Cyclone Kobe strikes Clones as Mayo run riot
Fergal Boland is challenged by Ryan Mohan, Aaron Carey and Dessie Ward of Monaghan during Mayo's emphatic win at St Tiernach's Park, Clones last Sunday. Pictures: INPHO/Tom Maher
Lest the media be accused for creating all the hype, let me state nothing here but facts.
Someone who by the 52nd minute of Sunday’s National Football League Division 1 match away to Monaghan had never played senior football for Mayo (and why would he, only months turned 18 and still in secondary school) had inside the next 13 minutes scored four times from four shots; a point followed by a goal followed by a two-pointer followed by a point. His final act was to lay the pass for Ryan O’Donoghue to guide over the game’s last point.
That contribution of 1-1-2, all from play, each score of sublime quality and coming in a blistering nine minute spell, rendered the substitute and debutant as the game’s highest scorer in what ended as a nineteen points win for the Green and Red.
His name is Kobe McDonald. He is from Crossmolina. He sits his Leaving Certificate this year. It has been stated he will pursue a career in Australian Rules Football later this year. Nothing but facts.
As for hype? It seems but just a word to Kobe.
You felt almost sorry for Bob Tuohy and Darragh Beirne and for any loss of limelight their own displays had merited. Tuohy had given a colossal man-of-the-match performance at midfield while Beirne, still a teen himself, struck five points before replaced by McDonald, meaning he has now scored 2-9 from his first four league outings. But it’s impossible to remember any Mayo footballer announcing themselves as emphatically as the Gortnor Abbey student who eight days earlier had scored a more modest five points in his school’s 0-12 to 0-7 loss to Balla in the Connacht Post Primary senior ‘C’ final.
But if one thing is certain it’s that Kobe and his Mayo teammates may never again have things so easy in a league game as they had against Monaghan. The Farney County are pointless after four rounds of National Football League Division 1 and on Sunday it was easy to see why.
Wind-assisted Mayo had kicked five first-half two pointers to lead 0-17 to 0-6 at half-time. That was even after Ryan O’Donoghue had driven a 13th minute penalty over the crossbar, the foul by Monaghan corner-back Darragh McElearney committed on Beirne who already is playing with a maturity beyond his years.
The hosts had initially improved with the half-time introduction of Jack McCarron but there was never any realistic prospect of a comeback. A McCarron goal in the 44th minute was negated by one from Aidan O’Shea six minutes later before the barely believable cameo from Kobe McDonald that saw him raise four flags in a row from the 56th to 65th minutes.
In their defence, Monaghan are a much depleted unit at present, and not only because of some big name retirees in recent years. The loss to injury of goalkeeper – and expert place-kicker – Rory Beggan was an enormous blow to manager Gabriel Bannigan who is also without the excellent Conor McCarthy, while McCarron himself is only on the comeback trail. But their lack of resistance, on a day where they had to win to have any realistic prospect of avoiding relegation from Division 1, was quite startling.
Monaghan did score the game’s opening points through captain Micheál Bannigan and Andrew Woods, from a free awarded for a foul on Bannigan by Conor Loftus, but Mayo reeled off seven points in seven minutes to take a lead they never relinquished.
Consecutive two pointers by Darragh Beirne, a free, and Jack Carney opened Mayo’s account while a single by Fergal Boland was followed by two in a row from placed balls by Ryan O’Donoghue, the second from that Beirne-won penalty.
The hosts did raise a mini gallop when midfielder Micheál McCarville and the lively Bannigan, two, kicked three points in quick succession, but the latter’s influence waned once his marker Loftus decided that the best form of defence was to attack.
The Crossmolina native brought great drive to Mayo’s challenge in the second quarter and together with Bob Tuohy’s near total domination of the Monaghan kickout, a barrage of points arrived for the visitors. Jordan Flynn landed a two pointer followed by a one, whilst there were singles too for half-backs Paddy Durcan and Sam Callinan and a first from play by Beirne. Fergal Boland rounded off the first-half with a pair of booming two pointers, the second bang on the short whistle from fully 50-metres.
