Mayo edge out Tyrone in low-scoring Castlebar tussle

It wasn't the sort of game that will live long in the memory, but that won’t be a major concern for Mayo after they ground out their first victory of the Allianz League at Hastings Insurance MacHale Park this afternoon.

Two late scores from substitutes Ryan O’Donoghue (free) and Fergal Boland were the scores that eventually broke Tyrone’s resistance and delivered two precious league points for the Westerners after back-to-back defeats against Dublin and Galway.

This was a mediocre match that never managed to raise its head above the ordinary for the most part as Tyrone crashed to their second defeat in their opening three games.

It also looked set to end in a stalemate when Cathal McShane’s free levelled the game for the seventh time after with five minutes remaining.

But Mayo managed to lift the tempo sufficiently in the closing stages to kick on, with a second booking for Michael McKernan also leaving Tyrone a man down for the closing minutes.

In his absence, Kevin McStay’s team tacked on the match-winning scores from the aforementioned O’Donoghue and Boland to give the home supporters something to shout about after a long afternoon in chilly conditions.

Mayo will also be buoyed by the return to action of the likes of Jordan Flynn, Aidan O’Shea and Jack Coyne for the first time this season, while Frank Irwin (3) and Fergal Boland (2) also kicked a string of eye-catching scores.

Tyrone, on the other hand, badly missed their Errigal Chiaráin contingent again, with goalkeeper, Niall Morgan, emerging as their top scorer on the day with three points, two from play.

Meanwhile, Darren McCurry failed to score from play while Mark Bradley and Eoin McElholm were the only members of their starting attackers to raise white flags.

Despite