Mayo hurlers outclassed by Donegal
By Stuart Tynan
Mayo's perfect league start came to an abrupt halt as they were blown away by a very good Donegal outfit at O'Connell Park, Letterkenny, on a scoreline of 4-18 to 0-13.
Eoin Delaney got Mayo off the mark but the Green and Red were guilty of some poor wides in the first quarter (seven overall in the first half).
A superb solo effort from Richie Ryan and a trifecta of frees from Declan Coulter put Donegal three ahead to the good. Mayo should have been level by the first water-break after Brian Morley put Corey Scahill through on goal, but he couldn’t get his shot away.
Donegal would make no mistake at the other end when Richie Ryan was quickest to react after a scramble in the small square and booted the sliotar into the net, with Coulter (free) and Bernard Lafferty sending singles over to extend Donegal’s lead further.
It went form bad to worse for Mayo as two quickfire goals from Declan Coulter put Donegal almost out of sight. Mayo found their scoring boots just before half-time as points from Shane Boland (two), Corey Scahill and Adrian Phillips reduced the deficit, but Donegal still took a commanding ten-point lead into the interval, 3-7 to 0-6.
There was no let up from Donegal as two more frees from Declan Coulter and points from Sean McVeigh, Richie Ryan and Bernard Lafferty put the result beyond all doubt, with Cathal Freeman offering a solitary reply.
Mayo's misery was compounded further after goalkeeper Bobby Douglas failed to deal with a Declan Coulter free that dropped short, and Ronan McDermott fired home from close range.
Mayo finished with a flurry of scores through Shane Boland (one from a free and one from play), Corey Scahill and substitute Adrian Phillips, but Donegal fittingly got the final word as substitute Ruari Campbell picked up where Coulter left off and fired over two frees to seal an emphatic 17-point win.
Mayo: B. Douglas, D. Kenny, M. Morley, S. Kenny, C. Daly, P. McCrann, S. Coyne, K. Kiely, D. Huane, A. Phillips (0-2), C. Freeman (0-1), E. Delaney (0-1), C. Scahill (0-1), B. Morley (0-1), S. Boland (0-4, 0-2f).
Subs: S. Regan, B. Hunt (0-1), C. Murray, C. Phillips (0-1), G. Nolan, J. Coyne, M. Phillps (0-1)
Donegal: L. White, G. Brown, S. Gillespie, M. Callaghan, C. McDermott, S. McVeigh (0-1), M. Donaghue, D. Coulter (2-8, 0-8f), C. Mathewson, D. Cullen (0-1), R. Ryan (1-2), J. O’Loughlin, B. Lafferty (0-4), R. McDermott (1-0), G. Gilmore
Subs: C. O’Grady, J. Cronolly, N. Cleary, P. Doherty, O. Grant, R. Campbell (0-2f), C. Flood.
Ref: K. Parke (Antrim).
*Full report in this Tuesday's print edition.