National silverware for Mayo soccer at Gaynor tournament

THE Mayo Under 14 girls claimed another piece of national silverware after coming though a tough schedule to win the Gaynor Plate on penalties at the 2022 Gaynor Cup tournament at the University of Limerick.

First game up for Mayo was an evening kick-off last Tuesday on Pitch 4 versus Clare. Mayo attacked from the opening whistle and had created quite a few chances before an Ursula Shaughnessy header from an Amy Murphy corner was handled on the line by a Clare defender. Penalty given, red card handed out and Shaughnessy hammered home the spot-kick.

The second half saw Mayo manage the game extremely well and create further chances for Sarah-Jane Kilcawley, Roise Burke, Emma Dowling, Kasey Ruane and Aoibhin McGarry before Alana Kelly sealed the victory with Mayo’s second goal on 48 minutes in what was a real solid team performance.

Pitch 1 and MGL North provided the opposition at midday on Wednesday with this game being live streamed. As in the opening match Mayo started very brightly with the pace of Emma Higgins being a constant thorn in the Dublin side’s defence. On nine minutes she was fouled by the opposition ‘keeper who was really fortunate to see a yellow card rather than a red one. MGL scored after 15 minutes to lead 1-0 at the interval. Mayo didn’t provide the same attacking threat in the second half and MGL added two more goals to give them a 3-0 victory which was rather flattering and definitely not a true reflection on the game.

Facing into their second game in six hours on Wednesday evening and having lost the previous one, this was going to be the Mayo girls’ first big test. Pitch 2 was the venue this time as the girls continued to experience the different pitches.

A near gale force wind had to be faced down in the first half. In a really good end to end game Aoife Meaney in the Mayo goal was solidity personified with her brilliant catching and accurate kicking while Emma Higgins had already stretched the Cats’ rear guard before she gave Mayo the lead on 21 minutes. A major feature of this game was the tigerish tackling of both Mayo full backs Cara Culkin and Amy Doherty.

Mayo certainly had the better of the second half but just couldn’t add that second vital goal and it was actually Kilkenny who drew level in the 53rd minute following a swift counter-attack. Mayo rallied their tired legs and minds for one final push and four minutes from time centre-back Aine Monaghan rose majestically to head home Amy Murphy’s corner powerfully to the net to seal a vital 2-1 victory for Mayo.

The Mayo girls were on their fourth different pitch for their final group game facing NECSL on Pitch 3 at noon on Thursday. Despite playing with the ever-present strong wind in the first half the Mayo girls struggled to turn their possession and chances superiority into goals, with Aoibhin McGarry and Amy Murphy going closest.

In the second half, against the wind, Mayo actually played better and Murphy gave them the lead on 45 minutes. Ursula Shaugsnessy and Mary Moran went closest to adding to that lead but it was a couple of magnificent defensive interventions by Aoife Collins and Kate Byrne that kept the opposition scoreless. In the Mayo goal Aoife Meaney remained unflappable despite the aerial bombardment.

That victory gave Mayo second spot in the group on a very healthy points total of nine, which was the highest total of any of the second placed teams in the five groups (the next highest was seven). This guaranteed them a Plate semi-final against Donegal on Friday evening back on Pitch 2 again.

Mayo were simply irresistible in the opening half of this game, totally bossing proceedings all over the pitch. The mercurial Amy Murphy scored directly from a corner in the fifth minute and nonchalantly repeated the trick in the 21st minute. Amy being Amy, she treated it as if she was back in her back garden at home in Ballina doing it.

Even against the wind in the second half Mayo continued to carry all the attacking threat. Ursula Shaugsnessy had a goal rather unluckily ruled out on 42 minutes. Alana Kelly made the game safe with Mayo’s third goal on 47 minutes. Donegal did grab a consolation goal deep into stoppage time but this 3-1 victory was a five-star Mayo performance.

Having probably reached the zenith of their performance levels in the semi-final victory it was always going to be really difficult for Mayo to match that feat for the Plate final 18 hours later, and so it proved. Waterford were the opponents on the grandest pitch of them all, Pitch 9, which was reserved for finals only.

The girls were quite leggy in the opening half of 30 minutes as the number of matches in quick succession appeared to be catching up on them. Mayo fell behind on 13 minutes after a rare defensive lapse but facing into the wind and a deficit, the Mayo girls dug deep into their reserves of resilience and got to half-time with no further damage on the scoreline. Amy Murphy kept up her phenomenal scoring record from midfield by firing in the equaliser nine minutes from time and could have won it three minutes from time but was denied by the ‘keeper. Sandwiched in between was a real replicate of the "Hand of God" goal by a Waterford attacker denied by the vigilant assistant referee.

Two 10-minute periods of extra-time failed to alter the 1-1 scoreline and into penalties we went, with Mayo captain Aoife Collins winning her first toss-up of the day at the third attempt. Surely an omen?

Unbelievably, at the conclusion of the regulation 10 penalties, the score was again 1-1, with Murphy having converted for Mayo and Aoife Meaney saving three of the Waterford attempts. Three more ‘sudden death’ penalties were taken, with Meaney making two more saves but still no further Mayo goal. In the excitement of it all management eventually got the message through to Meaney to actually take a spot-kick. Up she stepped to the fourth penalty and despatched it expertly to the bottom left corner to give Mayo the title.

Mayo manager Michael Collins lauded the entire 20-girl panel for their wonderful achievement in winning Mayo’s third Gaynor national title in three years after six tough games in five days.

In winning five of those games and finishing an impressive sixth overall out of the 25 teams, Michael feels that the Mayo girls have once again proven that they can compete with anyone in this country. A huge part of the success, he feels, is the club-like atmosphere that Mayo head coach John Flanagan has created, and the girls’ coaches all buy into that.