Galway League 2

Mayo League 0

The Galway League made it two wins in succession to put themselves in pole position to advance from their Oscar Traynor Cup group following a very comfortable success over the Mayo League in Eamonn Deacy Park on Sunday afternoon.

In a change from previous years when the top two in each of the four regional leagues advanced to the knock-out stages, this year it is only the four group winners that will go through from the league stage to the semi-finals.

They will face Sligo-Leitrim in their remaining game in mid-December and a point will be enough to see them crowned regional winners and qualify for the semi-finals.

Manager Brendan O’Connor made three changes from their first game, a 5-2 away win over Roscommon, as Conor Winn, Tom Kidd, and Gavin Smyth came in for Kieran McDonagh, Aidan Coyle, and Donnacha McNamara.

The visitors – backboned by six players from Connacht Junior Cup holders, Castlebar Celtic – made a solid start to the game, but they had no cutting edge about them as the home back-four lived in relative comfort for the duration.

At the other end, Galway looked busy as Timmy Molloy and Kidd kept them on the front foot from midfield; while the younger generation of players like Colm Whelan, Luke Murray, and Smyth played their part as the home side did most of the pressing.

An early run and shot by Calum Browne went close as it fizzed across the face of goal and wide of the far post. Enda Curran had an effort blocked in the box, before Smyth was wide with a near post header following a Molloy corner.

In a half in which Galway forced five corners, they made the breakthrough with their third on 26 minutes when Molloy’s delivery clipped off the head of Mayo’s Jordan Loftus for an own goal and a 1-0 advantage.

Thereafter the home side had numerous opportunities to extend their lead, but struggled to hit the target. A free-kick from outside the box by Curran was directed into the defensive wall; before Smyth was unable to apply a finish to another good Browne delivery into the box, while Molloy didn’t get a good connection in the box as goalkeeper Connal Doran easily gathered.

While the prompting of Brian Walsh, Johnnie Cocozza and Michael Lavin gave Mayo some reward, their ambitions generally floundered at the edge of the area, as Winn was challenged just once when he pushed away a Conor McCarthy shot before the break.

Galway offered an early threat on the restart, when a fine run by Whelan saw him test Doran with a stinging shot, before the Maree-Oranmore man set up Molloy who was also thwarted by a packed defence.

Two crosses across the face of goal by Browne found no takers, before Luke Murray set up Curran, but he was denied by the crossbar. The rebound fell to Molloy, but he could get no power in a header that was gathered by Doran.

The pressure eventually told on 77 minutes when two substitutes combined. It was Athenry’s Adam Molloy who did all the work down the left and when his cross shot was pushed away by Doran, the rebound was side footed home by McNamara for a 2-0 advantage.

The two goal advantage allowed Galway to empty their bench as Joe Collins, Adam Healy, and Aidan Coyle all got late game time as they eased to a comfortable success.

Galway League: Winn, Browne (Collins 78), Crowe (A Molloy 74), Coyne, Ward, Kidd, T Molloy (Healy 78), Whelan, Murray, Curran (Coyle 81), Smyth (McNamara 61).

Mayo League: Doran, Cunningham, Shally (Maloney 76), Walsh, O’Reilly, Cocozza (Halpin 87), Kelly (Ketterick 61), Lavin, McCarthy, Loftus (Groarke 74), Gilmartin (Browne 68).

Referee: Joe Hession.

Pictured: The Galway League side that started in the 2-0 win over the Mayo League in the Oscar Traynor Cup game at Eamonn Deacy Park last weekend. Back row, from left: Gavin Smyth, Conor Winn, Calym Crowe, Luke Murray, Nathan Ward, and Colm Whelan. Front: Timmy Molloy, Tom Kidd, Calum Browne, Cathal Coyne, and Enda Curran. Photos: Joe O’Shaughnessy.