Mayo edge Galway in tense affair to book All-Ireland quarter-final spot

CRUCIAL GOAL: Mayo scored 1-7 in the second half to pull through for the fourth straight knock-out championship victory over Galway. 

All-Ireland SFC Preliminary quarter-final

GALWAY 0-12 MAYO 1-10 

Eoghan McLaughlin and Colm Reape made added time goal-line interceptions from Cillian McDaid goal attempts to sent Mayo into the All-Ireland quarter-finals.

In a wind-affected game in Salthill, Mayo scored 1-7 in the second half to pull through for the fourth straight knock-out championship victory over Galway.

Largely due to the gale, Mayo didn’t score for 33 minutes across the halves but when they did, the floodgates opened. Ryan O’Donoghue sent over a free and a point and David McBrien’s equalising goal followed in the 43rd minute. Supplied by Patrick Durcan, McBrien completed a tidy one-two with Aidan O’Shea and finished with aplomb.

Substitute Cillian O’Connor put Mayo ahead although Reape had to make himself big in the 47th minute to deny Matthew Tierney after Seán Kelly had put him through.

Durcan’s first and second points put Mayo two up by the 54th minute and by the time Galway ended their barren patch via Paul Conroy 28 minutes had passed. His namesake Tommy cancelled it out at the other end after Jordan Flynn superbly interrupted a Galway attack.

In the 61st minute, Shane Walsh’s third converted free made it a two-point game. His fourth in the final minute of normal time set up the tensest of conclusions but a meticulous Mayo build-up finished with a James Carr point two minutes into stoppage time.

Chasing a goal, Galway twice went close with McDaid palmed efforts but goalkeeper Reape and McLaughlin were level to them and Galway had to settle for a John Maher point.

Winning the coin toss and opting to benefit from the first-half wind, it was always going to be a question of how far Galway were going to be ahead. Five points – 0-8 to 0-3 – was a reasonable difference but they could have made more hay given Mayo’s kick-out difficulties into the breeze. Walsh also kicked two frees wide.

Mayo were the brighter early on and led 0-3 to 0-1 after eight minutes. However, they didn’t trouble the scoreboard for the remainder of the half as Galway went about making the benefit of the elements tell.

Damien Comer caught a Paul Conroy sideline in the 10th minute and spun to shoot but Reape kept it out. Comer did follow up with a point four minutes later to level the game and Maher and Tierney sent over further scores in the following three minutes.

A Tierney mark in the 20th minute made it a double-score game and Walsh’s second free of the half put them four clear. McDaid scored the last point of the half on the half-hour mark.

Scorers for Galway: S. Walsh (0-4, frees); M. Tierney (1 mark), J. Maher (0-2 each); P. Cooke, D. Comer, M. Tierney, P. Conroy, J. Maher (0-1 each).

Scorers for Mayo: D. McBrien (1-0); R. O’Donoghue (1 free), P. Durcan, T. Conroy (0-2 each); S. Coen, K. McLoughlin, C. O’Connor, J. Carr (0-1 each).

GALWAY: C. Gleeson; J. Glynn, J. McGrath, S. Fitzgerald; J. Daly; S. Kelly (c), C. Hernon, C. McDaid; P. Conroy, J. Maher; J. Heaney, P. Cooke, M. Tierney; D. Comer, S. Walsh.

Subs for Galway: I. Burke for D. Comer (h-t); C. Sweeney for J. Heaney (48); R. Finnerty for C. Hernon (62); T. Culhane for P. Cooke (69).

MAYO: C. Reape; S. Callinan, D. McBrien; P. Durcan (c); J. Coyne, J. Doherty, E. McLaughlin; J. Carney, S. Coen; D. O’Connor, K. McLoughlin, J. Flynn; A. O’Shea, R. O’Donoghue, T. Conroy.

Subs for Mayo: E. Hession for J. Doherty (h-t); C. O’Connor for K. McLoughlin (45); M. Ruane for J. Carney (59); J. Carr for A. O’Shea (63); D. McHugh for J. Coyne (70+3).

Referee: S. Hurson (Tyrone).