February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
By Mark Jones
It’s been a memorable few weeks for Mayo football. First, Crossmolina’s historic All-Ireland club triumph, and then Sunday a long overdue National Football League title at Croke Park, 0-13 to 0-12 over Galway. The vast majority of the current team weren’t born in 1970 when Mayo last claimed a national senior trophy, but a significant number were around in 1996 and ’97 to swallow the bitter pills of losing in back-to-back All-Ireland finals, so this success was sweet.
Pity that an all-Connacht showdown was mostly lacking in Western promise as pre-game favorites Galway squandered chances to settle the issue. But how Mayo battled — three times they hauled back three-point deficits and as Galway’s scoring dried up completely in the closing 20 minutes, the winners cut the gap to the minimum with scores by Maurice Sheridan and Noel Connelly.
Still, there was a strong feeling among a disappointing attendance of 22,500 that Mayo might be incapable of closing the deal as they continued to shoot too many wides. But the moment of truth came with just three minutes of normal time remaining. Sheridan was on the mark with a 45 and then Marty McNicholas picked up a pass from Connelly to kick what proved to be the winning point.
The subsequent mixture of relief and delight was best encapsulated by David Brady who had been part of seven losing All-Ireland sides at various levels.
"I just can’t wait to wake up in the morning and know that I’ve won," said the midfielder who produced a superb individual performance. "I wasn’t going to be loser for my whole football life."
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"It wasn’t a spectacular victory," offered manager Pat Holmes, "and we didn’t play particularly well in the first half. But we were up against one of the best teams in the country and we’re happy to have won. Mayo have been unlucky at Croke Park before but we weren’t thinking about teams of the past, or any hoodoo. We showed great character and just stayed in it until the end."
Fielding only six of the lineup from last October’s All-Ireland final replay against Kerry, Galway’s new look combination struggled despite dominating for much of the first half. While manager John O’Mahony clearly has strength in depth, he will have been worried by the way his team was overrun in the last quarter.
O’Mahony brought Tomas Mannion off the bench for only his second game since returning to the intercounty scene, while Jarlath Fallon had his first run since last summer’s knee injury. Those appearances were good news for Galway, but a 0-8 to 0-7 interval lead should have been more substantial after Derek Savagh and John Donnellan had spent the first half troubling the Mayo defense. Michael Donnellan was his usual influential self at midfield. However, last season’s Connacht champions were unable to translate their superiority to the scoreboard.
Soon, the momentum that had kept Mayo unbeaten throughout the campaign was apparent as Brady, James Nallen and Noel Connelly came more into the game.
"I saw 39 minutes on my watch," said Holmes, "and I wondered if the referee would ever blow up."
He did, and Mayo were celebrating after 31 years of frustration.
Mayo: P. Burke; R. Connelly, T. Nallen, K. Cahill; F. Costello, A. Roche, N. Connelly (0-2); C. McManamon (0-1), D. Brady; J. Gill (0-3), D. McDonagh (0-1), T. Mortimer; M. McNicholas (0-1), R. Loftus (0-2), S. Carolan (0-1). Subs: M. Moyles for Mortimer, 31 mins.; J. Nallen for Roche, halftime; M. Sheridan (0-2) for Loftus, 54 mins.; D. Neston for Moyles, 65 mins.
Galway: P. Lally; M. Comer, K. Fitzgerald, M. Colleran; D. Meehan (0-1), J. Divilly, S. de Paor; M. Donnellan (0-2), J. Bergin; M. Clancy, K. Comer, L. Colleran; D. Savage (0-2), P. Joyce (0-3), J. Donnellan (0-3). Subs: S. Walsh (0-1) for Clancy, 29 mins.; R. Fahy for M. Comer, halftime; T. Mannion for Colleran, 40 mins.; J. Fallon for K. Comer, 59 mins.; S. O Domhnaill for Bergin, 66 mins.
Westmeath 3-11, Cork 2-13
The jubilation in the Mayo ranks was outdone by Westmeath, whose victory in the National Football League Div. 2 final earned the Midlands’ county a first-ever senior title. This contest was more appealing than the main event and in a thrilling finish, Westmeath were able to hold off Cork’s late comeback.
With seven of their 1999 All-Ireland under 21 side in the ranks, Westmeath’s underage investment has begun to pay dividends, but at Croke Park last Sunday, it was a "veteran," 28-year-old Ger Heavin, who made the decisive contribution. Following a first-half goal, Heavin then calmly converted a penalty when Paul Conway was brought down, and he could have had a couple more had his touch been more assured.
Cork had the better of the opening exchanges to lead by 1-9 to 1-5 at the changeover. Michael Cronin was set up by Ciaran O’Sullivan for the goal and Fionan Murray had a second in the 51st minute after Heavin’s penalty, but by then Westmeath were on a roll.
"They came at us in droves and we just had no answer," said losing manager Larry Tompkins after David O’Shaughnessy and Conway inspired the underdogs’ surge.
O’Shaughnessy delivered a vital goal and Westmeath had reached the promised land — at last.
Westmeath: C. Mullin; D. Murphy, D. Mitchell, F. Murray; D. Gavin, D. Healy, J. Keane; D O’Shaughnessy (1-0), P Conway (0-1); B. Morley, F. Wilson (0-3), M. Ennis; J. Fallon (0-2), D. Dolan (0-1), G. Heavin (2-2). Subs: D. Heavin (0-1) for Keane, 22 mins.; M. Flanagan (0-1) for Fallon, D. Hughes for Gavin, both halftime; R. O’Connell for Wilson, 60 mins.
Cork: K. O’Dwyer; J. Miskella, G. Canty, A. Lynch; M. O’Donovan, O. Sexton (0-1), Martin Cronin; N Murphy, M O’Sullivan; Michael Cronin (1-0), C. O’Sullivan (0-3), A. Cronin; P. Clifford, C. Corkery (0-6), A. Dorgan (0-3). Subs: F. Murray (1-0) for A. Cronin, 2 mins.; B. O’Sullivan for Michael Cronin, 40 mins.; S. Og O hAilpin for O’Donovan, 45 mins.; K. Daly for Clifford, 60 mins.; D. Kavanagh for O’Sullivan, 65 mins.