No junior high for Mayo as Kingdom rule again
DESPITE a commendable second-half performance, having trailed at the interval by 12 points (2-10 to 0-4), Mayo - for the second year in succession - succumbed to Kerry in the All-Ireland junior football final.
The Munster men proved too strong in the opening game of a triple-header in ideal conditions in Croke Park this afternoon, winning by 2-18 to 2-11.
The loss of midfielder Peter Collins to injury just 13 minutes into the game was a huge blow for Mayo, who struggled in a lot of areas to cope with a Kerry side that were much slicker in that opening half.
Mayo were coping well up to the 20-minute mark and were leading by 0-4 to 0-3 at that stage but Kerry’s corner forward, Niall O’Shea, bagged two goals before the break as Kerry began to move into top gear and take a commanding lead in with them at half-time.
That lead was extended to 13 points within a minute of the restart when Kieran Hurley hit the target, but Mayo began to finally get into a rhythm as substitutes Sharoize Akram and Robert Holian began to make an impact while James Kelly and Jason Forkan were pushing forward from Mayo’s half-back line.
The game changed dramatically in the space of three minutes when Mayo scored two goals, the first superbly finished by Michael Forde before Robert Holian also found the net two minutes later.
Conor Keane and Darren Coen were eating into that Kerry lead and gradually Mayo were finding their way back, the deficit cut to just three points as the game turned for home.
Mayo had chances to cut the deficit further but Kerry never pressed the panic button and soon re-establishes a six-point lead. While Mayo will take a lot heart from their second-half recovery, the best team prevailed in the end.
Kerry: D. O'Shea, F. Clifford, J. Foley (0-1), C. Ó Lúing, P. Clifford, A. Barry (0-2), R. Wharton, A. Spillane (0-1), J. C. O’Connor, B. Ó Seanacháin, P. O’Donoghue (0-3), D. Forkan (0-3), N. O’Shea (2-0), K. Hurley (0-2), S.M. Ó Concur (0-5, 2f). Subs used: K. O’Sullivan for P. Clifford, L. Bastiville for Foley (48), M. O’Donnell for Spillane (56), D. Roche (0-1) for Hurley.
Mayo: M. Flanagan, P. Feerick, N. Freeman, E. O’Donoghue, B. Duffy, J. Kelly (0-1), J. Forkan, M. Togher, P. Collins, B. Reape, M. Forde (1-1), K. Gibbons, D. Coen (0-5, 3f), A. Farrell, C. Keane (0-4). Subs used: S. Gaughan for Collins (inj), R. Holian (1-0) for A. Farrell. R. Doherty for P. Feerick (47), R. Mallee for Reape.