MAYO minor manager Enda Gilvarry beamed with pride after watching his young charges end a wait of almost thirty years as Mayo gloriously claimed the Tom Markham Cup against Tyrone on Sunday.
It wasn’t that easy however as Mayo had to live on their nerves in the final frenetic minutes. Tyrone’s late goal almost rescued the final for the Northern side but Mayo clung on having lead at one stage by eight points.
Gilvarry pointed out that it was Tyrone’s tenacity rather than a Mayo collapse that left the game in the balance until the final whistle.
“I would credit to Tyrone for coming back. Don’t forget that for most of that game Tyrone were dominant. For most of the first half Tyrone were dominant but we were stuttering and they were the more fluent team. We got a run of scores and then again late on we got a run of scores that gave us the cushion. Tyrone had come back to within three but we managed to get back to six.”
Five years ago Mayo famously surrendered a similar lead in an All-Ireland minor decider to Tyrone but Gilvarry said that was in the minds of himself or the players in the second half.
“I’m not sure can you read into what happened today and what happened five years ago, or talk about what didn’t happen five years ago and didn’t happen today. Every bunch of young men, they all have their own unique style, and unique characters. All I can speak about is this year. This year the seniors have been a brilliant role model to follow in the way they have played and I think the minors have also.”
He credited referee Conor Lane for allowing play the advantage which led to Mayo’s second goal.
“Whoever gave him (Lane ) the inspiration I’d like to thank him. It all helps. Certainly I think the referee had a good game and you know both sides fouled a little bit but he let the game flow as much as he could.”
A scoring spurt just after the interval helped Mayo gain a foothold in the game and it is something that they have managed to do well all season long according to Gilvarry.
“All year we have started well in the second half and got a run of scores. When we’ve got one score we’ve tended to get two or three. “
Despite the negative press surrounding the Tyrone minors going into the game Gilvarry was full of praise for the perennial challengers.
“I’ve seen them in both the semi-final and I’ve seen them today and I thought they were fantastic in the way they went about their game. I thought they were very well drilled, very well coached and I thought they showed great heart. Many minor teams would have given up the ghost at eight points down ten minutes into the second half but Tyrone certainly did not do that.”
