Allianz Football League round one: Division Two North: Mayo 2-20 Down 1-11
Down’s first game up in Division 2 saw them comfortably outplayed away to Mayo in Castlebar.
Last year’s All-Ireland finalists were in control for most of the game and the game was over as a contest not long after half-time when their second goal pushed them into a 2-12 to 0-6 lead.
In one way it was two teams going in opposite directions – Mayo relegated from Division 1 last year and Down promoted from Division 3.
But on the basis of what we saw on Saturday, Mayo look far more likely to be in the mix for promotion to Division 1.
“I felt, at times, we just didn’t get to the intensity of the game,” said Down manager Paddy Tally afterwards. “At times we made it very easy for Mayo.
“The fact we had no real opportunities to warm up or to get games under our belt, there is a slightly unknown factor to us.
''To be honest, it was always going to be a wee bit of fun coming here today to see where the boys at.
''We came out of Division 3 last year coming into Division 2 meeting a team like Mayo straight away.
“It’s a bit freaky, a team like Mayo being in Division 2. So naturally there would be a bit of a gap in experience, and quality.
''And the fact that they’ve been around the block for a lot more. But that’s not an excuse for some of our play that wasn’t particularly good,” added Tally.
Mayo’s high press had Down struggling to get out of their half at times and Mayo had considerable joy off the Down kick-out too.
That said, the sides traded scores early on and were level at 0-4 apiece after 13 minutes.
Corey Quinn kicked two of those scores and was giving Young Footballer of the Year Oisin Mullin plenty to think about when Down got ball inside, where Mayo had left plenty of room.
However, one minute after James Guinness had levelled the scores, Mayo struck their first goal.
Tommy Conroy broke past the Down cover with pace and power, before finishing emphatically, low under Rory Burns.
Down would only score once more in the half as Mayo eased clear, taking in a 1-10 to 0-6 half-time lead.
The game was all over bar the shouting when Mayo got their second goal six minutes after the restart. In a remarkably similar fashion to their first goal, Conroy’s pace and power was key and he then squared to Ryan O’Donoghue who finished decisively.
Down kept plugging away even when the result was beyond doubt and substitute Stephen McConville struck a consolation goal on 59 minutes, crashing a powerful shot to the roof of Rob Hennelly’s net.
Barry O’Hagan arguably kicked the point of the day, selling dummies to both Paddy Durcan and Diarmuid O’Connor before firing over.
Mayo manager James Horan was very happy with his side’s first outing since the All-Ireland final defeat to Dublin at Christmas.
“Six or seven sessions is all we’ve had so we were very unsure because we just didn’t know where we would be. The guys, you could see it there, did a huge amount of work individually over the winter. They were in very good shape and quickly got up to speed.
“How we tried to play was most pleasing. We tried to tweak a few bits here and here and a lot of those were good.
''We got sloppy towards the end but overall we were very happy with today.”
Mayo: R Hennelly; E Hession, O Mullin (0-1), L Keegan; M Plunkett (0-1), P Durcan, R Brickenden; M Ruane (0-2), D O’Connor (0-1,f); F McDonagh (0-1), K McLoughlin, J Flynn (0-1); T Conroy (1-3), C O’Connor (0-8, 7fs, 1 ‘45), R O’Donoghue (1-1).
Subs used: E McLaughlin (0-1) for Brickenden, B Walsh for Flynn (both h/t); C Loftus for McDonagh (47); S Coen for McLoughlin, A Orme for O’Donoghue (both 56), J McCormack for D O’Connor (62), C Boyle for Keegan (67).
Down: R Burns; G Collins, G McGovern, P Murdock; K McKernan, P Laverty, J Flynn; R McEvoy, C Mooney; J Guinness (0-1), C Poland, C Doherty; D Guinness (0-1), C Quinn (0-2, 1 mark), B O’Hagan (0-5, 4fs).
Subs used: L Kerr (0-1) for Doherty (35); O McCabe for Poland (40); D O’Hagan for McKernan (43); P Devlin (0-1) for McKernan, L Middleton for Quinn, S McConville (1-0) for McEvoy (all 50); B McArdle for Murdock (54)
Referee: Fergal Kelly (Longford).
