Mayo reap the fruits off the Orchard tree
Mayo squad pictured before their Nicky Rackard Cup tie against Armagh. Picture: Mayo GAA
Mayo went top of the Nicky Rackard Cup table thanks to a comprehensive victory over Armagh in the BOX-IT Athletic Grounds last Saturday afternoon.
Ray Larkin’s side were forced to work hard for their win over Roscommon a week previously, but this was as routine as it gets. When these two sides met in the league, Armagh were much better than nine-point winning margin for Mayo had suggested. But the hosts were very poor in the first half with their shooting, and their frustration was summed up midway through when wing-forward Charlie McArdle broke his hurley in frustration after a poor wide.
The game was all but over at half-time, and Larkin will have been pleased to see ten different players on the scoresheet. It was their reliable duo in Shane Boland and Liam Lavin who stood out once again, scoring seven and six points respectively while Eoin Delaney, Simon Thomas, Eoghan Collins and Ryan Duffy also impressed.
“We probably didn’t play the best in the first half against Roscommon. We had a good 15 to 20 minuets in the second half. It was great to get a bounce of the lads here today. We started really well. We could have got a couple of more goals, but I’d be picking at this stage. We got a couple of lads in there off the bench so happy enough,” Larking told the Western People.
The home side scored only one point in the first half, courtesy of a Pauric McNaughton free, in a lacklustre display as the Green and Red mercilessly punished them. Mayo's lead at the break, 0-16 to 0-1, could have been much more were it not for eight wides in the first half while Armagh corner-back Paudie Lippen and goalkeeper Fintan Woods both denied Liam Lavin and Cormac Phillips in front of goal.
Lavin, Eoin Delaney, and Shane Boland all hit three points in the first half for Mayo, Ryan Duffy and Eoghan Collins had two each while Simon Thomas, Cormac Phillips and a monster free by Bobby Douglas from 75 metres out rounded off an emphatic display of shooting by the Division 3 league champions.
The introduction of Odhrán Curry, Stephen Keenan and Danny Magee off the bench had an impact for the Orchard men early in the second half, outscoring Mayo 0-5 to 0-1 in the opening seven minutes but Mayo hit back with 1-4, the goal coming from Simon Thomas on 50 minutes while Liam Lavin and Shane Boland shared the points.
Armagh would score only four more points in the final 20 minutes of the game through Magee, Shea Gaffney and Pauric McNaughton, the latter Armagh's top scorer on the day with 0-3. Mayo would finish with a flurry as Liam Lavin, Shane Boland, Cormac Phillips, Eoin Delaney, Evan Heraty, Brendan Sheridan, Daniel Huane and a 65' from Bobby Douglas rounded off a 21-point win.
Mayo will look to make it three wins from three when they take on Louth next Saturday in Hastings Insurance MacHale Park while Armagh travel west to take on Roscommon.
