Mayo take care of business on London trip
DOUBLE TEAM: London's Josh Obahor tries to find a way through the Mayo defence. Pic: INPHO/Gerry McManus
It was a case of job-done for Mayo in Ruislip as they did more than enough to leave the English capital with their Connacht quest still intact. Andy Moran's men kicked seven two-pointers when backed by the breeze in the first half and went on to work some impressive scoring opportunities after the break.
In truth, the winners left themselves with a bit to work on too as they look towards making an impression in the championship. They kicked more than their share of wides and conceded a preventable goal early in the second half. Moran's men also passed up a nunmber of goal chances themselves, but scored enough to mask that difficulty.
Lodon faced into the breeze in the first half and worked hard to restrict Mayo's scoring chances.
However, Mayo led by eleven at the break, 0-17 to 0-6, after kicking seven two-pointers, but the display was impacted by the stiff breeze blowing straight down the pitch. The guests mixed the good with the not-so-good, kicking a stream of wides as they looked to build the lead while the elements were in their favour.
Cian McHale, Ryan O'Donoghue, Paul Towey, Michael Plunkett and Jack Carney all raised orange flags but there was some wild efforts too from the guests and Moran remarked on that afterwards.
“We overcooked the two-pointer efforts a bit," he said. "We kept going for them when we should have ran in and taken our points and got set again for the kick-out. Luckily we went in eleven up. We must improve our efficiency in front of goal."
London were game opponents and never let Mayo settle on the ball. They tackled tenaciously and made good use of their own more limited chances.
Kristian Healy, Shay Rafter and Joe McGill looked lively up front for the home side whenever the ball came their way and when wind-assisted London were boosted by a MÃcheál Ó Reilly goal just two minutes into the second half there was a sniff of a revival but Mayo were having none of it.
Sam Callinan, Paddy Durcan and Plunkett powered forward from the back, while Bob Tuohy and David McBrien worked hard in the middle. In attack, O'Donoghue continued to do the needful and McHale was always dangerous.
Tommy Conroy looked explosive when introduced and the Mayo men kept the scoreboard ticking with a steady stream of points.
Goal chances for O'Donoghue and Conroy only resulted in points, but with six minutes left Mayo were 17 points clear, 0-29 to 1-9. Then, the home team's James Davis stepped into the light and landed three two-pointers in as many minutes. They simply glossed the scoreline somewhat, but each score was met with huge cheers from the capacity crowd in the famous venue.
London will now look towards the challenges awaiting them in the Tailtean Cup while Mayo will continue preparations for their Connacht semi-final with Roscommon or New York in two weeks' time.
: R O'Donnohue 0-11 (1tpf, 1tp, 4f), C McHale 0-6 (2tp), J Carney 0-3, (1tp), P Towey 0-2 (tp), M Plunket 0-2 (tp), P Durcan 0-2, R Hennelly 0-2 (1 '45, 1f), B Tuphy 0-1, T Conroy 0-1, J Flynn 0-1Â
: J David 0-6, (3 tp), J McGill 0-5 (1tp, 3f), S Rafter 0-3, (1f), M O'Reilly 1-0, K Healy 0-1Â
: R Hennelly; J Coyne, R Brickenden, F Kelly; S Callinan, M Plunkett, P Durcan; B Tuohy, D McBrien; J Carney, R O’Donoghue, H O’Loughlin; C McHale, A O’Shea, P Towey.
Subs for Mayo: T Conroy for Towey (46), J Flynn for O'Loughlin (46), C O'Connor for O'Shea (56), S Coen for Plunkett (60), D O'Connor for Carney (61)Â
: A Walsh; D Rooney, M Moynihan, S O’Donoghue; C McKeon, C Goggin, C O’Donohue; L Gallagher, D Clarke; J Obahor, J Davis, K Healy; M O’Reilly, S Rafter, J McGill.
Subs for London: F Crowley for Goggin (50), N Feeney for Clarke (50), L Murphy for McKeon (56), M Friel for Rooney (60), C Gaughan for O'Donohue (65)Â
: P Neilan (Roscommon)
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