No hassle in the Castle’ for five-star Mayo
Adrian Phillips powers through the Monaghan defence during Mayo's comfortable victory in Round 2 of the Allianz Hurling League at Castleblayney, a game in which Phillips scored an impressive 3-4 from play. Picture courtesy of Mayo GAA
Mayo made it two wins from two in their start to the 2024 Allianz Hurling League with a comfortable win over a limited Monaghan side on a lovely afternoon in Castleblayney last Sunday.
Monaghan could be forgiven for feeling a sense of déjà vu when Adrian Phillips fired in a brace of goals on 52 minutes in what were Mayo’s fourth and fifth of the afternoon. The Green and Red did exactly the same when these two met in the league last year – and the visitors ended up winning by the same margin.
From watching the first-half, however, you would wonder where all the goals were going to come from as Mayo struggled to break down a dogged Monaghan backline, while Liam Lavin and Eoin Delaney were guilty of some poor wides, hitting eleven overall.
But Adrian Phillips’ first green flagged score just before half-time knocked the stuffing out of the Farney men and when Eoin Delaney fired into the net shortly after the restart, the only thing in doubt was what the margin of victory would be.
Cormac Phillips, a free, Adrian Phillips and Eoin Delaney were all off the mark inside three minutes of the throw-in but Monaghan would fire three of the next four points through two Niall Arthur efforts, including a free, and a point by Conor Gernon, with Cormac Phillips’ second free keeping the minimum between them.
Mayo, however, would only hit another two points over the next twenty minutes, through Daniel Huane and Eoin Delaney, as the small ball failed to stick when driven inside the Monaghan 20 metre line. Liam Lavin and Niall Arthur exchanged scores as the gap remained at four going into the final ten minutes of the half, where Mayo would eventually hit a critical purple patch as they outscored Monaghan 1-6 to 0-2.
A trio of points from Cormac Phillips, two frees, an effort from Michael Farrell and 1-1 from Adrian Phillips saw Mayo take a 1-12 to 0-6 lead into half-time, with Phillips’ goal coming from some great work by Farrell to set up his Ballyhaunis clubmate before Phillips looped it over his own marker and the oncoming goalkeeper Hugh Byrne into the net.
The game was well and truly over two minutes into the second-half following a bursting run by Liam Lavin through the heart of the Monaghan defence before he passed off to Eoin Delaney to fire into the net.
Lavin could have had a goal of his own minutes later but his shot was straight at Hugh Byrne, but Mayo would not have to wait much longer for their third. A ball driven in was pucked away by ‘keeper Byrne but only as far as Daniel Huane, who drove forward and despite the best efforts of Byrne and the Monaghan defence to deny him, his shot crept over the line.
Goals were in short supply the previous week against Armagh but Adrian Phillips, who fired in Mayo’s sole major against the Orchard County, made it a quickfire double on the 52 minutes, each goal almost similar, as Mayo continued to pile on the misery for Monaghan, who had yet to score in the second-half.
They ended their duck on 58-minutes through substitute Thomas Hughes, who would also score Monaghan’s final point of the day following Arthur’s sixth.
Mayo finished with a late flurry through frees by Cormac Phillips and Sean Kenny and one each from Michael Farrell and Shane Crinnigan to complete the rout and they will now enjoy a two week break before welcoming Cavan to Hastings Insurance MacHale Park on Sunday, February 25.
