FOUR points in arrears with four second half minutes played, away from home, the diagonal, drizzle-coated wind not blowing in their favour and already the need to have used three substitutes, there was little doubt that to earn the draw against Laois proved a good Saturday night’s work for Mayo - even if the result did little to boost hopes that the green and red will be successful in their bid to avoid relegation from Division 1 of the National Football League.

Hitting the front for the first time after 25 minutes, the locals kept their noses either level or ahead until Mayo’s top scorer Austin O’Malley tapped over his fourth point of the game six minutes from full-time. It was a score that not only gave John O’Mahony’s team a 1-13 to 1-12 advantage, but their travelling support genuine cause to believe that a first league win of the season was in the offing.

An equalising score from outstanding Laois sharpshooter Michael Tierney stunted such notions but with both teams having late chances to kick match-winning scores, the final result was the fairest outcome.

Tierney struck eight points for the evening while O’Malley managed to score half that tally for Mayo. His points however, all came in open play while all but two of the former’s were from placed balls. Alan Dillon, denied by a last ditch block, had already threatened Michael Nolan’s goal when Tierney, from a third minute free awarded for Billy Joe Padden’s fouling of Brendan Quigley, cancelled out Austin O’Malley’s match-opening point, scored after just 10 seconds.

Padden’s difficulties were a sign of what was to come. As Laois loaded ball after ball upon Quigley, their long and burly full-forward, his Belmullet marker endured a torrid 58 minutes until being forced to depart from duty due to injury.

Aided by a diagonal cross-field wind, a converted Conor Mortimer free restored Mayo’s early lead before another goal chance presented itself to the visitors on seven minutes. Located by Mickey Mullins, corner-forward Andy Moran jinked inside Aidan Fennelly only to shoot straight at Nolan when to fist over the bar might have been more sensible.

Colm Parkinson tied up the game for a second time but Alan Dillon and James Gill, from similar left-sided positions but off opposite feet, delightfully kicked Mayo 0-4 to 0-2 in front after 10 minutes.

That margin remained after Michael Tierney and Conor Mortimer traded scores, however, it was at that juncture that a strained muscle forced Alan Dillon to retire from the action.

Trevor Mortimer was an able deputy but by now it was becoming quite apparent that Laois held a distinct advantage at midfield, chiefly through the superior fielding skills of Padraig Clancy.

Mayo were minus Seamus O’Shea in this sector and this gathering of Laois possession was soon transferred into scores. Three points in a five minute spell by Tierney, a free, Ross Munnelly and Colm Kelly put the O’Moore men 0-6 to 0-5 ahead with 10 minutes of the period remaining.

Peadar Gardiner, in his first league start at wing-forward, profited from David Heaney’s good work to kick an equaliser for Mayo but after Munnelly and Mickey Mullins, a free, swapped white flags, Laois struck a hammer blow to the Connacht men’s hopes when goaling with the last first half score, on 30 minutes. Padraig Clancy was unchallenged when claiming a Laois kick-out, he off-loaded to wing-back Pauric McMahon who kicked long into Brendan Quigley. Not for the first or last time, Quigley defeated Padden in the jump for clean possession, turned his marker and buried the ball low and hard past ‘keeper David Clarke.

Now 1-7 to 0-7 in arrears, Mayo sent for their captain, Ronan McGarrity, whose place-ment at midfield allowed David Heaney drop into Conor Moran’s wing-back position and take up marking duties of Billy Sheehan. In the absence of Mayo’s injured right halfback Chris Barrett, Sheehan had been provided too much space in which to orchestrate many of his side’s attacks.

His prominence and that of Clancy, was lessened dramatically by those switches during a second half that saw Mayo level affairs as early as the 10th minute.

Just as he had done in the first half, Austin O’Malley pointed in the opening seconds but a Michael Tierney brace stretched the margin between the teams to four points, the largest gap of the entire game. Tierney’s first of the half, a free, occurred seconds after his own failed point attempt was turned on to the crossbar by David Clarke, the ball eventually bouncing back into play off the upright.

