‘He'll be so proud' – Stephen Rochford gives update on Kevin McStay with touching tribute after Mayo win over Tyrone

The Irish Sun

4 days ago

INTERIM chief Stephen Rochford dedicated Mayo's shock win over Tyrone to boss Kevin McStay after the Westerners stormed back into the Championship.
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Mayo beat Tyrone in the All-Ireland SFC
Credit: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
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Stephen Rochford dedicated the win to Kevin McStay
Credit: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
But his assistant Rochford, who
Donegal
when All-Ireland quarter-final places will be on the line.
Rochford beamed: ''Kevin will be so proud sitting on his sofa watching this.
'We hope we will have him back on the sideline for the
next
game in two weeks' time.'
Mayo were slated after slumping to a home defeat against Cavan but responded brilliantly by doing to
Tyrone
what the Breffni had done to them in Castlebar two weeks ago.
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Having led by eight points at half-time — 1-9 to 0-4 — thanks to a Darren McHale goal after the half-time hooter had sounded, Tyrone clawed their way back to within a point.
Darragh Canavan's superb goal had the home fans on their feet as Tyrone got back to within a point — 1-11 to 1-10 — with over 20 minutes to play.
But Mayo were in no mood to be reeled in and despite a glut of wides and hitting the woodwork in the second half, they finished strongly.
A penalty by Ryan O'Donoghue put the gloss on a fantastic night for the Connacht finalists.
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Tyrone could still top the group if Donegal beat Cavan today and Mayo in two weeks' time, allied with a Red Hands victory over the Breffni in the final round.
But Mayo have momentum and Rochford insists they will do something against Donegal that they have not done all year — back up one good performance with another.
Tipperary GAA star 'had to do live apology on RTE' the day after cursing during All-Ireland interview -
The former Mayo manager said: 'That's
the challenge
, we knew we'd have to win the two games and that's the way it is.
'We need to rest because that took a massive effort and we know we are coming up against a top-quality team the next day in Donegal but we will show up in two weeks' time.'
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After a stunning win over Donegal a week ago, Tyrone came in on a high but it became quickly evident that Mayo were playing with purpose while their hosts were flat.
The Red Hands could not get into their stride with the forwards well tied up, the midfield cleaned out when the kickouts went long and slack passing and lapses in defence.
If Malachy O'Rourke's side thought they had turned a corner with their Donegal win, they were brought back down to
earth
by a slick, sharp and rampant Mayo side.
After a cagey opening five minutes, Michael McKernan put Tyrone ahead for the only time in the game.
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Mayo replied through Rory Brickenden, Colm Dawson and two O'Donoghue frees.
The second of those seemed harsh and Tyrone's frustrations with referee David Coldrick grew, but they were the architects of their own downfall with a shocking first-half display.
ON THE RISE
Mayo lorded the skies in Omagh.
Ben McDonnell — a late replacement for Brian Kennedy — cut through for a fine score in a rare moment when the Mayo defence was breached.
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That cut the deficit to 0-4 to 0-2 but Mayo hit the next five points in a row in a ten-minute spell with O'Donoghue, Paddy Durcan, Dawson and a Colm Reape 45 among their scores.
Canavan got his hands on the ball to score from play and a free to again sliced the gap to 0-9 to 0-4 approaching half-time.
However they suffered a huge blow when McHale hit a Mayo goal after the hooter had sounded for half-time to put Mayo 1-9 to 0-4 ahead.
The visitors kept the ball for over three minutes before
shooting
for a point, but it was dropped by Niall Morgan and McHale nipped in at the back post to drill low to the corner.
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Tyrone pair Liam Gray and Shea O'Hare were brought in at the break and in the third quarter it looked like the Red Hands were mounting a charge.
Canavan was well held by Jack Coyne but he cut free to drill home a superb goal after 45 minutes and it was game on.
But the fumbles, over-elaboration and malfunction of the kickouts meant Mayo were not punished for their own lapses.
When Cormac Quinn conceded a penalty, O'Donoghue dispatched it to
seal
an important win for Mayo and keep them in the mix for a place in the All-Ireland quarter-finals.
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TYRONE
: N Morgan 0-4, 2tpf; C Quinn, P Teague, N Devlin; M McKernan 0-1, R Brennan, K McGeary 0-1; B McDonnell 0-1, C Kilpatrick; S O'Donnell, M Donnelly 0-1, C Daly; D McCurry 0-2, 1f, M Bradley, D Canavan 1-3, 2f.
Subs
: S O'Hare for O'Donnell h-t, L Gray for Brennan h-t, P Harte for Bradley 46 mins, R Canavan for Daly 46, A Donaghy for McDonnell 61.
MAYO
: C Reape 0-1 45; J Coyne, R Brickenden 0-2, S Morahan; S Coen, D McBrien, E Hession; P Durcan 0-3, M Ruane 0-1; J Carney 0-1, D McHale 1-0, B Tuohy 0-1; A O'Shea 0-1, C Dawson 0-1, R O'Donoghue 1-6, 1-0 pen, 5f.
Subs
: J Flynn for Tuohy 51 mins, D Neary for McHale 51, F Kelly for Dawson 54, F Boland for Ruane 63, S Callanan for Durcan 67.
REFEREE
: D Coldrick (Meath).