Tyrone 0-11 Mayo 0-9: Red Hands edge to victory to ease National League relegation fears
Match report from the Allianz Football League Division 1 meeting between Tyrone and Mayo at Healy Park, as the Red Hands held off a second-half fightback from the visitors to seal a valuable victory.
Saturday 19 March 2022 19:55, UK
Tyrone were forced to hold off a Mayo comeback as they dug deep to edge their visitors in Omagh, 0-11 to 0-9.
The Red Hands backed up their 2021 All-Ireland final victory over the same opposition, and eased their relegation fears with a defiant display.
Knowing that defeat would have landed them in deep trouble at the bottom of the Division 1 table, Tyrone came out fighting and a dominant first-half display laid the foundations for the result. They will finish off their campaign next weekend against Kerry in Killarney - the site of their harrowing 16-point defeat last June.
For Mayo, defeat is a major setback in their pursuit of a Division 1 final berth. But they can nonetheless reach the decider with a victory over Kildare next week, along with results elsewhere.
Unlike in their home defeat to Dublin last weekend, Tyrone made a flying start to the contest. Peter Harte and Conor Meyler adopted advanced roles, and the duo registered five points from play between them in the first half.
Mayo were missing some big names, and had an experimental shape at times, but nonetheless James Horan would have been disappointed with their contribution.
The visitors did not register a score until the 24th minute, and Tyrone's 0-8 to 0-3 lead at half-time did not flatter the home side.
Despite a Mattie Donnelly point shortly after the restart to stretch the gap to six, Mayo grew into the contest.
They registered five points without reply, as Matthew Ruane pulled the strings in midfield. Ryan O'Donoghue led the scoring charge, as Mayo made it a one-point game on two occasions.
However, try as they might, the Westerners were unable to find a leveller. A late Darragh Canavan point gave the hosts some breathing room, and Brian Dooher and Feargal Logan's charges held out for a valuable win.
Tyrone: Niall Morgan; Michael McKernan, Padraig Hampsey, Frank Burns (0-1); Niall Sludden, Kieran McGeary, Ronan McNamee; Conn Kilpatrick, Brian Kennedy; Rory Brennan (0-1), Conor Meyler (0-2), Peter Harte (0-3); Darren McCurry (0-1), Cathal McShane, Darragh Canavan (0-2, 0-1m).
Subs: Mattie Donnelly (0-1) for Brian Kennedy (ht), Richard Donnelly for Cathal McShane (ht), Nathan Donnelly for Niall Sludden (56), Liam Rafferty for Rory Brennan (62), Ben McDonnell for Daragh Canavan (72).
Mayo: Rory Byrne; Lee Keegan, David McBrien, Donnacha McHugh; Oisin Mullin, Aidan O'Shea, Stephen Coen; Jordan Flynn (0-2), Matthew Ruane (0-1); Fionn McDonagh, Paul Towey, Fergal Boland; Aiden Orme, Jason Doherty, Ryan O'Donoghue (0-5, 0-4f).
Subs: Jack Carney (0-1) for Fionn McDonagh (37), Enda Hession for Donnacha McHugh (ht), Kevin McLoughlin for Paul Twoey (ht), Darren Coen for Jason Doherty (58), Conor Loftus for Fergal Boland (69).
