Ref under fire as Mayo beat gallant Galway
A game that was utterly without rancour, which was described afterwards by Galway manager PJ Fahy as "a great game, a very sporting game", was ruined as a spectacle by the whistle-crazy official who blew for 107 frees.
Possibly the best or worst example of all was the incident which allowed Mayo to tie this game in regular time. With five minutes remaining in a fiercely-fought game, Cora Staunton, Mayo's outstanding forward, won a ball outside the 45 and, off-balance, backed into the Galway defender and fell down. If anything it should have been a free to Galway, however, the long arm of Mr O'Hare awarded the place kick to Staunton, which to add insult to injury she duly pointed.
