Gaelic Games

Mayo keep home fires burning as Tyrone are latest opponents to be torched

Kevin McStay’s dream start continues in Castlebar as Tyrone are dropped into a relegation fight

Mayo's Diarmuid O'Connor scores his team's fourth goal during the Allianz Football League Division One game against Tyrone at Hastings Insurance MacHale Park in Castlebar. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho
Mayo's Diarmuid O'Connor scores his team's fourth goal during the Allianz Football League Division One game against Tyrone at Hastings Insurance MacHale Park in Castlebar. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho
Anthony Hennigan in Hastings Insurance MacHale Park, Castlebar
Sat Feb 25 2023 - 21:56

National Football League, Division One: Mayo 4-10 Tyrone 0-12

“You just wasted a question.”

That was Kevin McStay’s blunt response to the query of whether Mayo will now target a place in this season’s Division One final.

You understood why the reporter was probing; on consecutive Saturdays McStay’s side had just accounted for the last two All-Ireland champions by a combined 17 points. Unbeaten after four rounds, the only team without more points in the division are Mayo’s next opponents, Roscommon.

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“When it becomes an issue, then we’ll look at it,” the manager offered.

It’s hard not to see it becoming an “issue”.

Scoreless for the opening 18 minutes, as much due to inaccuracy and woodwork as to Tyrone’s defensive block, once Mayo figured out theirs and the opposition’s failings they were at times sensational.

Trailing by three points until the 24th minute, the hosts burned Tyrone by 2-4 to 0-1 in the second quarter. In a six-minute spell Aidan O’Shea, one of a dozen Mayo scorers, finished the first and set up the second of Mayo’s first-half goals.

Corner-back Enda Hession sliced through to lay on the pass for O’Shea to bury the first via ricochets off the unfortunate Tyrone keeper Niall Morgan and Frank Burns. The second – James Carr’s third in four games – was the result of a tantalising O’Shea delivery from midfield.

Mayo had caused a nine-point swing in as many minutes to lead 2-5 to 0-5.

“There were things we were doing in the first-half that just weren’t what we wanted to do but we worked our way out of it, which was pleasing,” reflected McStay afterwards.

Any notion of a Tyrone comeback was dashed when the electric Hession dummied Morgan with his right to finish a third Mayo goal brilliantly off his left for their opening score of the second-half.

Tyrone, for whom Morgan and Darren McCurry shared six points from frees, had just reduced their arrears back to six through Frank Burns’ second point when Mayo midfielder Diarmuid O’Connor’s ploughed his own furrow through the centre of the Tyrone defence to smash home a fourth goal in the 68th minute.

Darragh Canavan and McCurry had both hit early points in a bright start by the visitors but joint-manager Fergal Logan agreed that Mayo’s opening goal just sucked the life from his Tyrone team.

“I thought we dominated the early phases and were really going well. We were probably a bit wasteful at the top third, some passes and the shooting and stuff. We need to be sitting down and learning from it.”

Tyrone enter an intimidating clash with Kerry next Sunday with only two points from a possible eight.

“There is only one way to keep going – to keep at it,” insisted Logan.

The next “issue” for Mayo is a trip to high-flying neighbours – and McStay’s old team – Roscommon.

“I’m taking tonight off and tomorrow off as well, and then on Monday we’ll get ready for that.”

It’s exciting times out west.

MAYO: Colm Reape (0-1, free); Jack Coyne, David McBrien, Enda Hession (1-0); Stephen Coen, Conor Loftus (0-1), Donnacha McHugh; Matthew Ruane (0-1), Diarmuid O’Connor (1-0); Fionn McDonagh (0-1), Jack Carney (0-1), Jordan Flynn; Aidan O’Shea (1-0), James Carr (1-0), Ryan O’Donoghue (0-3, three frees). Subs: Sam Callinan for Coyne and Paddy Durcan for Hession (both 45 mins), Jason Doherty (0-1) for Loftus (56), Cillian O’Connor (0-1) for O’Shea (60), Tommy Conroy for Carr (66).

TYRONE: Niall Morgan (0-3, three frees); Michael McKernan, Cormac Munroe, Pádraig Hampsey; Cormac Quinn, Peter Harte, David Mulgrew; Brian Kennedy, Frank Burns (0-2); Conor Meyler, Conn Kilpatrick, Joe Oguz; Darren McCurry (0-4, three frees), Cathal McShane, Darragh Canavan (0-2). Subs: Niall Devlin for Quinn (13-16 mins, blood), Devlin for Munroe (42), Mattie Donnelly for McShane and Ruairí Canavan (0-1, free) for Mulgrew (both 50), Kieran McGeary for Harte (62), Lee Rafferty for McKernan (70).

Referee: Noel Mooney (Cavan).