Mayo book semi-final ticket
Mayo booked their Connacht Senior Football Championship semi-final ticket after defeating a spirited London side 0-31 to 1-15 at McGovern Park, Ruislip.
The visitor’s penchant for two-pointers was crucial during the first half and Andy Moran’s troops scored seven orange flagged efforts during the opening 35 minutes.
London, who finished sixth in Division Four of the National Football League, were the first to trouble the scoreboard operator courtesy of Joe McGill’s free after two minutes.
Mayo though, had the backing of a strong wind in the first half and their first score of the joust was a two-pointer from Cian McHale on four minutes, and the Moy Davitts man added his second orange flagged effort of the afternoon on 10 minutes.
Shay Rafter battled gamely for the green and white and he scored a brace of tidy points, one free, to reduce the deficit to a single point, 0-5 to 0-4.
London forced Mayo to extra-time in their Connacht Championship clash back in 2011, however, there appeared to be no such worries this time round and three two-pointers on the bounce from Paul Towey, Ryan O’Donoghue and Michael Plunkett, helped garner a 0-11 to 0-4 lead for Mayo after 16 minutes.
The heavy shower of rain added an extra zip to the pristine playing surface and London’s Michael O’Reilly almost fashioned a goal chance on 28 minutes, but in the lead up the hosts were awarded a free, which was duly tapped over by McGill.
A point from O’Donoghue on 30 minutes ended a 14-minute scoring drought for the green and red, and Moran’s charges finished the opening half strongly with Robbie Hennelly’s perfectly placed ‘45 supplemented by two-pointers from O’Donoghue and Jack Carney to muster a 0-17 to 0-6 half-time lead for the guests.
London made a whirlwind start to the new half and inside the first minute a smashing goal from Michael O’Reilly delighted the home supporters.
Mayo didn’t panic though, and two frees from O’Donoghue, plus points by Paddy Durcan and Cian McHale, a free, dampened their opponents enthusiastic start to the new half.
Further distance was bridged between the sides when Mayo’s O’Donoghue, a free, Bob Tuohy, and Durcan, forced the umpires into action.
As the half progressed, Mayo continued to up the tempo and they introduced Cillian O’Connor into the fray on 55 minutes, the Ballintubber man making his first championship appearance for the green and red since 2024. The Neale’s Tommy Conroy was also another player who got some vital game time under his belt, and he chipped in with a point on 65 minutes, to help garner a 0-29 to 1-9 lead for his team-mates.
A resilient London battled gamely until the final whistle, and the lionhearted James Davis landed three sublime two-pointers during the closing stages of the contest to help put a better reflection on the full-time scoreboard.
Mayo can now look forward to a Connacht Championship semi-final in two weeks’ time against the winners of tomorrow’s New York v Roscommon quarter-final.