Mayo boys aim to test the faith of Leinster champions
Mayo joint-manager David Heaney. Picture: Ben McShane/Sportsfile
Mayo will bid to reach a third All-Ireland minor semi-final in four years when they face off against Leinster champions Offaly this Sunday afternoon in Hyde Park.
This will only be the third time these two counties have met at minor level. The previous two meetings were in 1964, where Offaly defeated Mayo 1-10 to 1-8 in Croke Park, while the latest meeting, saw Mayo defeat the Faithful County 1-14 to 1-12 back in 2010, with a certain Cillian O’Connor scoring nine points on the day. That meeting was also in the Hyde and Mayo will be looking for the same outcome as that day.
It has been a mixed campaign for David Heaney and Tom Reilly’s young guns. It was a struggle for them in their opening round win over Leitrim, although beginning their championship a week later than the rest of the teams – Mayo had their bye in the opening round – might explain much of the rustiness.
A much tougher test was expected against Roscommon and while Mayo were only three behind at the break, sure enough the Rossies ran riot in the second-half to emerge as nine-point winners.
It set up a must-win game with Sligo the following week and Mayo produced an avalanche of their own on this occasion, scoring 3-2 in the opening twelve minutes to ensure no way back for the Black and White.
The final group game away to Galway was little more than a dress rehearsal, as both were set to play in the semi-final. Two much-changed sides met, with Galway edging it on a very wet evening in Tuam, but Mayo produced a performance that matched the sunny skies that covered Hastings Insurance MacHale for the last four rematch, with barnstorming performances from Tony Carey, Oran Murphy and Conor Hession powering them to a final meeting with Roscommon.
The decider was a much closer affair than their round robin clash, but a heartbreaking one also. Despite losing their midfield duo, Cian May (wrist) and Adam Kelly (shoulder), with more than 25 minutes of play remaining, Mayo led by three points going into the final five minutes of normal time but Roscommon outscored the Green and Red 1-4 to 0-2 as the Connacht minor title left the county for the first time since 2021.
It is understood that May and Kelly are unlikely to be back for the tussle with Offaly, and Heaney and Reilly face a big call to decide who replaces the duo. Still, the likes of Tony Carey, Conor Hession and Oran Murphy have impressed in the full-forward line. Conor Coghill – one of the few survivors from last year’s minor team – will provide valuable experience as the competition comes into the knockout stage while Barry Langan, Cahair Tighe and Ryan O’Donnell are other key cogs in the backline.
They’ll be coming up against an Offaly team that are on cloud nine after a first Leinster title at this level in 35 years. They started their round robin phase with back-to-back defeats but recovered brilliantly to reach the final to take on Louth, who beat them by nine points in the group stage, the same margin as Mayo’s loss to Roscommon. Like Mayo, the Faithful boys came into their final as underdogs but pulled off a spectacular win, outscoring Louth 0-8 to 0-1 in the closing minutes to win the title. Their goalkeeper Jack Ryan struck four two-pointers in the final, two coming in stoppage time, and Mayo will need to wary of infringements around the arc. Tony Furey, who struck 1-6 against Louth in the final, and Dylan Dunne are dangerous attackers and will require special attention from the Mayo defence.
It all sets up for an intriguing battle and both will fancy their chances of reaching an All-Ireland semi-final. Offaly’s momentum from the final win will make them very dangerous, but Mayo’s rapid rate of improvement will make this a close one.
