Hello and welcome to tonight’s GAA liveblog.
There have already been qualifier wins for Clare and Derry today and now attention turns to MacHale Park in Castlebar where Mayo will take on Kildare.
The hosts are the favourites but will this be the day when highly-rated manager Cian O’Neill, who knows Mayo football better than most, gets his Kildare team firing?
Here is a reminder of the teams:
Mayo
1. David Clarke (Ballina Stephenites)
2. Brendan Harrison (Aghamore)
3. Kevin Keane (Westpory)
4. Keith Higgins (Ballyhaunis)
5. Lee Keegan (Westport)
6. Colm Boyle (Davitts)
7. Patrick Durcan (Castlebar Mitchels)
8. Seamus O’Shea (Breaffy)
9. Donal Vaughan (Ballinrobe)
10. Kevin McLoughlin (Knockmore)
11. Aidan O’Shea (Breaffy)
12. Diarmuid O’Connor (Ballintubber)
13. Evan Regan (Ballina Stephenites)
14. Andy Moran (Ballaghaderreen)
15. Cillian O’Connor (Ballintubber, captain).
Kildare
1. Mark Donnellan (Maynooth)
2. Ciaran Fitzpatrick (Kilcock)
3. David Hyland (Athy)
4. Ollie Lyons (Celbridge)
5. Johnny Byrne (Allenwood)
6. Eoin Doyle (Naas, captain)
7. Emmet Bolton (Eadestown)
8. Tommy Moolick (Leixlip)
9. Kevin Feely (Athy)
10. Morgan O’Flaherty (Carbury)
11. Fergal Conway (Celbridge)
12. Eoin O’Flaherty (Carbury)
13. Cathal McNally (Johnstownbridge)
14. Niall Kelly (Athy)
15. Neil Flynn (Maynooth)
We’ll update you with any late changes to those line-ups once we hear.
It’s a beautiful evening in Castlebar. Both of these sides have plenty of attacking talent so here’s hoping we get an entertaining game of football.
Just 10 minutes until throw-in.
Kildare boss Cian O’Neill speaking ahead of the game:
“We had a great training week and all we want to do is get out and play football tonight.
“We need to be as offensive as we can when we have the ball and be as solid in defence as we can be when we don’t.”
Standard party line stuff from the Lilywhites boss.
Mayo will also line out as per the original team announcement.
Time for the anthem…
And we’re under way. Enda, as usual, is in attendance.
The pitch is looking immaculate.
Strong start from Kildare but Donal Vaughan eventually breaks up the attack.
Mayo 0-1 Kildare 0-0
Kildare, as expected, are getting plenty of bodies behind the ball. But they can’t stop Diarmuid O’Connor sending a beauty over the bar, off the right boot from the right flank after some good work from Aidan O’Shea.
Neil Flynn gets the opportunity to respond for Kildare almost immediately but he sends a free wide from about 30m out.
Mayo 0-2 Kildare 0-0
O’Connor with another peach off the outside of his right, making a difficult skill look like child’s play.
Mayo 0-3 Kildare 0-0
Cillian O’Connor puts Mayo three up from a free. Great start from the hosts, particularly from the O’Connors.
Mayo 0-4 Kildare 0-0
Kildare are turning the ball over far too easily. Aidan O’Shea strips the ball in midfield and the ball is worked into the hands of Diarmuid O’Connor and he does the rest, this time with the in-setp of his right.
The Lilies have been caught flat-footed.
Mayo 0-4 Kildare 0-1
Boy, they needed that. Cathal McNally gets the visitors off the mark with a tidy score from play.
Mayo 0-5 Kildare 0-1
Cillian O’Connor lands a monstrous free from the hands. Outstanding from the Ballintubber man, that was from just outside the 45.
Mayo 0-5 Kildare 0-2
Morgan O’Flaherty responds for Kildare. The wing-forward found a bit of room out on the right and was found well by Fergal Conway.
Kildare are coming into this a bit more but their use of the ball has been very patchy.
McNally sends an effort into David Clarke’s arms. They’ll need to be more clinical.
Mayo 0-5 Kildare 0-3
A great score by Flynn from play. And then down the other end Mayo are calling for a penalty after Vaughan breaks through for a one on one. But he is held up in the tackle and eventually the ball squirms loose.
Mayo 0-6 Kildare 0-3
Mayo’s forwards are looking dangerous on the break. Kildare seem to playing more of a man-on-man game than previously but it’s leaving their rearguard look vulnerable.
It’s turning into a decent, open game of football though.
Durcan booms a score over from the left, Mayo needed that, they hadn’t scored for eight minutes.
Mayo 0-6 Kildare 0-5
The O’Flaherty brothers combine well, and Morgan gets his second of the game. He had plenty of time on the Mayo 21, Rochford won’t be happy with that.
Flynn adds another only seconds later, Kildare’s forwards are finally getting some supply. Game on.
O’Connor hits his first wide of the day, sending a free out near the left touchline to the right of the posts.
At the other end, Flynn can only do the same with a free from the 45.
Mayo 0-7 Kildare 0-5
Regan swings a free over with his left after Vaughan did well down the right touchline.
