Big victory over Armagh maintains Mayo's interest in Nicky Rackard Cup
Mayo's convincing 4-29 to 1-16 win over Armagh at Hastings Insurance MacHale Park sets up what will effectively be a Nicky Rackard Cup semi-final against Roscommon next weekend.
With Donegal already assured of their place in the final with a round of fixtures still left to play, it's only Mayo or Roscommon who can provide the opposition in the decider, which is due to be played over the opening weekend in June.
Donegal were big winners over Roscommon in round four, securing victory by 1-25 to 2-10.
Mayo's win over Armagh was even more impressive as the likes of Cormac Phillips, Shane Boland and Liam Lavin cut loose over the 70 minutes, with plenty of their team-mates chipping in as well.
It wouldn't be fair to paint it as a one-sided affair, however, as Armagh certainly had chances.
Down by 14 at the break (0-7 to 3-12), the visitors – with wind assistance in that first half – should have been much closer to their hosts on the scoreboard at the short whistle but were profligate in front of the posts, spurning two good goal chances and miscuing with a number of efforts at points.
By contrast, Mayo were much more menacing. Their very first score was a goal, scored by John Heraty, and a second goal by Sean Regan after six minutes gave the home side just the platform they needed.
Armagh were hanging in there and by the end of the first quarter it was just the goals that separated the sides, Mayo leading 2-5 to 0-5, the Orchard County having seen goal efforts by Tomás Galvin and Alex O'Boyle, their main scoring threat, hit the upright and whizz just wide, respectively.
A brilliant second quarter by Mayo more or less sealed Armagh's fate. Lavin stepped up to the plate with some wonderful points, while Shane Boland found the net in the first minute ot injury time at the end of the first half to increase the gap between the teams.
Any hopes Armagh had of mounting a second-half comeback were dashed inside two minutes of the restart. While Fionntán Donnelly scored an early point for the Ulster men, Mayo hit back with a point from Conan Hession and a goal from Cormac Phillips following a fine pass from Lavin. The fat lady was already clearing her throat.
Between there and the end, Mayo tacked on 16 points from a variety of distances and angles, while Armagh kept plugging away as well and managed to score 1-8, the goal coming from Ciarán Duffy at the end of the third quarter.
Mayo will be hoping to bring the momentum of this win into next weekend's clash with Roscommon, who themselves will be aiming to put the defeat to Donegal behind them in the quest to secure their place in the 2024 Nicky Rackard Cup final.
*See Tuesday's print edition of The Connaught Telegraph for a full report on the Mayo v Armagh game