Mayo girls at the double in Inter-League bow

The Mayo under-16 girls kicked off their SFAI Interleague campaign on the October Bank Holiday Monday with a home game against Clare at Umbro Park, Castlebar.

Both sides made a slow, tentative start before the home side eked out two openings through captain Aoibhin McNamara which went just the wrong side of the post. It was a case of third time lucky for McNamara on 25 minutes when she found the back of the net following a splendid ball up the wing from Zainab Naeem.

Two minutes later Mayo doubled their lead when a cross from Mc Namara found Katie Hughes who fired home to the back of the net. Doireann Lynch then reacted quickest to a parry by the visiting ‘keeper to extend Mayo’s lead and leave them 3-0 up at the interval.

The pace of the game dropped off a lot in the second half with Clare exerting a little bit more pressure but Mayo dealing with it fairly comfortably. Aoibhin Burke was unlucky to see her well hit shot whizz wide. A Hughes corner was turned onto the crossbar by Belmullet native Bethany Murphy.

Another excellent corner from McNamara this time, saw the Clare goalkeeper somewhat flap at it but her post saved her blushes with no one able to turn in the rebound. Mayo saw out the game to secure the 3-0 victory which was actually the identical score when both these age groups met in the 2023 Gaynor Cup Trophy Semi-Final in University of Limerick. Mayo will face a sterner test in their next game at home to Galway next weekend.

The Mayo under-14s made their bow in this year’s competition the following Friday (November 1) with a difficult away tie against Galway in Eamon Deacy Park. The home side got up to the pace of the game much quicker than Mayo and punished every mistake ruthlessly to deservedly lead 3-1 at the interval with Mayo’s goal coming from a well taken penalty by Saoirse Reynolds. The Mayo heads were down and a little deflated but they were about to stage an amazing comeback.

Character was there in abundance in the second half from the defensive quartet led by Rheanna Hoban, to the midfield control of Ella Connell and the sublime goal getting skills of one Saoirse Reynolds who added a second half hat-trick to her penalty opener. Special mention goes to the two debutants Kasia Bekowski and Leja Kosmikova who, along with Chloe Stagg, contributed immensely to a brilliant comeback to win 4-3. This side is out again next weekend with a home tie with Sligo-Leitrim.