Mayo 0-16 Galway 1-14: Tribesmen hold off late fightback to defeat Connacht rivals
Galway dominate the second-half to upset Mayo in the Connacht Championship quarter-final as the Tribesmen hold off a late comeback by the home side in Castlebar to prevail 1-14 to 0-16.
Monday 25 April 2022 09:51, UK
Galway dethroned Connacht champions Mayo with a 1-14 to 0-16 victory in Castlebar.
Padraic Joyce delivered the biggest result of his three-year reign to date, as his side held off a late fightback from their hosts to get over the line.
It was also James Horan's first championship defeat to Galway as manager.
Mayo are now headed for the last-chance saloon of the qualifiers, while the Tribesmen set up a provincial semi-final with Leitrim.
Galway made the brighter start, bursting into a 1-4 to 0-2 lead, with Shane Walsh and Damien Comer taking impressive points.
The goal came from Johnny Heaney, as the Tribesmen punished a poor kick-out from Rory Byrne.
However, Mayo were handed the initiative when Finnian Ó Laoi was black-carded for an off-the-ball collision with Cillian O'Connor, although the An Spidéal man could have considered himself unlucky.
Buoyed by the numerical advantage, Mayo looked to kick on. They gradually worked their way back into the game, pushing up on Connor Gleeson's kick-outs to pressure the restart.
Horan's charges managed to level it at half-time, 0-9 to 1-6. However, James Carr's equalising point was fortuitous as he hopped the ball twice in succession in the build-up, which went unnoticed by David Coldrick.
Another Carr point shortly after the restart gave Mayo the lead for the first time, but from there, Galway took control.
The visitors scored six points without reply with Mayo not scoring for 22 minutes, as Oisin Mullin was forced ashore due to injury.
When Heaney made it 1-14 to 0-11 in the 64th minute, it looked as if the result was secure and Galway looked to see the game out.
However, Mayo began to chip away at the lead. Scores from Lee Keegan and Ryan O'Donoghue, two O'Connor frees and a Kevin McLoughlin point reduced the gap to just a single point deep into injury-time.
Mayo had one final attack, but they were unable to work a score, with Aiden Orme's late shot trailing wide.
Ultimately, it was Galway who held out for a famous victory.
Mayo: Rory Byrne; Lee Keegan (0-1), Oisin Mullin, Padraig O'Hora; Stephen Coen, Michael Plunkett, Eoghan McLaughlin (0-1); Aidan O'Shea, Matthew Ruane; Diarmuid O'Connor, Ryan O'Donoghue (0-3, 0-1m), Conor Loftus; James Carr (0-2), Jason Doherty, Cillian O'Connor (0-5, 0-5f).
Subs: Enda Hession for Oisin Mullin (39), Aiden Orme for Jason Doherty (50), Jack Carney for Conor Loftus (58), Kevin McLoughlin (0-1) for Stephen Coen (64), Darren McHale for James Carr (68).
Galway: Connor Gleeson; Liam Silke, Seán Kelly, Jack Glynn; Dylan McHugh, John Daly, Kieran Molloy (0-1); Paul Conroy (0-3), Matthew Tierney; Finnian Ó Laoi, Niall Daly (0-1), Johnny Heaney (1-1); Robert Finnerty (0-1), Damien Comer (0-1), Shane Walsh (0-5, 0-2f, 0-2 '45).
Subs: Patrick Kelly for Niall Daly (ht), Cillian McDaid (0-1) for Finnian Ó Laoi (46), Dessie Conneely for Robert Finnerty (50), Paul Kelly for Matthew Tierney (65), Johnny McGrath for Jack Glynn (67).
