Mayo advance into All-Ireland semi-final after second half surge

Mayo's marquee forwards make hay in the Dublin sunshine

MAYO are into an All-Ireland semi-final for the first time in five years after a five-point win over Cork at Croke Park, 0-23 to 0-18, in this afternoon's quarter-final.

Cork dominated possession for long stretches of the first period but were repeatedly let down by their shooting, racking up wides at a rate that kept Mayo in touch despite playing second fiddle for large parts of the opening 35 minutes.

The sides went in level at the break, 0-9 apiece, with Mayo's full-forward line of Ryan O'Donoghue, Kobe McDonald and Darragh Beirne responsible for the entirety of their tally.

McDonald, making his senior Croke Park debut, was one of the stories of the afternoon.

The Crossmolina forward, who departs for AFL side St Kilda next month, struck a stunning two-pointer with the outside of his right boot in after 25 minutes lifted the Croke Park crowd and dragged Mayo back into the game.

Darragh Beirne, another debutant in Croke Park, took to the stage with ease, earning a deserved man of the match for his performance.

The second half belonged to Andy Moran's side. A purple patch after the break, capped by two Beirne two-pointers, opened up a four-point gap that Cork never properly threatened.

Substitute Tommy Conroy, introduced for Paul Towey after the interval, gave Mayo a dangerous forward outlet while Diarmuid Duffy's tackling, Hession's tenacity and Callinan's ferociousness lent to a more cohesive Mayo defensive unit compared to the opening period.

Cork rallied through Brian Hurley and Steven Sherlock late on, cutting the gap to three points, but Mayo had the better composure in the closing stages and never looked like losing their lead.

Scores from O'Donoghue, Beirne and substitute Conor Loftus saw them home, with Cork's wides count climbing to 13 by the final whistle - a number that ultimately decided the contest as much as Mayo's free-scoring forward line did.

Steven Sherlock was Cork's main scoring threat throughout, while Paul Walsh and Chris Óg Jones also impressed for John Cleary's side.

Mayo now await the draw for an All-Ireland semi-final, with Kerry, Tyrone, Dublin and Galway among the sides still in contention, and Louth and Monaghan completing the last eight.

Full match report and reaction inside Tuesday's edition of the Connaught Telegraph