In contrast, one point from Andrew Woods was all Monaghan had been able to muster for the final fourteen minutes, albeit it had taken a wonderfully timed shoulder tackle by Aidan O’Shea to deny Micheál Bannigan a possible attempt at the Mayo goal.
Monaghan, however, didn’t have to wait very long after the restart before raising the green flag, with half-time substitute Jack McCarron plundering 1-2 between the 43rd and 45th minutes. The major was in direct response to an Aidan O’Shea point seconds earlier but with Beirne, Durcan and O’Donoghue all adding to their tallies in the third quarter, a pointed free by Bannigan had only reduced Monaghan’s arrears to nine points by the time O’Shea fired home his second goal in four games, in the 50th minute, sending Mayo 1-21 to 1-9 in front.
It would be easier to list the Mayo players who hadn’t an involvement in the most patient of build-ups which ended with Conor Loftus passing inside to O’Shea who left goalkeeper Kian Mulligan with no chance of saving.
Mulligan did extend a leg to superbly prevent O’Donoghue from heaping further misery upon the locals but that stay of execution was short-lived as Mayo stretched their lead to fifteen points through Beirne, a free, goalkeeper Rob Hennelly, a ’45, and Flynn, whose younger brother Kobe McDonald had by now entered the fray for his debut. It’s one that won’t be forgotten.
A point off his first touch from an O’Donoghue pass, McDonald was then released by Flynn on the 45-metre line and after two solos, the 18-year-old unleashed a ferocious shot into the far left corner of the Monaghan net.
The Ulster side pared back five points through Stephen O’Hanlon’s two pointer and a goal by sub Robbie Hanratty, who punched McCarron’s high ball past Hennelly, but there was only one show in town at this stage.
McDonald received a pass from Sam Callinan and against the wind booted over Mayo’s sixth two-point score after which the speed of Enda Hession carved an opening for McDonald to whip over another single, leaving Mayo 2-28 to 2-11 ahead with still five minutes left to play. Clones had just been struck by a cyclone.
By full-time the margin was nineteen, as further points from play by Flynn and O’Donoghue preceded an excellent save by Hennelly from the ever dangerous Jack McCarron.
Six points out of eight for Mayo, the choice is Andy Moran’s whether they now push for a fourth league final appearance in five seasons.
Kobe in Croker? Now there’s a thought.
Scorers – Mayo: Kobe McDonald 1-1-2, Darragh Beirne 0-1-3 (1tpf, 1f), Fergal Boland 0-2-1, Jordan Flynn 0-1-3, Aidan O’Shea 1-0-1, Ryan O’Donoghue 0-0-4 (0-1p, 1f), Jack Carney 0-1-0, Paddy Durcan 0-0-2, Sam Callinan and Rob Hennelly (’45) 0-0-1 each.
Monaghan: Jack McCarron 1-0-2 (1f), Micheál Bannigan 0-0-4 (1f), Robbie Hanratty 1-0-0, Stephen O’Hanlon 0-1-0, Andrew Woods 0-0-2 (1f), Micheál McCarville 0-0-1.
Monaghan: Kian Mulligan; Darragh McElerney, Ryan O’Toole, Ryan Wylie; Cameron Dowd, Dessie Ward, Aaron Carey; Micheál McCarville, Gary Mohan; Ryan Mohan, Micheál Bannigan, Thomas Hughes; Oisin McGorman, Andrew Woods, Stephen O’Hanlon. Subs: Jack McCarron (for McElerney ht), Robbie Hanratty (for Hughes 49), Fionan Carolan and Eddie Walsh (for G Mohan and McGorman 53).
Mayo: Rob Hennelly; Jack Coyne, Donnacha McHugh, Enda Hession; Sam Callinan, Conor Loftus, Paddy Durcan; Bob Tuohy, David McBrien; Jack Carney, Ryan O’Donoghue, Jordan Flynn; Darragh Beirne, Aidan O’Shea, Fergal Boland. Subs: Kobe McDonald (for Beirne 52), Michael Plunkett (for Loftus 55), Sean Morahan and Paul Towey (for Durcan and Carney 59), Stephen Coen (for Boland 63).
REF: David Gough (Meath)
