Mayo shake off one hex
They led comfortably, by eight points, with just 20 minutes to play, but conceded six of the next seven points. They had a six-point buffer entering injury-time and yet held only a one-score advantage when the last whistle went.
At least they won this one, eventually.
That they were holding back a late siege from Tyrone when Conor Lane finally put a county out of its misery seemed only fitting. For the first time since 1985, having lost six minor deciders since, Mayo had put one hex to bed.
Not a total waste of a day, then.
Though they had claimed an U21 title in 2006, this was their first in any grade in Croke Park since current minor manager Enda Gilvarry and his vintage hoisted the Tom Markham Cup from a very different set of Hogan Stand steps 28 years ago.
All minor titles are precious to the men who claim them but rarely has a county embraced their young sons like the Mayo fans did this side yesterday. The want poured off the stands.
Gilvarry spoke time and again in the run-up about how the senior side served as inspiration, as role models, for his emerging troops, but they returned the favour here providing the perfect platform for the main event.
Indeed, few warm-up acts have ever worked a crowd so expertly. And to think it started as a slow burn.
The first half was a torturous affair as both teams struggled to match the occasion with any decent quality of football and the only surprise was that Mayo held the advantage when it was over.
That they did was down to the appropriately nicknamed Tommy ‘Goals’ Conroy, the man who reputedly once scored 6-9 in an underage game and who claimed the first three-pointer on the stroke of the interval.
It was his side’s first score from play all afternoon which was in part due to Tyrone’s predilection to foul all too easily and the Connacht side’s struggles to impose their fluent style on proceedings.
Time and again goalkeeper Mark Mulligan would take a quick, short kick-out in the hope of injecting that pace but their A-game was absent. One five-minute period saw them called for steps, bundled over a sideline and kick five wides.
Tyrone set out with midfielder Frank Burns stationed as a sweeper, where he stayed all afternoon. He remained a thorn in Mayo’s side all day but his job description left the Ulster side short for numbers up front. They counteracted that more often than not by building possession slowly and kicking a number of excellent scores from distance with midfielder Ronan Nugent a particular exponent of that most difficult of skills.
The omens for Mayo seemed far from favourable when Darragh Doherty shot wide from close-in after being fouled by a defender after 20 minutes. Clearly off-balance as he shot, he was afforded the advantage by the official.
What harmed them then helped before the break when the referee waved play on after another Tyrone indiscretion further afield with the result that Conroy’s shot ended up palmed into the top corner by the Tyrone keeper.
It was a blow to the solar plexus for Tyrone and one followed up after the change of ends by an opening flurry of 1-4 from their opponents with 1-2 coming from the excellent Doherty.
The goal only emphasised the change in momentum. It started with a Nugent free in towards the Mayo goal evading everyone and bouncing back off a post and ended with Doherty siding a superb finish under Sean Fox at the other end.
Eight points up and finally in their stride it appeared Mayo were home and hosed. Not so. A combination of poor decisions and a dip in energy levels let Tyrone back in.
Slowly the scoreboard edged closer to parity as Tyrone hit six points from frees and open play as Mayo struggled to a single response through Conor Loftus.
Would history come back to haunt Mayo? Not this time. Order was restored just when it seemed they would succumb and the buffer was back to six before Conor McKenna fisted a speculative ball into the Mayo net and nerves were once again pulled taut.
But only for a little bit longer.
Scorers for Mayo: T Conroy (1-3); D Doherty (1-2); L Irwin (0-4 frees); C Loftus (0-2); Prendergast (0-1 free); C Byrne (0-1).
Scorers for Tyrone: C McKenna (1-2); L Brennan (0-4, 3 frees); R Nugent (0-2); D Mulgrew (0-1); R McGlone (0-1); D Gallagher (0-1 free); P Donnelly (0-1); C McShane (0-1).
MAYO: M Mulligan; E Doran, S Cunniffe, D Kenny; M Hall, S Coen, S Conlon; V Roughneen, D O’Connor; P Prendergast, M Plunkett, C Loftus; D Doherty, L Irwin, T Conroy.
Subs for Mayo: C Byrne for Doherty (52); H Cafferty for Plunkett (60); F Duffy for Irwin (62).
TYRONE: S Fox; S Hamill, R Quinn, C McCann; C Morris, C Byrne, P McGirr; R Nugent, C McKenna; D Mulgrew, R McGlone, F Burns; L Brennan, D Gallagher, S McGrath.
Subs for Tyrone: C McShane for McGlone; P Donnelly for McGrath (both 41); M Lynn for McGirr (48); C O’Donnell for Gallagher (56).
Referee: C Lane (Cork).
