Mayo 5-19
Limerick 3-7
Colm Gannon reports from the Gaelic Grounds, Limerick
MAYO EASED THEIR way back into championship action with a comprehensive 18-point win over Limerick in the Gaelic Grounds on Saturday evening.
Cillian O’Connor returned to the starting 15 for last years beaten All Ireland finalists and also surpassed the Mayo all time scoring record along the way, bumping Conor Mortimer down the standings.
The Ballintubber man finished off with 3-9 for his 70 minutes of effort, with Mayo hitting three goals in a row between the between the 62nd and 65th minute – with O’Connor getting two of those and the third going to Andy Moran to really run up the score against their hosts.
The Ballaghaderreen man also bagged another goal on the 70 minute mark to bring Mayo’s total for the day to five, with O’Connor grabbing his first six minutes before the half time break.
The goalscoring wasn’t done though as Seamus O’Carroll got his sides third of the evening from the penalty spot deep into injury time.
The Castleknock man who came on at the break finished the day wit 2-1 in his column, he scored the Treaty counties second goal on 51 minutes after he got in behind the Mayo defence to collect a long ball from Danny Neville and finish it low to the net past David Clarke.
Limerick got off to a dream start three minutes in when Sean McSweeney rattled the back of the net from the penalty spot after Danny Neville had been fouled as he broke for goal.
But that was as good as it got for the Treaty County men as Mayo moved through the gears to go in leading by 1-10 to 1-1 at the short whistle.
Cillian O’Connor kicked Mayo’s first point five minutes in and he finished the opening half with 1-6 to his name.
The Ballintubber man kicked the next three points of the game to edge Mayo in front by the 15 minute mark.
James Durcan who was a late replacement in the starting line-up, coming in for Andy Moran pushed Mayo two clear when he finished off a well worked move that was started by Cian Hanley wining a Limerick kick-out.
Durcan and Hanley were two of five changes to the Mayo starting line-up form the side that started against Galway in the Connacht championship, the others to come in were Cillian O’Connor, Evan Began and Ger Cafferkey.
Aidan O’Shea got in on the act landing a point after he won a throw-ball, after Limerick keeper Donal O’Sullivan was punished for taking to long over his restart on 19 minutes.
The homeside did get the next score of the day when Iain Corbett drove over after a driving run, 15 minutes from the break.
Mayo put the contest beyond doubt before the break, with O’Connor’s goal on 29 minutes a gem of a goal. The Mayo captain flicked the ball back to Evan Regan on the deck and the Ballina man was able to return the favour to O’Connor who finished from close range.
O’Connor kicked his sixth minor of the day a few minutes before that strike and two further scores from Chris Barrett and Colm Boyle had Mayo in leading by 1-10 to 1-9 at the short whistle.
Scores for Mayo: Cillian O’Connor (3-9, 0-5f, 0-1 45), Andy Moran (2-0), Aidan O’Shea (0-2), Paddy Durcan (0-2), Evan Regan (0-1), Cian Hanley (0-1), James Durcan (0-1), Colm Boyle (0-1), Chris Barrett (0-1), Stephen Coen (0-1).
Scores for Limerick: Seamus O’Carroll (2-1, 1-0 pen, 1f), Sean McSweeney (1-0, 1 pen), Iain Corbett (0-2), Josh Ryan (0-2, 2f), Jamie Lee (0-1), Danny Neville (0-1).
Mayo
1. David Clarke (Ballina Stephenites)
2. Eoin O’Donoghue (Belmullet)
3. Ger Cafferkey (Ballina Stephenites
4. Keith Higgins (Ballyhaunis)
5. Colm Boyle (Davitts)
6. Chris Barrett (Belmullet)
7. Paddy Durcan (Castlebar Mitchels)
8. Seamus O’Shea (Breaffy)
9. Stephen Coen (Hollymount-Carramore)
10. Kevin McLoughlin (Knockmore)
11. Aidan O’Shea (Breaffy)
12. Cian Hanley (Ballaghaderreen)
13. Evan Regan (Ballina Stephenites)
14. Cillian O’Connor (Ballintubber)
26. James Durcan (Castlebar Mitchels)
Subs:
20. Lee Keegan (Westport) for Boyle
23. Jason Doherty (Burrishoole) for McLoughlin
24. Conor Loftus (Crossmolina) for O’Shea
15. Andy Moran (Ballaghaderreen) for Higgins
17. Caolan Crowe (Garrymore) for Hanle
19. Shane Nally (Garrymore) for O’Donoghue
Limerick
1. Donal O’Sullivan (Monaleen)
2. Gareth Noonan (Dromcollagher Broadford)
3. Sean O’Dea (Kilteely Dromkeen)
4. Paul Maher (Adare)
5. Paul White ( Rathkeale)
6. Iain Corbett (Newcastle West)
7. Cillian Fahy (Dromcollagher Broadford)
8. Darragh Treacy (St Kieran’s)
9. Michael Fitzgibbon (Feahnagh/Castlemahon)
10. Peter Nash (Kildima Pallaskenry)
11. Sean McSweeney (St Kiernan’s)
12. Jim Liston (Gearld Griffins)
13. Danny Neville (Ballysteen)
14. Josh Ryan (Oola)
15. Jamie Lee (Newcastle West)
Subs:
21. Seamus O’Carroll (Castleknock) for McSweeney
25. Tony McCarthy (Kildima Pallaskenry) for Liston
24. Padraig Scanlon (Glin) for Lee
18. Gordon Browne (Na Piarsaigh) for Fitzgibbon
22. Davy Lyons (Adare) for Neville
17. David Connolly (Adare) for Nash
Referee: Niall Cullen (Fermanagh)
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