Connacht SFC final: Mayo 1-15 Galway 1-17
In a game of inches, fingertips made the difference to secure Galway a fourth consecutive Nestor Cup after a gripping Connacht final at sun-drenched MacHale Park in Castlebar.
Mayo will have regrets, when do they not? They chose to play against the wind in the first half, trailed by eight at the interval, got back level inside 20 minutes of the restart but failed to take the lead at any stage.
And when the game-defining moments arrived, Galway seized them.
Mayo had reduced the gap to the minimum in the 53rd minute when Ryan O’Donoghue stood over a central free just outside the 45-metre line in two-pointer territory. Having all but wiped out Galway’s lead and at that stage dominating the contest, the home fans had the smell of Galway blood in their nostrils.
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With the wind at his back, and Mayo in the ascendancy, O’Donoghue sent his effort towards its intended target – but crucially Galway goalkeeper Connor Gleeson launched himself skyward and managed to get his fingertips to the ball as it dropped over the crossbar. That touch reduced the score from a two-pointer to just one point.
It was enough to bring Mayo level at 1-13 apiece but it had denied the home side the oxygen of taking the lead in front of a raucous 27,137 crowd. They still had the momentum, but they hadn’t got the lead.
And it never came. Mayo registered three wides in the four minutes that followed. They were hammering on the door but just couldn’t kick it open.
Matthew Tierney made a brilliant catch from a kick-out just before the hour mark and after a sweeping move Cillian McDaid nudged Galway back in front again. Mayo’s gallop to the podium was starting to veer off course.
O’Donoghue pulled them back level with a free on the hour mark but moments later the home side were down to 14 men for the remainder of the game. Colm Reape undercooked a short kick-out to Rory Brickenden and Rob Finnerty capitalised, stealing inside to snatch possession.
Brickenden was left with a hopeless set of choices, bundle Finnerty to the ground or allow the Galway forward a one-on-one goal chance. He took the hit, opted for the former. Black card. Finnerty pointed the resulting free.
As Mayo tried to sort out how best to counteract the numerical disadvantage, the outstanding Paul Conroy raced forward and popped over a point to put Galway two in front.
Mayo had to try chase the Tribesmen down all over again.
Off they went. Aidan O’Shea sent Enda Hession through with a goal chance but Gleeson made himself big to pull off a good save. Reape floated over the resulting 45. One point game again.
In the last minute, after working the ball across the pitch in front of the Galway goal, eventually Paul Towey darted through the lines and found himself in a great position to send the game to extra-time.
But just as the Mayo sub pulled the trigger, Dylan McHugh made an extraordinary game-winning diving block.
The hooter went seconds later but with Mayo in possession they had one last chance to equalise.
When Jordan Flynn fed Matthew Ruane out wide on the right, the Breaffy man shouldered the responsibility of trying for a two-pointer. But as soon as the ball left his foot Ruane knew Mayo had fallen short, again. Galway had won their first four-in-a-row since the 1960s.
“Certainly we had chances and it’s a sore one to take now obviously,” said Mayo manager Kevin McStay.
“Lost another big game down the stretch that we feel we could have won and until we start taking those chances and putting the pressure on our opponents that’s going to be our lot. So, it’s a very hard one to take because we know we have the chances to win it.”
The decision by Mayo to play against the wind in the first half was certainly a significant plotline in the story of the game.
“We knew this was going to be a big Connacht final,” explained McStay.
“In the first 10-15 minutes there’s going to be a lot of sorting out and settling and misses that you wouldn’t normally [see] so you know that first 15 minutes sometimes when you’re with the breeze can be wasted.”
And it didn’t go too badly. They led 1-2 to 0-2 after seven minutes thanks to a Darren McHale goal but their next score was not until the closing seconds of the first half.
Conroy was gargantuan during that opening period for the visitors – he kicked Galway’s first three scores, all two pointers. They were awarded a rather soft penalty in the 27th minute and Tierney tucked it away nicely to give Galway a 1-11 to 1-3 lead at the interval.
The question of whether eight points was going to be enough for Galway playing against the wind seemed to find its answer when Mayo got level in the 53rd minute. But it turned out the winds of change would not be blowing through Connacht football this season.
“It was just a fantastic day, two teams going at it,” said Galway manager Padraic Joyce.
“While I’m elated, we could easily have come out on the wrong side as well. Mayo came back well and it looked like we were in trouble against the wind, under pressure on our kick-out.
“We knew it was going to come down to the wire. It’s about making the right decisions in high-pressure situations. We got a bit of luck but sometimes when you work hard enough a bit of luck will come your way.
“This has been a target for the group, we’ll enjoy it now and then move on.”
It’s Dublin in Salthill next for Galway while Mayo must regroup for the visit of Cavan. Two Connacht teams setting off on the same journey but it feels right now one is significantly closer to arriving home with Sam Maguire than the other.
MAYO: Colm Reape (0-0-1, a 45); Jack Coyne, Donnacha McHugh, Rory Brickenden; Enda Hession, David McBrien, Stephen Coen; Diarmuid O’Connor, Matthew Ruane (0-1-0); Davitt Neary (0-0-1), Jordan Flynn, Darren McHale (1-0-2); Aidan O’Shea, Jack Carney, Ryan O’Donoghue (0-1-7, 6f).
Subs: Sam Callinan for McBrien (9 mins); Paul Towey for O’Connor (h-t); Fergal Boland for Neary (61); Fenton Kelly for McHale (66)
GALWAY: Connor Gleeson; Johnny McGrath, Seán Fitzgerald, Jack Glynn; Dylan McHugh, Seán Mulkerrin, Liam Silke; Paul Conroy (0-3-1, 1 tpf), Seán Kelly (0-0-1); Cein Darcy, John Maher, Cillian McDaid (0-0-2); Matthew Tierney (1-0-1, 1-0 pen), Robert Finnerty (0-0-4, 3f), Matthew Thompson (0-0-1).
Subs: Cathal Sweeney for Maher (h-t); Kieran Molloy for Fitzgerald (41 mins); Cian Hernon for Mulkerrin (48); Peter Cooke for Sweeney (61); Liam Ó Conghaile (0-0-1) for Thompson (66).
Referee: Paddy Neilan (Roscommon).
