Sport

Mayo punish tired Laois

Mayo 1-11 Laois 0-8 LAOIS MARKED their return to Division One with a good first half, duringwhich they led by three points on…

Mon Feb 06 2012 - 00:00

Mayo 1-11 Laois 0-8LAOIS MARKED their return to Division One with a good first half, duringwhich they led by three points on a couple of occasions and appeared to be playing within themselves in Portlaoise yesterday. David Conway landed three points, two from frees, and one from close to the sideline

Mayo were dealt a blow when fullback Ger Cafferkey was forced to retire with a leg injury after 15 minutes but his replacement Eoghan Reilly always seemed to have the measure of Pádraig Clancy. Barry Moran and Conor Mortimer kept the visitors in touch and less than five minutes before half-time, Mayo won a free out and after a good passing movement the ball reached Alan Freeman, whose shot deflected off a defender and sent the goalkeeper the wrong way. Conor Mortimer added a point and at the break Laois trailed 0-6 to 1-4.

Laois won a lot of early possession after the break but David Conway saw two easy chances tail off badly wide before levelling after 40 minutes, only for Mortimer to reclaim a one-point lead two minutes later.

Once they got in front Mayo stepped up a gear and although Laois probably shaded midfield it was the visitors’ forwards who made most of the possession and after Mortimer increased their lead, substitute Enda Varley kicked two massive points and was denied a goal by Kieran Lillis.

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Laois faded in the closing 20 minutes and manager Justin McNulty said Mayo seemed to be fitter when it mattered. However, he was pleased with the first-half display except for the late concession of a goal.

James Horan was pleased with the Mayo performance eight days after winning the Connacht league and he said winning their first game is always very important and they are looking forward to the visit of Dublin next Saturday night. Laois face Donegal away.

MAYO: D Clarke; L Keegan, G Cafferkey, K Higgins; P Gardiner, D Vaughan, R Feeney; S O’Shea, P Harte; K McLoughlin (0-1), A Freeman (1-2), A Dillon; C Mortimer (0-5), B Moran (0-1), A Moran. Subs: Eoghan Reilly for Cafferkey (15 mins) D Geraghty for O’Shea (45 mins), J Doherty for Harte (49 mins), E Varley (0-2) for Moran (50 mins).

LAOIS: E Culliton; C Healy, K Lillis, P O’Leary; D Strong, S Julian, C Boyle; B Quigley, J O’Loughlin (0-2); R Munnelly (0-1), K Meaney, C Begley; P Cahillane (0-1), P Clancy, D Conway (0-4). Subs: D O’Connor for Cahillane (48 mins), MJ Tierney for Conway (48 mins), B Mulligan for Julian (55 mins).

Referee: R Hickey (Clare).