Tribesmen pay the price for too many turnovers against wasteful Mayo

MAYO     0-14

GALWAY 0-13

Mark Walsh at Pearse Stadium

A most unique Connacht final, intense and gripping in equal measure, victory saw Mayo edge ahead of Galway in JJ Nestor Cup successes, 47 to 46.

Their first since 2015, and how their players and management celebrated at the final whistle. Still, no fans, means it’s not an edition of the provincial final we ever wish to see repeated. Opportunities came the way, and went the other way of Galway in the final moments. Mayo have proven over the years that, if a game is tight, they will give the opposition outs.

Trailing by three, Michael Daly’s 67th minute shot was off target. Into added time, there were the two difficult frees that captain Shane Walsh put to the right-hand side of David Clarke’s posts. Then there was the sideline ball, and before that, Eoghan McLaughlin’s scissored take-down of Seán Kelly, denying the Moycullen man a genuine chance to win it for Galway.

Fouls of the nature of McLaughlin’s, certainly when done inside either the ’20-metre line, should see the sanction of an immediate penalty and an ensuing black card for the culprit. The GAA are often too quick in their haste to implement rule changes, but this is an issue of pressing concern, with or without a maroon and white cap on.

Despite all this, it was a game Galway did not deserve to win. Mayo would have been put out had it gone to extra-time, downright ill if they’d lost.

Their work in the tackle area was an example to all teams at any level. They turned Galway over for their first three points, and their last three. Chris Barrett was front and centre in this department, exacting four direct turnovers in the first half, and gave a masterclass in close contact defending. Matthew Ruane, with 40 possessions, and the tireless McLaughlin, were two others to excel.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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