Mayo in touching distance of final
Liam Lavin scored 1-3 in Mayo's win over Cavan. Picture: INPHO/Bryan Keane
Mayo have one foot in the Division 3A final after a strong second half saw them run out seven point winners over Cavan in Hastings Insurance MacHale Park this afternoon.
Man of the match Liam Lavin scored 1-3, with his goal on 48 minutes proving a killer blow to Cavan’s hopes after the Breffni County enjoyed a bright start to the second half. Mayo join Sligo at the top of the table with three league wins from three, and a point from their match against Louth in two weeks’ time will guarantee them a spot in the league final.
There is still work to do for Ray Larkin and Brian Finn’s squad, however, and much to be working on over the fortnight. It was another high wide count for Mayo over the 70 minutes, 14 in total. Nine of those wides came following a excellent opening period for the hosts when they found the net inside 50 seconds. A long punt from Adrian Phillips found Michael Farrell on the edge of the square and he blasted it past Naill Clerkin and into the net.
Cormac Phillips, a free, and Liam Lavin continued the early momentum while Nicholas Kenny found the first score for the visitors on four minutes.
Another Cormac Phillips free and a first of the afternoon for Daniel Huane extended their lead before the Breffni County began to settle and enjoy the lions share of the small ball.
Liam O’Brien sent over his first placed ball of the day but Cavan were punished by two quick points through Lavin and Huane on 13 and 14 minutes respectively after cheaply conceding the ball away.
Mayo, however, would not score another point until 28 minutes, hitting four wides in that period as Cavan began to chip away. Diarmaid Carney, Nicholas Kenny and Liam O’Brien, a free, brought it back to four before Huane stopped the rot for Mayo Farrell’s goal would be the difference coming into added time after O’Brien’s third free and Nicholas Kenn’s third point from play, the latter coming from a poor puckout by Davog Freyne. But Mayo’s in-form forward Adrian Phillips, who has scored 4-5 across the opening two league games, nailed his first two of the day in injury time to see Mayo lead 1-9 to 0-7 at the break.
Cavan needed a quick start ton the second half and they got it as Nicholas Kenny struck 1-1 in two minutes, the goal coming from a long drive in by Dillon Mulligan into Kenny, to leave only a point between them.
Lavin and Jack McGuinness traded points and it would be the former who would effectively end the game as a contest on 48 minutes when he scored Mayo’s second goal with a piledriver into the net.
The hosts superior fitness came to the fore and Mayo would outscore Cavan 0-6 to 0-1 over the next ten minutes through three from Adrian Phillips, a Cormac Phillips free, Eoin Delaney and Sean Kenny to see Mayo lead 2-16 to 1-10 on 58 minutes, the sole response coming from Canice Maher for Cavan.
Both teams ran the benches from here while Cavan’s two main men, Liam O’Brien and Nicholas Kenny, kept the scoreboard ticking in the closing stages while Cormac Phillips sent over his fourth free in injury time to see out a comfortable afternoon in the end for Mayo.
