Mayo U-21s win Connacht championship opener against Leitrim

MAN OF THE MATCH Mayo's Alan Freeman scored four points. Pic: Sportsfile


Mayo set up semi-final clash with Roscommon


CONNACHT U-21 CHAMPIONSHIP PRELIMINARY ROUND
Mayo 0-13
Leitrim 0-9

Mike Finnerty
Cloone


The Mayo U-21 footballers got the defence of their Connacht championship title off to a winning start and set up a semi-final meeting with Roscommon on St Patrick’s Day after winning Wednesday night’s preliminary round floodlit fixture in Cloone.
Ray Dempsey’s team had to pull out all the stops in the second half to keep a gallant homeside at bay and late points from substitute Ray Geraghty, Neil Douglas and man of the match Alan Freeman proved crucial.
However, Mayo left a lot of room for improvement with this very patchy display.
They shot eight wides in the first half and led at the break by 0-7 to 0-5 thanks to two points apiece from Shane Nally, Aidan O’Shea and Neil Douglas (one free), and a fine score from Alan Freeman.
Leitrim had started well, racing into the lead with points from Aaron Hickey and Aaron Croal, and they stayed in touch with a brace of well-taken scores from their lively centre-forward Eoin Ward.
Mayo pushed on after the restart and quick-fire points from Alan Freeman (a superb free from the left wing) and Neil Douglas propelled them clear by 0-9 to 0-5.
However, Mickey Moran’s team then took complete control, practically owning the ball for fifteen minutes, but they simply couldn’t convert that possession into scores.
Mayo dropped fourteen men back into their own half at times but Leitrim could only manage two scores during their spell in the ascendancy as Conor McCawley and Shane Flanagan hit the target.
In the final quarter, Mayo began to find their rhythm again and the likes of Lee Keegan, Eoin O’Reilly and Ger McDonagh got through some good work.
That industry allowed Alan Freeman (2), Ray Geraghty and Neil Douglas to kick the scores that sets up a date with Roscommon next Wednesday (March 17) in Hyde Park at 4pm.

Mayo
R Hennelly; P Mulchrone, S McHale, M Gallagher; L Keegan, E O’Reilly, S Prendergast; G McDonagh, S Nally (0-2); C Carolan, K McLoughlin, J Doherty; N Douglas (0-4, 1f), A O’Shea (0-2), A Freeman (0-4, 1f).
Subs used: N Prenty for Carolan; R Geraghty (0-1) for Prenty.

Leitrim
P Farrelly; P Maguire, C Egan, J O’Brien; J Beirne, C McCawley, D Tiernan; K Moran, T Beirne; A Hickey, E Ward, M Beirne; K Conlon, W McKeon, A Croal.
Subs used: N O’Connor for J Beirne (inj); S McWeeney for O’Connor (inj); E Mahon for Conlon; S Flanahan for Hickey; S McNabola for M Beirne.

Referee: Michael Duffy (Sligo)


LISTEN to Mike Finnerty's live match report from the sidelines at Cloone