Curran goals secures Connacht MFC title for Roscommon in thrilling encounter against Mayo
In a thrilling contest that was lit up by star performances from two outstanding corner forwards, this evening's Connacht minor final was ultimately settled by a goal from Dara Curran after 57 minutes.
The goal from the Roscommon captain effectively broke Mayo's run of three consecutive titles at this level and gave the Rossies their first title since their win over Sligo on St. Stephen's Day of 2020.
Tony Carey of Mayo and Roscommon's John Price, the latter named Man of the Match afterwards, were in sensational form, kicking 1-4 and 1-3 respectively. Carey opened the scoring with a classy finish in the first minute while Price finally got Roscommon going 20 minutes later with his green flag, by which time his side had just 0-2 on the board.
In a game where both sides had strong purple patches, Roscommon caught fire in the lead up to half-time to take a 1-7 to 1-4 interval lead. Price was the star of the show up front, with Diarmuid O'Higgins, Tadhg Rogers and Alex Oates helping to establish the away side's dominance in their own half of the field.
The third quarter saw Mayo take over, and they did this despite suffering the hammer blow of losing both starting midfielders to injury in the minutes either side of the half-time break. Conor Hession dropped out from the full forward line to carry the load in the middle and with Carey running riot inside, they outscored Roscommon by 0-8 to 0-1 up to the 45 minute mark.
Another John Price point and a neat finish from an incredibly tight angle from substitute Seamie Carthy got Roscommon back in the game, and they drew level to set up a grandstand finish in the 56th minute through Dean Casey's second long-range free.
The key score was Curran's goal a minute later, set up by Sam Hannon's instinctive intercept of a pass across the last line of Mayo defence, and while the home side fired back with points from Dara Flanagan and Rhys Neary, they couldn't engineer an equaliser and it fell to Casey to round off the scoring.
Scorers for Mayo: T Carey (1-4), C Hession (0-5, 1tpf, 0-2f), B Holmes (0-2, 0-1f), D Flanagan (0-2), F Ó Cinnseala (0-1), R Neary (0-1).
Scorers for Roscommon: D Casey (0-7, 0-2f, 2tpf), J Price (1-3), D Curran (1-0), L Shally (0-1), A Killian (0-1), C Feerick (0-1), S Carthy (0-1).
MAYO: T Williams; C Coghill, B Langan, C Tighe; Ryan O'Donnell, D Duffy, D Flanagan; A Kelly, C May; P Garvey, B Holmes, C Jordan; Tony Carey, C Hession, O Murphy.
Subs: B Joyce for May (29), R Neary for Garvey (half-time), Fionn Ó Cinnseala for Kelly (34), Fiachra Ó Cinnseala for Murphy (49), P Quinn for Holmes (60).
ROSCOMMON: C Trimble; C Fitzgerald, D O'Higgins, J Cassidy; T Rogers, C Tighe, S Hannon; S McGuinness, A Oates; A Killian, D Curran, C Feerick; J Price, D Casey, L Shally.
Subs: S Carthy for Oates (37), M Shally for L Shally (41), S Hussey for Killian (44), T Fallon for Fitzgerald (47), C Kelly for Feerick (57).
Referee: Ronan Hynes (Sligo)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
4 hours ago
- Irish Times
Andy Moran ratified as Mayo senior football manager
Andy Moran was formally installed as the new Mayo senior football manager at Thursday night's county board meeting in Castlebar. The former Footballer of the Year, who will serve a three-year term, was previously manager of Leitrim and a coach with Monaghan. Moran has chosen former Mayo team-mate Colm Boyle and outgoing Derry manager Paddy Tally as part of his backroom team. A statement from the following Thursday's meeting read: 'Mayo GAA club delegates ratified Andy Moran as the new Mayo GAA Senior Football manager this evening at a County Board meeting at Hastings Insurance MacHale Park. Andy Moran has been given a three-year term.' READ MORE 'I want to wish Andy and his backroom team well and assure them they have the support of all Mayo GAA supporters at home and abroad,' Mayo GAA chairman Seamus Tuohy added. Speaking to after being ratified, Moran said it was a great honour for himself, his family and his club. 'I am honoured to be appointed as the next Mayo senior football manager. This is a proud moment for me, my family, and my club Ballaghaderreen, and I am grateful for the trust placed in me to lead this team. 'Together with my management team, I will work with dedication to provide the right environment, supports, and structures to help our players perform to the best of their ability. 'We are committed to building on the strong foundations laid by previous management teams, and we look forward to working closely with the players, the backroom team, the county board and our loyal supporters as we prepare for 2026 and beyond.'
