Galway make title statement in putting Mayo to the sword
Mayo 0-11
Galway 2-12
Rob Murphy at MacHale Park
THE full time whistle at MacHale Park on Friday evening brought about a great roar from the travelling Galway fans. The light summer rain didn’t deter them on their mission to enter the field and congratulate the boys in maroon who had delivered a stellar second half display in securing their second consecutive victory in the minor championship.
A performance full of superb fielding with James McLaughlin to the fore, a strong defence, with the full back line, including captain Johnny McGrath in the corner, Rory King and Liam Tevnan all key, and some outstanding attack play underlined by the brilliance of Tomo Culhane, drove Galway to victory as Mayo struggled to come to terms with their pace and kick passing during a high octane second half.
As the supporters waited to greet their heroes, Galway manager Donal Ó Fátharta spoke to his players. When he was finished, he approached the media looking jaded but delighted. Next on his agenda was under 10s training with his son the following morning and he was keen to point out that win, lose or draw, he would have been looking forward to that. It all adds to a calm atmosphere around this group.
“They worked very hard, Mayo are a very strong outfit, full of talented players. We worked a lot during the week on shape and trying to nullify them as much as we can and obviously worked on ourselves as much as we can. Look, it gives us a chance ahead of the Leitrim game next week, we need to win that to keep us going,” noted Fátharta
His Galway side had figured out a tricky challenge. Mayo had edged the first half in terms of scoring chances but a game low on quality had produced just eight scores between them to that point. Mayo kicking four from 13 scoring attempts, Galway creating less but notching four points from seven opportunities.
It took Mayo three shots at the posts to find their range and Irwin was their catalyst in that regard as he kicked a couple of neat points under minimal pressure into the Albany end. The scores quickly dried up, however, as the attacks continued, with Mayo missing their next three shots. They went 19 minutes without registering a further score.
For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.
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