Mayo's trademark chaos not enough to topple Derry in St Patrick's Day thriller
Derry's Shane McGuigan celebrates scoring his side’s second goal. Picture: INPHO/Laszlo Geczo
After a chaotic game of football, Mayo and Derry supporters walking out of Hastings Insurance MacHale Park will have been in full agreement about one thing: you certainly got your money's worth.
Chaotic. Crazy. Insane. Using those adjectives to describe the 70-plus minutes that unfolded would be an apt description. After Conor McCluskey ghosted through the Mayo defence for Derry’s third goal on 45 minutes, it left Mayo nine points down and facing an anti-climactic ending.
But Paul Towey’s goal seconds after coming on as a substitute gave the Mayo team and supporters the jolt it needed. Chaos ensued and no one does chaos quite like Mayo.
Ryan O’Donoghue’s drop back into centre-forward became the platform for many Mayo attacks as the once well-structured Derry backline fell into disarray anytime a ball over the top was played. Towey was unfortunate not to get another after O’Donoghue went route one again while Jordan Flynn was denied a second after a stunning save by Odhran Lynch.
His first came on nine minutes following a bright start for Mayo, who pointed through Jack Carney and Ryan O’Donoghue, a free. Shane McGuigan gave Mayo a taste of what was to come with a sublime point from a tight angle to open Derry’s account.
He was heavily involved for Derry’s goal on eight minutes. A goal chance for Niall Loughlin looked to have gone amiss but it was kept alive and McGuigan’s Crossfield ball was palmed into the net by Loughlin. Seconds later, Tommy Conroy made the space for Flynn to motor though the Derry defence and his powerful strike into net gave Lynch no chance.
Two McGuigan points, one fee, nudged Derry back ahead but good play by Bob Tuohy and Matthew Ruane set up Sam Callinan for a leveller before the trademark pace by Conroy set up a point for the The Neale man on 23 minutes.
The remainder of the second quarter would inevitably prove fatal. Mayo failed to register another score in the half. McGuigan equalised from a free after Aidan O’Shea was harshly judged to have overcarried and Ciaran McFaul put the Oak Leaf County back ahead.
Colm Reape’s next two kickouts saw Mayo concede 1-1 in a minute. His first was adjudged not to have crossed the 20 metre line, which saw Padraig McGrogan put in for a point by Brendan Rogers, while his second was straight to Ethan Doherty, and he set up McGuigan for a classy finish.
Diarmuid Baker’s point in added time put Derry 2-7 to 1-4 ahead and things would not get any better for Kevin McStay’s side ten minutes into the second half. Scores from Aidan O’Shea and Fergal Boland were cancelled out by Paul Cassidy and McGuigan. Gareth McKinless countered a Colm Reape free shortly after and it appeared Mayo’s race was ran when McCloskey netted a third goal for Derry.
Ryan O’Donoghue and Niall Toner traded points as Mayo began to make leeway. League debutant Aaron McDonnell sent over a fine point before O’Donoghue picked out Towey on 55 minutes to set up mayhem.
After Flynn was denied by Lynch, Reape converted the resulting 45’, and Towey and O’Donoghue made it a two-point game on 63 minutes. The chaos that Mayo relished in was in full flow but Derry restored order late on with four unanswered points from Conor Glass, Shane McGuigan and two from Niall Toner.
Aidan O’Shea, who joined Mayo legend Andy Moran (101), Kerry’s Jack O’Shea (102) and Tyrone’s Sean Cavanagh (107), as outfield players to clock up 100 National League appearance, had the final point for Mayo deep in injury-time.
