Derry relegated after losing to Mayo at Celtic Park

Derry 1-17

Mayo 2-19

Derry fell to a five-point defeat at the hands of Mayo at Celtic Park, a loss that relegates Paddy Tally’s side to Division Two football next season.

The win for Kevin McStay’s side on the other hand all but confirmed his side’s continued presence at the top table. Defending league champions Derry’s return to the elite table was a short-lived one at three seasons.

Fighting with one hand behind his back, rookie Derry coach Paddy Tally has had to endure a debut season plagued by a neverending queue of players on the treatment table. The talismanic Lachlan Murray was the latest man to fall to injury bringing a late start for Niall Loughlin just before throw-in. The Oakleafers then suffered a further deadly blow with the loss of goalkeeper Odhran Lynch after an unlucky for him 13 minutes. The big Rossas man joins Conor McCluskey, Brendan Rogers, Gareth McKinless and Donncha Gilmore on the physio’s plinth through injury.

Ryan O’Donoghue and Conor Glass shared top billing with eight points apiece, while Matthew Ruane also weighed in with six points from play. Frank Irwin and Jordan Flynn scored the Mayo goals with Ryan McGurk accounting for Derry’s only major.

A clinically dispatched Jordan Flynn goal, drilled home deep into first half injury time handed Mayo a three point half time lead. Both sides battled for supremacy throughout a well contested opening thirty five minutes before Mayo dramatically hit six of the last eight scores to wrestle advantage at the interval leading 1-11 to 1-8.

Ryan O’Donoghue lasered over the first of his five first half points in Mayo’s opening excursion into the Derry half with a few seconds barely elapsed. Star man O’Donoghue had Diarmuid Baker for company, with Eoin McEvoy enjoying a fine physical battle with Aidan O’Shea. Donnacha McHugh was tasked with policing Derry’s marquee forward Shane McGuigan.

Young prospect Dan Higgins plucked a couple of early high balls and Niall Toner palmed an effort into the side netting before Patrick McGurk, in his first senior start, opened Derry’s scorecard and in some style, too, busting the onion bag after 3 minutes for a goal.

Shane McGuigan accounted for Derry’s first point courtesy of a lung bursting Paul Cassidy assist.

Matthew Ruane had his eye in early on, firing over the first of his first half four point return in the 8th minute, before McGuigan dropped the shoulder and pointed a second for the home side.

Two more from midfielder Ruane sandwiched a second from O’Donoghue pulling the visitors level at 0-5 to 1-2. The Westerners spurned back to back goal chances, however, midway through the half when David McBrien scooped wide before Padraig McGrogan dived heroically to deny Frank Irwin.

Four in a row recaptured the lead for the hosts with McGurk, Niall Loughlin and Padraig McGrogan, from distance, among the scorers leaving Derry 1-6 to 0-5 up.

Again Mayo fired back to level matters in the 26th minute. Derry edged ahead through a neat Conor Glass run and point and another from McGuigan. But an unanswered 1-2 just before the break, including that Jordan Flynn goal, left Mayo 1-11 to 1-8 ahead at half-time.

The home side were guilty of any number of wides and shots that dropped short after the restart. Mayo, by contrast, were much more economical up front. Six consecutive scores all but sealed their win, with Frank Irwin’s 42nd minute goal leathered into the bottom left hand corner of the Derry net igniting the scoring splurge. Matty Ruane and O’Donoghue were both in the thick of the Mayo scoring, now boasting a nine point lead at 2-17 to 1-11.

Derry’s key midfielder Conor Glass, as he has done all season, spent much of the contest snuffing out fires all over the pitch. But just when Derry appeared dead and buried, Glass first stabilised the ailing patient before handing it a serious shot of adrenaline. Cometh the hour, cometh the man, the big midfielder hit back to back two pointers in the 60th minute before Conor Doherty also swung over a huge effort. It reduced the Oakleaf arrears to five points just before Shane McGuigan drilled an effort that was deflected into the side netting.

But after that Derry’s short-lived come-back petered out disappointingly.

Ryan O’Donoghue nailed his 8th point of the game before Glass hammered over a third two pointer for Derry in the 69th minute. But, four down, it was too little, too late for Paddy Tally’s side, with Eoghan McLaughlin drilling over the final point of the game for winners Mayo.

Scorers – Derry: Connor Glass (0-8), Shane McGuigan 0-4 (1f), Patrick McGurk 1-1, Conor Doherty 0-1, Padraig McGrogan 0-1, Niall Loughlin 0-1, Niall Toner

Derry: O Lynch, D Baker, E McEvoy, M Bradley, C Doherty, P McGrogan, P McGurk, C Glass, A Tohill, E Doherty, N Toner, D Higgins, N Loughlin, S McGuigan, P Cassidy

Subs: N McNicholl for O Lynch (13 mins), C Devlin for P McGurk for N Loughlin (51 mins), B McCarron for D Higgins (51 mins), C McMonagle for A Tohill (56 mins), M Doherty for P McGrogan (59 mins)

Mayo: C Reape, J Coyne, D McHugh, E Hession, S Callinan, D McBrien, F Kelly (0-1), S Coen, M Ruane (0-6), C Reid (0-1), J Carney, J Flynn (1-0), A O’Shea (0-1), F Irwin (1-1), R O’Donoghue (0-8, two frees)

Subs: S Morahan for D McHugh (51 mins), F Boland for C Reid (54 mins), D Neary for F Kelly (56 mins), E McLaughlin (0-1) for D McBrien (60 mins), P Toye for A O’Shea (68 mins)

Referee: Fergal Kelly (Longfort)