NFL Mayo 0-14 Cork 0-11: With each game in this league, the significance of what happened to Mayo in last September's All-Ireland final fades. Yesterday, they met the blood-red shirts of Cork on a fine day in Ballina and continued in what has been an admirably smooth progression through the heavy pastures of spring football. Keith Duggan reports from Ballina
Thirteen points from play and three brave saves from their young goalkeeper David Clarke were enough to repel another spirited Cork away performance. Mayo manager John Maughan was probably not alone among local folklorists in marking down the day as important because Cork have had something of a hoodoo over the western team in recent times.
"I think you have to go back 16 years since we beat them in the league," he remarked afterwards.
"So I am very happy with the result and general effort. But some of our shot selection was terrible and what was a game that we had controlled ended up being very tight and Cork might have got in for a levelling goal at the end, which is troubling. Because this league is so tight that you really have to win your home games."
It became clear yesterday that Cork are going to force all opponents they visit to earn their points. They carried the same attitude into this match as served them very well in Mullingar a fortnight ago.
Poor shooting hindered them. Brendan Jer O'Sullivan had a scoreless afternoon at full forward, the chief disappointment among a front three that at times glimmered with promise but failed to deliver. Conor McCarthy alone had his shooting boots on, with Noel O'Leary and the midfield pairing of Nicholas Murphy and Derek Kavanagh initiating a series of Cork attacks.
But it might have been a much happier afternoon for them but for the steadiness of Clarke, who stopped three goal shots from Brendan Jer O'Sullivan and Kevin O'Sullivan, who was a touch casual in his finish after a sweet Cork move.
As Maughan conceded, Clarke is in "an unusual situation", featuring as the substitute goalkeeper with All-Ireland finalists Ballina while regarded as a highly promising 22-year-old prospect by the county manager. Yesterday, he completely vindicated Maughan's faith. "It is not easy for him and I complimented him immediately after the game. David Clarke knows what I think of him. In terms of his club, that is something I have no idea about or involvement in."
With old hands David Heaney and Gary Mullins, a late replacement for Keith Higgins, in tight form, the platform was there for Mayo.
James Gill opened with two splendid early points and then settled in for an afternoon of quiet, hard grafting. John Prenty was full of bright touches and kicked two first-half points while Conor Mortimer lit up the old ground at the business end of a game with two big second-half points.
Ciaran McDonald also clipped three points, the second a work of art from out near the left touchline which rightly drew gasps from the home theatre, whose critics now seem finally devoted to the Crossmolina enigma.
Cork manager Billy Morgan moved Sean Levis off McDonald after 44 minutes, with Mayo 0-9 to 0-6, facilitating the welcome return of Anthony Lynch.
However, McDonald continued to operate in his own untroubled way. The one notable curiosity of his game was his decision not to track back on his markers. With Cork pressing for a goal, Lynch stood all alone on the edge of the Cork square but his team-mates could not work the ball to him. Forgetting his markers is, however, a habit that McDonald would want to kill before it costs him in a game of true consequence.
A simple Mortimer free after 58 minutes left Mayo ahead 0-13 to 0-7. It ought to have been the signal for them to cut loose. Certainly, the form of Aidan Kilcoyne, who fired four points from play, and the energetic Alan Dillon suggested the home team were just warming to the task. Instead they waited for the end whistle and Cork stubbornly set about reducing the lead.
Cork have a look about them that suggests they are going to give one or two big teams nightmares this summer. They were inconsistent yesterday but stuck to the task. With Brendan Jer the fulcrum of the attack, they are utterly at odds to the Colin Corkery era. The Nemo man stood out like the Trump tower, a traditional and often shining go-to man. O'Sullivan is so busy and unpredictable that he sometimes ends up behind the player trying to seek him out for a pass.
But with the likes of John Hayes, Kevin O'Sullivan and James Masters - who did not get a run here - he will pick plenty of pockets this year.
Two points late on by Micheál Ó Croinín left Cork looking for a dramatic goal but Mayo weren't about to permit any such reprieves. Cork headed south heartened, perhaps, but still uncomfortably close to the wrong end of the division. Mayo cruise on, at the perfect altitude for now.
MAYO: D Clarke; L O'Malley, D Heaney, G Mullins; P Kelly, J Nallen, P Gardiner; M Moyles, BJ Padden; J Gill (0-2), C McDonald (0-3), A Kilcoyne (0-4); C Mortimer (0-3, one free), A Dillon, J Prenty (0-2). Subs: Andy Moran for J Prenty (62 mins), D Munnelly for M Moyles (63 mins), Alan Moran for BJ Padden (70 mins, yellow card).
CORK: K O'Dwyer; N Geary, M Cronin, G Murphy; N O'Leary, S Levis, E Sexton (0-1); N Murphy, D Kavanagh; C O'Riordan, C McCarthy (0-4), K MacMahon; J Hayes (0-1), BJ O'Sullivan, K O'Sullivan (0-3). Subs: A Cronin for C O'Riordan (half-time), A Lynch for S Levis (44 mins), M Ó Croinín (0-2, one 45) for K MacMahon (55 mins).
YELLOW CARDS: Mayo: BJ Padden (70 mins) replaced by Alan Moran. Cork: None.
Referee: S McCormack (Meath).
