Barry Moran put in a man of the match performance as Castlebar Mitchels secured the Connacht championship with a 2-10 to 0-11 victory over Corofin, but the Mayo midfielder was quick to praise fellow goalscorer Neil Douglas, whose wonder goal secured the victory at Tuam Stadium.
After a very evenly matched first half, the Mayo side managed to pull away in the second period, thanks to that Douglas goal, as the All-Ireland champions exited this year’s championship at the hands of the Castlebar side.
“We knew we were going to have a tough, tough game against Corofin, the reigning All-Ireland champions and we’re absolutely delighted we came out the right side of it,” Moran told RTÉ Sport after the game.
"We knew that we were going to have to play well so we were lucky enough that we were quick out of the blocks. [We] got a couple of good early scores and got our noses in front and went in ahead at half time.
“The goal of the day was Neil Douglas’ goal. It came at a vital stage. I was right behind it and he put it right into the top corner.
“I was delighted for him, it was a great finish but more importantly it came at such a crucial time in the game.
“Neil is a top-class footballer. He was involved with Mayo the last couple of years but he showed his class in the second half. He came out and scored 1-02 when we needed people to step up and get scores and the goal was the highlight of it.”
Moran was also on target with a first-half strike, which helped his side go in level at the break, but again the key midfielder was quick to praise his team-mates and had a special mention for the players that came off the bench to secure the victory.
“I think Danny Kirby did most of the work [for my goal]. He drew the man and then put me in one on one and thankfully I finished it.
“We know we have confidence from our bench. We have a lot of lads who played minor and Under-21 with Mayo and they’re not making the starting 15.
“Competition is really tight and the lads that came on, Aidan Walsh, Stephen Keane, Fergal Durkan, James Durkan, they had great games. It’s great to see and it keeps the competition high amongst the squad.”
