How unlucky were plucky mayo

Cork         2-7
Mayo         0-12


MAYO suffered a heartbreaking Allianz National Football League defeat at the hands of Cork at Pairc Uí Rinn today as victory was snatched from their grasp during injury time.
A last-gasp goal by Cork’s Brian Hurley ensured the Leesiders of the narrowest of wins to maintain their place at the top of the table and confirm their qualification to the semi-final stages.
It was a match Mayo did not deserve to lose after the players produced a display rich in character and hunger to redeem themselves following a heavy loss to Dublin in the previous round.
They were poised to secure a memorable win with two points in the closing momemts by Kevin McLoughlin and substitute Stephen Coen before Hurley delivered his late, late masterstroke with his fist.     
And while Mayo deserved credit for the manner in which they bounced back from the Dublin setback, question will again be raised over the side’s ability, due to lapses of concentration, to put away the opposition when having them on the rack.
All is not completely lost for Mayo, however, as they can still qualify for the play-offs with victory over in-form Donegal next Sunday at Elverys MacHale Park, Castlebar, a venue where the Connaught county’s home form has not been convincing at times.
Nevertheless, many supporters of the red and green will be heartened by the manner in which their side battled back from falling 1-2 in arrears in the opening eight minutes to lead by 0-7 to 1-3 at half-time thanks to points by inspirational midfielder Tom Parsons (two), Jason Doherty, Danny Kirby, Kevin McLoughlin, Mark Ronaldson and Donal Vaughan, the latter of which was the first point scored in the national league this year by a Mayo defender.
But Mayo were to pay a heavy price for squandering a number of good opportunities early in the second half and Cork were back in the lead by the 41th minute following good scores by Fintan Gould and Donnacha O’Connor.
Mayo hit back to regain the lead through Parsons and Doherty, who had strong claims for a penalty overruled by referee Eddie Kinsella before registering his point.
And just when it seemed a Mayo win was on the cards following McLoughlin and Coen’s late points, disaster struck when Hurley stunned the Mayo defence.
The Connaught Telegraph’s GAA analyst Martin Carney said while the Mayo players and management will be crestfallen, they should take encouragement from the quality of their performance which he described as ‘arguably their best in the league to date’.
“They did not deserve to lose and, if they can learn and build on this display, Mayo wil go from strength to strength,” he stated.
Carney was also impressed by Mayo’s ability to turn over Cork possession as well as the intensity of their tackling.