Aidan Kilcoyne, a half-time inductee in place of Mickey Mullins, accepted a Trevor Mortimer pass to kick Mayo’s ninth point and when Clarke saved Padden’s blushes to block another Brendan Quigley goal effort, his reward was to see team-mate Andy Moran level the game soon after from the penalty spot.

When Austin O’Malley and Peadar Gardiner linked up with Moran at top of the right, the end result was that John O’Loughlin’s shove on the incoming Trevor Mortimer thwarted the efforts of the centre-forward to get on the end of Moran’s fisted centre, leaving referee Rory Hickey with no option but to blow for the penalty.

Andy Moran, skinning Aidan Fennelly in the early exchanges but now better watched by Peter O’Leary, cooly dispatched his kick to the bottom left corner.

Laois quickly regained the lead when Quigley brilliantly swung over off his left boot, some 13 metres from the end line far out on the right. Austin O’Malley levelled the game at 1-10 apiece after Keith Higgins, who produced another superb display, forced a turnover off Ross Munnelly, and Gardiner kicked another equaliser on 49 minutes just after Tierney had hit the first of the three frees that were to see out the Laois scoring.

There was now a great pace and intensity to the affair and the end to end nature of the contest kept the large attendance enthralled. Laois corner-back Cahir Healy had Conor Mortimer under close wraps but this only created space for other Mayo forwards and after Tierney tapped the Leinster men in front for the final time, Trevor Mortimer levelled matters for the ninth of ten occasions when he was quickest on to the spillage of Austin O’Malley’s half-a-goal chance.

On 64 minutes, the latter edged Mayo in front, 1-13 to 1-12, after a Trevor Howley intercept at the rear allowed Peadar Gardiner and Keith Higgins work play up-field but there was time still for Tierney’s score - some three minutes from the end - that earned the draw; Higgins was this time adjudged to have fouled Brendan Quigley.

Ronan McGarrity and Laois midfielder Kevin Meaney both had decent chances to snatch late match-winners but when their efforts came to nothing, it was left to Mayo’s James Gill to trigger ref Hickey’s sounding of full-time by fetching high inside his own square from the last kick.

While their team remains joint bottom of the table (winning one point from a possible six), having had various deficiencies exposed in each of its three games to date, Mayo’s management will still take encouragement from the fact that their selections have not, as of yet, been outclassed by any of the opposition they have faced. But the best opposition is still to come, with All-Ireland champions Kerry in town on Sunday week.

Defeat on that occasion will leave Mayo with a survival task of Everest proportions.

SCORERS - Mayo: Austin O’Malley 0-4, Andy Moran 1-0 (pen), Peadar Gardiner and Conor Mortimer (1f) 0-2 each, James Gill, Alan Dillon, Mickey Mullins (f), Trevor Mortimer and Aidan Kilcoyne 0-1 each.

Laois: Michael Tierney 0-8 (6f), Brendan Quigley 1-1, Ross Munnelly 0-2, Colm Kelly and Colm Parkinson 0-1 each.

MAYO: David Clarke; Tom Cunniffe, Billy Joe Padden, Liam O’Malley; Conor Moran, Trevor Howley, Keith Higgins; David Heaney, James Gill; Peadar Gardiner, Alan Dillon, Mickey Mullins; Conor Mortimer, Austin O’Malley, Andy Moran. Subs used: Trevor Mortimer (for Dillon 17-inj), Ronan McGarrity (for C Moran 31), Aidan Kilcoyne (for Mullins h/t-inj), Kieran Conroy (for Padden 58 inj).

LAOIS: Michael Nolan; Aidan Fennelly, Darren Rooney, Cahir Healy; Peter O’Leary, John O’Loughlin, Pauric McMahon; Padraig Clancy, Kevin Meaney; Ross Munnelly, Colm Kelly, Billy Sheehan; Michael Tierney, Brendan Quigley, Colm Parkinson. Subs used: David Murphy (for Fennelly 11-inj), Brian McCormack (for Kelly 47), Paul Lawlor (for Munnelly 65), Brian McDonald (for Parkinson 67).

Referee: Rory Hickey (Clare).

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