Tyrone hurlers dethrone Mayo’s minors in replay

Replay

Tyrone 2-12

Mayo1-10

Michael Commins

Ballinamore

NO one knows what lies around the corner, and surely no one could have foreseen how the second half of this All-Ireland Minor ‘C’ Replay would play out in Ballinamore on Saturday. Mayo, eight points to the good, appeared to be coasting down the highway to glory with Tyrone almost out of sight in the rear-view mirror. But the Ulster lads fashioned a remarkable rally that saw them close the gap and surge ahead as the shell-shocked Mayo team was left to rue an inexplicable collapse.

Three in a row proved agonisingly close but yet a bridge too far for Mayo. The heartbreak on the faces of the lads from the west spoke of a hurt deep inside.

The contrast could not have been greater with the sheer joy and jubilation that cascaded through the Tyrone panel and among their supporters. A cause that had seemed almost forlorn at the interval began to bloom and grow as hope took root. We did not see it coming, but came it did.

A low-scoring opening quarter saw Mayo ahead by 0-3 to 0-2. SeΡn Kenny had the first score with a fine strike from distance. Tyrone responded with quality points from Peadar Daly and Dearcan Ó Donnghaile. Passion and flair from both sides failed to yield a score in the next nine minutes, though no one could question the intensity of the contest.

Bryan Peoples landed an inspirational point after fine approach work by Ross Egan midway through the half. It was the start of a period in which Mayo outscored Tyrone by 1-7 to 0-1 as they roared through the second quarter in devastating fashion.

Peoples, who had a fine game, edged Mayo in front with a second point. A long-range free from Ross Egan dropped close to the Tyrone goalmouth, and a pull by Sam Forde took a deflection off a defender and ended up in the net.

While Piaras McErlean made good use of a sublime clearance by Lochrann Ó Donnghaile to fire over a Tyrone point, Mayo were now on a roll with quality scores from play by Bryan People, SeΡn Kenny and Paul Lambert. Kenny also converted a free and a 65’ and Mayo led by 1-8 to 0-3. They came off the field to a rousing reception from their supporters in the stand.

Stand-out displays by Shane Geraghty and Ross Egan played pivotal roles in Mayo’s surge to the top, while Bryan People, SeΡn Kenny, John Cassidy, Conor Murray, Paul Lambert, Colum Gardiner and Sam Forde featured prominently in the opening half.

The philosophical lines of the Frank Sinatra classic ‘That’s Life’ – “You’re riding high in April, shot down in May” – come to mind as one tried to analyse the second half of this extraordinary replay. Mayo were surely riding high when they retired for the mid-term break.

When the tide turns, it leaves much in its wake. Tyrone, who could only muster three points in the entire first half, picked off five unanswered points in the first ten minutes after the resumption.

Brannon Molloy, player of the match in the drawn encounter, came thundering into this game along with Peadar Daly. Kevin Muldoon was superb in defence while Jarlath Kerr, PΡuric Kerr, Lorcan Devlin, Lochrann Ó Donnghaile, Dearcan Ó Donnghaile and Piaras McErlean all moved up a gear. Paul Conway and Dean Rafferty at midfield rose to the challenge in style.

Molloy shot three points, two from frees, while Daly and CiarΡn McNulty added the others. It was ‘game on’ at this stage. A minute later, team captain Damhnaic Rush floated a ball towards the Mayo posts and a pull by John Campbell managed to dribble its way over the goal line. Amazingly, Tyrone were back on level terms. The momentum was now with the Tyrone, and Piaras McErlean edged them back into the lead.

Midway through the half, a long clearance from Lorcan Devlin broke kindly for Brannon Molloy and he blasted home a magnificent goal with the grace of a maestro. The same player, twisting and swerving, sliced through the Mayo defence three minutes later only to be denied another goal through a superb save by Ryan Kilbane. Molloy added two points from frees while Daly landed a marvellous point from way out the field.

Mayo could only manage two points in the second half, one from Bryan Peoples and the other from a SeΡn Kenny free. Tyrone outgunned Mayo by 2-9 to 0-2 in this half, an amazing feat for a team that seemed to be on the ropes at the interval.

It was a disappointing outcome for Mayo manager Brian Finn and selector John Regan, but they have a good crop of dedicated young players to work with and they already enjoyed a Connacht U-21 success against Roscommon earlier this year.

TYRONE

C Tanney; J Kerr, P Kerr, K Muldoon; L O’Donnghaile, L Devlin, D Rushe; P Conway, D Rafferty; P Daly (0-3), B Molloy (1-5, 4f), D O’Donnghaile (0-1); J Campbell (1-0), P McErlean (0-2), J Ferguson.

Subs used: C McNulty (0-1) for J Ferguson; M Farley for J Campbell; L Flanagan for P Conway, C Lagan for P McErlean.

MAYO

R Kilbane; A Ferguson, S Geraghty, J Cassidy; E Henaghan, R Egan, N McManamon; C Murray, P Lambert (0-1); B Peoples (0-4), S Kenny (0-5, 3f), A Henry; C Gardiner, S Fleming, S Forde (1-0).

Subs used: C Browne for A Ferguson; PJ Burke for C Gardiner (inj); B Maloney for S Fleming.

Referee: K McGeeney (Roscommon)