O’Connor brings brave Cork back from brink

If ever a game encapsulated the topsy-turvy nature of results and performances in football’s top-flight this season then this was it.

A contest that hardly paused for breath on a balmy afternoon in Castlebar ended in a welter of excitement as Cork pipped Mayo at the post to snatch two precious league points.

The locals were left dazed and confused at the final whistle as Donncha O’Connor’s close-range effort, a minute into injury-time, meant Mayo missed a glorious opportunity to take a step in the right direction on the league ladder.

Their players fell to their knees in disappointment after letting a five-point lead slip in the last 20 minutes, and crashing to their third straight defeat in the process.

Cork, meanwhile, celebrated with great gusto as four points without reply in the last seven minutes from Aidan Walsh, Paul Kerrigan and Donncha O’Connor (two) carried them to their third win of an indifferent campaign. And all this after playing for 40 minutes with only 14 men after Castlehaven’s Mark Collins was red-carded by Joe McQuillan for an off-the-ball incident just before half time.

Unsurprisingly, in light of all the late drama and excitement, Conor Counihan was a relieved man afterwards.

“I’m feeling very fortunate to come on top by the narrowest of margins,” said the Cork manager.

“By our own standards we’d have felt that we played poorly for a lot of that game and then losing a man probably didn’t help us either.

“Mayo seemed to be dominant with 15 minutes to go. But, on the credit side, our lads steadied themselves and showed a bit of composure and experience which probably just dragged us over the line.”

Central to the match-winning revival in the third quarter were tried and trusted Cork foot-soldiers Michael Shields, Noel O’Leary, Paul Kerrigan and Donncha O’Connor.

Kerrigan’s introduction at half-time brought a focal point to the visitor’s attack and he played with pace and purpose at centre-forward.

O’Connor had a fascinating tussle with Keith Higgins and while the Mayo defender acquitted himself well, Cork’s leading scorer still weighed in with six crucial points (three from play).

Midfielders Pearse O’Neill and Alan O’Connor also exerted a big influence in the last quarter as Cork erased a 0-6 to 0-11 deficit, and produced a storming finish to leave Mayo empty-handed.

“Everyone is disappointed after a defeat like that,” said James Horan.

“But people are determined to keep improving. So we’ll have a good training session on Tuesday night and keep working on it.

“We were in control for a lot of the game but we got caught so we need to look at what we did well, and we need to look at where we can improve.”

Everything seemed to be going to plan for Mayo as the game reached the three-quarter mark. The Connacht champions were five points ahead and keeping Cork at arm’s length.

A half-time lead of 0-7 to 0-3 had been built on good support-play, smart decision making, hard work and intensity — all characteristics lacking a week earlier against Donegal.

All of Mayo’s scores in that half also came from open play with Michael Conroy and Alan Dillon firing over a couple of scores each and Alan Freeman, Donal Vaughan and substitute Conor Mortimer also on target.

At the other end, Cork were struggling to make any impression against the breeze. It took them ten minutes to open their account through Donncha O’Connor and Paddy Kelly was their only other scorer from play before the break.

Mayo elected to use debutant Shane McHale as the spare man after the restart and scores from Andy Moran, Conor Mortimer (two) and Kevin McLoughlin left them in a commanding position after 51 minutes.

Remarkably, they lost their way from there to the finish. A few missed chances, allied to some cheap turnovers, allowed Cork stay in the game with Paul Kerrigan, Barry O’Driscoll, Paddy Kelly and Aidan Walsh landing inspirational long-range points to set up a grandstand finish.

Mayo lost Alan Dillon to a second yellow card in the final, frantic minutes and Donncha O’Connor held his nerve to slot over the decisive score.

“We’re under no illusions,” said Counihan. “Our performance wouldn’t do at the later stages. There’s plenty to work on and that’s a good thing too.”

Scorers for Cork: D O’Connor 0-6 (2fs, 1 45), P Kerrigan, P Kelly 0-2 each, C O’Neill (f), S Kiely, B O’Driscoll, A Walsh 0-1 each.

Scorers for Mayo: C Mortimer 0-3 (1f), M Conroy, A Dillon, A Moran 0-2 each, A Freeman, D Vaughan, K McLoughlin, J Doherty 0-1 each.

Subs for Cork: P Kerrigan for O’Neill (ht), B O’Driscoll for Goold (57).

Subs for Mayo: P Gardiner for Keegan (inj, 26), C Mortimer for O’Connor (28), D Geraghty for O’Shea (inj, 42), J Doherty for Conroy (inj, 49), A Campbell for Boyle (64).

Referee: J McQuillan (Cavan).