Mayo scrape past in-form Galway

Galway 0-13 Mayo 1-11

Mayo turned in a Jekyll-and-Hyde performance at Tuam Stadium this afternoon but they still managed to overhaul an in-form Galway side in an action-packed Connacht derby.

Galway looked on course to book their place in the Allianz NFL Division 1 final when leading by 0-9 to 0-3 at the end of the first half.

The throw-in was delayed due to the large crowd present but when the game got underway, Galway raced out of the starting blocks.

They had a fisted point from Michael Meehan inside a minute, Meehan was then fouled for a pointed free from Paul Conroy and midfielder Joe Bergin broke forward to push the Tribesmen into a 0-3 to 0-1 lead.

A fifth-minute free from Alan Dillon was all Mayo could muster until Austin O’Malley cracked over the visitors’ second point, a full 26 minutes into the tie.

Before that, Kieran Conroy had tested the reflexes of Galway goalkeeper Adrian Faherty but Mayo’s attack was ponderous and leaden-footed compared to what Meehan and company offered at the other end.

Full-forward Meehan ended the half with four points to his name but the Caltra clubman sent a penalty effort wide in injury-time – a goal at that stage really would have killed the game off.

Conroy, with 0-3 in the opening half, was Galway’s other star forward, with Bergin and Padraic Joyce, who did a lot of good work off the ball, also playing key roles.

A second O’Malley point cut the gap to 0-9 to 0-3 at half-time but it was a different Mayo that appeared for the second half.

Obviously roused by John O’Mahony’s half-time words, Mayo were much sharper on the resumption and were helped in their comeback quest by lively substitutes Conor Mortimer and Kevin McLoughlin.

McLoughlin announced himself with an immediate point and five minutes later, Aidan O’Shea rippled the Galway net with a well-taken goal after Mark Ronaldson had set him up with a soccer-style pass.

An O’Malley point had Mayo back to within a point of the home side at

0-9 to 1-5 but Conroy and Meehan (free) looked to have steadied Galway with subsequent points.

However, Mayo were now revelling in the near Championship-like pace and as accurate as Meehan continued to be, the visitors were now matching him.

Mortimer and goal-scorer O’Shea added points and Peadar Gardiner also chipped in with vital scores.

In a tense finale, Trevor Mortimer conjured up the lead point for Mayo and they determinedly held on for a memorable comeback win, with Joyce off target from a last-gasp free.