Page 48 - INTO THE WEST - March-April 2018

ALLIANZ NATIONAL HURLING LEAGUE
DIVISION 2B
LEADER: Mayo forward Kenny Feeney was in awesome form for his side in action against Down in the Division 2B final.
Photo: David Maher/ SPORTSFILE
Page 48 – INTO THE WEST
Feeney fires Mayo to historic 2B success
Mayo .................1-15 MDown ...............0-14
By MICHAEL COMMINS The Mayo News
them hold a one point lead, 0-9 to 1-5, at the interval. But it scarcely looked enough on a day when the elements were always going to play a central role.
AyO, who were involved in a regula- tion play-off with roscommon to retain their division 2B status last
you could sense an air of quiet confidence as Mayo retired for the half-time break. The defence had coped tremendously well with the vigorous down attack, with Cathal Free- man in magnificent form and leading by example.
season, completed a remarkable reha- bilitation journey when securing
Michael Morley and david Kenny got through a mountain of defensive work while Brian Hunt, Conor daly and daniel Huane were tireless in their efforts at blocking, chas- ing and clearing their lines.
promotion to division 2A of the nHL at Breffni Park, Cavan.
While declan McManus added a point from play for down two minutes into the second half, they went the next 17 without raising a flag.
They shaded the verdict over a down team that battled bravely to the end, but few could
Mayo nailed six points during this period with some magnificent scores from play by Kenny Feeney and Cathal Freeman.
begrudge Mayo their win on this bitterly cold day.
The heroic nature of this Mayo panel that manifested itself in the game against Wicklow was much
Seán regan also secured some superb primary possession, fetching high balls on a few occasions, and putting the down rear- guard under a lot of pressure. Kieran Mcder- mott and Conor Henry put in solid shifts around centre-field with Shane Boland also getting in some good work during this critical stage of the showdown.
to the fore in Breffni Park.
A herculean effort was needed
to get the better of down and that is what they produced on a day that brought joy to the hearts of all Mayo folk who made the journey.
As Keith Higgins surged into the game in the second half, he created a brilliant opening before directing a pass across the down goalmouth where Seán Mulroy narrowly failed to make contact with his batted effort that would surely have resulted in a goal.
The Ulster men got off to a flying start and led by
0-5 to 0-1 after 13 minutes when aided by a strong wind. dáithí Sands and declan McManus landed excellent
Mulroy had a shot from distance off the upright a few minutes later as Mayo main- tained momentum and pushed for glory.
scores and the tide was flowing strongly in
One of the scores of the day came 10 minutes from time when Kenny Feeney somehow managed to secure possession without his hurl courtesy of a ‘jumped lift-up’, hand-passed to Higgins and the Ballyhaunis man flighted over a peach of a point from the far sideline.
their favour at this stage.
Mayo needed something to halt
the down momentum and two points from frees by Kenny Feeney served that purpose.
Football All Star, Keith Higgins, who gave his allegiance to the
down stayed in touch and two late points from Sheehan saw the gap down to three points. But when Kenny Feeney converted a Mayo free five minutes into time added on, the cup was on its way to Mayo.
Mayo hurlers for the current campaign, fired over an inspira-
tional point after taking a perfect pass from Cathal Freeman and
the margin was now down to one.
Caolan Bailie extended the down lead to two points a minute later but fortune smiled
MAYO: D O’Brien; D Huane, C Daly, B Hunt; M Morley, D Kenny, C Freeman (0-1); C Henry, K McDer- mott; S Regan, K Feeney (0-12, 0-9f), B Morley (1-0); S Boland, K Higgins (0-2), S Mulroy. Subs: C Scahill for B Morley (61), A Brennan for C Henry (63), D McTigue for S Boland (70), S Kenny from S Mulroy (73).
DOWN: S Keith: L Savage, C Teggart, M Hughes; P McManus, M Fisher, J McManus; R Branagan, M Magee; C Bailie (0-1), D McManus (0-2), P McCrickard (0-1); P Sheehan (0-7, 0-5f), E Sands, D Sands (0-2). Sub: D Toner (0-1) for R Branagan (44).
REFEREE: Gavin Quilty (Kilkenny).
on Mayo in the 23rd minute when a long delivery by Cathal
Freeman broke loose in the down goalmouth and Brian Morley rushed in to tap it to
the net.
A fine strike by down’s top
scorer Paul Sheehan saw