Mayo’s stroll in the park
Unbackable favourites with the bookies, anything other than a heavy win for the side defeated in the last two All-Ireland finals would have been a surprise and everything went according to the expected script for James Horan’s men.
The tone was set as early as the first 30 seconds, when Donal Vaughan kicked the opening score, and for the remainder of the first half they had things at their ease.
By the interval, the scoreboard read 0-11 to 0-2 in favour of the side going for a fourth consecutive provincial title and but for a good Gavin Joyce save from an Andy Moran effort the gap would have been greater.
With a dominance at midfield, Mayo were constantly creating chances and New York found their attempts at progress frustrated by the concession of frees by Mayo well out the field.
That said, the hosts did see three efforts come back off the post in the opening period but fortune favoured them when Ronan McGinley only received a yellow card for a high challenge on Kevin McLoughlin, which saw the Mayo forward carried off.
Though Mayo didn’t manage a goal in the first half, they didn’t have long to wait upon the resumption as Diarmuid O’Connor rounded off a good team move to finish to the net.
New York responded positively with points but then two Cillian O’Connor penalties gave the scoreboard a better reflection of Mayo’s control of the game.
From both spot-kicks, awarded for fouls on Enda Varley and Brendan Harrison, O’Connor sent his shots to the bottom left-hand corner and Joyce had no chance with either.
O’Connor would finish with 2-5, punishing any New York indiscretions, and just before the whistle Varley added a fourth goal from Lee Keegan’s pass.
A joust with Roscommon or Leitrim awaits in the semi-final and though they will again be strong favourites, they will surely meet with more resistance than they faced here.
Scorers for Mayo: C O’Connor 2-5 (2-0 penalties, 0-3 frees), E Varley 1-1, A Moran 0-3, D O’Connor 1-0, D Vaughan, A O’Shea, K McLoughlin 0-2 each, L Keegan, J Gibbons, D Coen 0-1 each.
Scorers for New York: J Kelly 0-3, R Wherity, J McGeeney, G O’Driscoll, B Quigley, A Raftery 0-1 each.
NEW YORK: G Joyce; R McGinley, G McCartan, K O’Connor; K Scally, P O’Connor, D O’Sullivan; B Quigley, A Raftery; P Boyle, J Kelly, R Wherity; J McGeeney, K Quinn, G O’Driscoll.
Subs: C McCormack for O’Connor, S McNamee for Scally, H Curran for O’Connor, J Huvane for O’Sullivan, N Farrell for Boyle.
MAYO: R Hennelly; T Cunniffe, K Keane, K Higgins; L Keegan, C Boyle, D Vaughan; J Gibbons, A O’Shea; D O’Connor, S O’Shea, J Doherty; K McLoughlin, A Moran, C O’Connor.
Subs: B Harrison for Higgins, T Parsons for Gibbons, A Dillon for O’Connor, R Feeney for Doherty, E Varley for McLoughlin, C O’Shea for Moran.
Referee: P O’Sullivan (Kerry).
