Tyrone 2-14
Mayo 0-8
Colm Gannon reports from Elverys MacHale Park
TYRONE ENSURED THAT they will be playing Division One football next year with a powerful display against an out of sorts Mayo in MacHale Park today.
Mickey Harte’s men ran out 12 point winners in this one, having done the hard work in the first half which they went in leading at the end of by 0-8 to 0-3.
They had led by 0-8 to 0-1 until two late frees from Conor Loftus closed the gap at the tail end of the ten minutes of injury time played.
The first half of this game was as incident packed as many league campaigns, with Mayo losing Cillian O’Connor and Lee Keegan to injury – with Colm Boyle being sent off for a second yellow card and Andy Moran also seeing the line for a black card.
Tyrone also lost a number of players, with Padraig McNulty getting a straight red card for his challenge on Keegan, Colm Cavanagh being shown a black card and Hugh Pat McGeary going off with a serious looking leg injury.
Tyrone’s counter attacking style punched numerous holes in the Mayo defence in the opening half with Matthew Donnelly and Connor McAliskey causing serious problems for the Mayo rearguard.
The visitors hit the front inside the opening 60 seconds with Donnelly swinging over a fine score from close range. Mayo did manage to get themselves level not long after thanks to a Tom Parsons score, but that was as good as it got for them for a long time.
Tyrone were winning the breaks in the middle of the park and their runners from deep had the Mayo defence under serious pressure, with Boyle picking up his first yellow seven minutes in.
Tyrone were 0-2 to 0-1 up when Mayo lost the elder O’Connor ten minutes in and over a crazy next 20 minutes they kicked six points without reply with Donnelly leading the way with two points along with scores from Niall Sludden, Frank Burns and Lee Brennan (2).
In the middle of all that, both sides were reduced to 14 men and saw black cards dished out to a player each on a pitch that kicked up as much sand as a beach in Achill in July.
The two late Loftus scores brought the gap back to five at the break and the same man hit the first score of the second half to close the gap to four and look like Mayo could make a game of it.
But the next score went Tyrone’s way and it was a big one with Lee Brennan rattling the back of the net, selling Ger Cafferkey a great dummy to create space after he had been picked out by Peter Harte who had been allowed to carry the ball a long distance without a glove being laid on him.
That goal killed the game as a contest, with Tyrone shutting up shop and sealing off their defence and they were content to hold on to the ball and have Mayo chasing after them in a vain effort to close them down.
Tyrone would go on to add five more points without reply to lead 1-13 to 0-4 with ten minutes left on the clock as the Mayo supporters began to stream out of the ground in their droves.
Mayo did manage to tag on some late points through a brace of Loftus points along with points from Neil Douglas and Fergal Boland to put some bit of respectability on the scoreboard. Loftus also missed a late penalty for Mayo sending it high and wide.
But Tyrone added their own gloss on it late on with Conal McCann breaking through and rattling home their second goal just before the end of normal time.
For Tyrone they can look forward to their meeting with Kerry, safe in the knowledge they will be safe no matter what happens in that one, while for Mayo it’s a case of winner takes all on the road against Donegal next Sunday.
Scorers for Tyrone: Lee Brennan 1-3 (0-2f), Matthew Donnelly 0-4, Connor McAliskey 0-3 (0-3f), Conal McCann 1-0, Niall Sludden, Frank Burns, Declan McClure, Conor Myler 0-1 each.
Scorers for Mayo: Conor Loftus 0-5 (0-4f), Neil Douglas, Tom Parsons, Fergal Boland 0-1 each.
Tyrone
1. Mickey O’Neill (Clonoe)
2. Hugh Pat McGeary (Pomeroy)
3. Padraig Hampsey (Coalisland)
4. Cathal McCarron (Athy)
5. Conor Meyler (Omagh)
6. Frank Burns (Pomeroy)
7. Peter Harte (Errigal Ciarán)
8. Colm Cavanagh (Moy)
9. Padraig McNulty (Dungannon)
10. Matthew Donnelly (Trillick)
11. Niall Sludden (Dromore)
12. Cathal McShane (Eoghan Roe O’Neill)
13. Lee Brennan (Trillick)
14. Connor McAliskey (Clonoe)
15. Mark Bradley (Killyclogher)
Subs
24. Michael McKernan (Coalisland) for McGeary
21. Declan McLure (Clonoe) for Cavanagh (black card)
23. Kiearan McGeary (Pomeroy) for Sludden
26. David Mulgrew (Ardboe) for Bradley
20. Conal McCann (Killyclogher) for McAliskey
17. Rory Brennan (Trillick) for McCarron
Mayo
16. David Clarke (Ballina Stephenites)
2. Caolan Crowe (Garrymore)
3. Ger Cafferkey (Ballina Stephenites)
4. Eoin O’Donoghue (Belmullet)
5. Colm Boyle (Davitts)
6. Lee Keegan (Westport)
8. Stephen Coen (Hollymount/Carramore)
19. Tom Parsons (Charlestown)
11. Aidan O’Shea (Breaffy)
15. Adam Gallagher (Mayo Gaels)
13. Jason Doherty (Burrishoole)
12. Diarmuid O’Connor (Ballintubber)
10. Kevin McLoughlin (Knockmore)
21. Cillian O’Connor (Ballintubber)
14. Andy Moran (Ballaghaderreen)
Subs
25.Conor Loftus (Crossmolina Deel Rovers) for Cillian O’Connor
17. Paddy Durcan (Castlebar Mitchels ) for Keegan
9. Seamus O’Shea (Breaffy) for Moran (BC)
24. Fergal Boland (Aghamore) for Doherty
26. Neil Douglas (Castlebar Mitchels) for Diarmuid O’Connor
22. Conor O’Shea (Breaffy) for Aidan O’Shea.
Referee: Maurice Deegan (Laois)