Galway rally falls short as Mayo edge lively encounter

Mayo 2-18 Galway 3-12

The latest meeting of these western rivals certainly didn't disappoint as Mayo withstood a late Galway rally to qualify for their first Connacht FBD Connacht Cup final since 2012.

A crowd of over 1,000 people were on the edge of their seats in the closing stages at the University of Galway/Connacht GAA Air Dome on Saturday evening as Kevin McStay’s experimental side booked their place in the decider against Roscommon.

Mayo had looked set for a comfortable win over Padraic Joyce’s largely second-string selection when they led by 10 points at half-time, but the Tribesmen came roaring back in the second half and pushed the winners all the way to the line.

However, Mayo held their nerve in the closing stages and a late point from Bob Tuohy was enough to seal a deserved victory, and whet the appetite for the next local derby between the teams in two weeks' time.

The tone was set for an entertaining encounter inside the early stages and the sides were level at 0-4 apiece after 18 minutes.

Then Mayo took complete control and outscored a shell-shocked Galway outfit by 2-5 to 0-1 in the second quarter.

Goals from Paul Towey and James Carr in the 23rd and 35th minutes respectively came after flowing moves, while Aidan Orme shot three points as Mayo attacked the holders from all angles.

Galway’s only response during that blitz was a pointed free from Barry McHugh in the 32nd minute, leaving Mayo ahead by 2-9 to 0-5 at the change of ends.

The Galway manager made four changes at the break, but it was the decision to introduce Tomo Culhane that made the biggest impact.

The Salthill-Knocknarrra attacker shot 1-2 in the third quarter as Galway came roaring back into contention with white flags from John Maher and Cathal