Prodigal Son a handful as Mayo master Tipperary

Mayo 0-21, Tipperary 1-14THE Prodigal Son of Mayo football, returned from the intercounty wilderness, as if he had never been away.

McDonald, back in intercounty harness for less than a week, was introduced midway through the second half of the All-Ireland SFC qualifier against Tipperary. In his spell he nabbed four points insuring that Connacht will have three representatives in the last eight of the competition.

At the end of a magnificent match, it was the strength of Mayo's bench which proved the deciding factor. The ability to introduce players of the quality of McDonald and team captain James Nallan (he didn't start because of injury) was crucial to halting the Tipp charge.