NFL Division: Mayo 2-17 Armagh 0-22
The young Mayo forward cut inside his man with 15 minutes left and switched onto his weaker foot to give himself a better angle. He was badly needed now, with the home side wobbling and their lead evaporating. Armagh had reeled off seven points in a row and were beating Mayo’s midfield up a stick. But the kid came with the killshot, twisting his man into a sailor’s knot and burying to the net.
No, not Kobe McDonald, although he played too. The finisher in question was 22-year-old Cian McHale, who ran up the full house of a goal, a point and a two-pointer. With the likes of Darragh Beirne, Tommy Conroy, Fergal Boland and Cillian O’Connor all missing, this was a good time for McHale to stake his claim. Unlike in Mayo forward lines past, chances to impress won’t be infinite.
Partly, that’s because they all live in Kobe’s world now. The rangy young prince of Mayo football was brilliant again here in just his second senior appearance. He came off the bench for Aidan O’Shea in the 51st minute, scored a point off either foot, won a kickout when Mayo couldn’t buy one and played a huge part in setting up McHale’s goal. In the space of seven days, he has nailed all the old excuses and ramped up the expectations on everybody else.
“He had a huge impact on the game,” said Andy Moran afterwards. “He caught the first kickout, he set up the goal. He’s just an exceptional footballer.
“Look, we have him for the period of time we have him and he’s absolutely stone mad to play football. He was playing basketball and football in school up to about two weeks ago. He just wants to play. He wants to be part of it.”
Mayo’s Cian McHale scores a vital goal in Castlebar. Photograph: James Crombie
McDonald, in case you need reminding, is still only 18. He’s doing all of this while still in sixth year in Gortner Abbey School in Crossmolina. Backdoor cuts on a Sunday, back to school on a Monday. Nonetheless, Mayo show no sign of wanting to take a pull on the reins with him. Moran isn’t going to die wondering, that’s for sure.
“I often said back in my own career, my career was going nowhere in terms of playing when I was 26, 27,” the Mayo manager said. “Then you have Lee Keegan, Aidan O’Shea and Cillian O’Connor coming along nearly all in one burst and then we take off into our decade of competing. Sometimes these players come in a generation and sometimes you have to wait for them.
“So can we capitalise on it? Of course we can. I know ye filled plenty of headlines [with Kobe] this week on social media and newspaper. Listen, when a guy comes along like that, it doesn’t happen too often.”
McDonald’s second half cameo was vital to Mayo seeing out a thriller in Castlebar. They had played with a gale at their backs in the first half and the nine-point lead they brought to the turnaround felt like the very least they could hope to get away with. The conditions were rotten, a full-on west of Ireland wind and rain special. For long spells, they failed to make the best of them.
On a day like this, the new rules turn the game into a coconut shy. The wind blowing straight down the pitch made every shooter’s mind up for him – if you had it at your back, you were pot committed before you’d even looked at your cards. And if it was blowing into your face, you needed to get as close as possible to the sticks before you even considered trying your luck.
Mayo took 14 shots in the first half, 10 of which were for two-pointers, six of which were missed. Armagh’s first three scoring attempts were all for fisted points and none of them went over the bar. It was all a little higgledy-piggledy, like watching a conkers match on a bouncy castle. It added up to a 1-11 to 0-5 lead for the home side at the break.
Armagh’s Ben Crealey and Oisín Conaty rise highest to win possession. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho
Armagh had reason enough to be happy with that. They had midfield for long stretches and knew a repeat performance in the second half would surely buy them enough chances to make up the gap. And by the 55th minute, they were almost there, with Oisin O’Neill and Greg McCabe nailing their two-pointers and Cian McConville in sniper’s form at corner-forward.
But McHale’s goal pushed the cushion out to 2-14 to 0-14 with 15 minutes left. Even at that stage, you knew Mayo were going to need every inch of it – plus McDonald’s two points from play and one from the outstanding Sam Callinan (by coincidence, another Mayo player to make his senior debut before his Leaving Cert). O’Neill and McCabe kept at it but the line came in time for Mayo.
“We’re missing easy scores,” said Kieran McGeeney afterwards. He was singing pretty much the same song after Armagh’s defeats to Donegal and Galway too. Robbie Hennelly made two point-black saves in the first half and Oisin Conaty went another game where he looked dangerous without actually being dangerous. That’s not going to get it done.
All the same, Armagh have the look of a side who aren’t that far away from clicking. Dublin in two-weeks is a relegation showdown. McGeeney will fancy their chances in it.
Mayo: Robbie Hennelly; Jack Coyne, Rory Brickenden, Enda Hession; Sam Callinan (0-0-2), Conor Loftus (0-1-1), Paddy Durcan; Bob Tuohy (0-0-1), David McBrien; Jack Carney, Ryan O’Donoghue (0-1-1, 1tpf), Jordan Flynn (1-1-0); Cian McHale (1-1-1), Aidan O’Shea, Paul Towey (0-0-1). Subs: Stephen Coen for Loftus, 32 mins; Sean Morahan for Coyne, half-time; Kobe McDonald (0-0-2) for O’Shea, 51 mins; Conal Dawson for Towey, 57 mins; Diarmuid O’Connor for McHale, 66 mins.
Armagh: Blaine Hughes (0-0-1, 1f); Greg McCabe (0-1-1), Gareth Murphy, Peter McGrane; Ross McQuillan (0-0-1), Tiernan Kelly (0-0-1), Jarly Óg Burns; Callum O’Neill (0-0-2), Ben Crealey; Darragh McMullan (0-0-1), Conor Turbitt, Jason Duffy (0-0-1); Cian McConville (0-0-6, 2f), Oisin O’Neill (0-2-1, 1f, 1tpf), Oisin Conaty (0-0-1). Subs: Fergal O’Brien for Turbitt, 60 mins; Ethan Rafferty for Duffy, 67mins.
Referee: David Coldrick (Meath).