Mayo Ladies beat Donegal and advance to the All-Ireland quarter-final
It was a hard piece of work for the ladies in green and red but eventually they kept their composure to edge past Donegal in Glenfin on Saturday afternoon.
TG4 ALL-IRELAND SENIOR FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
Donegal 2-6
Mayo 1-15
In Glenfin
THE big win aside, one of the lasting memories from Mayo’s crucial win over Donegal was Lisa Cafferky’s beautiful late goal. A fine lob over the Donegal keeper which sealed the win for the Green and Red.
Cafferky was on the mark all day as she led from the front and contributed four points as well. In general, the Kilmovee Shamrocks woman was the best player on the pitch.
She had a strong support cast, especially in Aoife Staunton who split the sticks each time she got a sight of them within range. The Westport attacker bagged five points of her own.
In midfield, it was Aoife Geraghty, the Westport warrior, who lorded the skies and was ferocious in the scramble for breaking balls.
Mayo manager Diane O’Hora can be pleased, as football is of course a results driven sport like any other, but she will be particularly delighted with the way Mayo responded to a late Donegal surge.
Mayo were up 0-13 to 1-6, when excellent centre-forward Susanne White hammered the ball into an empty net after Mayo goalkeeper Laura Brennan was dispossessed outfield.
However, instead of bending under the mounting pressure, as Mayo found themselves only one point up with a few minutes left to play, they remained composed and kept making the right decisions.
It was player-of-the-match Cafferky who stepped up, and nudged Mayo two clear - and when Mayo turned Donegal over in their following attack, Cafferky raised the green flag that would put the game to bed.
A full match report will be carried in Tuesday’s Mayo News.