Mayo storm past the Kingdom to reach long overdue final
The Mayo team who beat Kerry in Rathkeale in last week's All-Ireland U16 'A' ladies football final.
The weather conditions were more akin to what players would expect for the middle of pre-season but the performance exceeded anything the Mayo management might have had during those early days of forming the squad for this summer’s championship.
Mayo are back in All-Ireland final at the U16 grade for the first time in 28 years and achieved it in quite scintillating fashion against Kerry, last Thursday evening. These two sides will have been quite familiar with each other, given that Kerry defeated Mayo in the U14 semi-final two years ago, but the Kingdom had no response to the Green and Red wave that came at them in Rathkeale, Co Limerick.
As well as with the ball, Mayo were equally as good without it, pressing and forcing the Munster champions into turnovers throughout the contest. It was from this that Mayo created their first score, after winning the ball in the middle. Playing against a very stiff wind in the first-half, strong running from Sarah Dempsey created the opening before Katie Hughes sent the ball over after a quick one-two with Emma Stagg.
Doireann O’Neill responded but it was all Mayo as they built up a commanding lead by the end of the first quarter. Aoife Meaney and Lily Hession before Mayo netted on 13 minutes when Stagg’s free dropped in front of goal. Kerry goalkeeper Anne O’Shaughnessy failed to clear and Lauren McHale palmed it in, and another Stagg free created the opening for McHale to point as Mayo lead 1-4 to 0-1.
Kerry responded well through a free by captain Muireann Teahan and chief threat Naoise O’Donoghue before Lauren McHale kept up her tremendous half with another great point after holding off two Kerry defenders.
Mayo played the majority of the second quarter with fourteen players after Sophie Tiernan was shown a yellow card but Kerry failed to make the numerical advantage count for much, with two points from O’Donoghue (one free) all they could muster as Francis Regan’s side kept the ball with a composure beyond their years to lead 1-5 to 0-5 at the break
In a near-identical move to Mayo’s first goal, Kerry had a golden chance to level the proceedings seconds after the restart when Teahan’s free dropped on the edge of the square but none of her teammates could captialise and Mayo cleared away the danger.
Another goal chance fell the way of O’Donoghue on 36 minutes after clever play by Lily Riordan but Mayo goalkeeper Kayla Hughes was equal to the strike. From here, Mayo would kick 1-6 without reply to all but book their spot in the decider as Emma Stagg, an integral part of Mayo’s U14 All-Ireland winning side last year, showed nerves of steel to kick a pair of frees before she was alert to a quick free from the middle and ran through to fire into the Kerry net on 41 minutes.
Points by Katie Hughes, Kate Byrne and Lily Hession, a free, extended Mayo’s lead further before Muireann Teahan kicked over Kerry’s first score of the second-half with ten minutes to go.
The Kingdom girls kept on fighting until the end, with O’Donoghue scoring another two points in the latter stages, but the day was all about Mayo as Áine Lynn and Katie Hughes picked off Mayo’s final two points to cap a memorable evening.
Last year’s champions Cavan, who defeated Mayo in the semi-final on their way to the All-Ireland title, will aim to make it back-to-back titles when they once more face the Green and Red, this time in the final, on Saturday week, July 13.
