Late goals the difference. Killala 2-8 Mayo Gaels 0-8
It was a cold and frosty morning on Sunday 21st February as the Gaels headed to Killala or the 12 noon throw-in. Although the frost-coated trees provided a beautiful winter- scape setting, only 6 or 7 brave ‘die-hard’ fans made the journey.
With a few regulars missing from the panel, there was a chance for some of the younger players to impress the management. The Gaels started well with a point from Mally Byrne. Killala replied with a point before Danny Burke was pulled down in the penalty rea. Danny’s resultant penalty kick, however, went straight to the keeper who dealt with it comfortably.
Danny then made up for this miss over the next few minutes with two well taken points from free kicks. Killala responded with their 2nd point from play before a Mally Byrne free kick set up Joe Gilroy, who deftly popped the ball over his head for a point.
A few minutes later the Gaels were dealt a blow when Noel Quinn was sent off for a second yellow card offence. Killala then got their third point from a free kick just before the half time whistle blew.
With the Gaels winning by 0:04 points to 0:03 as the second half started, and the ‘die-hards’ shivering in the stand, it was always going to be tough to hold on with 14 players. Indeed, Killala made good use of the extra man and scored 3 unanswered points early on.
Mayo Gaels battled well with some great work being done by Sean Boyle and Niall Brett in midfield. Two separate attacks should have produced at least one goal but were put out for 45’s. Niall Brett stepped up and scored two splendid points from these 45’s. This brought the scores to 6 points each with about 15 minutes left.
It was then that Killala scored their first goal. A scramble in the Gael’s large parallelogram resulted in a fortuitous lobbing ball that just dipped under the bar. The extra man was telling now as Killala added two more points before Mally Byrne and Danny Burke (from a free) clawed them back with a point each. The last action of the game saw Paul Mannion lose the ball on his goal-line in a tussle with a Killala corner forward and it was tapped into the net.
The final score was Killala 2-08 Mayo Gaels 0-08
Mayo Gaels team: Paul Mannion, Martin Connor, Anthony Byrne, Jonathan Walsh, Allyn Brett, Adrian Heneghan, John Sloyan, Sean Boyle, Niall Brett, Keith Walsh, Mally Byrne, Noel Quinn, Danny Burke, Dermot Browne, Joe Gilroy. Subs: Mike O’Gara for John Sloyan, Noel Morris for Keith Walsh, Michael Hurst for Jonathan Walsh, Stephen Gibbons for Dermot Browne