Bronx blitz gets Mayo's campaign off to a flyer with 21-point win over New York

Mayo 1-22 New York 0-4

Mayo’s Jason Doherty attempts to get past New York players (l-r) Daniel McKenna, Paddy Boyle and Robert Gorman. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

John Fallon

May 06 2019 02:30 AM

Mayo were ruthless in the Bronx as they outclassed New York to get their 2019 championship campaign off to a very impressive start in front of a crowd of over 6,000 at Gaelic Park.

New York never got a foothold while Mayo bossed matters throughout as James Horan's second spell in charge saw their championship off to a 21-point winning start.

Andy Moran of Mayo in action against Gerard McCartan of New York. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

They will now go through to face either Roscommon or Leitrim in the Connacht semi-final after a chastening experience for the Exiles. They came close to beating Leitrim a year ago but were left chasing shadows from early in the game.

Conditions were testing from the outset with rain from early morning making the artificial surface slippery and ball-handling difficult as the game kicked off with a great atmosphere being created by the crowd of over 6,000 who packed into Gaelic Park.

New York manager Justin O'Halloran had made it clear beforehand how important it was for them to make a strong start but they were chasing the game from the early stages.

Aidan O'Shea and championship debutant Matthew Ruane got on top in midfield for Mayo and with New York goalkeeper Vinny Cadden going long with kick-outs, the opening quarter was one-way traffic.

Kevin McLoughlin of Mayo in action against Paddy Boyle of New York. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

Mayo opened up a 0-6 to 0-0 lead by the end of the opening quarter, with New York managing just a single attack in that period which came to nothing.

Wing-backs James McCormack and Paddy Durcan showed their forwards how to do it with early points as Mayo made full use of wind advantage.

Evan Regan also found the range with a free to lead by 0-3 to 0-0 after eight minutes and the impact of that start demoralised New York.

Mayo made it clear they were going with a full-blown championship effort and were clearly as fired-up as they would be for any opposition and New York, without the benefit of a league campaign, struggled throughout.

The Breaffy pair of O'Shea and Ruane dominated midfield with ease as New York persisted with long kick-outs and the scores came quickly.

Advantage

James Carr became the second debutant to score when he made it 0-7 to 0-0 after 18 minutes and quick points from Jason Doherty and Lee Keegan pushed the advantage out to nine.

New York just could not get their hands on the ball and when they did manage to attack, they were easily dispossessed by a Mayo rearguard that always managed to double tackle.

Kevin McLoughlin added two points inside a minute with New York goalkeeper Cadden producing a stunning save to deny Jason Doherty.

But the points kept coming and the lead was out to 0-14 to 0-0 before Luke Kelly shot New York's first wide after 27 minutes.

But one of the biggest cheers of the day greeted the Exiles finally getting off the mark when Kelly found the range after being set up by New York native Shane Hogan, while Daniel McKenna quickly added a second score.

However, Mayo finished the half in style with Regan getting the opening goal but only after Cadden had produced another superb save to block the initial effort.

The one-way traffic continued after the restart with Mayo tacking on four points without reply in the third quarter and would have been further ahead was it not for some more wayward shooting. Luke Kelly finally responded with an excellent point for New York with their opening score of the half after 55 minutes.

Ciarán Treacy and James Carr hit back for Mayo before Kevin Finn landed a fine effort for a New York side who never gave up.

Mayo introduced Andy Moran for his 77th championship appearance in the closing stages, 15 years after making his debut here and becomes the only player to feature four times against New York.

They continued to tack on scores right to the end and will now stay on in America for several days in a training camp.

And while Horan will be the first to appreciate tougher tests lie ahead, he will be pleased with this ruthless start.

But they have huge room for improvement up front for despite 12 players scoring, they shot 18 wides against a porous defence.

Scorers - Mayo: E Regan 1-5 (4f); F Boland 0-4; J Doherty, J Carr, K McLoughlin 0-2 each; M Ruane, L Keegan, P Durcan, J McCormack, R Hennelly ('45), D Coen, M Plunkett 0-1 each. New York: L Kelly 0-2; D McKenna, K Finn 0-1 each.

Mayo - R Hennelly 7; C Boyle 7, B Harrison 8, K Higgins 7; P Durcan (c) 8, L Keegan 7, J McCormack 8; M Ruane 7, A O'Shea 8; F Boland 8, J Doherty 7, E Regan 9; KMcLoughlin 7, D Coen 7, J Carr 8. Subs: C Treacy 8 for Doherty (h-t), D Drake 7 for Higgins (43), M Plunkett 7 for Keegan (43), C Diskin 6 for Coen (54), S Coen 6 for Ruane (61), A Moran for Carr (65).

New York - V Cadden 7; M Creegan 6, G McCartan 6, R Gorman 5; P Boyle 6, M Naughton 5, M Queenan 6; C Compton 5, S Hurley 5; S Hogan 6, L Kelly 8, D McKenna 7; D Freeman 5, N Madine 7, P Hatzer 6. Subs: C Connolly 8 for Naughton (29), K Finn 7 for Hatzer (h-t), R Kerley 6 for Creegan (53), D McDermott 5 for McKenna (61), J Maughan 5 for Hogan (62), T Mathers for Freeman (70).

Ref - C Lane (Cork)