Gallant Mayo girls fall to the champions
Mayo’s Amelia Duffy in action against Galway’s Ellie Harty-O’Brien. Picture: David Farrell Photography
The Mayo U14 girls put up a spirited fight but a powerful Galway side proved too strong in last Saturday’s Connacht final in Bekan. Despite netting three goals in an exciting first half, the girls in green and red couldn't hold back the reigning All-Ireland champions who controlled long spells of the game in tough, wet conditions.
Galway got off to a flying start, with Katie Brogan opening the scoring inside the first minute. Brogan, who played at centre-forward, featured in last year's All-Ireland winning team and was influential throughout the 60 minutes. Mayo responded superbly four minutes in when Aoife Morrin found the net with a well-worked goal that briefly swung the momentum. Galway were relentless, however. Points from Siun Cullinane, Katie Brogan, and Charlotte Osburne quickly restored their lead, and their sharp forward play soon caused more problems for the Mayo defence.
On eight minutes, a miscommunication at the back allowed Brogan in again and she made no mistake rattling the net. Galway thought they had a second goal moments later, only for it to be chalked off for a square ball. Nonetheless, they kept the scoreboard ticking, adding three classy points with two from the ever-dangerous Cullinane and one from Ellie Harty-O'Brien.
Mayo rallied and began to create chances of their own. A flurry of attacking pressure saw them denied by the crossbar and a fine Galway save in the 18th minute. Galway would punish the missed chances as, Cullinane added her third point of the game.
Tom Carney’s side did not let their heads drop. After an excellent passage of play, Molly Sheridan raised the green flag in the 22nd minute to give Mayo hope. Just five minutes later, an Aoife Morrin shot deflected into the net as the gap was narrowed to just two points.
But Galway hit back as Cullinane’s high shot in the 28th minute dipped at the last second, striking the crossbar before bouncing over the line. Despite Mayo’s comeback effort, Galway led 2-8 to 3-0 at half-time.
The Tribeswomen picked up right where they left off after the break. Siun Cullinane came to the fore again a minute after the restart, palming home her second goal after Aoife Commons made an initial save. Both Cullinane and Katie Brogan added points to stretch Galway’s advantage further, their movement off the ball and ability to exploit space key features of a second half they dominated from start to finish.
Despite the growing gap, Mayo kept fighting. Captain Rhea Gostick led by example, while Clara Kennedy and Chloe Stagg also put in excellent shifts. Molly Sheridan pointed from a free in the 40th minute - Mayo’s only score of the second half, and Galway’s fourth goal soon followed with Ellie Harty-O’Brien finishing a rapid counterattack. Both sides ran their benches in the closing minutes, with Galway adding two final points through Harty-O’Brien and Brogan to round out an impressive team display.
Both teams now progress to the All-Ireland Platinum series in three weeks’ time where Mayo will look to bounce back.
