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 Hession, Fenton Kelly, Jack Carney and Matthew Ruane drove them forward.
The scores came from a variety of sources and angles with Ryan O’Donoghue nailing a free worth two points, and a couple of standard frees, while Frank Irwin (2), Darren McHale (2), Jack Carney, Sam Callinan and Matthew Ruane also hit the target.
This blitz meant that Mayo were 0-12 to 0-3 ahead after 30 minutes as Kerry struggled to keep the home side’s line breakers at bay.
However, Jack O’Connor’s side finally showed some intent on 32 minutes when Mayo’s defence was caught flat-footed and Brían Ó Beaglaoich stole in around the back to finish clinically past Colm Reape.
That goal lifted the small Kerry crowd’s spirits and a free from David Clifford soon after narrowed the gap to five points as half-time approached.
But Mayo responded to finish with a flourish as the in-form Ryan O’Donoghue whipped over the aforementioned two-pointer to give his team a decent cushion.
Kerry didn’t take long though to eat into the deficit, and they played their best football of the day in the 25 minutes after the restart.
The Kingdom rattled off 0-12 during that spell as they tore into the breaking ball with abandon and attacked Mayo’s over-worked defence from all angles.
Dylan Geaney chipped in with a couple of two-pointers while Paul Geaney, Paudie Clifford and Conor Geaney also got on the scoresheet.
So too did David Clifford, who finally escaped the shackles of Donnacha McHugh to raise an orange flag in the 57th minute that put Kerry in front for the first time since the second minute of the game.
When the former Footballer of the Year doubled the visitor’s lead, it looked like they might kick on to grab a third win of the campaign.
But Mayo had other ideas, and they rallied superbly to drive on to their second home victory of the season.
Key: tp - two-point score; tpf - two-point free; tpm - two-point mark
Mayo: C Reape (0-01); J Coyne, D McHugh, E Hession; S Coen, D McBrien (0-01), S Callinan (0-01); J Carney (0-01), M Ruane (0-03); F Kelly, D McHale (0-02), J Flynn; A O’Shea, R O’Donoghue (0-09, 5fs, 2tpf), F Irwin (0-02).
Subs: S Morahan for Callinan (50'); E McLaughlin for Kelly (52'); P Towey for Irwin (57'); F Boland (0-01) for Flynn (61'); B Tuohy for McHale (68').
Kerry: S Ryan; D Bourke, J Foley, D Casey; G O’Sullivan, M Breen, B Ó Beaglaoich (1-00); D O’Connor (0-01), J O’Connor; D Lyne, P Clifford (0-01), A Heinrich; D Clifford (0-06, 2fs, 1tp), P Geaney (0-03, 1f), D Geaney (0-04, 2tp).
Subs: M Burns for Heinrich (30'); M O’Shea for Lyne (50'); P Murphy for Bourke (52'); C Geaney (0-01) for P Geaney (53'); D O’Sullivan for D Geaney.
Referee: S Hurson (Tyrone)
