Spirited Mayo fall just short to rivals
Mayo’s Lucy Wallace tackles Galway’s Eva Noone during the TG4 Connacht LGFA senior football championship final at Carrick-on-Shannon on Sunday afternoon. Picture: David Farrell Photography
Galway won their thirteenth Connacht senior ladies football title in sixteen seasons on Sunday afternoon, but not without receiving a stern examination of their credentials from Mayo.
The 1-11 to 0-11 victory for the Tribeswomen came after a storming second-half comeback by Mayo who outscored their rivals by 0-8 to 0-1 from the 33rd minute, paying the price for a very conservative approach to the first-half that had ended with Galway six points in front.
Mayo had scored just a single point from play up until the fifth minute of the second-half after which they exploded into life.
A goal and four points without reply by Galway’s Kate Slevin either side of half-time had helped the Maroon and White into a ten points lead, 1-10 to 0-3, with Player of the Match Leanne Coen having already fired over four points from play inside the game’s opening 20 minutes.
Sinead Walsh led by example for Mayo, scoring seven points on the day, but Mayo will truly wonder what might have been were a goal by substitute Clodagh Keane not ruled out for square ball with six minutes left to play. It was a decision by referee Aaron Clogher that Mayo hotly contested afterwards, but it hadn't deterred them from battling until full-time.
An unfortunate ending to the game saw Mayo midfielder Hannah Reape, who had struck Mayo’s final point, receive a straight red card from Clogher after the full-time whistle after an altercation with a Galway opponent, which could have consequences ahead of the All-Ireland Series which gets underway in five weeks' time.
It was a heartening display by Mayo, who failed to gain promotion from Division 2 this season, against the Division 1 finalists.
