Leitrim crash and Beirne to Mayo’s powers

Connacht U20 ‘B’ Football Championship (Philly McGuinness Cup) Final 

Mayo 3-11 

Leitrim 0-9 

Anthony Hennigan in Philly McGuinness Memorial Park, Mohill 

It was easy to imagine the respective pre-match team talks, Peadar Gardiner imploring his Mayo players to reveal their true selves after an uninspiring Connacht campaign, and Andy Moran daring his Leitrim boys to prove their previous victory over the Green and Red was no flash in the pan.

The result will perhaps frustrate as much as it will satisfy Gardiner, for if his team had been as ruthless in the original fixture they might now be preparing for a cut at the Connacht ‘A’ title next Saturday as opposed to entry into the All-Ireland ‘B’ championship.

A pair of first-half goals by Darragh Beirne laid the platform for this win, Mayo’s second of the season. The Claremorris corner-forward was, before half-time at least, too hot for the Leitrim defence to handle, and while he tagged on three frees in the second-half, it was his club-mate, Niall Hurley, who was Mayo’s only player to hit the target from play after the break – despite only introduced in the 51st minute. A star of the 2022 Mayo side that reached an All-Ireland U17 final, Hurley had scored 1-1 within four minutes of his arrival.

Leitrim battled gamely throughout the second-half and were certainly not short of possession, with fine shifts in particular from Barry McNulty, Ben Guckian, Jake Tobin and Paul Moran, but their frustration manifested itself in the 56th minute dismissal of centre-forward Darren Cox who was booked twice in nine minutes.

The game began at a lightning pace with the teams sharing four scores in the opening three minutes, the big one coming from Darragh Beirne when he received a diagonal delivery from Mayo full-back John MacMonagle and fired low past Leitrim goalkeeper Brian Cull. Jake Tobin and Jack Casey had popped over a point apiece but the hosts, quite remarkably, were only to score once more from play.

Frees by Paul Honeyman, two, and Barry McNulty had drawn Leitrim to within a point of Mayo after 21-minutes, 1-3 to 0-5, with Oisin Cronin, Darragh Beirne and Finbar McLaughlin having raised white for the visitors. But Gardiner’s crew were about to make a decisive burst by hitting 1-2 without reply, as Cronin and ‘keeper David Dolan, from a ’45, struck points either side of Beirne rifling home a second goal, this time receiving from Tom O’Flaherty and taking on Leitrim full-back Tom Hughes before stroking home off his left boot.

With six points now between the sides, that remained the margin at the interval after an exchange of singles between McNulty, a free, and Oisin Cronin, who fired over his third point from play, to leave the scoreboard reading 2-6 to 0-6.

It didn’t matter that for 18 minutes of the second-half all Mayo had to show for their efforts was one further Darragh Beirne pointed free because Leitrim, while working hard, were carrying little or no threat in front of the posts, with a Ben Guckian free and Barry McNulty’s effort from play, in the 38th and 40th minutes, two of only three points they would score over the course of the half.

Beirne, a free, Dolan, a free, and Niall Hurley, from play, had kicked Mayo into a 2-10 to 0-8 advantage by the 52nd minute before Hurley’s fellow sub, Darragh Reilly, supplied the long delivery which resulted in him drilling the ball into the bottom left corner for Mayo’s third goal of the afternoon.

Another Beirne free pushed the lead out to a dozen points before the now 14-man Leitrim signed off with the game’s final score, a Guckian pointed free.

Mayo will now face Ulster opposition in the All-Ireland U20 ‘B’ semi-final.

Scorers – Mayo: Darragh Beirne 2-4 (0-3f), Niall Hurley 1-1, Oisin Cronin 0-3, David Dolan 0-2 (1 ’45, 1f), Finbar McLaughlin 0-1.

Leitrim: Barry McNulty 0-3 (2f), Paul Honeyman and Ben Guckian 0-2f each, Jake Tobin and Jack Casey 0-1 each.

Leitrim: Brian Cull; Arek Oberwan, Tom Hughes, Eanna McNamara; Killian Maguire, Tom Plunkett, Naoise McManus; Jack Foley, Ben Guckian; Paul Moran, Darren Cox, Jack Casey; Jake Tobin, Barry McNulty, Paul Honeyman. Subs: Shaun Conlon (for Casey 39), Michael McBrien (for Maguire 48), Joe McGloin (for Plunkett 51), Paddy Keane and Conor Keegan (for McManus and Moran 58).

Mayo: David Dolan; Eoin McGreal, John MacMonagle, David Slattery; Paul Gilmore, Sean Morahan, Jack Mulchrone; Jack Melvin, Conal Dawson; Finbar McLaughlin, Tom O’Flaherty, Diarmuid Duffy; Darragh Beirne, Oisin Cronin, Cathal Keaveney. Subs: Yosef Coghill (for McGreal 34), Darragh Reilly (for McLaughlin 46), Niall Hurley (for Keaveney 51), Fiachra Cruise (for Cronin 58), Diarmuid Coggins (for Dawson 59).

REF: Ian Monaghan (Roscommon)