (Clann na nGael)

10 Richard Hughes (Roscommon Gaels)

22 Robbie Dolan (St. Brigid’s)

13 Ben O’Carroll (St. Brigid’s)

12 Enda Smith (Boyle)

14 Diarmuid Murtagh (St. Faithleach’s)

Subs: Ciaráin Murtagh (St. Faithleach’s) for Dolan (23), Daire Cregg (Boyle) for Lennon (half-time), Niall Kilroy (Fuerty) for Doyle (50), Donie Smith (Boyle) for C Daly (53), Conor Cox (Éire Óg) for D Murtagh (62).

Referee: Brendan Cawley (Kildare)

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