Below-par Mayo are punished by Longford

The Mayo under-14 Schoolgirls played their final round robin group match in Westport on December 15 last, facing Longford in what was effectively a decider match as to who would finish top and runners-up in the group. This would then determine what knock-out competition they would end up in, Cup or Shield.

Mayo had loads of possession in the opening half but too often their final ball was either too short and easily won by a voracious visiting defence. At other times the Mayo girls forced the issue too much with the ball carrying in the wind away from its intended target. To compound matters, Longford had a real bustling physical centre forward who caused loads of problems. She scored one and was involved in another goal as Longford deservedly took a 2-0 lead into the half-time interval.

The second-half saw the visitors up their percentage of the ball possession stakes while Mayo still struggled big time with the conditions on the day. Chances were few and far between as Mayo strangely never got up to playing at the tempo that they can. It was no great surprise to see Longford add two further goals to give the final score a rather one-sided look of 4-0.

In a disappointing display by Mayo, Lola Hanley, Bonnie Walsh and Rheanna Hoban were best. Mayo now enter the Shield knock-out where they have a home quarter-final with Cork in early February. Given that this is the Gaynor Cup age group, there is a chance that Mayo will face Longford again by June of this year when they would hope to give a much better account of themselves. This is a game that they just need to move on from.