Mayo make Connacht final

Roscommon 0-11 Mayo 1-16

Mayo will contest next month's Connacht SFC final against Galway after coming through a stern test of their 2005 credentials from Roscommon this afternoon.

In a repeat of last year's provincial decider, John Maughan's men proved too strong for predictable Roscommon, who hit 11 wides in all.

Corner forward Conor Mortimer, one of eight Mayo players from the 2004 All-Ireland final returning, punched home the only goal of the game in first half injury-time.

Mortimer hit 1-4 in all, his brother Trevor notched two second half scores as a substitute; another replacement James Gill played his part in some excellent build-up play while newcomer Billy Joe Padden, the son of 1980s Mayo legend Willie Joe, stepped up to the championship plate with three sure-footed points.

A pleasing outing for Maughan and his selectors although backed by the win, Roscommon made the brighter start, leading as they did by 0-4 to 0-2 by the 17th-minute.

Corner forward Ger Heneghan was key to this - he banged over two early points (0-1f), and together with Michael Ryan and Gary Cox (0-1), they steadied the Ros ship.

Mayo's lucid forward unit got going thereafter and Stephen Carolan, pointing after Ros 'keeper Shane Curran had narrowed down his goal-shooting option, and Conor Mortimer soon levelled at 0-4 a-piece.

Mortimer claimed another free on the half-hour and by this stage, Val Daly's underdogs had missed five wides. Their chances of making the final slipped further from their grasp in injury-time.

Although Heneghan then arrowed over the game's 10th point with the outside of his boot, Mortimer's second ever championship goal edged Mayo in front.

Skipper Ciaran McDonald started the move off, Padden then outgunned John White to fist the ball into the Ros square, and with Curran flat-footed, Mortimer raced in to punch home.

The goalscorer tagged on another point for an interval gap of 1-6 to 0-5. There was still fight left in Roscommon at that stage - three times in the early stages of the second half, Daly's charges reduced the deficit down to a single goal.

That was as close as they got however - both John Rogers, in the opening seconds of the second period, and Heneghan, at the death, had goal chances which flashed away from the target.

Had they gone in, it might have been different but Mayo simply had too many gears and raced away in the closing minutes. Heneghan kicked his fifth point before Trevor Mortimer (0-2), McDonald and Conor Mortimer closed out the Mayo win.