Gerald's trump Muredach's in all-Mayo Flanagan Cup thriller

Saint Gerald’s, Castlebar 4-11

Saint Muredach’s, Ballina 3-9

In Josie Munnelly Park

The scoreline in games can often be deceiving, and that was certainly the case in this All-Mayo Schools season opener.

Hosts Saint Gerald’s were pushed all the way by an impressive Muredach team, and were five down minutes into the second half.

However, in the first round of Flanagan Cup games under the 'new' rules, a five-point lead wasn’t worth its salt.

Joe Forry, as he so often does, bisected the sticks for the game’s one and only two-pointer, before Matthew Flannelly rattled the net to drag the Castlebar troops back level.

The game see-sawed and in truth could have gone either way until the death, but with time of the essence, Rhys Neary’s insurance score proved vital, before full-back Andrew Gallagher rattled the onion bag to cap off a big win for the home boys.

Both sides traded singles early doors in Act One, as Tiernan Brady and Oisín McCann opened their account for the 2025-26 year.

From there, the versatility of the county town school began to bear fruit on the turf, as Ben Joyce, Rhys Neary, and William Hoban stretched their legs to prise open a three-point gap.

Then came the game’s first green flag. Quick thinking and instruction from Muredach’s coach, James Carr, saw Corey Lavery’s sideline ball find a surging McCann. His ball across the face of the goal was happily met by Patrick Carr, who soared through the air to palm home.

The hosts were rocked by the leveller, and tried to make inroads, but a combination of stout defensive play from the northern visitors and some wasteful shooting saw them go scoreless for eleven minutes.

Muredach’s were a touch wasteful at times, also, but one place where they didn’t have many issues was in front of the sticks

Conor Jordan, who ran the show for the boys in red, got his scoring for the day off to a flier when he unleashed a daisy-cutter past Callum Casserly.

Patrick Carr got in on the act to push it out to four, but Gerald’s weren’t for being pegged back.

Muredach’s net-minder Conor Dohan was out in a flash to intercept a ball over the top, but the ball kindly ricocheted to Ben Joyce. Joyce kindly accepted and rattled the net.

After a Forry placed ball, the tie was level, but Muredach’s stepped up in style.

Conor Jordan’s quartet of scoring was an exhibition at times, and left the young cubs from the north heading in four to the good.

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Within six minutes of the changeover, thanks to the aforementioned scoring of Gerald’s, the tie was all square, and Neary’s fine curling effort had his charges ahead for the first time in 30 minutes.

Then two goals shook the stratosphere.

After Corey Lavery’s goal-bound effort rattled the post, Neary wasn’t as forgiving at the other end as he found the bottom left corner.

Moments later, Lavery atoned for his earlier effort as he returned the margin to the minimum with a major.

With twelve to go and Muredach’s a point down, eyes lit up as Carr had the goal at his mercy. However, with the pressure on from the defender, he had to lash at it, and although it levelled the tie, there was a real chance for an important goal.

With the clock ticking into the red, Neary stood up and was counted, and his last-ditch score came at a crucial juncture to send Muredach’s packing.

A full report will be carried in Tuesday's edition of The Mayo News.