Galway denied as O'Donoghue snatches draw for Mayo

The latest renewal of this famous western rivalry ended in a welter of excitement as Ryan O'Donoghue landed a brilliant equaliser with the last kick of the game to earn Mayo a draw on the opening night of the Allianz League.

Galway looked set to repeat their championship success of last summer at the same venue as the clock ticked down, and a crowd of 13,654 were captivated as Kevin McStay’s new-look team hunted down an equaliser.

The outstanding O’Donoghue, who finished with seven points, duly delivered in the sixth minute of added time to earn the homeside a share of the spoils.

As a result, the Tribesmen were denied a fifth successive victory - in league and championship - over their neighbours in Castlebar.

Last year’s All-Ireland finalists looked to have snatched victory four minutes into additional time when Damien Comer converted a free to nudge them ahead with the finish line in sight, but O’Donoghue’s dramatic late effort meant the sides finished deadlocked in a league match for the first time since November 1997.

A Matthew Tierney goal in the 12th minute helped Galway to lead at half-time by 1-05 to 1-03.

The reigning Connacht champions opened the scoring through Damien Comer in the fifth minute before Ryan O’Donoghue (free) and All-Star midfielder Cillian McDaid traded scores in quick succession.

There were 10 minutes on the clock when Mayo hit the front for the first time in spectacular fashion as James Carr rifled the ball to the top corner of the Galway net after a mazy run through the defence.

GOAL – James Carr with a sensational finish for Mayo