Galway continued their flying start to the National League as they cruised to their biggest victory over their neighbours in over forty years at Hastings Insurance MacHale Park in Castlebar on Sunday afternoon.
Mayo were no match for last year's All-Ireland finalists with Shane Walsh delivering a man of the match performance and shooting nine points, including four two-pointers as he made the most of the 40m arc rule enhancement.
His colleague in the Galway attack, Cillian Ó’Curraoin, did likewise as he landed three two-point frees that allowed the Tribesmen to keep Mayo at a safe distance all the way to the finish line in front of 12,291 spectators.
All through a match that really got away from Mayo in the second half - they were outscored by 0-18 to 0-07 after the interval - Galway played the game on their terms and seemed much better suited to some of the new rule enhancements, especially when it came to long-range shooting.Kevin McStay’s team, in contrast, struggled to get to grips with both their opponents and some of the changes as they managed just one two-pointer for the second game in a row.
The likes of Jack Coyne, Jordan Flynn, Aidan O’Shea and Tommy Conroy were again conspicuous by their absence.
Padraic Joyce was understandably pleased with Galway’s display afterwards, especially their long-range shooting as they racked up seven two-pointers in total, two of which resulted from Mayo being penalised for not having three defenders in their own half.
Mayo’s second half collapse seemed highly unlikely when they went in at half-time ahead by 0-09 to 0-08, having twice recovered from four-point deficits.
Seán Morahan marked his first competitive league start with an early score, but a '45' from Conor Gleeson and a Paul Conroy effort edged Galway ahead for the first time.
Conor Reid then levelled for Mayo, but Galway responded with a string of points from Sean Kelly, Shane Walsh and Dylan McHugh to ease back in front.
Kelly then missed a clear goal chance as his shot was saved by Colm Reape, but Paul Conroy did extend Galway's lead with his second white flag.
Mayo stayed in touch with a point from Frank Irwin, but this was cancelled out by a Cillian Ó’Curraoin free as Galway continued to dictate the tempo.But Mayo rallied again with Paul Towey and Conor Reid both on target before Towey raised the first orange flag of the afternoon to level the game at 0-07 apiece.
Donnacha McHugh nudged Mayo ahead again before Sean Kelly replied at the other end, but Towey clipped another neat effort just before half-time to send Kevin McStay’s charges in with a narrow advantage.
The second half was a very different story.
Shane Walsh quickly pushed Galway ahead with a long-range two-pointer and Ó’Curraoin also raised a white flag before his two-point free extended Galway's advantage. Davitt Neary responded for Mayo, but the irrepressible Walsh scored another long-range two-pointer to leave the visitors ahead by 0-15 to 0-10.
Walsh repeated the feat in the 49th minute to leave seven points between the sides and effectively wrapping up the win as Mayo struggled to make any inroads on the deficit.
Galway added nine more points before the end, including two two-pointers from Ó’Curraoin and another from Walsh to seal their biggest win over their rivals since 1983.
A disappointing day for Mayo was compounded when they finished the game with 14 men after Stephen Coen was dismissed after being booked for the second time.
KEY: tp - two-point score; tpf - two-point free; tpm - two-point mark
Mayo: C Reape; S Callinan, R Brickenden, E Hession; S Coen, D McBrien, S Morahan (0-01); D McHugh (0-01), M Ruane; C Reid (0-02), F Boland, D Neary (0-03); P Towey (0-05, 1tp), F Irwin (0-01), R O’Donoghue (0-03, 3f).
Subs: D MacHale for Boland (44); D O’Connor for Reid (47); E McLaughlin for Ruane (53); B Tuohy for O’Connor (56, inj); C McHale for Irwin (61).
Galway: C Gleeson (0-01, '45); J McGrath, S Fitzgerald, D O'Flaherty; D McHugh (0-01), L Silke, S Kelly (0-02), P Conroy (0-03), C McDaid; J Maher, F Ó’Laoí, C Darcy; C Ó’Curraoin (0-8, 1f, 2tp, 2tpf); S Walsh (0-09, 2tp, 2tpf) , S O’Neill.
Subs: J Glynn for Kelly (47); R Finnerty (0-02, 2fs) for O’Neill (48); C Sweeney for McDaid (51); J Heaney for Ó Laoi (61); C Costello for Walsh (66).
Ref: N Mooney (Cavan)
