Mayo Under-16 girls see off Leitrim in Hollymount

Connacht LGFA U-16 Championship Round 2

Mayo 2-13 Leitrim 1-1

Oisín McGovern in Hollymount

An early Leitrim siege wasn’t enough to stop a diligent and cohesive Mayo Under-16 team from grabbing their second championship win of the year in Hollymount this afternoon.

Mayo found the going tough but made the going even tougher for their opponents who were eventually unable to supress wave after wave of attacks.

On a frigid day when the Mayo girls’ dry robes were the most sensible garments on show in ‘The Saucer’, Francis Regan’s side ground their way to victory slowly and tactically rather than through shock and awe.

Leitrim’s strategy placing a green and yellow phalanx around the ‘D’ paid dividends in the early stages. On numerous occasions, the home side were forced into shots that dropped short or fell wide of the mark as their forwards struggled for space. 

But Mayo, to their credit, summoned discipline and perseverance when others would have succumbed to frustration.

Though Claremorris duo Emma Higgins and Áine Lynn were the leading lights, no Mayo girl shouldered too much of the burden.

The hosts worked relentlessly and always made sure there was a player in support as they searched for holes in what looked like an impregnable Leitrim defence.

The guests actually held the lead for all of 25 minutes in the first half.

With no more than 30 seconds gone, the Leitrim lassies had the umpired waving the green flag when Lucy Maye drove the ball in off the post.

Mayo’s pickings were slim for the next 20-odd minutes, where their relentless work ethic was rewarded with a solitary Áine Lynn free.

Maria Faughnan hit Leitrim’s last score of the game in the 13th minute. After this, the visitors’ defensive wall slowly began to crumble in the face of incessant assaults.

Lynn eventually got them back within a point before her clubmate Emma Higgins found the goal when her point attempt bounced in front of the posts and into the top corner.

A further point from Lynn saw Mayo go in at the break with a 1-4 to 1-1 lead – solid, but far from convincing.

The fresh legs from the unlimited substitutes gave an already fighting fit Mayo further impetus after the restart.

It wasn’t long before the impressive Emma Higgins posted two more points before Áine Lynn hit two on bounce.

The Claremorris duo were at the heart of everything good that Mayo did all afternoon and were rightly rested at the turn of the third quarter when their work was done.

Many of the Mayo subs put their hands skyward for a starting jersey with some of their displays.

These include All-Ireland winning Mayo U-14 captain and hometown girl Emma Stagg, who pointed alongside clubmate Lilly Hession, Kate Byrne, and Lauren McHale.

Caoilfhionn Seoighe sealed Lertrim’s fate at the end of the third quarter with a goal after initially being denied by a superb save from Loren Scott.

The scores dried up on both sides for some time as reality sunk in that a Mayo win was all but guaranteed.

Lauren McHale was unlucky to see a goal attempt blast off the crossbar in the closing minutes before herself Stagg, Hession and Byrne all pointed to round off a solid but hard-fought Mayo victory.

An earlier win over local rivals Galway puts Mayo in poll position to qualify for the Connacht final. 

Mayo: Lauren Cusack (Westport); Eabha Donnelly (Carnacon), Isabelle Basquille (Balla), Cliodhna Dowling (Carnacon); Chloe Fahey (Breaffy), Emma Higgins (Claremorris) (1-2), Grace Bailey (Castlebar Mitchels); Caoimhe Tolan (McHale Rovers), Aoibhe Walsh (Balla) (0-1); Ailbhe Ferguson (Kilmoremoy), Caoimhe McHale (Parke/Keelogues/Crimlin), Emily Duffy (Aghamore); Ellie Dunleavy (Balla), Áine Lynn (0-6, 3f), Emily Moran (Breaffy)

Subs: Meabh Lavin (Kilmovee Shamrocks), Sari Vahey (Hollymount), Anna Healy (Castlebar Mitchels), Caoilfhionn Seoighe (Tourmakeady) (1-0), Caoilfionn Gilmartin (Balla), Siofra McGuinness (Charlestown), Lilly Hession (Hollymount) (0-1), Kate Byrne (Moy Davitts) (0-1), Amy Doherty (McHale Rovers), Emma Stagg (Hollymount) (0-1), Clion Cullen (Charlestown), Sophie Tiernan (Charlestown), Katie Hughes (Westport), Sarah Dempsey (Knockmore), Lauren McHale (Belmullet) (0-1)

Leitrim: Loren Scott; Jane Hanrahan, Leah Guckian, Laura Gordon; Ciara Walsh, Clara Fee, Eppie McAllister; Katie Browne, Zara Cronin; Mia Connolly, Grace Devaney, Mabel Keane; Niamh Mahon, Kasey Duignan, Lucie Maye (1-0)

Subs: Abby Halstead, Maria Faughnan (0-1), Kate Kenny, Kayla Faughnan, Rose Keaney, Megan Doonan, Lily McWeeney, Mollie Harte, Catherine Casey, Rachel McNiff, Aoife Conefrey, Isabel Lowe, Siofra Mooney, Riona McKiernan, Clodagh Kilrane

Referee: Gerry Carmody (Roscommon)