Incredible comeback in vain as Tribe take title
Galway defender Aisling Murray can only watch as Sarah Carney looks to send Mayo on the attack during last Saturday's epic final in Bekan. Picture: Pauline Flatley
When these two teams met in the round-robin phase three weeks earlier, it was Mayo who had shaded a ding-dong battle by two points in Milltown. Last Saturday, it was Galway who won by the same margin. You win some, you lose some, except this time there was a significant prize on offer to the winners – the title of Connacht champions.
To say that Galway breathed a sigh of relief at the full-time whistle is something of an understatement; they had seen their fourteen points lead wiped out in a sensational second-half display by Mayo who led this final by two points, 2-12 to 2-10, with the finish line in sight.
The Tribeswomen had, at this stage, scored just once after half-time, that when their excellent midfielder Katie Slattery rifled home a brilliant goal in the opening minute to give her side a 2-10 to 0-2 advantage. For all the world it looked Game Over at the Connacht GAA Centre of Excellence, with the 2-10 that Mayo proceeded to score without reply totally unforeseen. But almost as stunning an achievement was how Galway subsequently managed to steady themselves and reverse the tide.
The Maroon and White had used the aid of the wind superbly in the first-half, and led 1-4 to no score before Suzanne Tuohy would eventually fire over Mayo’s opening point in the 14th minute. Katie Slattery had scored all four of Galway’s points while their goal had arrived in the ninth minute from Alisha O’Malley after an incisive run by Rebecca Noone.
The midfield battle was to be an intriguing one, with Mayo’s Sarah Carney and the aforementioned Suzanne Tuohy up against a formidable pairing in Slattery and Isabelle Murray who held the upper-hand in the first-half, evidence of which came with the scoreline.
While Mayo added just one more point, that coming from Larissa Kelly in the 20th minute, Galway steamed into their eleven points half-time lead, 1-10 to 0-2, thanks to points by Siún McGovern, two frees, Alisha O’Malley, two, Rebecca Noone and Eabha Smith.
It looked like a perilous situation that Mayo found themselves in, even with the wind assistance to come in the second-half, more so when Katie Slattery rattled home that second goal, but Mayo settled to their uphill task with massive heart and determination, thanks in no small part to the contributions of Ava Palasz and Muireann Nolan who were both introduced at half-time.
The comeback was kickstarted by a 35th minute goal from Christina MacEvilly who gathered a long delivery by sub Palasz before slamming the ball past ‘keeper Aleneh Keohane. Mayo won the next two Galway kickouts and that resulted in points for Nolan and Palasz, with the former then bagging Mayo’s second goal after some excellent work in the build-up by Kayla Doherty and Bree Hession.
That all meant that after only eleven minutes of second-half action, the Green and Red already had the margin of arrears down to five points. That’s not to say that the Tribeswomen were not still threatening, and it took a fine save from Mayo’s Charlie Reilly Benson to prevent Alisha O’Malley from scoring her second – and Galway’s third – goal.
In truth, however, that opportunity was only a brief interruption to Mayo’s momentum, and five points by five different players – Hession, Palasz, Carney, Tuohy and the excellent Doherty – saw the game all-square by the 53rd minute, and it was difficult at this point to envisage anything other than a Mayo victory.
It was an opinion hardened by the arrival of lead-giving points from the boots of Kayla Doherty, a free, and Bree Hession, which saw Mayo hold a 2-12 to 2-10 advantage with five minutes left to play plus whatever was going to be allowed for stoppages.
In the very warm conditions, and on the back foot for so long, that Galway found it within them to arrest their slide has to be admired. A converted free by Siún McGovern reduced the gap to the minimum before Isabelle Murray broke upfield and released sub Emelia Joyce who in turn found Rebecca Noone in space, with the corner-forward unleashing a stunning goal into the top left corner of the Mayo net.
It was a score worthy of winning any game, as difficult as that will be for Mayo to suck up.
Scorers – Galway: Katie Slattery 1-4, Alisha O'Malley 1-2, Rebecca Noone 1-1, Siún McGovern 0-3f, Eabha Smith 0-1.
Mayo: Muireann Nolan 1-1, Christina MacEvilly 1-0, Ava Palasz 0-3, Kayla Doherty (1f), Bree Hession and Suzanne Tuohy 0-2 each, Larissa Kelly and Sarah Carney 0-1 each.
Galway: Aleneh Keohane; Daria Brennan, Zoe Duggan, Leanne Seoighe; Aisling Murray, Klara Banek, Eabha Ledesma; Katie Slattery, Isabelle Murray; Eabha Smith, Alisha O'Malley, Aoife Nash; Siún McGovern, Aisling Madden, Rebecca Noone. Subs: Emelia Joyce (for O'Malley 55), Zainab Rathar (for A Murray 58), Lauren O'Brien (for Smith 60+3).
Mayo: Charlie Reilly Benson; Isobel Phillips, Riona Jordan, Alannah McDonnell; Shauna Heneghan, Síomha McNulty, Katie Brennan; Sarah Carney, Suzanne Tuohy; Larissa Kelly, Meabh Callinan, Amy Cummins; Kayla Doherty, Bree Hession, Christina MacEvilly. Subs: Ava Palasz and Muireann Nolan (for Kelly and Cummins ht), Ashleagh Salmon (for MacEvilly 58).
