PLUS: MAYO IN CRUISE CONTROL AGAINST LEITRIM:
DEFENDING champions Mayo cruised into another Connacht final with a landslide victory over an outclassed Leitrim yesterday.
On a day when rain showers gradually gave way to glorious sunshine, last year’s beaten All-Ireland finalists played plenty of champagne football as they put an extremely limited visiting outfit to the sword in ruthless fashion.
In truth, through a combination of sheer pace and raw power, Mayo had crushed the underdogs’ challenge emphatically before half-time to set up yet another provincial final clash with Galway in a fortnight’s time.
Mayo’s strength, conditioning and overall quality completely overwhelmed Leitrim and the rank outsiders had no answer to the speed and movement of Mayo’s razorsharp forward line and strike runners who raided from deep.
The fact that this routine victory was achieved so easily is made even more impressive by the fact that James Horan could only call on eight of the team that started last December’s All-Ireland final defeat by Dublin, due to a combination of injuries and Covid-related issues.
Goalkeeper Rob Hennelly, former Footballer of the Year Lee Keegan, Young Footballer of the Year nominee Eoghan McLaughlin, brothers Diarmuid and Cillian O’Connor, veteran attacker Kevin McLoughlin and promising young forward, Bryan Walsh, were all among the absentees.
But Mayo made light of these losses, and the disruption to their preparations during the week, by producing an action-packed display that had all the hallmarks of their finest hours.
Their experimental line-up put this one-sided semi-final to bed in the opening half.
By that stage, Horan’s makeshift side were 16 points ahead (3-11 to 0-4) after shooting 3-10 from play with seven different players getting on the scoresheet.
Leitrim looked rusty early on in their first game for six weeks, and their confidence was also understandably low after losing all three of their Division 4 Allianz League matches this season.
As a result, the second half was essentially a victory lap for the rampant winners as Leitrim, who haven’t beaten Mayo in the Championship since their last historic Connacht SFC final triumph in 1994, faded out of contention.
In front of a crowd of approximately 2,500 people, the home side had raced into an 0-8 to 0-1 lead by the first water break and the writing
“They put this to bed in the first half”
was already on the wall for Leitrim.
Mayo’s lead was out to nine points by the 28th minute when a handling error in the visitors’ defence presented Darren Coen with the simple task of going around goalkeeper, Brendan Flynn, and slotting the ball into an empty net.
The rout continued in the following two minutes when Mayo’s Darren McHale netted twice in quick succession to leave Leitrim trailing by 3-11 to 0-2.
It had taken Terry Hyland’s charges 18 minutes to open their account through a Keith Beirne free and the Mohill forward tagged on two further place-kicks before half-time.
Leitrim’s only score from play in the opening half came from Conor Dolan on 27 minutes.
Mayo’s preparations had been hampered by Covid issues in their camp in the days leading up to the game, but the reserves that were drafted in stepped up to the plate in style.
The winners continued to turn the screw during the third quarter and they hit 2-3 in a blistering 11-minute spell to pile further misery on their struggling opponents.
Ryan O’Donoghue and Tommy Conroy scored the goals and Mayo were 25 points clear by the time the dust settled.
Leitrim, to their credit, kept plugging away and a string of scores from Keith Beirne (two frees), Paddy Maguire and Riordan O’Rourke was just reward for their honest efforts before the second-half water break.
That was a feature of Leitrim’s play throughout, the way they chased lost causes and tackled ensured they could not be faulted for their industry.
However, the gulf in class was all too apparent.
The last quarter was largely uneventful with Mayo topping up their advantage through some eye-catching points from Coen (two), Aidan O’Shea and McHale to seal a second facile victory of this campaign.
Leitrim did have the last word with a point from Conor Dolan deep in additional time, but Mayo’s fifth successive Championship win over their neighbours, since they were famously ambushed 27 years ago, had been wrapped up long before then.
They will now begin their preparations for a rematch with Galway on Sunday, July 25.
‘I thought we started well and went about our business very well,’ said Horan afterwards.
‘We built up a six or seven point lead early on, got some very good scores, and I suppose we controlled the game from there.
‘I thought some of our movement was excellent, we dominated possession and had a lot of ball, and the lads were hungry to play so we created a lot of opportunities.’
It is extremely unlikely that Mayo will get things as easy as these when they face Galway.
But regardless of what happens, Horan and company will be hoping for a much more straightforward buildup and to have most of the usual suspects back and ready for action.