Tyrone wall keeps Mayo frustrated
Aidan O'Shea, Mayo, in action against Sean Cavanagh, Tyrone. Allianz Football League, Division 1, Round 2, Mayo v Tyrone, Elverys MacHale Park, Castlebar, Co. Mayo
Some old failings came back to haunt Mayo yesterday as they miserably failed to pick a way through an airtight Tyrone defence in their 1-11 to 1-7 defeat at MacHale Park.
The home side kicked 15 wides – one for each man Tyrone frequently scrambled behind the ball as Mayo attacked – and as time ticked away, Mayo’s frustration grew, their shot selection got more desperate and the Tyrone counter-attack profited.
Given Tyrone’s domination, it was somewhat of a surprise that only two points separated the sides at the 50-minute mark. Tyrone had led by 0-8 to 0-4 at half-time as goalkeeper Niall Morgan kicked two long-range frees, while Darren McCurry and the impressive Tiernan McCann also helped the Red Hard finish the half strongly.
But Aidan O’Shea’s black card for a clash with Morgan was quickly followed by a goal from substitute Cillian O’Connor, which revived the 9,556-strong home crowd.
But despite the fillip, Mayo still failed miserably to string any sort of cohesive play together.