Mayo broken by Gleeson's buzzer-beater

CONNACHT SENIOR FOOTBALL FINAL

Galway 0-16

Mayo 0-15

Pearse Stadium, Salthill

HEARTBREAK! There's no other word for it. Mayo were beaten at the death in Salthill today as Galway came from off the pace to snatch victory in deepest injury time in front of a throbbing crowd on their home patch. The last-gasp victory secured Galway their third title in succession and 50th crown in total.

Mayo carried a two-point lead into injury time at the end of a see-saw encounter but three late frees from Rob Finnerty, Shane Walsh and Connor Gleeson won the title for Padraic Joyce's men. Gleeson's late free will be forever remembered in Galway football circles and the 47 meter distance will multiply with each telling. In truth, it was a superb kick from the goalkeeper who held his nerve wonderfully.

The winners only led for a total of three minutes all day previous to Gleeson's winner, but the score on the board at the end of the evening was the one that mattered and the thousands of Galway supporters on the pitch afterwards gloried in victory over the closest rivals.

Mayo may have led for most of the game but cold, hard facts will show that Galway created three gilt-edged goal chances and the men in green and red never looked like shaking the net.

The legendary breeze coming in off the Salthill seascape didn't seem to have an impact on proceedings.

Mayo went to the dressingroom at half time with a two-point lead, 0-8 to 0-6, after playing into the infamous breeze and could be quite happy with their lot. Galway had missed two goal chances, made two substitutions and were out-thought for long periods of the first half.

Damien Comer had drilled a goal effort just wide after six minutes and saw a rasper brilliantly saved by Colm Reape eight minutes later. Apart from that, the Galway forward play was poor and the ball delivered into attack regularly had the wrong address when dispatched. 

Mayo were very combative around the middle in the opening half and with Donnacha McHugh doing a vice-like marking job on Galway captain Sean Kelly, the guests were getting a lot of things right.

Matthew Ruane got the guests off the mark in the fourth minute and they would add further scores from Ryan O'Donoghue (3), Fergal Boland, the lively Tommy Conroy and McHugh. Aidan O'Shea was winning more than his share of the ball but for all their industry Mayo never threatened Gleeson's goal.

Johnny McGrath and Jack Glynn were tenacious and disciplined at the back and when the ball was lorried towards Comer in attack, he worked tirelessly to make the most of it. The big full-forward was hard to handle and with his sidekick Rob Finnerty converting from frees and play, the home side were just two adrift at the interval.

They were even happier seven minutes into the second half after Comer, Johnny Heaeny and Finnerty had put them a point up, but it could have been even better for the reigning champions. Maher had cut a swathe through the Mayo back line after 38 minutes only to see his goalbound shot taken off the line by Rory Brickenden and scrambled to safety by Colm Reape.

Wind-assisted Mayo then took charge and were three clear, 0-11 to 0-8, after 55 minutes with Tommy Conroy winning a lot of ball on the half-forward line and threatening to create havoc but Galway stayed in the game. Finnerty landed a free, Gleeson added another from long-distance, Finnerty clipped over from play and Walsh ran in from the left to add another. That left Galway one up, 0-13 to 0-12, with five minutes left, but Mayo hit back immediately.

O'Donoghue converted a free to level the scores before Ruane raced forward to put Mayo in front and Conroy doubled the advantage as injury time arrived.

That set the stage for Galway to write another famous chapter in the history of this fixture and Gleeson showed nerves of steel to win the title in the fifth minute of injury time and unleash scenes of wild delight all around the ground.