ANDY MORAN CAME on with five minutes to go in normal time for the Mayo senior footballers against Down yesterday and while his time on the pitch was brief, he still reached a major milestone.
The Ballaghaderreen club man kicked a point when sprung from the bench to help Mayo see off Down by 1-19 to 1-16.
Victory ensured the Mayo squad avoided relegation and on a personal level, Moran’s introduction in Castlebar saw him equal the appearance record for the Mayo senior footballers.
Moran featured for the county for the 132nd time and now joins the previous record holder James Nallen from Crossmolina.
Mayo have not reached the knockout stages of the league this year, thus bringing their spring campaign to an end.
That means the next opportunity for Moran to line out is in championship and he has the chance to make history by becoming the record appearance holder on his own on 29 May, when Mayo take on London in Ruislip in their Connacht championship opener.
Moran made his senior football debut for Mayo in 2003 and has been a regular presence in their setup since then, although he was a long-term absentee after tearing his cruciate in the 2012 All-Ireland quarter-final win over Down.
He has yet to win an All-Ireland senior medal but has featured in three September deciders, coming on as a substitute in the 2004 and 2006 losses to Kerry before scoring 1-2 when he started in the 2013 final against Dublin.
Moran won an Allstar award for his exploits in 2011 and has eight Connacht senior medals to his name.
Last July, Moran and Alan Dillon made history when Mayo claimed the Connacht title with a win over Sligo as they joined Dermot Flanagan and Liam McHale as the Mayo players with the most Connacht senior medals to their name.
The42 is on Snapchat! Tap the button below on your phone to add!
