The Mayo League warmed up for their upcoming Oscar Traynor Trophy meeting with the Wexford League on Sunday afternoon with a 4-2 loss to Sligo Rovers in a friendly game last Saturday. Brendan Kenny's outfit trailed 3-0 early on before Colm Nevin slotted home a penalty and Phil Keegan scored the last goal of the game in an encouraging performance for Kenny against the League of Ireland outfit.
Mayo started a strong side with Gary Cunningham between the posts with a defence that included Cillian McGlade, Joe Lawless, and Ger Boyle in front of him. The Mayo midfield saw Chris Maughan, Colm Nevin, Phil Keegan, and Jamie Cawley line up together, and in attack JP O'Gorman and Jason Hunt got some time into their legs. Mayo booked their place in the knock-out stages of the competition with a 3-2 win on the road to the Galway League back in November, with Brendan Lavelle and Paul Lawless scoring the vital goals in the final 15 minutes to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 win. That was a must win game after Mayo lost to Roscommon on penalties in the opening round of the competition, and Kenny will be hoping that they show the same spirit on Sunday in Ferrycarrig Park as they did that day in Eamonn Deacy Park. If the Mayo League win this one, they will face the winners of the meeting between the Carlow League and the Cavan-Monaghan League in the last eight of the competition.
