Mayo not quite up to challenge Dublin 0-15
Mayo 0-12 Niall Scully
Portmarnock THE twenty Mayo senior footballers that togged out enjoyed their evening at the seaside last Friday in Dublin. Warm applause greeted their arrival onto the pitch for a lively challenge match against two of Pat Gilroy’s sides, one playing for each half.
It was nice weather for a stroll on the beach. Perfect for football. The crowd was big, and the pitch was in excellent shape, considering all the rain that had fallen in the capital.
The host club, Naomh Mearnóg, were showcasing their facilities. It’s a magnificent venue. Their development work continues.
Eamonn Andrews used to live down the road. John O’Mahony would be a model for ‘This Is Your Life.’
John had no time for the hustings on Friday evening. The action was too pacey for that.
Mayo could have got a draw. They owned the ball for most of the seventy minutes. It was level four times. Two late points gave the prize to Dublin. But there were no hands in the air at the finish. This is the rehearsal room. The time of the year for getting the sound check right.
Mayo’s defence did well to contain Dublin’s talented forward line. There was only one save of note in the contest. It didn’t arrive until injury-time as David Clarke managed to brilliantly push away Blaine Kelly’s rasper. Bryan Cullen punched over the rebound. It was the last score of the tie.
Mayo’s midfield was purring. David Heaney and Pat Harte got through an amount of work. Harte was all over the shop, setting up chances and potting a few colours himself.
In the 20th minute, Aidan Kilcoyne lofted over a tasty point into the clubhouse end. Harte was its creator in chief. And five minutes later, Harte himself scored the point of the half, and maybe even the match. Alan Dillon was also busy. Mayo well merited their interval advantage of 0-7 to 0-5.
There was never much between them. Points from Austin O’Malley and Trevor Mortimer edged Mayo two points clear again in the 48th minute, 0-12 to 0-10. But then five points on the bounce did the trick for the Blues — the scores coming from Mossy Quinn (2), Paul Casey (2) and Cullen.
Like Cullen, Casey’s second point came from the fist. And they came too near the bell for Mayo to recover. Dublin used 32 players. Mayo didn’t have that luxury, as John O’Mahony explained.
“Due to exams, injuries and so forth, we only had twenty or so players, so from that point of view it was a good workout,” remarked the Mayo boss.
“It was good preparation for us for four weeks time. Games like these give you the chance to see how things are shaping up.”
John was pleased with the display of centre half-back, Trevor Howley. “He did well. He’s coming back into form again. It’s all about having options ahead of the game against Roscommon or Leitrim. And the more options we have the better.
“A challenge game is a challenge game. You can’t look too much into it. It’s really preparation for the real thing.”
But for now, it’s back to the bread and butter. “It’s the club championship this week. The players will be back with their clubs, but we’ll pick it up after that. We might have another run-out against somebody before the Leitrim-Roscommon game. Maybe we’ll just have a match between ourselves. We’ll see.”
And with that, the Mayo manager was off, breathing in the crisp North Dublin air as he pressed the flesh of Mayo men and women, and some Dubs too. Out in friendly Portmarnock, O’Mahony would be sure of the Number 1 vote, every time.
MAYO D Clarke; L O’Malley, G Cafferkey, K McLoughlin; P Gardiner (0-1), T Howley, A Moran; D Heaney, P Harte (0-4, 2fs); A Kilcoyne (0-1), T Mortimer (0-1), A Dillon (0-3, 1f); M Ronaldson (0-1), B Moran, BJ Padden.
Subs used: A O’Malley (0-1), S O’Shea, C Barrett, B Kelly, M Sweeney, A O’Shea.
DUBLIN S Cluxton; D Henry, D Bastick, A Hubbard; P Griffin, G Brennan, B Cahill; R McConnell, D Magee; P Flynn, P Burke, D Connolly (0-1, 1f); A Brogan (0-3), M Davoren, B Brogan (0-1).
Subs used: P Andrews, M Savage, E Fennell (0-1), S Ryan (0-1), B Kelly (0-1), J Sherlock (0-1), P Callaghan, T Quinn (0-2), P Casey (0-2), R O’Carroll, B Cullen (0-1), D Daly, P Conlon, C O’Sullivan, K Bonner (0-1), I Ward, C Keaney.
Referee: P Finnegan (Louth)
FOOTBALL The 20 Mayo senior footballers that togged out enjoyed their evening at the seaside last Friday in Dublin, although they lost by three points to Pat Gilroy’s side.