Irish Examiner
5 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
New Mayo manager Andy Moran hopeful Cillian O'Connor will return for 2026
New Mayo manager Andy Moran is 'hopeful' that two-time All-Star Cillian O'Connor will return to the senior team for the 2026 season. On Thursday night, Moran was ratified at a County Board meeting in Hastings Insurance MacHale Park. Speaking at his first press conference, the Mayo boss said the door was open to players who departed recently. 'Can we get the best 36 fellas in the county on the panel playing for Mayo? Get the best team out there, put our best foot forward,' he said. 'If that guy is 18 years of age or 32, 33 years of age. It shouldn't matter now. We are trying to get the best players playing. 'Yes, we will be looking at the older guys that opted out. Of course, them conversations will be happening and some have happened. The key thing for us is looking at the younger guys coming through. How are we going to really push this in terms of the Hurleys, these guys. How are we going to get them through onto the squad playing for Mayo?' When asked if O'Connor had indicated he was open to a return, Moran was positive. 'Yes. I'd be very hopeful that he will come back.' The all-time championship top scorer decided to step away for the 2025 campaign. It would mark a significant boost for the new Mayo boss, who takes over from Kevin McStay. O'Connor surpassed Colm Cooper in 2019 to become the highest scoring player in the championship and also holds the record for a single championship game, scoring 4-9 in the 2020 All-Ireland semi-final against Tipperary. The Ballintubber man is joined on the ticket by former Mayo player Colm Boyle and Paddy Tally. 'Will I add another to it? Possibly,' he said. 'But at the minute, I am quite happy where I am sitting.'
Irish Daily Mirror
5 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Andy Moran presents his manifesto after ratification as Mayo's new manager
Andy Moran is taking a 'back to basics approach' following his ratification as the new Mayo boss tonight. And Moran wants the best players involved in the county set-up again after claiming that might not have been the case in recent 41-year-old's name was put forward to succeed Kevin McStay in the role earlier this week and the Ballaghaderreen man will have former team-mate Colm Boyle and ex-Derry boss Paddy Tally working alongside him after agreeing a three-year stint."We're back to the basics," Moran said. "Galway have won four Connacht titles in a row. Before we even get to talking about All-Irelands and '51 and all this stuff, the big thing is we need to get back to work, get back to basics. "We need to build on some of the good work that Kevin and Stephen (Rochford) have done last year. And we need to get better at every aspect we're chasing. Where can we get better? I think the new rules are great to coach, we can see it's a way better game. It's a way better product." Padraig O'Hora and Cillian O'Connor are two former stars who didn't play for the county this year and Moran told RTÉ: "The key thing is to get the best players in Mayo playing for Mayo - which, quite unusually over the last couple of years, mightn't have always been the case. We need to get the best players playing. Padraig O'Hora (Image: ©INPHO/Tom Maher) "In terms of young talent, there's a crop of under-20s there that just missed out narrowly against Louth this year (in the All-Ireland semi-final). "There's a crop of minors coming through that are really talented, who lost to Armagh in last year's All-Ireland semi-final. There's been a few Connacht titles (at underage) and a few green shoots over the last couple of years, which is great to see. "It's about how we keep being competitive with the strong players we have and embedding these young players in amongst it. That's going to be the major role for the management team over the next couple of years." Moran managed Leitrim before he coached Monaghan last year but this is his dream role. "Was it always an aim? Yes, it was always an aim," he admitted."But do you think about that when you're managing other teams? You don't. You're really stuck in the moment, you're trying to get the best out of them players while you're there. And then some day, if you're deemed good enough and take your home county, that's great."I always had great role models growing up in the likes of John O'Mahony and the likes of James Horan coming in in 2011 and John Maughan before him. I've always had my eye set on coaching and managing. "So, yes, you always think some day you'd love to get a rattle at it. Until that day arrives, I suppose it's a pipe dream. But it's come true today and we're back in the Mayo dressing room, so it's great."
