Allianz Football League Division 1 – Mayo 0-11 Cork 0-10

Mayo defeated Cork by 0-11 to 0-10 in the Allianz Football League Division 1 Round 7 on Sunday in Pairc Ui Chaoimh.

Cork suffer defeat as O’Connor kicks Mayo into semis

Mayo 0-11 Cork 0-10

Report from Breakingnews.ie

Two late pointed sideline kicks from corner-forward Cillian O’Connor were the pivotal scores as Mayo squeezed into the semi-finals of the Allianz Football League Division 1 with victory over Cork at Páirc Uí Chaoimh. Despite scoring just once in the opening 25 minutes, Mayo improved hugely in the second half, and the strong finish was pleasing for manager James Horan, especially as it looked like they might be relegated when they trailed in the second half.

“We didn’t play well but we stuck at it and kept plugging away and eventually snuck over the line in the end so we’re delighted with that,” he said. “It’s exciting, you could hear from the crowd that there was an extra pinch of spice in how they were reacting. We just kept trying to do the right thing, it was hard to play football today but I’m just delighted with how the guys kept going,

With the strong wind behind them, Cork impressed for most of the first half, once they got going after Kevin McLoughlin’s second-minute opener for the visitors. A free from the 45 by Daniel Goulding in the 18th minute put Cork 0-5 to 0-1 in front, Michael Shields outstanding at corner-back in a defence whose job was made easier by the ineffectiveness of the Mayo attack. Too often, scoring chances were passed up in favour of passes sideways or backwards, with the wind a factor in the decision-making, and further pointed frees from Mark Collins and Goulding extended Cork’s advantage to six points by the 24-minute mark. With wing-forward Andrew O’Sullivan dropping deep, Cork were continuing to frustrate the Mayo attack, but after McLoughlin and Paudie Kissane exchanged points, the Connacht side found an extra gear.

In the last six minutes of the half, they outscored their hosts by three points to nil, with Michael Conroy, Aidan O’Shea and Alan Freeman – who should have goaled – all on target to leave three points, 0-8 to 0-5, between the teams at half-time. Cork would score just two points in the second half, though, Fintan Goold responding after Donal Vaughan opened the scoring after half-time, and then Goulding putting them ahead at 0-10 to 0-9 following points from Mayo’s Aidan O’Shea and O’Connor.

Overall the Cork forward division was labouring, however, and O’Connor tied matters with a huge sidelinekcik from the left and on 60 minutes and then repeating the trick from the right four minutes late. Cork tried to salvage something, but late pressure failed to yield further scores, leaving selector Ronan McCarthy lamenting the failure to keep the quest for a fourth consecutive title alive. “We had our destiny in our own hands and we failed to take advantage of that, that was very disappointing,” he said.

CORK: K O’Halloran; J McLoughlin, J O’Sullivan, M Shields; P Kissane (0-1), N O’Leary, T Clancy; A Walsh (0-1), G Canty; A O’Sullivan, F Goold (0-3), M Collins (0-1f); D Goulding (0-4, 0-3f), B O’Driscoll, P Kerrigan.

Subs: J Loughrey for O’Leary (28-half-time, blood), P O’Neill for A O’Sullivan (52), Loughrey for McLoughlin (53), B Shanahan for O’Leary (65-67, blood), L Shorten for Kerrigan (67), D Crowley for O’Driscoll (67).

MAYO: D Clarke; L Keegan, K Keane, G Cafferkey; S McHale, D Vaughan (0-1), C Boyle; J Gibbons, S O’Shea; K McLoughlin (0-4, 0-2f), A O’Shea (0-1), C Carolan; C O’Connor (0-3, 0-2 sideline, 0-1f), A Freeman (0-1), M Conroy (0-1).

Subs: E Varley for Conroy (42), R Feeney for Carolan (47), J Doherty for Freeman (58), D Coen for Varley (59-61, blood), C Barrett for McHale (63).

Referee: M Deegan (Laois)

Cork 0-10 Mayo 0-11

Round-up from the GAA.ie web site

Mayo produced an excellent performance and an impressive late comeback on Leeside to ease any relegation fears and beat reigning champions Cork to the final semi-final spot in the Allianz Football League. Cillian O’Connor held his nerve to kick the two brilliant late frees in tough conditions at Páirc Uí Chaoimh which effectively ended the Rebels’ three-year reign in the Allianz League and sent James Horan’s side into a semi-final meeting with Dublin at Croke Park next Sunday. However, the Rebels will rue a number of missed opportunities, with Aidan Walsh and Daniel Goulding missing a string of chances from frees in a tense end to the game.

Playing with the elements – a strong breeze and driving rain – in the first half, Cork raced into a 0-7 to 0-1 lead at one stage, but Mayo fought back to trail by a far more manageable 0-8 to 0-5 at the break. Kevin McLoughlin opened the scoring for Mayo, but Cork hit back with a string of seven unanswered points to take command of the game. Goulding hit three, Fintan Goold added two, while Mark Collins and Aidan Walsh also got on the scoresheet for the hosts.

McLoughlin made it 0-7 to 0-2 in the 27th minute with his second of the game, before Paudie Kissane re-established Cork’s six-point advantage with a fine score from play. However, the Westerners finished the half strongly with points from Michael Conroy, Aidan O’Shea and Alan Freeman. Donal Vaughan opened the second half scoring for Mayo, before the Westerners hit three points without reply to draw level in the 53rd minute. Cillian O’Connor started that purple patch before McLoughlin leveled matters with his fourth of the game at the start of the final quarter.

Cork reclaimed the lead when Goulding nailed a free into the breeze, but it was O’Connor who won the battle of the free-takers when he landed two superb frees in the closing stages to nudge the Westerners back into the lead with time running out. Cork had their chances to sneak a draw and with it edge Mayo out of the last semi-final spot, but they failed to take them and relinquished a title they held for three years running.

Allianz Football League Round 7

Cork v Mayo

Sunday, April 7th

3pm @ Páirc Uí Chaoimh

Admission: €13 (adults), €10 (Students/OAPS), U16s FREE!!

Don’t miss Cork’s last home game this season!! It’s also a must-win game for both Cork and Mayo if they are to qualify for the Allianz League Semi-Finals, so a mouth-watering contest is in store! And with U16s free, it’s an ideal family outing too. We continue our hugely popular series of half-time mini-games with Adrigole, Ballydesmond and Inniscarra taking to the field to display their skills on the day.

Juvenile groups are welcome – just contact administrator.cork@gaa.ie by 5pm on Friday to register your group.

Fixture Details

07.04.2013 (Sun)

Allianz Football League Roinn 1 Round 7

Páirc Uí Chaoimh 15:00

Corcaigh v Maigh Eo

Referee: Maurice Deegan (Laois)

Match Coverage

Deferred coverage of this game will be shown on TG4

Team News

CORK (SF v Mayo): K O’Halloran; J McLoughlin, J O’Sullivan, M Shields; P Kissane, N O’Leary, T Clancy; A Walsh, G Canty; M Collins, F Goold, A O’Sullivan; D Goulding, B O’Driscoll, P Kerrigan.

Subs: D Hanrahan, E O’Mahony, B Shanahan, C O’Driscoll, D O’Connor, J Fitzpatrick, P O’Neill, L Shorten, D Crowley, D Goold, J Loughrey