All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Quarter-Final – Mayo 1-19 Cork 2-15

Mayo defeated Cork by 1-19 to 2-15 in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Quarter-Final on Sunday August 3rd at Croke Park.

All-Ireland SFC: Mayo edge Cork in thriller

ALL-IRELAND SFC QUARTER-FINAL: MAYO 1-19 CORK 2-15

Report from GAA.ie

Mayo will face Kerry in the All-Ireland semi-final on August 24 after overcoming Cork by a single point following a thrilling conclusion to their quarter-final at Croke Park on Sunday.

A relatively low-key first half ended with the sides level on 0-8 apiece, and a totally dominant display from Mayo in the third quarter left them 0-16 to 0-9 ahead and seemingly cruising towards victory. But drama reigned in the final 10 minutes. Substitute Donncha O’Connor dragged Cork back into the game with a haul of 1-3, and his 62nd minute goal levelled the game. Mayo responded very well though, with Cillian O’Connor landing a crucial free to restore the lead before Aidan O’Shea looked to have settled the contest with a brilliantly taken individual goal in front of Hill 16.

However, Cork ensured a thrilling conclusion when Brian Hurley responded to the O’Shea goal by rattling the Mayo net mere seconds later. That left Mayo just one ahead again, but the Connacht champions showed all their experience and class to surge clear once more thanks to points from marauding half-back duo Donal Vaughan and Lee Keegan. Cork weren’t done though, and with seconds left on the clock, Colm O’Neill could have gone for what would have been a match-winning goal with a close range free. He opted to kick it over the bar though, and the whistle blew on Robert Hennelly’s kick-out to confirm Mayo’s advancement to a fourth All-Ireland semi-final in a row.

A tight, edgy first half came to an end with the two sides tied on 0-8 apiece. They were level seven times in the first half, and the furthest either side got ahead of the other was when Cork led 0-5 to 0-2 at the end of the first quarter. The sides traded the first four points, Jason Doherty and O’Connor on target for Mayo, with Hurley and Fintan Goold scoring for Cork. Then, three points in a row from the impressive Hurley had Cork three clear.

That prompted a Mayo surge, and they kicked four without reply to retake the lead. Midfielder Séamus O’Shea got two of them, with O’Connor hitting the other two, including a brilliant score from play with the outside of his boot. The other O’Connor point came from a free following a challenge from Tomás Clancy on Aidan O’Shea, for which the Clonakilty man was black-carded, being replaced by Damien Cahalane.

The sides traded the remaining scores of the half, with two scores from wily veteran Alan Dillon edging Mayo clear before Colm O’Neill struck his second point of the half to leave the sides on the same terms at the interval. Mayo dramatically turned up the heat on Cork after the restart, and they kicked eight out of the first nine scores of the second half to put themselves in a very dominant position going into the final quarter. Dillon was particularly key in this period, kicking two more points.

However, O’Connor made a huge impact after coming on for Mark Collins with 20 minutes to go, and he kicked three points in a row to leave Cork trailing by just three points with 10 minutes left, despite having been dominated by Mayo for most of the second half. He then took his goal chance brilliantly when it came, crashing the ball to the top right hand corner after being sent through following some slack Mayo defending.

O’Shea looked like he had given Mayo victory when he brilliantly rounded Ken O’Halloran and finished to the net after winning possession close to goal, but Hurley’s goal seconds after changed the complexion of things again dramatically. Mayo showed nerves of steel to edge three clear again though through Vaughan and Keegan, and O’Neill will surely regret his decision not to go for a goal with that free in injury-time.

***
Scorers for Mayo: C O’Connor 0-5 (3f), A Dillon 0-4, A O’Shea 1-0, S O’Shea 0-2, J Doherty 0-2, D Vaughan 0-2, A Moran 0-2, K McLoughlin 0-1, L Keegan 0-1

Scorers for Cork: B Hurley 1-4 (1f), D O’Connor 1-3 (2f), C O’Neill 0-5 (3f), F Goold 0-2, A Walsh 0-1 (1f)

CORK: Ken O’Halloran; James Loughrey, Eoin Cadogan, Noel Galvin; Michael Shields, Thomas Clancy, Brian O’Driscoll; Ian Maguire, Aidan Walsh; Paul Kerrigan, Mark Collins, Colm O’Driscoll; Colm O’Neill, Brian Hurley, Fintan Goold
Subs: D Cahalane for F Goold (Black Card, 19), Paddy Kelly for C O’Driscoll (47), Donncha O’Connor for Collins (50), John O’Rourke for B O’Driscoll (57), Daniel Goulding for Maguire (61), John Hayes for Walsh (70).

MAYO: Robert Hennelly; Chris Barrett, Ger Cafferkey, Keith Higgins; Lee Keegan, Colm Boyle, Donal Vaughan; Tom Cunniffe, Seamus O’Shea; Kevin McLoughlin, Aidan O’Shea, Jason Doherty; Cillian O’Connor, Andy Moran, Alan Dillon
Subs: Michael Conroy for McLoughlin (Temporary, 15-23), E Varley for Moran (47), Brendan Harrison for Barrett (57), A Freeman for O’Connor (65), Jason Gibbons for A O’Shea (69), Michael Conroy for Dillon (72).

Referee: Cormac Reilly (Meath)

Attendance: 37,886

Report: Arthur Sullivan

Ticket Information

Pricing information is as follows:
Adults €30
Juveniles €5 (only available in Cusack and Davin Stands)
Terrace – €20
Student/Senior Concession: €10 rebate on Cusack and Davin Stand tickets only

Club Pass:
​€10 Per Adult

Group Pass:
€3 per juvenile (16 or under),
1 adult free for every 10 juveniles
Additional adults at stand face value​

Team News

Team News: @OfficialCorkGAA have named their team for Sunday's All-Ireland quarter-final clash with @MayoGAA: http://t.co/0rgzrO3gLX #gaa

— The GAA (@officialgaa) July 31, 2014

CORK (SF v Mayo): Ken O’Halloran; James Loughrey, Eoin Cadogan, Noel Galvin; Michael Shields, Thomas Clancy, Brian O’Driscoll; Ian Maguire, Aidan Walsh; Paul Kerrigan, Mark Collins, Colm O’Driscoll; Colm O’Neill, Brian Hurley, Donal Óg Hodnett

Team News: @MayoGAA have announced their team for Sunday's All-Ireland quarter-final clash with @OfficialCorkGAA: http://t.co/WBNWsTtILa

— The GAA (@officialgaa) August 1, 2014

MAYO (SF v Cork): Robert Hennelly; Chris Barrett, Ger Cafferkey, Keith Higgins; Lee Keegan, Colm Boyle, Donal Vaughan; Barry Moran, Seamus O’Shea; Kevin McLoughlin, Aidan O’Shea, Jason Doherty; Cillian O’Connor, Andy Moran, Alan Dillon