Mayo enjoyed a 15-point win over New York at Gaelic Park in The Bronx on April 7.Creative Commons
Mayo have defeated New York by 15 points after running out comfortable 2-21 to 2-06 winners in Gaelic Park on Sunday evening, April 7.
A superb display from Mayo forward Ryan O'Donoghue, who finished with 1-13, proved crucial in a one-sided Connacht SFC quarter-final in the Bronx.
Second-half goals from Frank O'Reilly and Jamie Boyle gave the packed Gaelic Park crowd something to cheer about, but Mayo raised the last green flag of the afternoon.
New York held their own early on, controlling a large portion of possession in the opening quarter and denying Mayo any real space to attack.
Mayo, however, looked comfortable, keeping New York at arm's length around the middle of the field and denying any real scoring chances.
It was Mayo who opened the scoring after three minutes when O'Donoghue tapped over a simple free after a long period of New York possession broke down. An under-hit kick out from Joey Grace saw Paddy Durcan break through on goal, but the Mayo captain saw his effort crash off the inside of the post.
New York leveled matters three minutes later through the excellent Killian Butler, who fielded a mishit Joey Grace free and hooked a shot over the bar to the delight of the Gaelic Park crowd.
The Exiles remained honest in the opening quarter, controlling much of the possession and finding a lot of joy with direct balls into Butler. They could not add to their solitary point, however, with Mayo continuing to restrict them to speculative efforts from range.
Mayo regained the lead through O'Donoghue, who collected an Aidan O'Shea pass on the loop and curled over his first point from play.
O'Shea, playing in a record-setting 185th intercounty game for Mayo, extended the lead with a free moments later before another short-range O'Donoghue free pushed the lead out to three points after 15 minutes.
O'Donoghue curled over another effort from play to leave four points between the teams, which was quickly canceled out by Butler, who fielded a magnificent diagonal ball from Rob Wharton before pointing on the turn.
Love GAA? Share your local GAA and keep in touch with the community around the world on our Global Irish GAA group.
He almost repeated the trick seconds later, but saw his effort drift narrowly wide.
That seemed to kick Mayo into life, with O'Donoghue cutting inside for the first goal of the game after some excellent work from Eoghan McLaughlin.
Mayo - and O'Donoghue - didn't look back, putting the game out of New York's reach in a ruthless display of finishing.
The Westerners added six points before the break, with O'Donoghue kicking five more points to take his first tally to 1-09 and leave 12 points between the teams at the break.
O'Donoghue started the second half as he left off, drawing in a magnificent score, which was canceled out by an equally impressive effort from New York's Rob Wharton.
O'Donoghue (free) and Paddy Durcan tapped over simple points to extend Mayo's lead to 14 before Frank O'Reilly crashed home New York's first goal of the day after Butler fielded yet another diagonal ball.
Points from O'Donoghue, Darren McHale, and Fergal Boland canceled out that goal, but New York were in again moments later when captain Jamie Boyle collected a Liam Kearney pass and slammed to the net to raise a second green flag of the afternoon.
Again, however, Mayo canceled out that goal moments later with a three-pointer of their own after Paul Towey broke through the New York defense and was upended in the large square. Cillian O'Connor converted the penalty.
With the result beyond doubt, the game began to peter out, with Mayo missing a host of goal chances in the final 10 minutes.
There were plenty of positives for New York ahead of their Tailteann Cup campaign, notably the performance of Frank O'Reilly, who finished with 1-02, and Killian Butler.
The Exiles will head for Ireland in June for the Tailteann Cup, while Mayo prepare for a Connacht SFC semi-final date with Roscommon on April 21.