Mayo claimed their first Connacht minor title since 2019 with an impressive six point win over Galway in Hastings Insurance MacHale Park on Monday evening.
Sean Deane’s side led from pillar to post and were worthy winners and set up an All Ireland quarter-final clash with Kildare on Sunday in Tullamore.
Niall Hurley and Ronan Clarke led the way on the scoreboard for Mayo kicking nine points between them with Hurley landing five from play in an outstanding display.
Mayo led by four at the break thanks to a trio of points from Ronan Clarke and Niall Hurley, with Luke Feeney getting the other from a mark from close range.
Galway responded with a brace of points from Colm Costello frees and a Stephen Curley effort from play.
Hurley got Mayo’s first point of the evening on six minutes in, winning the ball on the stand side and cutting past a a number of Galway defers and slamming it over from the edge of the large rectangle.
Galway almost got in for a goal on nine minutes when Owen Morgan played the ball across the face of the Mayo goal to Séan Dunne, the Bearna man’s close range effort was well blocked by Jack MacMonagle and cleared away to safety.
Hurley doubled Mayo’s lead not long after with another nice score from play close in, before Costello registered Galway’s first of the day from a free.
Ronan Clarke got his first point of the evening from a free for Mayo on the quarter of an hour mark and less than a minute later Galway’s Stephen Curley raised his sides second white flag of the game.
Hurley got his third of the day not long after, breaking through the heart of the Galway defence before firing it over the bar, he could have played in Clarke for a goal chance but opted to go for the points.
Costello kept Galway in touch with his second point of the evening from a free on 19 minutes to leave just one between the sides.
Mayo should have rattled the back of the net when Dara Hurley broke thorough and hit a powerful effort, but it crashed back off the crossbar and away to safety.
Séan Deane’s men did tag on thee more points before the break through a brace of Clarke scores and Feeney’s mark to go in leading 0-7 to 0-4.
From the second half throw in Jack Keane won the ball and powered through to put Mayo five to the good and that was quickly followed by a David Dolan pointed free, with the Balla keeper making it third time lucky form long range placed balls after missing two in the first half.
Galway weren’t going away though and Costello landed another free, just before Cillian Trayers landed a huge point form downtown to leave four between the sides with 36 minutes gone.
Neither side managed to get a score for the next 13 minutes, with both sides hitting a few wides each and some stout Mayo defending keeping the backdoor locked as Galway probed for a goal chance.
Niall Hurley was the man to break the deadlock, snapping over an effort on the turn form close range on 49 minutes to register Mayo’s tenth point of the game and have them five to the good. Zac Collins stretched that lead out to six with seven minutes left on the clock with a good score on the run, not long after coming on as a sub.
Vinny Gill broke an 18 minute barren spell on the scoreboard for Galway with a long range effort off the outside of his boot with five minutes of normal time left, but it looked like it would be to little to late - but then a second point from centre-half back Cillian Trayers not long after put just four between the teams and gave his side something to fight for.
Mayo extinguished that hope fairly quickly with their two main scorers in chief Clarke and Hurley each kicking points, Hurley’s one in this run a particularly good effort.
Scores
Mayo: Niall Hurley (0-5 ), Ronan Clarke (0-4, 3f ), Luke Feeney (0-1, 1m ), David Dolan (0-1, 1f ) ,Jack Keane (0-1 ), Zac Collins (0-1 )
Galway: Colm Costello (0-3, 3f, ) Cillian Trayers (0-2 ), Vinny Gill (0-1 ), Stephen Curley (0-1 )
Mayo: David Dolan; Rio Mortimer, John MacMonagle, Lorcan Silke; Liam Maloney, Colm McHale, Paul Gilmore; Jack Keane, Luke Feeney; James Maheady, Dara Hurley, Diarmuid Duffy; Cathal Keavney, Ronan Clarke, Niall Hurley. Subs: Conor Kelly for Jack Keane, Dylan Gallagher for Dara Hurley, Zac Collins for James Maheady, Séan O’Dowd for Cathal Keaveney, John Finn for Liam Maloney
Galway: Kyle Gilmore; Adam Colleran, Tomás Farthing, Vinny Gill; Mark Mannion, Cillian Trayers, Ross Coen; Jack Lonergan, Shay McGlinchey; Séan Dunne, Colm Costello, Owen Morgan; Stephen Curley, Eanna Monaghan, Ryan Flaherty. Subs: Olan Kelly for Adam Colleran, Charlie Cox for Séan Dunne, Fionn O’Connor for Costello, James Summerville for Mark Mannion, Luke Carr for Stephen Curley
Ref: Barry Judge (Sligo )
