Hurlers show heart to avoid first round upset
Oisin Greally was imperious at full-back for 14-man Mayo in their seven points championship win against Roscommon on Saturday.
Mayo began their Nicky Rackard Cup campaign with victory over Roscommon on Saturday, with an excellent second-half display required to overcome a visiting team who had the advantage of an extra player for more than 40 minutes.
Mayo trailed by two points at half-time and fell six points behind inside two minutes of the restart, but Ray Larkin’s fourteen men turned on the style from thereon to emerge as 1-21 to 1-14 winners, at a grey, windy and eventually wet Hastings Insurance MacHale Park.
The 27th minute dismissal of Mayo midfielder Joe Burke, after an altercation with Roscommon wing-forward Brendan Mulry, threatened to derail the Green and Red, who are hot favourites to win this Tier 4 championship, but superb individual performances by full-back Oisin Greally, Ryan Duffy, who moved from attack to midfield following Burke’s sending-off, and Daniel Huane, coupled with valuable second-half scores by Liam Lavin, Shane Boland and goal-scorer Cormac Phillips, helped turn the screw on the Shannonsiders.
Mayo, playing against the breeze, had scored just eight of nineteen scoring attempts in the first-half, as four unanswered Roscommon points just before half-time, by Cian Murray, Cathal Kenny, Robbie Fallon, a free, and Brendan Mulry, saw Kevin Sammon’s side lead 0-10 to 0-8 at the interval.
A fortunate goal scored direct from a sideline cut after just 75 seconds was the ideal start to the second-half for the Rossies, however, Mayo refused to panic and by the 53rd minute they had drawn level, 0-15 to 1-12, before Liam Lavin’s second point of the half then gave them the lead.
Conor Cosgrove, an inspirational figure at corner-back throughout for Roscommon, did level proceedings, but Mayo outscored the visitors by 1-5 to 0-1 down the stretch, with Cormac Phillips’ burying the sliotar past goalkeeper Enda Lawless on 63 minutes.
Mayo visit Armagh in Round 2 next Saturday while Roscommon face into another away game and another Connacht derby, this time against Sligo, who recorded a five points first round win over Louth, also on Saturday afternoon.