Awful wide from Aidan O’Shea from about 13m after a powerful run, he was under pressure to be fair.
Mayo 1-7 Kildare 0-5 (Regan ’29)
Huge moment for Mayo, a great ball by Boyle finds Moran on the edge of the square. He turns inside to shoot for goal on his left but is denied by a foot block.
The ball is recycled across goal, the referee appeared to not award a penalty for the incident, and eventually Regan just had to tap it in along the ground to put Mayo five points ahead.
Mayo 1-8 Kildare 0-5
Seamus O’Shea wins the ball back with a timely block on a Kildare shot. Mayo work the ball down the left flank through Keegan.
The wing-back finds McLoughlin with a hand-pass and Mayo’s sweeper hits a beautiful cross-field pass off the outside of his left, Ciaran McDonald style, into the arms of Regan.
Regan jinks inside and swings a point over off the cultured left of his. A stunning score from Mayo.
Mayo 2-8 Kildare 0-5 (D O’Connor ’34)
Mayo 2-9 Kildare 0-5
A superb individual goal from Diarmuid O’Connor, Mayo are tearing Kildare apart right now.
Regan adds another just seconds later, forcing a superb save from Donnellan.
That will be deflating for the Lilies after getting themselves well into this. Just seconds away from the break.
HT: Mayo 2-9 Kildare 0-5
Kildare nearly worked a goal of their own in the dying seconds of the half but Clarke saved well from Bolton.
Kildare must be wondering how on earth they are 10 points behind, a devastating five-minute spell from the hosts looks to have put this game out of their reach already.
Evan Regan celebrates his first-half goal.
We’re back under way in Castlebar.
Mayo 2-10 Kildare 0-6
Flynn points a 45 for Kildare but Keith Higgins replies with a point from play for the hosts.
Mayo 2-11 Kildare 0-7
Fionn Dowling gets an excellent score from play only moments after his introduction.
He was one of two Kildare changes at half-time; Dowling for Emmet Bolton and Keith Cribbin for Morgan O’Flaherty.
But Diarmuid O’Connor responds for Mayo with an excellent score from play. He’s been majestic this evening.
Stephen Coen has just come on for Mayo ful-lback Kevin Keane.
Mayo 2-11 Kildare 0-8
Cribbin also gets his name on the scoresheet. Dowling has had plenty of joy in the air. The two Kildare subs have impressed but the Lilies still have a mountain to climb.
Mayo 2-13 Kildare 0-8
Colm Boyle has been outstanding for Mayo today. His reading of the play, his tenacious defending and his bursts forwards have played a big part in Mayo’s dominance.
His latest interception sets up Regan for a score and the Ballina man fires it over the bar.
Andy Moran sets up Diarmuid O’Connor for another score from play, that’s 1-5 from the wing-forward now.
Mayo replace one veteran with another, Alan Dillon comes on for Moran, who impressed.
Mayo 2-13 Kildare 0-9
A tidy score from Johnny Byrne keeps Kildare’s tally ticking over but they still trail by 10 and really need goals at this stage.
Their response to Mayo’s golden spell at the end of the first half has been disappointing to say the least.
Mayo 2-13 Kildare 0-10
It’s a black card for Boyle, a textbook black-card offence, he pulled down Conway by the waist as he was steaming towards the goal.
And it all came on the back of a poor kick-out from Clarke.
Flynn adds a point from the free.
Elsewhere, Ciaran Fitzpatrick has been replaced by Peter Kelly and Barry Moran is on after Boyle’s black card.
Mayo 2-13 Kildare 0-11
A beautiful score from Dowling off his left. He looks a real talent. Lead is back down to eight.
Mayo 2-13 Kildare 0-12
Flynn closes the gap to seven with a free after some more good work by Dowling.
A goal for Kildare and they’re back in this…Mayo seem to have switched off a little.
Kildare are doing very well in midfield, Mayo struggling to get out of their half.
10 minutes to go in Castlebar and there are seven points between the sides.
Mayo are just killing this game now, keeping the ball around midfield like Dublin tend to do at this stage of a game.
Jason Doherty has come on for Harrison too.
Mayo 2-14 Kildare 0-12
Doherty ends Mayo’s scoring drought with a decent score from play, moments after his introduction.
Mayo 2-14 Kildare 0-13
Alan Smith adds a point from a free, Neil Flynn had been replaced by Chris Healy.
Mayo 2-15 Kildare 0-13
Doherty gets his second in as many minutes.
Mayo 2-15 Kildare 0-14
Dowling with another lovely score off his left.
Diarmuid O’Connor goes off to a standing ovation, he is replaced by Conor O’Shea.
Into injury time now in Castlebar.
Four minutes of it
Mayo 2-17 Kildare 0-14
Conor O’Shea, like so many subs before him, gets on the scoresheet just moments after being introduced.
FT: Mayo 2-17 Kildare 0-14
The game turned around that spell just before half-time, and Kildare never really recovered. They showed well in patches, particularly before half-time but ultimately couldn’t live with Mayo’s firepower, particularly that of Regan and Diarmuid O’Connor.
That’s all for us this evening. Report and match reaction to follow. Thanks for joining us.
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