Mayo win was too close for comfort

That was too close for comfort


THE backdrop was dramatic. A cloudburst, hailstones and peals of thunder heralded its beginning. And the climax of this Connacht semi-final was no less gripping as Colm Boyle cut off a promising Roscommon attack almost on the goal line . . . and Mayo had ‘escaped to victory’.
Relief was the consensus among the Mayo attendance at Hyde Park who had expected a less tense passage of the champions to the Connacht final, but for long spells were confronted with the prospect of watching them next time . . . in the Qualifiers.
For some time this column has been writing about the renaissance of Roscommon football, and the gap between them and Mayo that has narrowed since they met last year at MacHale Park.
A poor decision by Finbar Cregg, and a correspondingly brilliant intervention by Boyle, denied the challengers the chance of a replay, at least, on Sunday which many believe they deserved.
In the end it was the ‘auld dog for the long road’ that deprived them of that chance. The timely introduction of evergreens Andy Moran and Alan Dillon changed the perspective. A three-point deficit was wiped out and the character of the champions highlighted in escaping from the jaws of defeat.
The opening half was dreadful stuff. The thunderstorm had converted the pitch into a virtual skating rink. Control was impossible. Like a bar of wet soap the ball squirted crazily all over the place. With the most erratic of nudges it could have wound up anywhere.
Turnovers were inevitable in those conditions, unless like Tom Cunniffe you were wearing long sleeves and thus less easily dispossessed. The Castlebar man was outstanding in the full-back line and, with arms covered, was better equipped to handle the greasy ball.
Early on, when they had the advantage of the wind, Mayo had the edge. But their kicking was often aimless and erratic. Even on the few occasions they escaped Roscommon’s swarming strategy, their foot deliveries were either too long, too short or fell wide. In that first half they kicked ten wides to Roscommon’s four, and led at half-time only by a single point.
It was not difficult then to see that a kick of a ball would decide the issue. The game had barely restarted when Senan Kilbride availed of a slip to the ground by Ger Cafferkey to tap over the bar, a shot that might well have been under.
Seven minutes later wing-back Ciaran Cafferkey was catapulted through the centre of the defence from a Niall Daly pass to blaze the ball into the corner of the Mayo net. It was obvious then that Mayo needed something special to survive.
James Horan was brave in selecting youngsters Diarmuid O’Connor and Conor O’Shea on the first team, and if the conditions were different his gamble might well have paid off.
But Mayo, three points down, were now in the middle of a crisis that demanded wise old heads to rescue their Connacht championship season. So Horan turned to the two men whose energy levels in the prevailing conditions might not have lasted the full game. He called on Moran and Dillon. And their impact was instantaneous.
Two long-range points by Moran, and high intensity tackling by Dillon, ignited Mayo. And for once their mental constraints seem to disappear as they took on the look of a side determined to pull through.
At no stage did Mayo fully control midfield. But the irrepressible power of Seamus O’Shea was vital. The Breaffy man has had his ups and downs with Mayo but in the second half he popped up all over the place and his long-range point levelled the scores in the 31st minute.
Indeed, if immediately after that point, Andy had delivered a pass to the inrushing Donal Vaughan, instead of trying to outsmart Ian Kilbride, a goal was possible which might have saved some heart-pounding moments on the terraces before the end.
Instead, Mayo had to claw and scrape for every opportunity. Cillian O’Connor, who put in a big seventy minutes of hard work and cool, accurate free-taking, and Kevin McLoughlin saw them through. But it was only by the skin of their teeth ­and that last dashing save by Colm Boyle, another sound performer in an all-round solid Mayo defence in general.
Ger Cafferkey was back to his best form and Keith Higgins proved once again why his services are more beneficial in defence than up in the front line. The one shot that beat Robert Hennelly was not stoppable and the goalkeeper turned in a creditable performance.
Roscommon will have regretted not utilising teenager Diarmuid Murtagh or Enda Smith earlier in the game. They had the look of ball winners and have the ability to lead Roscommon a long distance this season.
On their general performance, however, Mayo presented an image of a team unlikely to be in the final shake-up. Certainly, Galway, with due respects to Sligo, will not fear travelling to MacHale Park.

O’Shea brothers join exclusive club
IT was a great day for the O’Shea family; a distinguished moment in history for brothers Seamus, Aidan and Conor, and a precious memento forever etched on the memory of their parents Jim and Sheila. Three brothers lining out on a Mayo senior championship team is a rare and historic event.
On any other day the selection of the O’Connor brothers, Cillian and Diarmuid, would have been the talking point of James Horan’s Mayo on Sunday. The choice of Diarmuid, just out of the minor ranks, was itself a daring decision of the mentors.
The selection of two sets of brothers is not unique to Mayo.
Sixty-eight years ago, 1946, three sets of brothers lined out for the county in the Connacht final, with Roscommon also providing the opposition.
Peter, John and Joe Gilvarry from Killala starred for Mayo in that game, Peter and John in defence and Joe, who would go on to win all-Ireland senior medals with the county, at wing forward.
Brothers Finn and Eamon Mongey, and Peadar and Joe Kilroy joined them on the same side. Lining out for Roscommon the same day were brothers Jimmy and Phelim Murray.
In 2003 the three Mortimer brothers from Shrule were members of the side defeated by Fermanagh in an All-Ireland Qualifier.
And back in 1940, Jimmy Laffey was sprung from the bench to join brothers Tim and Peter in the Connacht semi-final replay against Sligo.
The 1946 Connacht final was mired in controversy. The first meeting, at Ballinasloe, ended in a 1-4 to 0-6 win for Roscommon. The goal was disputed as the umpire refused to flag it after he had been ordered to do so by the referee.
Mayo objected on several grounds and Roscommon counter-objected. Eventually a replay was ordered at Roscommon which Mayo won by 1-9 to 1-2.
It was also the first Connacht Final to be broadcast on radio and the commentator was the late, lamented Michéal Ó hÉithir.

Just a thought …
FOR a while Laois looked like providing Dublin with a testing challenge, but a second half blitz saw the champions over their first defence of the All-Ireland title. Who will stop the juggernaut?