Offaly footballers lose out to Mayo in festive charity game
On a cold afternoon in Castlebar, Mayo ran out comprehensive winners over a skillful Offaly side
It may have been bitterly cold in Castlebar as Mayo hosted Offaly with the game played in aid of the official charity partner of Mayo GAA, The Mayo Cancer Support Association. Andy Moran’s men ran out 3-18 to 1-12 winners over the midlands side.
Mayo got off to a flying start with Tommy Conroy blasting to the net early on. Aidan O’Shea grabbed Mayo’s second green flag of the afternoon with 12 minutes gone. The Faithful County were competitive right throughout as their centre forward Keith O’Neill impressed across the 70 minutes.
Going in at half time, Mayo trailed 2-5 to Offaly’s 1-9.
At the break, Cian McHale and Ryan O’Donoghue were introduced and both attackers had an instant impact. Midway through the second period, Claremorris attacker Darragh Beirne kicked Mayo’s only two-pointer of the game which came from a placed ball effort. Beirne who is U-20 next season played well as the accurate forward ended the game with a tally of 0-6.
Entering the final quarter, the hosts upped the intensity levels and the gap between themselves and Offaly grew as Cian McHale, James Carr and Paul Towey all pointed. With ten minutes remaining, Ryan O’Donoghue finished from close range to the net as Adam Barrett, Bob Tuohy and Jordan Flynn all kicked singles to round off a fine performance.