Mayo Gaels 0.10 Kilmaine 3.08 : Gaels caught in second round of O’Mara Cup….
Mayo Gaels suffered a seven point loss to Kilmaine in the second round of the O’Mara Cup played in Abbey Park on Saturday the 12th of April.
In a fine, though breezy, evening both Mayo Gaels and Kilmaine served up a fast, exciting game of football. Both teams dominated play for long periods however the deciding factor of this game, from a Gaels point of view, was the concession of two early goals to the Kilmaine men.
After winning the throw-in, a high-speed passing move saw Kilmaine run through the Gaels defense to smash the ball to the back of Paul Mannion’s net. A shaken Mayo Gaels responded with a point from Niall Brett nevertheless by the fifth minute the Gaels conceded another three-pointer, after a defensive mix up when dealing with a long ball, allowed Kilmaine thorough for an opportunistic goal. The Gaels rallied strongly however and with Sean Boyle and Paul Walsh delivering fast ball from midfield the lads dominated the following twenty minutes and in the process scored eight unanswered points (six from play).
An injury to Shane Vahey just before half-time allowed Kilmaine to regroup and the visitors scored a point before the half to leave the score at the interval: Mayo Gaels 0.09, Kilmaine 2.01.
The withdrawal of Kevin Jordan (replacing Shane Vahey) and Niall Brett (injury) from the half-forward line early in the second half reduced Mayo Gaels attacking options and as a result Kilmaine began to exert extra pressure on the Gaels defense. As the half progressed a hardworking Kilmaine attack scored several points to take the lead – Mayo Gaels were still winning a lot of ball in midfield however a lack of composure up front resulted in the Gaels failing to convert several great scoring chances.
A Kilmaine goal six minutes from the end effectively finished the game as a contest. Mayo Gaels battled to the finish however Kilmaine defended strongly in the final minutes and held out for a deserving win.
Mayo Gaels can take great heart from this display. The defense, despite one or two early mistakes, worked well as a unit. Sean Boyle and Paul Walsh had excellent games at midfield while the forwards (before injuries altered the half-forward line) combined well and took several great points from play in the first half.
The Senior’s will play Garrymore in the third round of the O’Mara Cup in Garrymore next Sunday (Easter Sunday) the 20th of March at 12.00.
Mayo Gaels: P. Mannion, T. Byrne, A. Brett, S.Vahey, K. Lynch (0.01), F. Canavan, L. Duggan (0.01), S. Boyle, P. Walsh, A. Morris, K. Jordan, N. Brett (0.01), M. Byrne (0.03, 2f), N. McGurrin (0.01), D. Burke (0.02, 1f); Subs : J. Sloyne (0.01), G. Canavan.
