Mayo overruled on historic night in Castlebar
Conal Dawson breaks past Monaghan's Ryan McAnespie. Picture: Conor McKeown
New year, new rules, new players, old habits.
Mayo scored six points in-a-row to draw level with opponents Monaghan at the tail end of Saturday night’s charity match but as against Galway, Dublin and Derry in championship last year, they were unable to close the deal.
Two late points by substitute Oisin McGorman secured the Farney visitors a victory by the same margin, however, to be overly critical about Mayo losing the first challenge match of 2025 when trialing almost 20 new players in arctic-like conditions at MacHale Park in Castlebar would be wrong.
The game offered the hardiest of supporters a first opportunity to view football the FRC way. There wasn’t a single two-pointer scored but after conceding frees, Mayo did ship several points via the 50-metre penalty for failing to return the ball into the hands of an opponent, and another when failing to keep three players in the opposition’s half, which resulted in Monaghan tap overs.
Mayo boss Kevin McStay and his management had opted to play two completely different 15s in either half. The first selection included eight players who featured in last year’s championship but by half-time they were 1-11 to 1-6 in arrears. The second XV, by far the more experimental, won the second-half 0-8 to 0-5.
In a game of four 20-minute quarters, Mayo led 1-4 to 0-4 after the first, with Ryan O’Donoghue’s 14th minute goal the difference. He benefited not only from a deflection that wrong-footed goalkeeper Rory Beggan but firstly from an excellent layup by Breaffy newcomer Davitt Neary who cleverly passed one-handed under severe pressure from several Monaghan defenders.
Conal Dawson, Ewan Duffy, Eoghan McLaughlin, driving through to blast over a goal chance, and Cian McHale had picked off a point apiece for the Green and Red while those were negated by Sean Jones, Michael Hamill, Ryan McAnespie and Andrew Woods. But with the other two Monaghan forwards, Davy Garland and Barry McBennett, also on the scoresheet by the 33rd minute, a run of 1-6 without reply was to help the visitors into a five points interval lead, despite a second point for McHale, a free, and one from play by O’Donoghue.
The Monaghan goal, arriving in the 36th minute, will have come much too easily for Kevin McStay’s liking, with Sean Jones’ handpass over the top of the Mayo defence allowing Michael Hamill to run in behind Ewan Duffy and drill the ball inside Colm Reape’s near post. Why the need for full-forward Duffy to be one of the last players back defending is a question that would have been asked of other Mayo forwards in 2024.
The Ballinrobe attacker has joined younger brother Diarmuid in the squad, with the latter playing the second-half and scoring the opening point to equal Ewan’s first-half contribution.
At half-time though, some of Mayo’s statistics had made for grim reading; out of eighteen scoring attempts they had scored only seven, with six shots kicked wide and five dropping short into the arms of Rory Beggan, including one by his opposite number Reape. Both goalkeepers were regular visitors to the opposition’s half, trying to take advantage of the other team’s requirement to keep three players in the top half of the pitch at all times. On one occasion, Ryan O’Donoghue could not resist tracking Beggan and once the Mayo attacker crossed halfway, referee John Glavey called the free, brought forward the ball and Davy Garland popped the ball between the posts from 20 metres.
Mayo’s retention of their own kickouts improved in the second-half, with new goalkeeper John Vahey impressing in all aspects of the play, including under high balls and when spreading himself superbly to deny Darragh Treanor from scoring a second Monaghan goal. When they might have slipped nine points behind, by the end of the third quarter Mayo were only four in arrears as Paul Towey, a free, Finbar McLaughlin and the lively Darragh Joyce of Claremorris hit replies to those scored by Garland, two frees, and Stephen O’Hanlon at the other end.
Playing conditions were by now far more difficult than at the start of the match, with the pitch rapidly turning a whiter shade of green due to persistent snowfall, but the Mayo performance was now at its most energetic and the new faces opened the final quarter with consecutive points by Tom O’Flaherty, Jack Melvin, Conor Reid and Dylan Prendergast to draw level at 1-14 apiece.
Parity lasted under a minute however, as Oisin McGorman fired over quickfire points from placed ball and play and while Mayo did carve out two excellent late goal chances that could have snatched the win, the first failed on an overcooked handpass by Finbar McLaughlin that denied Towey an open goal while Diarmuid Duffy availed off the new tap-and-go rule but dragged his shot past Beggan’s left-hand post.
A total of nine wides to Monaghan’s four, and eight shots dropping short were hugely costly to the hosts in the context of such a narrow defeat.
Scorers – Monaghan: Michael Hamill 1-2, Sean Jones and Davy Garland (3f) 0-3 each, Andrew Woods, Ryan McAnespie and Oisin McGorman (1f) 0-2 each, Barry McBennett and Stephen O’Hanlon 0-1 each.
Mayo: Ryan O’Donoghue 1-1, Cian McHale 0-2 (1f), Conal Dawson, Ewan Duffy, Eoghan McLaughlin, Diarmuid Duffy, Paul Towey (f), Finbar McLaughlin, Darragh Joyce, Tom O’Flaherty, Jack Melvin, Conor Reid and Dylan Prendergast 0-1 each.
Mayo (first-half): Colm Reape (Knockmore); Enda Hession (Garrymore), Donnacha McHugh (Castlebar Mitchels), Sean Morahan (Castlebar Mitchels); Fenton Kelly (Davitts), David McBrien (Ballaghaderreen), Eoghan McLaughlin (Westport); Matthew Ruane (Breaffy), Dylan Thornton (Ballina Stephenites); Conal Dawson (Westport), Fergal Boland (Aghamore), Davitt Neary (Breaffy); Cian McHale (Moy Davitts), Ewan Duffy (Ballinrobe), Ryan O’Donoghue (Belmullet).
Mayo (second-half): John Vahey (Breaffy); Sharoize Akram (Ballaghaderreen), Rory Brickenden (Westport), Eoin O’Donoghue (Belmullet); Evan Ivers (Belmullet), Stephen Coen (Hollymount-Carramore), Jack Melvin (Davitts); Conor Reid (Moy Davitts), Frank Irwin (Ballina Stephenites); Finbar McLaughlin (Westport), Tom O’Flaherty (Aghamore), Diarmuid Duffy (Ballinrobe); Darragh Joyce (Claremorris), Dylan Prendergast (Louisburgh), Paul Towey (Charlestown Sarsfields). Sub: Ciaran Boland (Ballina Stephenites) (for Irwin 64, inj).
Monaghan: Rory Beggan; Ryan Wylie, Killian Lavelle, Dylan Byrne; Aaron Carey, Kieran Duffy, Kevin Loughran; Gavin McPhillips, Michael McCarville; Ryan McAnespie, Barry McBennett, Michael Hamill; Davy Garland, Andrew Woods, Sean Jones. Subs: Ryan O’Toole, Dean McDonnell, Stephen O’Hanlon, Darragh Treanor and Oisin McGorman (for Wylie, Carey, McAnespie, Woods and Loughran ht), Fergal Hanratty and Paudie McMahon (for Jones and Hamill 48), Ronan Boyle, Jake McConnon, Shane Hanratty, Louis Kelly, Conor McCarthy and Packie Dougan Burke (for Lavelle, Byrne, Duffy, McCarville, McBennett and Garland 60), Sean Callan (for F Hanratty 75, inj).
REF: John Glavey (Aghamore)
All proceeds raised from Saturday’s game were donated to the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association.
