Mayo girls claim Connacht U16 title with late winner
Mayo captain Amy Doherty celebrates with her teammates after the presentation of the Connacht LGFA Connemara Blue U-16 A football trophy at the Connacht GAA Centre of Excellence, Bekan. Picture: David Farrell Photography
Katie Hughes struck a magnificent point to secure the Connacht 'A' title for the Mayo U16 girls, a third in a row at this level, at the expense of an excellent Roscommon side after a tense finale at a sun splashed Connacht Centre of Excellence.
Mayo enjoyed plenty of the ball in the first half but sudden bursts by Roscommon left the Green and Red reeling. Amy Rogers found the net for Roscommon early in the half while five points in the last three minutes of the first half put Roscommon 1-7 to 0-8 ahead at the break.
Star forward Mikayla McLoughlin kept Mayo hopes alive with three second half points but each time Mayo got close, Roscommon would find a way to keep their noses in front. When it appeared the game was slipping away from Francis Ragan's, McLoughlin found the net with five minutes of normal time remaining before Hughes hit her late winner to keep the trophy in Mayo hands for another year on a scoreline of 1-13 to 1-12. They will meet Kildare in the semi-final next month.
The victory marked a day to remember for the Mayo underage county teams, as the U14s progressed to the Platinum All-Ireland U14 'A' Semi-Final after defeating Kildare 3-12 to 3-9 in Roscommon.
