Mayo are through to another ESB Connacht MFC final after a comfortable victory over Leitrim at Markievicz Park yesterday.

Mayo 2-12
Leitrim 1-7

And just as he did against Roscommon last weekend, Mayo captain Cillian O'Connor led by example, scoring 0-7 (0-5 from frees) on this occasion. O'Connor's class and leadership qualities were most evident after Leitrim hit 1-1 without reply in the first six minutes of the second half to close the gap to just two points after Mayo had led by 1-6 to 0-4 at the break.

The game's decisive score came in the 10th minute of the second half when midfielder Danny Kirby combined with Ballintubber clubman O'Connor to set up big full forward Darren Coen for Mayo's second goal. This score put Mayo five points clear and there was no way back for Leitrim after that.

A rout looked to be on the cards when Mayo - who have appeared in the last two All-Ireland finals - raced into a 1-3 to 0-1 lead after only eight minutes. O'Connor kicked all three of their opening points, while he was also involved in the build-up to Sean Kelly's goal.

Leitrim got themselves back into it thanks to points from Shane Moran, Conor Guckian and Aidan Flynn, and could have been closer at the interval had Guckian not spurned a glorious goalscoring opportunity in stoppage-time.

The Ridge County did find the net four minutes after the restart when Conor McWeeney beat Mayo 'keeper Paul Mannion, and they were given further hope when substitute Sean Kelly tagged on a quick point. But Coen's goal soon afterwards killed the game and keeps Mayo on course for their third provincial title on the trot, while also assuring them of a place in the All-Ireland quarter-finals.

Scorers - Mayo: C O'Connor (0-7, 5f), S Kelly (1-2), D Coen (1-1) M Forde (0-1), A Leonard (0-1). Leitrim: C McWeeney (1-0), D Flynn (0-2, 2f), A Flynn (0-1), J Mulligan (0-1), S Moran (0-1), S Quinn (0-1).

Mayo: P Mannion; B Harrison, N Freeman, C Twomey; S Kelly, C Walsh, C Horan; D Kirby, S McGarry; R Quirke, M Forde, F Durkan; C Costello, D Coen, C O'Connor. Subs: A Leonard for F Durkan, K Ruttledge for S Kelly, R Byrne for P Mannion, C O'Shea for C Costello.

Leitrim: E Higgins; J Conlon, D McGowan, M Murphy; A Flynn, M Clancy, C Guckian; J Mulligan, S Moran, M Beirne; C O'Reilly, D Flynn, C Gilheany. Subs: S Quinn for C O'Reilly, J Healy for C Guckian, B Dolan for S Moran, N Plunkett for D Flynn. Tweet

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