Under 21 salvation for Mayo
December 29, 2006
Keith Higgins Mayo
For the second time in three seasons, Mayo suffered a crushing defeat to Kerry in the All-Ireland football final. But it was still a successful year for Mayo's busy dual star Keith Higgins, who had the distinction of captaining the Westerners to their first All-Ireland under 21 title since 1983.
Despite achieving more than more counties in 2006, Mayo's year was once again overshadowed by a spectacular collapse in the All-Ireland football final.
And just as in 2004, Kerry inflicted untold damage on the out-of-sorts Westerners in one of the most one-sided All-Ireland finals ever played. While the Kingdom went into the game as favourites, no-one could possibly have predicted that their winning margin would be 13 points - four more than two years ago.
It was every Mayo fan's worst nightmare and totally overshadowed everything that had gone before it. Mayo's record for 2006 makes impressive reading - All-Ireland runners-up, Connacht champions, National League semi-finalists and All-Ireland under 21 champions - yet the year will be remembered for the horror show at Croke Park on September 17.
"We're back to square one now, unfortunately," offers Mayo dual star Keith Higgins, who could do little to stop Kieran Donaghy and company from running amok on football's biggest day.
"I can't figure out what happened to us. I watched the video once and that was enough. We felt we had a good chance, especially after the performance against Dublin in the semi-final. But Kerry came out with all guns blazing and we were fighting a losing battle after that."
While still haunted by Mayo's All-Ireland final performance, the corner back from Ballyhaunis is confident that they will bounce back in 2007.
"We haven't become a bad team overnight. We're disappointed at the moment, but we'll get over it. Mayo has suffered many setbacks down the years, but we keep coming back. We're a resilient team, even if we didn't show it in the All-Ireland final, and so too are our supporters.
"The Kerry game apart, we can still look back on the year with a lot of satisfaction. We reached the All-Ireland final, and there are 30 other counties in the country who would love to be able to say that."
The All-Ireland final defeat tempered an otherwise excellent year for Higgins, who had the distinction of being the first man in 21 years to captain a Mayo inter-county team to All-Ireland glory. On May 7, he skippered the Westerners to a long overdue All-Ireland under 21 football title triumph at Cork's expense in Cusack Park, Ennis.
The victory was hailed as a significant breakthrough for a county that had become the butt of cruel jokes over its inability to land a major championship in recent years. In fact, it brought an end to a run of 13 All-Ireland final defeats in all grades since Mayo claimed the minor crown in 1985. Higgins was joined on the victorious under 21 team by fellow seniors Trevor Howley, Barry Moran, Aidan Kilcoyne and Michael Conroy.
"It meant a lot to Mayo people that we were able to put an end to the county's losing streak in All-Ireland finals. They had taken a lot of flak over the years. It was also an important win from the point of view that it will take a lot of pressure off Mayo teams that get to finals in future. That stigma is no longer there," says Higgins, who also captained the county under 21 hurlers to an All-Ireland 'B' final appearance against Laois this year.
Under the management of former county stars Pat Holmes, Noel Conneely and Michael Collins, the Mayo under 21s defeated both Leitrim and Roscommon to set up a Connacht final meeting with old rivals and reigning All-Ireland champions Galway at McHale Park.
Despite playing against the wind in the first half, Mayo led by 0-7 to 0-2 at the interval. The home side remained in the driving seat after the restart and had established a commanding 0-14 to 0-4 lead before Fiachra Breathnach managed a late consolation goal for Galway, with the final score reading 0-15 to 1-5 in Mayo's favour.
Pat Holmes' charges booked their place in the All-Ireland final with a 1-12 to 0-14 defeat of Tyrone after extra-time at Kingspan Breffni Park.
Shrule-Glencorrib's Mark Ronaldson supplied the all-important goal in the 18th minute and this was enough to give the Connacht champions a 1-7 to 0-6 half-time advantage. But Tyrone scored seven unanswered points either side of the break to lead by 0-11 to 1-7.
There was little to separate the sides in the final quarter with Mayo outscoring the Ulster champions by 0-2 to 0-1 to leave the score 1-9 to 0-12 at the end of normal time. The exchanges remained close in extra-time, but Mayo did just enough to make it through to the final.
Twenty-one years of failure and frustration in All-Ireland deciders finally came to an end when Mayo recorded a magnificent 1-13 to 1-11 victory over Cork at Cusack Park. For a long time, it looked as if the Munster champions would live up to their favourites' billing, but a determined Mayo blew them away with a super second half showing.
The Rebels made the better start and had posted two points before Aidan Kilcoyne opened Mayo's account. Cork continued to set the pace and Mayo relied on points from Michael Conroy and Kilcoyne to stay in touch. The outstanding Kilcoyne reduced the deficit to the minimum before Cork hit two further scores to take a 0-7 to 0-4 lead into the break.
When John Hayes extended the Rebels advantage four minutes after the restart, Mayo looked to be in trouble. But they then scored 1-4 without reply to take the game by the scruff of the neck.
Midfielder Seamus O Se won a 36th minute penalty and got up to score it himself, albeit after Cork goalkeeper Ken O'Halloran had saved his initial shot. Michael Conroy quickly followed up with a point to level the scoring with 23 minutes still to play. The momentum was firmly with the Westerners at that stage and, after Kilcoyne edged them in front from a free, they hammered home their advantage with further scores from Kilcoyne, Conroy and Mark Ronaldson sealing a famous win.
No sooner was the under 21 final over than Keith was embarking on another championship campaign with the Mayo seniors. With Derry man Mickey Moran at the helm, Mayo had shown impressive form in the National League and had actually finished top of a highly competitive Division 1A before losing to Galway in a semi-final that is remembered more for the war of words that followed between the respective managements than for the game itself.
Mayo made a sluggish start to the championship and after chalking up a routine win over London in Ruislip, they were forced to hang on for a one-point victory over another Division 2 team in Leitrim in the Connacht semi-final. They dominated Galway in the provincial final, but their old failings in front of goal almost cost them. Fortunately, Conor Mortimer hit a last-gasp winning free to spare their blushes and send them through to the All-Ireland quarter-final.
Mickey Moran's charges needed two attempts to beat Laois before they faced Dublin in what was their third outing in as many Sundays. Dublin had blazed a path through Leinster, and had easily accounted for Westmeath in their All-Ireland quarter-final. Mayo were written off in most quarters, but producing a performance as good as any seen from them in the past half century, they defied the odds with a pulsating 1-16 to 2-12 victory.
Much was said and written about what was arguably the greatest game of modern times. After making a blistering start, Mayo were reeled in and looked down and out when they trailed by seven points 10 minutes into the second half. But then came the comeback which many thought was impossible. A goal from substitute Andy Moran sparked Mayo into life and they dominated the closing stages with Ciaran McDonald's winning point the stuff of legend.
The question of everyone's lips in the build-up to the All-Ireland final was: could Mayo produce a similar performance and end their 55-year wait for Sam Maguire? Kerry made sure the answer was an emphatic no as they blitzed the shell-shocked Westerners in the opening 10 minutes and won pulling up by 4-15 to 3-5.
Despite his football commitments, Higgins still somehow found time to line out for Frank Browne's senior hurlers who made steady progress in 2006 by reaching the National League Division 2 semi-final and retaining their Christy Ring Cup status. The young bank official turns 22 next year, so the demands on him shouldn't be as great as in recent years.
"Between senior, under 21 and club, I played an awful lot of football and hurling this year. There should be less demands on me next year and I hope to continue playing the two codes for as long as I can," he concludes.
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