Round 2B
Down 3-19
Mayo 2-12
Mike Finnerty
Charlestown
THE Mayo hurling community is small and extremely tightly knit so it was little surprise then that emotions were raw after the senior hurlers bowed out of the Christy Ring Cup in disappointing fashion last Saturday afternoon at Fr O’Hara Park.
A ten-point drubbing at the hands of Down wasn’t the way this season, which had promised so much in its early stages, was supposed to end. The fact that the defeat also brought the curtain down on the management tenure of Martin Brennan and Pete Finnerty only added to the poignancy.
The disappointment and regret afterwards in the Mayo dressing-room was matched only by their frustration. Why? Because this was a match that could, perhaps should, have been won.
Very few in the tiny crowd of Mayo supporters could have foreseen the final outcome after 48 minutes as impressive substitute Ronan Cullinane fired in a goal that brought their team to within a point of their 14-man opponents.
Ironically, Down played almost the entire match a man short after wing-back Ruairí McGrattan was red-carded after only four minutes for a wild pull across Derek McConn.
So when Mayo pared back the margin to the minimum (1-10 to 1-11) with 20 minutes left, it looked highly likely that the extra man, and the momentum, would push them on to victory.
Instead, they caved in. Down responded in no uncertain terms to the Mayo challenge and proceeded to rattle off seven unanswered points in the space of 12 minutes to kill the game off.
The unflappable James Coyle (who nailed an incredible 1-12 in total, ten points from frees) drilled over four scores with imposing full-forward Paul Braniff and Eoin Clarke also finding their range.
With ten minutes to go, the winners were out of sight and, to add insult to injury, two goals from Andy Savage and the in-form Coyle in the 62nd and 67th minutes underlined Down’s superiority.
A late goal from Derek McDonnell proved to be only a consolation score for Mayo although the likes of Brian Higgins, Conor Ryan, Derek McConn, Niall Murphy and Ronan Cullinane kept plugging away until the bitter end.
Mayo’s complete systems failure in the last quarter was as unexpected as it was disappointing. After a very sluggish start they played some neat and tidy hurling either side of half-time, working hard and picking off some good scores from long distance. However, their inability to match Down’s intensity for the full 70 minutes cost them dearly.
To their credit, the visitors coped admirably with the loss of McGrattan in the early stages. The sides were level on three occasions in the first 15 minutes as Keith Higgins (who looked a little tentative as he continued his rehabilitation from a knee ligament injury), Niall Murphy and Derek McConn kept the scoreboard ticking over for the locals.
But Down, despite their numerical disadvantage, got down to business quickly and had established a 1-9 to 0-4 lead after thirty minutes.
Stylish full-forward Paul Braniff fired in the goal on 21 minutes and James Coyle converted five frees with Simon Wilson and Stephen Clarke also on target.
Mayo were finding it difficult to break down the Mourne men’s rearguard and the fact that five of the six starting forwards failed to score from play tells its own story.
They did manage to carve out four points without reply though from sub’ Ronan Cullinane (2) and midfielders Niall Murphy and Derek McConn to halve the deficit by the interval (0-8 to 1-9).
Martin Brennan’s team then upped the ante after the restart and a well-taken goal by the energetic Cullinane in the 48th minute left just one point between the sides.
At that stage it looked like anyone’s game but Down were actually only getting started. Mayo, as it transpired, were about to hit the wall and their season was over long before the final whistle.
Mayo
D O’Brien; S Markham, A Connolly, B Higgins; D McDonnell (1-0), K Moran, C Ryan; D McConn (0-2), N Murphy (0-3); K Higgins (0-2, 1f), D Dowling, S Hoban; M Devaney, C Hynes (0-1, 1f), B Moran (0-1, 1f).
Subs used: B Hunt for Devaney; R Cullinane (1-3) for Dowling; K McGrath for Moran; K Robinson for Hoban.
Down
G Clarke; L Clarke, S Wilson (0-1, 1f), S Ennis; R McGrattan, F Conway, M Ennis; A Savage (1-1), S Murray; C Woods, S Clarke (0-1), C Coulter; J Coyle (1-12, 9fs, ‘65), P Braniff (1-3), P Keith.
Subs used: E Clarke (0-1) for Coulter; D Flynn for Murray.
Referee: A Kelly (Galway)
