Garrymore lay down early marker for season
Darren Quinn, right, was in fine form for Garrymore, scoring 1-6 in their landslide win against home side Aghamore in the opening round of the 2024 Mayo SFL. Picture: David Farrell Photography
Garrymore flourished in last weekend’s opening to the 2024 Mayo Senior Football League by recording the biggest win in Division 1B, after a dominant performance that saw them run out 17-point winners away to Aghamore. Very few could have predicted such a convincing win for the visitors, yet this game had an inevitability about it by half-time.
The hosts were missing key personnel on Saturday evening, county seniors Fergal Boland and Conor Hunt, and U20 Tom O’Flaherty included, but likewise Garrymore were not at full strength having lost the services of Gary Golden this year (overseas) while fellow midfielder David Dolan is injured. Robeen’s Cathal Slattery and young Aaron Hughes were given the 8 and 9 jerseys respectfully, rather than their more accustomed inside forward roles, and it was those pair who set the tempo which helped establish such Garrymore dominance. They were first to so many breaking balls and once in possession, they moved the ball at pace, supported one another intelligently and both even kicked a point from play for good measure.
It was also an evening where the visitors could count on their more experienced guys to deliver as both Nally brothers, Shane and Trevor, along with veteran Ciaran McGrath set about tearing holes in the home defence from the off.
Aghamore had little to offer in return and having been overran in practically every quarter of the field, they were mightily relieved to hear the sound of referee Paul Lydon’s full-time whistle and will quickly want to case this evening to one side. They seemed to lack the same fitness as their opponents and also the same collective understanding, and were reduced to a shadow of the side that opponents would always expect to come up against when travelling to this famous East Mayo venue.
The writing was on the wall after only nine minutes as Garrymore had already built up a 1-4 to no score lead – the goal coming from the boot of Darren Quinn after a high ball in from Aaron Hughes had bounced over the head of Quinn’s marker. The corner-forward, who featured for Mayo against London in this year’s FBD League, was never going to miss.
Shane Nally, Jamie Oates and Aaron Hughes had all pointed from play while Quinn added a free shortly after his three-pointer. Aghamore did finally get off the mark in the 13th minute when Finlay Coen raised the white flag and a converted free by Sean Og Tigue also gave his side a much-needed boost. But it was only a brief respite as Garrymore upped it another notch and hit eight unanswered points between there and the interval to lead 1-12 to 0-2 at the break. Darren Quinn struck three of these, two from play and one from a free, while Trevor Nally rolled back the years with three from play. Liam Horkan and Cathal Slattery both added one each.
The eventual outcome was never in doubt at any stage throughout the second-half, even when Garrymore were reduced to fourteen men after Colin Commins received a straight red card at the midway point for something off the ball that was spotted by the umpires.
Trevor Nally continued on from where he left off in the first 30 minutes by adding three more splendid points, including a free and a mark for good measure. Darren Quinn added a brace, one from play and a ’45, before Garrymore’s final score arrived from the boot of the returning Jamie Hession. The Frenchgrove man came off the bench and scored from play within 60 seconds to a great roar from the Garrymore supporters, having had a nightmare 2023 due to injuries.
Sean Og Tigue and Liam Walsh did raise a white flag apiece for Aghamore but in the end it counted for very little and their side will need a big improvement before travelling to Foxford to play Moy Davitts in two weeks’ time.
Scorers – Garrymore: Darren Quinn 1-6 (0-2f, 0-1 ’45), Trevor Nally 0-6 (1f, 1m), Shane Nally, Jamie Oates, Aaron Hughes, Liam Horkan, Cathal Slattery and Jamie Hession 0-1 each.
Aghamore: Sean Og Tigue 0-2 (1f), Finlay Coen and Liam Walsh 0-1 each.
Aghamore: Adam Byrne; Jake Glavey, Robert Lyons, Conor Morley; Iarla Carty, Liam Cassidy, Johnny Conlon; Rob O’Flaherty, Sean Og Tigue; Jack Concannon, James Lyons, Brian Breslin; Finlay Coen, Liam Walsh, Darren Duffy. Sub: Ross Egan (for Carty 50).
Garrymore: Brian Lynskey; Patrick Hession, Kenneth Lydon, Conor Lydon; Jamie Oates, Liam Horkan, Colin Commins; Aaron Hughes, Cathal Slattery; Ciaran McGrath, Caolan Crowe, Justin Commins; Darren Quinn, Shane Nally, Trevor Nally. Subs: Brendan Walsh (for Crowe ht), Joseph Ferriter (for J Commins 55), Jamie Hession (for Hughes 58), Seán Gildea (for McGrath 60).
REF: Paul Lydon (Kiltimagh)
