Division One A/Mayo 0-16 Tyrone 1-11: After a couple of wild and eccentric mood swings, a largely forgettable game in Omagh yesterday at least rounded off a memorable week for Mayo. In the process it also ended Tyrone's unbeaten league run and an unbeaten record at their home grounds that had stretched back to 2000.
Ballina's All-Ireland club victory last Thursday has already provided Mayo with the final cure for last September's championship hangover, and yet John Maughan seems to be putting together a more thorough remedy for the future fortunes of the county.
Two more points from their remaining home games against Kerry and Westmeath would guarantee his team a semi-final place, and the way their form is going they've no reason to fear their league interests will end there.
It was an impressive Mayo victory for two reasons. Firstly in the way they survived such a punishing start from Tyrone, and secondly in the way they survived some self-affliction, including the loss through injury of Ciarán McDonald before the throw-in, and two more players in the first 10 minutes.
Afterwards Tyrone manager Mickey Harte described the first 15 minutes as the best football his team had played this season. They catapulted into a 0-5 lead after 10 minutes, beating Mayo to practically every ball and threatening to turn the game into an annihilation.
With 18 minutes gone Seán Cavanagh came thundering through for a one-on-one with Mayo's David Clarke, and against all the odds the goalkeeper came out on top. That proved a turning point.
James Nallen almost immediately responded with a point, and Mayo didn't just dominate the rest of that half, but also the first quarter of the second half as well. Tyrone did raise their game in the final 15 minutes but a reinvigorated Stephen O'Neill and a goal from Martin Penrose still weren't enough to save to day.
For Harte, who like a chief of police still assesses every situation with calmness, the first loss of the league didn't seem to sound any alarm bells: "It was a strange game," he admitted, "in that we played very good for the first 15 minutes, and then the last 15 minutes. What happened in between though had Mayo playing far better, and that was the winning of the game.
"But all good runs come to an end, somewhere. And we've no real excuse."
Tyrone, coincidentally, must also play Kerry and Westmeath in their last two games: "Unless we get something there it could end up being a very poor league for us," added Harte.
Chances are they will. O'Neill was in awesome form for the opening and closing exchanges, operating at full forward and ending with 0-8 - six of which came from play. Cavanagh also showed typical leadership albeit in passing stages, while Brian Dooher was typically industrious during their purple hazes.
And yet, once Mayo started playing with their now accustomed swagger the home team did find them difficult to hold. Trevor Mortimer got the call-up for McDonald and contributed three fine scores, roasting Chris Lawn in the process; Nallen reminded everyone why he's still so valued by Maughan; and Billy Joe Padden has developed into one of the more robust midfielders in the game.
Fellow former under-21 players Liam O'Malley and Aidan Kilcoyne also made big impacts. Considering they also lost James Gill through injury after six minutes and Gary Mullins through the yellow-card rule on nine minutes they could have been forgiven for a collapse, but instead they proved deserving winners.
Conor Moran made a telling contribution when introduced for Mullins, while Alan Dillon and Conor Mortimer took their chances when Mayo needed them. "We still made a lot of mistakes," admitted Maughan, "but I think this really proves the attitude is still spot on after what happened last September. And a win like that is great for the confidence as Tyrone are clearly one of the big-name teams.
"I wouldn't start talking about a league semi-final just yet, but it is clearly coming into focus. And I knew we were in huge trouble for a while out there, and I was quite worried. Thankfully we knuckled down, so I am very content with the attitude and hunger of the team."
Maughan also praised the "world-class saves" from Clarke, which included a second vital stop, from O'Neill, with 15 minutes to play. At that stage Mayo had flown 0-15 to 0-9 in front, and while Penrose's goal on 60 minutes later closed the gap to three, Mayo had done just enough to keep their noses in front.
MAYO: D Clarke; L O'Malley, D Heaney, K Higgins; G Mullins, J Nallen (0-1), P Gardiner (0-1); J Gill, B J Padden (0-1); A Moran, A Dillon (0-2, one free), A Kilcoyne (0-1); C Mortimer (0-5, four frees), T Mortimer (0-3), J Prenty. Subs: P Kelly for Gill, inj (six mins), C Moran (0-1) for Mullins, yellow card (nine mins), M Conroy for Prenty (half-time), D Geraghty for Moran (48 mins), C Costello for Kilcoyne, yellow card (53 mins).
TYRONE: J Devine; R McMenamin, C Lawn, M McGee; B Robinson (0-1), G Devlin, D Harte; C Holmes, S Cavanagh (0-1); B Dooher, M Penrose (1-0), E McGinley; M Harte, S O'Neill (0-8, one free, one 45), R Mellon (0-1, a free). Subs: P Donnelly for Lawn, yellow card (37 mins), M Coleman for M Harte (45 mins), J Mahon for Robinson (48 mins), S Sweeney for D Harte, yellow card (48 mins), B Meehan for Mellon (58 mins), E Bradley for Sweeney, yellow card (60 mins).
YELLOW CARDS: Mayo: G Mullins (nine mins), A Kilcoyne (53 mins), A Dillon (72 mins); Tyrone: C Lawn (37 mins), D Harte (48 mins), S Sweeney (60 mins).
Referee: E Murtagh (Longford).
