Mayo show resolve to stunt Kerry rhythm
Electric Ireland GAA Football All-Ireland Minor Championship Semi-Final, Bord na Mona O'Connor Park, Tullamore, Offaly 25/6/2022 Kerry vs Mayo Mayo celebrate after the game Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Tom Maher
It was a far cry from the 3-18 to 3-12 shootout they enjoyed at the same venue a fortnight previously, but Mayo manager Sean Deane was no less happy to see his side find a way through a tricky Electric Ireland All-Ireland minor football championship semi-final in Tullamore Saturday afternoon.
“What I have is a talented bunch of men that are mad for knowledge and a pleasure to coach,” he said after his side’s 1-8 to 0-9 victory, meaning that Kerry have now been knocked out of the minor championship four times in the last four seasons, all by a combined margin of five points.
“It was a totally different game to what we’ve experienced previously. We struggled in the opening quarter and the lads had to show great character and understanding of the game to find a way back into it. Ronan (Clarke) got a goal that changed the game, and David’s (Dolan) saves were crucial. He has that in his locker, he has saved us on other occasions by kicking 45s, but today he did what he does best”.
It was a contest that failed to catch fire in the early stages, though the Kingdom at least found a few sparks. After conceding the first score to a free, points from Darragh O’Connor (Kenmare), Donagh O’Sullivan and Cormac Dillon suggested that they were by far the more threatening side, and even after a wonderful solo goal from Ronan Clarke edged Mayo back in front, Kerry’s response was exemplary.
Odhrán Ferris levelled the game with a majestic point from the right wing, Cormac Dillon put them in front with a point that could have been a goal but for an excellent David Dolan save, then the dancing feet of Paddy Lane made it 0-6 to 1-1, the 15-year-old skipping past three defenders before clipping the ball over from 25 metres out.
Cue the first turning point.
As Mayo tried to run the ball out of their half-back line, a body-check from Donagh O’Sullivan saw the Kerry attacked black-carded, and Mayo were quick to use the extra space and make hay. Four points on the spin before half-time completely turned the game on its head, and they made it five through a Ronan Clarke free before O’Sullivan returned to the field.
It wasn’t the only decision that raised the ire of Kerry supporters in the stand, but asked about the performance of referee Séamus Mulhare, team manager James Costello stopped a long way short of laying any blame for the result at the feet of the Laois official.
“We had the free count at 24 to 7, but that probably speaks to Mayo’s discipline in the tackle. Certainly that wasn’t the reason we lost the game today, Mayo were full value for their victory,” he said afterwards.
Just a few minutes after O’Sullivan returned to the field, the game’s second big turning point played out, in the form of Kerry missing their best goal chance of the contest.
Paddy Lane’s trickery was again on show as he spun out from two tackles to put himself clean through on goal, and it looked as if the Austin Stacks player had picked out the top corner with his shot. Dolan’s positioning was perfect however and he deflected the ball onto the post and gathered it at the second attempt, drawing a huge roar from the Mayo supporters in the stand.
Substitute Darragh O’Connor (Beaufort) fired over the next point from close range, but there was a spring in Mayo’s step now, as players like Luke Feeney, Diarmuid Duffy and Dara Hurley grew increasingly influential in the middle third.
However, while Keaveney and Clarke added points, they also registered some very poor wides. The forwards were leaving the door open – but an outstanding defensive showing, punctuated by Dolan’s highlight reel saves, prevented Kerry from walking through it.
“We never got into our rhythm and a lot of that was down to Mayo,” said Costello.
“There was 15 minutes of the first half when we played quite well, but the goal before half-time sickened us, and then in the second half we missed a lot of chances and we turned over a lot of ball, it wasn’t to be our day”.
R Clarke 1-3 (0-3f), C Keaveney 0-2 (0-1f), J Maheady 0-1 D Hurley 0-1, J Keane 0-1.
D O’Sullivan 0-2, C Dillon 0-2 (0-1f), P Lane 0-2 (0-1f), D O’Connor (Kenmare, 0-1), O Ferris 0-1, D O’Connor (Beaufort, 0-1)
D Dolan; L Silke, J MacMonagle, R Mortimer; L Maloney, C McHale, P Gilmore; J Keane, Luke Feeney; J Maheady, D Hurley, D Duffy; C Keaveney, R Clarke, N Hurley
O Armstrong for Keane (46), Z Collins for Maheady (46), S O’Dowd for Gilmore (54), O Cronin for D Hurley (54), A Boukioud for McHale (60+2)
S O'Meara; M Lynch, C Browne, L Evans; F Murphy, D O'Connor (Kenmare), J O'Sullivan; E Doyle, E Healy; O Ferris, D O'Sullivan, N Collins; P Lane, J Clifford, C Dillon
D O’Connor (Beaufort) for Collins (37), I O’Sullivan for Boyle (47), J Burke for Ferris (54), R Burke for D O’Connor (Kenmare, 56), T Ashe for Clifford (60)
S Mulhare (Laois)
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
