Mayo too good for their not-so-noisy neighbours
Padraig O’Hora, who was introduced as a second-half substitute, meets some delighted Mayo fans after the game. Pictures: INPHO/James Lawlor
Six and a half, touching seven. That’s how Kevin McStay rated – out of ten – his side’s display in Sunday’s Connacht SFC semi-final. In academic terms that might be considered B- or C+ territory, but it was plenty good enough to serve Roscommon a dollop of their own medicine and atone for last year’s defeat in Castlebar.
Mayo ran out comfortable winners at Dr Hyde Park. A goal by Aidan O’Shea, seven more points by the scarcely markable Ryan O’Donoghue, two point contributions each by Tommy Conroy, Fergal Boland and substitute Conor Loftus, and dominant performances by Matthew Ruane and David McBrien out the field were the big take homes for a team that can now look forward to a Connacht final showdown with arch rivals Galway, at Pearse Stadium, on Sunday week.
McStay afterwards bemoaned the lack of noise and atmosphere that had been generated by the 14,000 paying customers (a small attendance traditionally for this fixture), but all the home support really had to shout about was a decent second quarter by their side. It had enabled them to move within a point of Mayo at half-time but when Daire Cregg kicked points in the 37th and 42nd minutes to negate Mayo’s first of the second-half by Tommy Conroy and Ryan O’Donoghue, those were the last from play by any Roscommon forward, with the second-half mostly a tale about the visitors always keeping Davy Burke’s men at a safe distance.
A five points win, particularly having lost the corresponding fixture by four points in 2023, and with the very recent transatlantic trip to recuperate from as well, represented a satisfactory day at the office for Mayo. There will, however, be some concern about the fitness of team captain Paddy Durcan in the lead up to the Connacht final, given the wing-back limped off as early as the 48th minute.
It was Durcan who had scored the opening point of this match, after Aidan O’Shea gave the pass having gone full-stretch to gather a raking Matthew Ruane delivery which had bounced high on a pristine Hyde Park surface.
The warm, dry and sunny conditions were at odds with anything both sets of players had been used to so far this year, and it was Mayo who acclimatised quickest as after two wides at one end by Daire Cregg, O’Shea struck the net at the other.
Paddy Durcan had a part to play in that too, with his out-ball to Fergal Boland allowing the Aghamore man to exchange passes with Ryan O’Donoghue before playing in O’Shea who ran across goal, wrong-footed Ruaidhrí Fallon, and drilled the ball back across ‘keeper Conor Carroll into the bottom right, after eight minutes.
Diarmuid Murtagh opened the home side’s account in the 10th minute and while Ruane’s pinpoint ball saw O’Donoghue brilliantly turn his marker and score a reply, two more Murtagh points, including a free, and a point by Daire Cregg, also from a free, meant Roscommon had moved to within one point, 1-2 to 0-3, after 20 minutes.
They might even have had a goal when Mayo ‘keeper Colm Reape got caught in possession on the opposition’s 45-metre line. Enda Smith counter-attacked at speed and launched the ball forward to Ben O’Carroll who had the option to try and lob the retreating Reape. Instead the ball was moved on to Murtagh and then to Donie Smith by which time enough Mayo bodies had been able to get back and gobble up the corner-forward.
The final 10 minutes of the half were end to end, beginning with Ryan O’Donoghue having two points cancelled out by Ben O’Carroll and Donie Smith, all in a three minute period. And while the excellent Murtagh landed his fourth point to level the game for the first time, after 32 minutes, Boland scored off a give and go with O’Shea to restore Mayo’s lead, and O’Donoghue converted a free he had craftily manufactured, to leave Mayo two ahead entering stoppage time.
Roscommon, however, had the final say of the first-half, with a foul on Dylan Ruane resulting in Cregg pointing, to leave Mayo’s lead reduced to the minimum, 1-6 to 0-8.
Mayo replaced Donnacha McHugh, who had been marking Enda Smith, with Enda Hession at half-time, with Smith picked up from hereon by David McBrien who would frustrate the Boyle man at every turn. But with Conroy’s first point and O’Donoghue’s converted mark, off the back of a wonderful Rory Brickenden ball, cancelled out by Daire Cregg’s brace, the second-half looked to have the potential of becoming a humdinger. That never materialised – and nor will Mayo care.
They had moved three points clear by the 48th minute thanks to white flags raised by O’Donoghue, O’Shea (using his fist after O’Donoghue’s initial attempt for goal was blocked) and the newly-introduced Conor Loftus, and while Roscommon wing-back Niall Daly pulled one back, Mayo hit three more on the spin, through O’Donoghue’s self-won free, Boland and Conroy, who shimmied inside off Hession’s pass to give a glimpse of his form of old.
Mayo led 1-14 to 0-11 after 57 minutes and the home side’s shooting was beginning to let them down badly (they kicked eleven wides in total compared to Mayo’s three), while Colm Reape even soared above his crossbar to catch a Daire Cregg kick that had looked destined to result in a point.
Enda Smith was picked out at the back post but blazed a goal attempt badly wide, likewise Eoin McCormack, in the 63rd minute, but a point from McCormack and one from Diarmuid Murtagh, from a free, did reduce the deficit to four points with six minutes plus stoppage time still to play.
The only score derived during all that time however, was a final Mayo point, in a move that involved an excellent carry down the left wing by Matthew Ruane and a transfer of possession to the right where Brickenden was again the provider, this time for Loftus to double his tally.
Six and a half, even seven, may not cut it for Mayo in Salthill, especially since Galway are now the ones who’ll be fuelled by the want of revenge for two significant losses last year. Something tells me noise and atmosphere won’t be in short supply this time.
