Fast-starting Mayo rally late to see off Kingdom

As advertisements for the new and improved game of Gaelic football go, it will be hard to beat this action-packed encounter that unfolded in Castlebar on Saturday afternoon.

Mayo's recent renaissance continued as they finished strongly to shoot the last four points of a frantic match to hold off Kerry in front of a captivated crowd of 9,358.

The Westerners had led by seven points at half-time after turning in an impressive first-half performance, but the visitors came roaring back in the third quarter to take the lead with ten minutes remaining.

In fact, when David Clifford nailed a two-point score, and followed it up with a close-range free, the momentum looked to be only going one way.

But Mayo have built up quite a resilient streak in recent weeks and they refused to wilt; they upped the ante again in the closing stages as David McBrien, substitute Fergal Boland, man of the match Ryan O’Donoghue and Matthew Ruane all kicked crucial scores to settle the argument.

O’Donoghue finished with nine points to his credit, a tally which included an audacious two-point score from a sideline ball with the last kick of the first half.

That inspirational effort sent Mayo down the tunnel with the roar of the home crowd ringing in their ears, leading by 0-14 to 1-4.

It was obvious from an early stage that Kevin McStay’s side were intent on picking up their left off against Armagh last week and they deservedly led at the break.

Kerry had started with intent and early points from David Clifford and Paul Geaney seemed ominous. But Donnacha McHugh kept Clifford on a tight leash for the rest of the half while his team-mates went to work at the other end.

Mayo shot 11 of the next 12 points during a blistering 25-minute spell as the likes of Enda