Staunton propels Mayo to victory

Women's Football National League finals/ Mayo 1-13 Galway 0-06: A commanding second-half performance propelled Mayo to victory over Connacht rivals Galway in a surprisingly one-sided Suzuki National Football League Division One final at Hyde Park yesterday.

What wasn't surprising was the role Cora Staunton played in the victory, the forward provided an exhibition of point kicking. The Carnacon woman had a quiet first half but landed scores from distance in the later period, finishing with a tally of nine points.

Galway manager Pat Costello will be very disappointed with his side's second-half effort though, as they managed only one point, from Barbara Hannon, and never threatened to repeat last week's provincial championship victory over their old foes.

Niamh Fahy was the focal point of the Galway attack early on and she came out on top in an aerial battle with Nuala O'Shea to set up Helen McHugh for a second-minute point.

Some profligate shooting prevented Galway from transferring their early dominance into further scores, however, as they shot three wides.

Such wastefulness allowed Mayo to settle into the game and they embarked on a 15-minute period of ascendancy that yielded a goal and two points despite playing into a very strong wind.

The goal was well worked as Diane O'Hora swooped on a loose ball to set up Lisa Cafferkey and the youngster calmly side-stepped Galway goalkeeper Tina Hughes to roll the ball to the net.

That score was followed by points from Fiona McHale and Staunton , but Galway did enjoy a fruitful period approaching half-time which produced points from Aoibheann Daly, Fahy and Annette Clarke to trail by just two at half-time, 1-3 to 0-4.

The expected second-half onslaught from Galway never materialised, however, as Staunton upped the tempo and landed eight points, while O'Hora weighed in with a converted free.

Galway had a chance to give the scoreline a better look when awarded a penalty, but Fahy's kick crashed off the crossbar.

MAYO: Y Byrne; M Kelly, N O'Shea, S McGing; C McGing, M Carter, M Heffernan; C Egan, J Moran; F McHale (0-2), C Staunton (0-9, six frees), C McDermott (0-1); L Cafferkey (1-0), D O'Hora (0-1, free), C Heffernan. Sub: A Herbert for Cafferkey (45 mins).

GALWAY: T Hughes; M Glynn, A Kilmore, C Molloy; S Noone, M Burke, E Flaherty; A Clarke (0-2, one free), E Concannon; AM McDonagh, S Cosgrove, A Daly (0-1); H McHugh (0-1), N Fahy (0-1), P Flaherty. Subs: L Cohill for Flaherty (58 mins), R McPhilbin for McHugh (half-time), M Moloney for Kilmore inj (39 mins), B Hannon (0-1)for McDonagh (39 mins).

Referee: D Byrne( Limerick).