Moran's Mayo maintain perfect start but Dublin worries deepen
Dublin's Kevin Stephenson and Rory Brickenden of Mayo. Pic: ©INPHO/Laszlo Geczo
Real February 1 fare. Mistakes and misses were the main course for a hungry and healthy Castlebar crowd of 15,197.
A second league win for Andy Moran in his debut spring as Mayo manager. His perfect start is maintained and extended.
A second league defeat for Ger Brennan in his debut spring as Dublin manager. His struggling start is compounded and extended.
Brennan’s charges operated with a man less for the closing half an hour here. Seán MacMahon received straight red from Martin McNally for an off-the-ball incident with Ryan O’Donoghue on 40 minutes.
The sending off was part of a dire Dublin spell in the 10 minutes after half-time. There were four wides kicked, two more short, and a Cormac Costello goal drive that shook the crossbar.
Their opening score of the second half did not arrive until the 50th minute. Cormac Costello’s two-pointer was followed a minute later by a Paddy Small major. All of a sudden the misfiring visitors were within a single score, 1-13 to 2-7.
The two-score burst proved an outlier. The next 18 minutes would witness only one Dublin point.
Mayo sealed their second set of maximum league points with a four-in-a-row in the final quarter. Diarmuid O’Connor came off the bench and threw over a beauty. Cian MacHale came off the bench and converted a free. Aidan O’Shea came off the bench and assisted a Jack Carney minor.
Two more league points. More mixing of the good and absolutely not so good. For February 1, that’s enough for now.
The date on the calendar should probably contextualise the waste and poor execution on show across the opening half. Clinical was not a description appropriate to either side. And while Mayo had reached double-figures by half-time, stretching and filling out that total were Ryan O'Donoghue and David McBrien two-pointers.
The second, from McBrien on 14 minutes, sent Mayo 0-7 to 1-2 clear. They’d manage just three white flags across the remaining 21 minutes of the half. Then again, so would the visitors.
The visiting sideline was unusually busy. Dublin’s midfield pairing of Ethan Dunne and Brian Howard, along with half-forward Killian McGinnis, had all been pulled by the half-hour mark. Bar Dunne, injury did not appear to be at the root of these personnel changes.
Following restart woes first time out against Donegal, Dublin ‘keeper Evan Comerford’s first six restarts found blue hands. The first not to be retained, on 12 minutes, almost wound up as a green flag. Interceptor Fergal Boland fed Darragh Beirne, Comerford equal to the shot.
The next four were retained. The second Dublin restart lost, on 27 minutes, again nearly fed green. Comerford was again equal to the goal shot of James Carr.
Mayo waste peaked in this period. Following the denied goal were point attempts short from Fergal Boland and Ryan O’Donoghue, as well as a point attempt wide from Jordan Flynn.
Their first-half wide count of seven was one more than their opponents. Their two short was one less than Dublin’s.
Luke Breathnach provided the Dublin goal in the third minute. Jack Lundy provided the ball in. A Cormac Costello ‘45 on six minutes - he was a late replacement for the absent Con O’Callaghan - shoved them 1-1 to 0-2 ahead. Their lead lasted four minutes more. They trailed thereafter and throughout.
Early security for Mayo. Early worry for Dublin.
R O’Donoghue (0-5, 1tp, 1f); D Beirne (1-1); D McBrien (0-3, tp); S Callinan, F Boland (0-2 each); S Coen, J Carney, J Flynn, C McHale (0-1 free), D O’Connor (0-1 each).
C Costello (0-5, tp, 0-1 free, 0-1 ‘45); P Small (1-1); L Breathnach (1-0); K McGinnis, J Lundy, S Bugler (0-1 each).
R Hennelly; J Coyne, R Brickenden, E Hession; S Callinan, D McBrien, P Durcan; B Tuohy, J Flynn; S Coen, R O’Donoghue, J Carney; F Boland, J Carr, D Beirne.
SUBS: A O’Shea for Durcan (44 mins); D O’Connor for Carr (47); C McHale for Beirne (53); P Towey for Boland (62); D McHugh for Coen (64).
E Comerford; D Byrne, S MacMahon, C Tyrrell; N Doran, E Murchan, C O’Connor; E Dunne, B Howard; J Lundy, N Scully, K McGinnis; P Small, L Breathnach, C Costello.
C Kilkenny for Dunne (21); K Stephenson for McGinnis (24); S Bugler for Howard (30); L O’Dell for Lundy (51); G McEneaney for Breathnach (59); E Kennedy for Byrne (67, temp).
M McNally (Monaghan).
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
