Kerry will draw no comfort after letting Mayo rescue a point with a late equaliser in National League stalemate

LGFA NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE DIVISION 1

Kerry 0-8

Mayo 0-8

In the finish Kerry were hanging on for a draw in a game that they might have comfortably won on any other day, as they recorded their lowest scoring margin so far in this years’ league.

Eleven wides in the game tells its own story as does the two gilt edged goal chances that went astray and to their credit Mayo showed guts and bravery to fight back for the draw when the odds looked firmly stacked against them.

Sinead Walsh was the hero for Mayo with her two points in the final quarter of the game and especially her second, a crucial equaliser at the death, as the Connacht side sent their full cavalry at a Kerry rearguard that had performed excellently throughout the game.

Kerry’s biggest problem was that they let leads slip at vital periods and failed to press home their advantage giving the visitors hope that they might snatch something unlikely out of a contest that they were firm underdogs coming into.

Everything appeared to be going to plan at the start of the game as Kerry, playing in their alternative navy strip, built up a 0-3 to no score lead with just three minutes gone on the Fitzgerald Stadium clock. The home side had the advantage of the breeze at their back into the Lewis Road end and owned the ball for that opening salvo.

Kerry had made seven changes to the side that hammered Cork by thirteen points in Round Three but it certainly didn’t affect them in the early exchanges with Anna Galvin hitting two superb points on the bounce before Níamh Ní Chonchúir hit the third, that with a lower trajectory might have been a goal after a superb forty metre pass from Danielle O’Leary found her inside the cover.

Remarkably, Ní Chonchúir’s point was Kerry’s last score for another twenty three minutes as a combination of some missed chances and dogged Mayo pressure saw the visitors storm right back into the game.

Maria Cannon popped over a free which was followed by Sinead Cafferky from play, and then Cannon hit a beauty from distance to bring the blood red jerseyed Mayo on level terms in the twentieth minute.

Kerry had plenty of the ball but found it extremely difficult to penetrate a teak tough Mayo defence, although Mayo found it tough going to break down the home sides rearguard as well where Eilis Lynch, Deirdre Kearney and Cait Lynch were excelling.

Níamh Ní Chonchúir thought she had scored her second of the game in the 28th minute but referee Patrick Smith of Waterford ruled it out after consultation with his umpires, but there was never a doubt about Amy Harrington’s equaliser on the stroke of half time and the sides went in level at four points apiece in a low scoring opening stanza.

Kerry brought on the experienced Aishling O’Connell and Niamh Carmody at half time with the in form Emma Dineen also joining the fray as the Kerry management shuffled their deck. They nearly had the ball from the throw in when a brilliant move that ended with Ní Chonchúir feeding Hannah O’Donoghue saw Mayo corner back Saoirse Lally make a brilliant block before custodian Shauna Brennan stood firm in what was a definite let off for the visitors.

Niamh Carmody announced her arrival with a brilliant point a few minutes later but Cannon replied from a free before Emma Dineen also showed her value with a peach of a score in the thirty ninth minute with Ní Chonchúir once again giving the assist to push Kerry 0-6 to 0-5 ahead.

The hosts were now moving the ball at pace and Ní Chonchúir, who was really enjoying proceedings now, nearly took the paint off the crossbar with a bullet of a shot after splendid spade work from Hannah O’Donoghue. Kerry had the scent of goals in their nostrils and two minutes later Brennan saved well from O’Leary after another flowing move. Another let off for the westerners.

When substitute Louise Ní Mhuircheartaigh pointed a free and then popped over a trademark score from play in the fiftieth minute it certainly looked like Kerry could drive on and close out the game for their fourth victory of the competition. They looked the better side and Mayo certainly didn’t look like they had the firepower to trouble a snarling Kerry defence.

Fiona McHale was drifting around the middle of the field at this stage and the experienced campaigner rallied her troops to drive at the Kerry rearguard as she has done so often in the past. Sinead Walsh, quiet throughout most of the contest, popped over a neat point in the fifty fifth minute and four minutes later Cannon pointed her third free of the game to bring them to within a single point of an increasingly nervous looking Kerry.

Mayo were coming at Kerry in waves and found Sinead Walsh in the inside line in the sixty third minute, although she looked to be well covered by Kerry defenders the corner forward shimmied and swivelled expertly and shot over to a huge Mayo roar.

Level now, Mayo came looking for the winner but much to Kerry’s relief, time was against them, and the final whistle sounded soon afterwards. Mayo were certainly the happier of the two sides in the final context of the game on a day that Kerry should have won, but might well have lost.

KERRY: Ciara Butler; Eilis Lynch, Deirdre Kearney, Aoife Dillane; Bríd O’Connor, Cáit Lynch, Ciara Murphy; Mary O’Connell, Anna Galvin 0-2.; Jess Gill, Danielle O’Leary, Amy Harrington 0-1; Hannah O’Donoghue, Jadyn Lucey, Níamh Ní Chonchúir 0-1. Subs: Aishling O’Connell for B O’Connor, Niamh Carmody 0-1 for J Gill, Emma Dineen 0-1 for J Lucey (all H/T), Lorraine Scanlon for M O’Connell (38), Louise Ní Mhuircheartaigh 0-2 (1f) for A Harrington (44), Kayleigh Cronin for A Dillane (46), Ciara O’Brien for C Murphy (51), Katie Brosnan for N Ní Chonchúir (59).

MAYO: Laura Brennan; Alana Fitzpatrick, Nicola O’Malley, Saoirse Lally; Kathryn Sullivan, Sinead Cafferky 0-2, Erin Murray; Aoife Geraghty, Hannah Reape; Fionnuala McLaughlin, Lisa Cafferky, Maria Cannon 0-4 (3f); Tara Needham, Fiona McHale, Sinead Walsh 0-2. Subs: Jenna Mortimer for E Murray (42), Emma Needham for S Cafferky (44), Emily Reape for A Fitzpatrick (51), Chelsea Doherty for T Needhan (56).

REFEREE: Patrick Smith (Waterford).

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