Mayo book final spot and consign Kildare to relegation

Mayo marched back into the Allianz League Division 1 final on the day that Kildare were relegated back to the second division next season.

They were the main outcomes after this afternoon's pulsating match at a sun-splashed Avant Garde Pairc Seán MacDiarmada in Carrick-on-Shannon.

But there was so much more to a rip-roaring match that was ultimately decided by a goal in each half from Ryan O’Donoghue and Jordan Flynn that saw Mayo qualify for next weekend’s decider against Kerry.

Mayo manager James Horan wasn’t there to see his team qualify for their second league decider in four seasons as he was attending a family confirmation.

However, while his team turned on the style in the last quarter to pull away and win comfortably, first half injuries to Brendan Harrison and Diarmuid O’Connor will be a cause for concern.

Harrison was stretchered off after just two minutes when he seemed to fall awkwardly when challenging a Kildare forward, while O’Connor walked off in the 24th minute with what looked like a recurrence of his recent hamstring issue.

Glenn Ryan, meanwhile, was left to reflect on a disappointing end to a league campaign that saw his team lose all four of their away matches this season.

A large crowd of around 10,000 people turned out and they certainly got their money's worth.

Mayo led at the end of a breathless first half by 1-10 to 0-12. Ryan O’Donoghue’s goal on 12 minutes put the Westerners in front for the first time and they didn’t trail from there to the half-time break.

Both teams had come flying out of the blocks with Paddy Woodgate (free) and Ben McCormack trading points with the aforementioned O’Donoghue and Jason Doherty — who finished the game with five scores from play.

Mayo’s running game then paid dividends