Mayo retain top flight status - but serious weaknesses exposed by Derry
Mayo ........2-13
Derry ......3-15
by John Melvin
MAYBE it takes just one man to instil the belief in others, and when Mayo needed an injection of self-belief it was provided by Charlestown's Paul Towey, whose introduction on 55 minutes sparked a stunning revival in a game that had been bossed by Derry for long periods.
Down by nine points at one stage, Mayo came back to within two of Derry (2-12 to 3-11) with seven minutes or normal time remaining, Towey providing the finish just three minutes after he arrived following a superb pass from Ryan O’Donoghue, who unlocked the Derry defence with surgical precision from 40 yards away.
Another goal would have put the Mayo cat amongst the Derry pigeons, and the home side did have further chances but the visitors held their nerve to kick on again in five minutes of injury time to book their place in the league final.
Mayo may not have salvaged a chance to defend their league title but they came out of this game with their reputation intact, if not enhanced, showing grit and courage in what was a helter skelter final 15 minutes.
That said, there is a huge amount of work to be done before Mayo plot their championship road, which will begin in New York in three weeks' time, though the league has given several players some valuable game time and hopefully we will see the benefits of that further down the road.
The return of Tommy Conroy to form was one of the positives from a Mayo perspective on Sunday, while Mattie Ruane also put in a massive shift around the middle, Jordan Flynn, Jack Carney, Ryan O’Donoghue, Stephen Coen, Aidan O'Shea debutant Aaron McDonell from Ballinrobe, Enda Hession and Paul Towey among those who really stood up when they were needed most.
Derry, of course, had done huge damage in the first half with two goals, and it looked like they had sealed the deal early in the second half when they scored a third.
You feared the worst for Mayo at this stage as they were being cut open at the back, but suddenly Ryan O’Donoghue came up with a pass that opened that Derry blanket defence as he picked out substitute Towey, who was just in the game, and suddenly the St. Patrick’s Day crowd of over 9,000 at Hastings Insurance MacHale Park began to come alive.
Mayo absorbed the energy coming from the crowd, with Towey adding a point to his goal, and suddenly the game was back on.
Jordan Flynn forced a brilliant save from the Derry ‘keeper at the expense of a 45' and Reape found the target as Mayo edged to within four, then it was three thanks to Towey before Aidan O’Shea found O’Donoghue who made it a two-point game with Derry under pressure.
If Towey was the main man who came off the Mayo bench, then Niall Toner was the player who dug Derry out of a deep hole, picking off three points, two of those coming late in the game, to ease the pressure they were under.
But one of the biggest calls by the referee was to deny Tommy Conroy an advantage as he burst through having been fouled twice with just one thing on his mind – another Mayo goal.
It should not be forgotten that Derry still won this game with a bit in hand as they came with late scores from Conor Glass, Shane McGuigan (free) and Niall Toner (two), helping them to kick on again by six points, a late score from Aidan O’Shea leaving the margin at five by full-time.
From being on level terms at 1-4 apiece on 25 minutes, Mayo found themselves six points adrift at the break (2-7 to 1-4), Derry scoring 1-4 without reply in the last 10 minutes of the half.
That was the period which really defined this game as Mayo began with a lot of promise, particularly in the opening 20 minutes, but in the blink of an eye the ball was in the back of the Mayo net, a mistake from the kick-out by Colm Reape gifting the ball to the superb Ethan Doherty, who set up Shane McGuigan for that second goal, the first having been scored by Niall Loughlin after McGuigan had found him with a superb pass.
But the best goal of the game came from Jordan Flynn immediately after Derry had scored their first, Stephen Coen finding Tommy Conroy who laid it off to the Crossmolina man.
Flynn almost burst the net with the force of his finish, but it was the third Derry goal which did the damage, Mayo’s lack of concentration in the opening 10 minutes of the second half leaving them under so much pressure.
They responded well, although Derry always seemed to find that extra gear when they needed it most.
Mayo: C. Reape (0-2, 1f, 1 45'); A. McDonnell (0-1), R. Brickenden, S. Callinan (0-1); D. McHugh, S. Coen, E. Hession; J. Carney (0-1), M. Ruane; B. Tuohy, F. Boland (0-1), J. Flynn (1-0); A. O’Shea (0-2, 1f), T. Conroy (0-1), R. O’Donoghue (0-3, 2f).
Subs used: C. Loftus for Tuohy (44, inj), J. Coyne for Hession (47), P. Towey (1-1) for Boland (55), F. Kelly for McDonnell (65), K. Quinn for Loftus (67, inj).
Derry: O. Lynch; C. McCluskey (1-0), C. McKaigue, D. Baker (0-1); G McKinless (0-1), E. McEvoy, P. McGrogan (0-1); C. Glass (0-1), B. Rogers; E. Doherty (0-1), C. McFaul (0-1), P. Cassidy; N. Loughlin (1-0), S. McGuigan (1-6, 3f), L. Murray.
Subs used: N. Toner (0-3) for Loughlin (HT), D. Gilmore for McKinless (41), C. Murphy for Murray (45).
Referee: S. Lonergan (Tipperary).