Mayo scorch Leitrim in MacHale Park sunshine

Trying to get a result against this Mayo team was always going to be tough in the Dalata Hotels Connacht U20 Championship on Wednesday in Hastings Insurance Mac Hale Park. Having to do so without three of your best players? Almost impossible.

That was the task facing Leitrim when they had to make do without Paul Honeyman, James Gilheaney and Brian Keaney for a game that ran away from them in the first quarter.

Once Mayo wing-back Colm McHale stuck the ball past Brian Cull to make it 2-7 to 0-1 after 21 minutes, it was effectively curtains for Leitrim.

The new rules meant Leitrim’s bus had to remain outside the walls of Hastings Insurance MacHale Park instead of parked in front of a marauding Mayo team bejewelled by Niall Hurley, Tom Lydon, Eoin McGreal, Josh Carey and Cathal Keaveney, to name but a few of their standout performers.

To their credit, the guests played an honest, diligent attacking game and never allowed their sweat-soaked foreheads to drop even as Mayo’s surplus ballooned.

EARLY GALWAY BLITZ BLOWS LEITRIM U20S AWAY

Leitrim were outgunned by Mayo’s forwards. Defenders John MacMonagle and Rio Mortimer were rock solid in containing Darren Cox and Jack Kelly, while Colm McHale and Eoin McGreal made some frightening attacking moves from deep.

But this is not to say Leitrim were totally outclassed. Jack Foley and Liam Chandler did a fine job around the middle against Mayo’s Oliver Armstrong and Séamus Howard, two of the strongest midfielders in this competition.

Barry McWeeney’s side also created goal chances, which fell foul of terrible finishing so it wasn’t all one-way traffic on Wednesday evening. Peadar Gardiner, Mayo U20 manager, admitted as much after the game. “Defensively, I think we have work to do,” a magnanimous Gardiner said. “We got caught for a few goal chances, and Leitrim were just unable to take them. I think our kickouts struggled there tonight as well, they probably dominated the kickout battle.”

Mayo set the tone and temperature on a warm, cloudless April evening by hitting 1-6 in the opening 15 minutes. The hosts furnished their attacking versatility by moving though the feet and hands with pace, panache and penetration. Long ball, short ball, any sort of ball, made its way through their hands and under and over the Leitrim crossbar in a devastating opening 20 minutes.

Two-pointers from Tom Lydon and Niall Hurley and goals from Oisín Cronin and Colm McHale - both assisted by Cathal Keaveney - were highlights of a game-winning purple patch. Leitrim replied with three points from Jack Kelly (one free) and Tom Plunkett as the half-time scoreboard read 2-9 0-4 in Mayo’s favour.

The Leitrim team that was defeated by Mayo in Castlebar Picture: Mayo GAA

The visitors doubled their tally in the second half as Mayo replaced some of their best players. Unfortunately for Leitrim, one of those subs was Darragh Beirne. He shot 2-2 in 24 minutes as Mayo went to town on their guests.

Tom Plunkett came closest to raising a green flag for Leitrim while Ben Guckian landed a nice early two-pointer from a free. But, in truth, highlights were few and far between for the lads from the grey ridge.

The aforementioned Darragh Beirne had the ball in the net within two minutes of coming on in the 36th minute.

Darren Cox and Ruairi O’Rourke replied with points before Tom Lydon crashed in a wonder goal at the end of the third quarter.

Imbued with new energy and new blood from the bench, Mayo never eased the throttle and drove one last nail into Leitrim’s coffin when Beirne rolled home his second goal two minutes from full-time.

April 3, the day Andy Moran’s Leitrim beat the Mayo U20s in Ballinamore last year, will be talked about for a long time to come but it will be a long time before Leitrim see a day like it again.

MAYO

Scorers: Scorers: Darragh Beirne 2-2, Niall Hurley 0-5, 1 2pt; Tom Lydon 1-4, 1 2pt, 1f; Oisín Cronin 1-1, Colm McHale 1-0, Josh Carey 0-1, Paul Gilmore & Cathal Keaveney (1f) 0-1 each

Team: Conor Meaney; Rio Mortimer, Paul Gilmore, Eoin McGreal; Hugh O’Loughlin, John MacMonagle, Colm McHale; Oliver Armstrong, Séamus Howard; Oisín Cronin, Cathal Keaveney, Diarmuid Duffy; Josh Carey, Niall Hurley, Tom Lydon. Subs: Colm Lynch for McGreal (h-t); Darragh Beirne for Carey (36); Luke Feeney for Howard (45); Senan Guilfoyle for Keaveney (50)

LEITRIM

Scorers: Jack Kelly 0-3, 1f; Ben Guckian 0-2 1 2pt; Ruairi O’Rourke, Darren Cox & Tom Plunkett 0-1

Team: Brian Cull; Oran Foley, Éanna McNamara, Oscar Reynolds; Jack Rowley, Ben Guckian, Bailey McBride; Jack Foley, Liam Chandler; Dara Greenan, Mattie Murphy, Ruairi O’Rourke; Darren Cox, Tom Plunkett, Jack Kelly. Subs: Michael McBrien for Plunkett (49); Adam Gethins for Guckian (52); Dessie Wisley for Reynolds (57)

Referee: Aaron Clogher (Roscommon)