Mayo beat Sligo after late surge in FBD League opener

CONNACHT FBD LEAGUE ROUND 1

Mayo 1-17

Sligo 1-11

In Charlestown

It's a win for Andy Moran in his first match as Mayo senior football manager. On a cold and dry Saturday afternoon, his highly experimental side which was missing many usual suspects, eventually imposed itself over a hard-working Sligo side.

"A bit scrappy at times," commented manager Moran after the match, speaking to the media: "We lacked a bit of energy at times but when we got going we were actually very good. The first 10 minutes was excellent and we faded off then for nearly half the game."

Mayo were 0-8 to 1-6 down at half-time. Sligo's goal scored by Paul Kilcoyne and their forwards, Dee and Shane Deignan, as well as Cian Lally were posing Mayo's defence all sorts of problems. 

The kick-out battle was dominated by the men from the Yeats county, which gave them longer spells of possession.

After 38 minutes, Mayo found themselves down by five points but the subs brought on by Moran proved to be crucial. Especially Cathal Keaveney (0-2), Liam Donoghue, Cian McHale (0-2) and Tom Lydon (0-1) raised Mayo's intensity, speed, and creation of space up front.

"They're sticking it to me, the young fellas," Moran acknowledged: "They all want to be part of the squad. Young Lydon comes in there, I think he wins five balls in the inside forward line, gets us up the field and he was brilliant. And Keaveney, we played him at half-back, he likes that position and I think he added a lot, even his kick passing in was good."

And it was thanks to a good performance by Ryan O'Donoghue, who moved more into a playmaker role on a day when Moran gave many young talents some game time. O'Donoghue shone by setting up scoring opportunities for his teammates.

Especially in the 56th minute, when the Belmullet livewire scrambled through two defenders, and passed the ball across to the unmarked Enda Hession, who palmed it into the net. 

The goal turned the tide for Mayo, reclaiming the lead for the first time in the second half. Moran's troops kept up the pressure and finished strong, scoring four unanswered points.  

It was noticeable, that Mayo were trying to get the ball up the field into the full forward line as quickly as possible. There was very little slow build-up play to be seen in Father O'Hara Park.

At times, this approach was paying off and could have led to two goals, but two Kuba Callaghan's strikes were denied, and Darragh Beirne missed the target as Mayo missed three promising goal chances.

Mayo were certainly showing more intent to go for two-pointers. Last season Mayo rarely even attempted two pointers.

However, in Charlestown the men in green and red were three from seven from beyond the arc. Especially Robbie Hennelly, who returned after a one-year break, showcased his ability to score from way out: The goal-keeper scored two two-point frees and was Mayo's top scorer.

"We need to kick two-pointers," pointed Moran out: "It's a massive part of the game now, you see the difference. I think we're 5-1 up, they get a two-pointer, all of a sudden it's 5-3, we get one that goes to 7-3, they just make such a big difference in the game and if you're not getting them, you need double the score if a team is getting them against you."

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It did play into Mayo's hands though, that Sligo were very wasteful in the first half. Multiple chances went wide or dropped short. A more lethal team could have easily racked up a much bigger lead. It was too easy for Sligo to carve through Mayo's midfield and create chances. 

But obviously, it's early days of the season and Andy Moran has the first win under his belt. Next up for Mayo is Roscommon in Dr Hyde Park for the FBD League Round two fixture next week Sunday. 

Interesting side note: Sligo play their round two fixture against London tomorrow, Sunday. 

A full match report and more reactions will be carried in Tuesday's Mayo News.

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