Mayo hold nerve to claim first U20 Connacht title since 2018
Mayo captain John MacMonagle lifts the trophy. Pic: James Crombie/Inpho
In case we needed another reminder that no lead is safe in the modern game, Mayo trampled all over Roscommon for the first 20 minutes of this Connacht final, squeezing the life out of their neighbours and seemingly stepping out towards a dominant victory.
Then in the space of two attacks, Rory Carthy hit a two-pointer and then slammed in a goal, and the tinderbox was alight.
Robert Heneghan fisted a goal in the 51st minute to tie up the scores, Mayo finished stronger by scoring four of the last five points, and even still it could have been different as Rúairí Kilcline also palmed the ball into the Mayo net, only for his effort to be ruled out for a square ball infringement.
Mayo were the hottest of favourites for this final, due to a combination of their dominance at minor level three years ago, a relatively unheralded Roscommon side that had several starters in key positions that are still underage next year, and the comprehensive win between the sides in Castlebar earlier in the competition.
For that opening 20 minutes, it was even more one-sided than would have been imagined, with Mayo controlling possession and utterly on top in the one-on-one battles at both ends.
Darragh Beirne and Eoin McGreal were particularly impressive in their respective corners, but a hamstring injury to McGreal rattled Mayo, and suddenly Carthy’s 1-2 turned what was a dead game into a very live one.
John McGuinness darted through to score two excellent goals before half-time, on either side of another Mayo goal from Beirne, assisted by a pinpoint Cathal Keaveney pass. 2-9 to 3-4 at half-time seemed to flatter Roscommon, considering the supremacy that Mayo enjoyed for most of the half, but in the second half Cian Smith’s side proved that they were well worth their place in this decider.
They never looked like scoring at a great rate but Eoin Collins, Eoghan Carthy, David Higgins and Niall Heneghan all came up with some big possessions at midfield, and the contest moved along nicely with the sides trading scores.
Early in the final quarter, Colm McHale scored a point that looked like it might give Mayo a little bit of cushion, but only until Robert Heneghan tied the sides up with a fisted goal in the 52nd minute.
With the game on the line, Mayo showed that little bit more composure to secure their progression.
Roscommon had possessions close to goal but Gilmore and Hugh O’Loughlin came up with huge turnovers when needed, and it fell to O’Loughlin, Dara Neary, McHale and Beirne to kick the scores that confirmed Mayo’s first title since their comprehensive win over the same opposition in 2018.
D Beirne 1-3 (0-2f), T Lydon 0-5 (0-2f), C McHale 0-3, S Howard 1-0, N Hurley 0-2, H O’Loughlin 0-2, O Cronin 0-1, D Neary 0-1.
R Carthy 1-4 (1tpf, 2f), J McGuinness 2-0, R Heneghan 1-0, B Greene 0-2 (0-1m), J Curran 0-1, C Grogan 0-1.
C Meaney; R Mortimer, P Gilmore, E McGreal; C Lynch, J McMonagle, C McHale; O Armstrong, S Howard; O Cronin, C Keaveney, H O’Loughlin; D Beirne, N Hurley, T Lydon.
Y Coghill for McGreal (19), D Neary for Cronin (42), D Duffy for Lynch (44), L Feeney for Armstrong (52), D Butler for Gilmore (60+2).
P Gaynor; C Campbell, T Morris, K Kelly; C Grogan, E Carthy, C Kelly; N Heneghan, D Higgins; E Collins, R Heneghan, J McGuinness; R Carthy, J Curran, R Dowling.
B Greene for Kelly (22), C McKeon for Dowling (47), C O’Reilly for Higgins (52), R Kilcline for R Heneghan (55).
Thomas Murphy (Galway).
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