Powerful Cork brush past poor Mayo resistance
Goulding puts gloss on Rebels' march to glory
Paudie Kissane of Cork is crowded out by Mayo duo Aidan O'Shea and Trevor Mortimer during yesterday's NFL Division 1 Final at Croke Park. PAUL MOHAN / SPORTSFILE
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NO pitch invasions and definitely no need for Plan B in a subdued Croke Park as Cork took custody of the Division 1 title without ever having to extend themselves anywhere close to the limit of the extensive range of talents.
The official attendance was 27,005, but it was well down on that at the start of this game as many of the Armagh-Down contingent didn't even stay on for the opening minutes. Maybe they had a premonition of what was to come, although not even the most pessimistic observer could have foreseen the huge chasm between efficient Cork and empty Mayo.
This was a shocking performance by Mayo who must now be wondering if they would have been better off had they been edged out by Dublin for a place in the final. That way, they would have signed out of the League with some positives as opposed to dealing with the psychological backwash of a comprehensive defeat.
Among many worrying aspects for Mayo is the reality that Cork didn't have to do anything special to win the Division 1 title for the first time since 1999. All it required was to settle into a solid rhythm early on, build up a four-point half-time lead, quell Mayo's mini-rebellion early in the second half and then cruise quietly to the easiest of victories.
Cork outscored Mayo by 1-8 to 0-2 between the 42nd and 63rd minutes and while Andy Moran, Alan Dillon and Seamus O'Shea countered with late points, they were no more than tiny ambushes in a war that had long since been lost.
Mayo's problems started at midfield where Alan O'Connor and Aidan Walsh overpowered Tom Parsons and Seamus O'Shea in the first half and while Ronan McGarrity's arrival for the second half brought about some improvement, it wasn't anything like enough to control Cork's highly-effective duo.
With midfield building a solid Cork platform right from the off, pressure points built up all over the Mayo defence, especially at centre-back where Trevor Howley couldn't cope with Donncha O'Connor's consistent enterprise.
O'Connor kicked five points (three from open play) in the first half and was also a inventive creator for his colleagues as Cork's coherent game-plan set the agenda. Daniel Goulding and Ciaran Sheehan were eager accomplices as Cork set about taking control.
power
Given Cork's all-round power, Mayo needed to make every chance count but instead they returned into the all too familiar territory associated with previous bad experiences in major finals at Croke Park. They kicked four wides in the first 11 minutes while some other attempts for points lobbed gently into the hands of Cork goalkeeper, Patrick O'Shea.
The lack of conviction was in marked contrast to the positive energy Mayo brought to the group games where they won six of seven, while racking up some impressive scoring returns. Luck wasn't running Mayo's way either as full-forward Aidan O'Shea discovered in the 17th minute when his flicked effort cannoned back off the crossbar.
A goal might have provided Mayo with some degree of stability but instead they had to cope with ongoing frustration as Cork forged into a 0-6 to 0-1 lead after 20 minutes. Mayo improved somewhat from then to half-time but were still four points adrift (0-9 to 0-5) at the interval.
None of Mayo's starting six attackers scored from play until Conor Mortimer pointed in the 32nd minute and with the half-forward line struggling badly against Paudie Kissane, Michael Shields and Noel O'Leary, the signs were ominous at half-time.
Mayo badly needed a bright start to the second half and it came in the form of two early points from Conor Mortimer but far from inspiring them towards the heights required to ask serious questions of their rivals, it merely spurred Cork into raising their game.
They scored the next four points to lead 0-13 to 0-7 after 55 minutes, by which stage all that remained in doubt was the winning margin. There was very little drive in Mayo's game and as things went from bad to worse to awful, they were hit for a goal on the hour mark when Goulding beat David Clarke from close in.
John O'Mahony replaced four forwards before the end on a day when only Conor Mortimer and Aidan O'Shea made any real impression in the Mayo attack. Conor Counihan emptied his bench too but was in the happy position of doing so from a position of real strength as opposed to O'Mahony who was staring at gaps all over the field.
So how good are Cork? They certainly have plenty of options as they head into a championship for which they have been installed as favourites and now the big challenge facing Counihan is to get the balance right. Several big names were absent yesterday, including Alan Quirke, Graham Canty, Anthony Lynch, John Miskella, Eoin Cadogan and Pearse O'Neill, yet Cork were still in a totally different class to Mayo.
That will be extremely worrying for O'Mahony as he looks ahead to a championship opener against a Sligo side that turned in a fine display when winning the Division 3 title on Saturday evening. Of course, Mayo tend to be a different side back home in Connacht and, in fairness to them, they are capable of a whole lot more than they showed yesterday.
They scored just six points from open play with two coming from midfielder Seamus O'Shea, while Cork kicked 1-14 from play in one of those expansive displays they do so well when the mood takes them.
They always looked to have a whole more left in the tank whereas Mayo were flat out from the start without actually getting anywhere. Truly an awful day for Mayo, while Cork lived up to their pre-season rating as League favourites and will now press on with the same tag for the championship.
Scorers -- Cork: D Goulding 1-5 (0-1f), D O'Connor 0-5 (2f), C Sheehan 0-2, P Kerrigan, P Kelly, A O'Connor, A Walsh, N O'Leary 0-1 each. Mayo: C Mortimer 0-6 (3f), A Dillon 0-3 (3f), S O'Shea 0-2, A Moran 0-1.
Cork -- P O'Shea 7; E Cotter 7, J O'Sullivan 7, R Carey 7; P Kissane 7, M Shields 7, N O'Leary 8; A O'Connor 8, A Walsh 8; F Goold 6, D O'Connor 9, P Kelly 7; D Goulding 9, C Sheehan 7, P Kerrigan 6. Subs: N Murphy 6 for Goold (59 mins), C O'Neill for O'Connor (66), D Kavanagh for Walsh (66), J Hayes for Goulding (69), G Spillane for Shields (69).
Mayo -- D Clarke 6; C Barrett 6, G Cafferkey 6, L O'Malley 5; D Vaughan 5, T Howley 5, K McLoughlin 7; T Parsons 5, S O'Shea 5; A Moran 5, A Dillon 6, T Mortimer 5; C Mortimer 7, A O'Shea 6, M Ronaldson 5. Subs: R McGarrity 6 for Ronaldson (ht), A Kilcoyne 5 for T Mortimer (51), A Freeman 5 for Parsons (63), P Harte for A O'Shea (68), B Moran for C Mortimer (68).
Ref -- P Hughes (Armagh).
- Martin Breheny
Irish Independent
