Galway are Connacht champions for the 44th time after beating Mayo by 2-12 to 1-14 in a gripping provincial decider at McHale Park. As a showcase for Connacht football, this was a real shot in the arm, with both teams serving up some good fare, especially in the second half. Mayo, also beaten by a point when the teams played here in the league in April, contributed greatly and will feel that they deserved at least a draw after overturning a seven-point deficit to lead with four minutes left, but three late points in as many minutes from Sean Armstrong, Paul Conroy and Cormac Bann did the trick for the men in maroon. Thus, Galway prevailed in a Connacht final in Castlebar for the first time in 21 years and Padraig Joyce lifted the Nestor Cup, having top-scored for the winners with 1-3. Mayo had controlled most of the second half but failed to make the most of their chances when they were on top. Goals from Padraig Joyce and Fiachra Breathnach gave Galway a four-point half-time advantage, 2-4 to 0-6, but Mayo, playing with wind advantage had the last three points of that period to maintain a slight foothold in the game. Early exchanges were nervy with both sides struggling to find any real rhythm. They managed just a point apiece insides the opening 15 minutes. Galway had the better of it at this stage, bringing the fight to Mayo, but David Clarke got down well to block a goalbound Nicky Joyce shot, after good approach play from Bann, and Micheal Meehan's speculative overhead shot went a couple of feet wide. The Tribesmen continued to pile forward and Padraig Joyce (who had his shirt tugged and could have had a penalty) miscued with the goal gaping in the 13th minute. The Maritime County made Galway pay for their profligacy when Trevor Mortimer surged forward to nonchalantly restore their lead in the 16th minute. Bann levelled with a left-footed effort within seconds. Alan Dillon's flick hit the butt of the upright at the end of the first quarter but the hosts didn't waste time licking their wounds and the predatory Conor Mortimer gave them the lead for the third time with a trademark strike on the turn over his right shoulder. Then came the Padraig Joyce show: the peerless marksman equalised with a tremendous kick from distance and then fired an unstoppable 20th-minute shot to the back of the net. That score had the visitors ahead for the first time, 1-3 to 0-3. Mayo's woes were compounded when Trevor Mortimer was forced out of the action through injury, with Aidan Kilcoyne coming on as a replacement. Bann added a point and the Tribesmen registered a second goal on the 28th minute. Matthew Clancy exposed the Mayo defence with a strong run and picked out Meehan, whose pass left Fiachra Breathnach with the simplest of tasks. Mayo appeared to be in trouble but they redeemed themselves with a run of three points, including exquisite scores from captain Ronan McGarrity and Dillon, to close the gap to just four points, 2-4 to 0-6. The first four points of a brilliant second half were shared: Conor Mortimer made it four successive Mayo points with an excellent kick from distance into the wind two minutes after the resumption. A Meehan free steadied Galway before Dillon punched over the fourth of his seven points. It was a four-point game again when Gareth Bradshaw crept forward from corner back to notch a tidy point: 2-6 to 0-8. Substitute Billy Joe Padden popped over a point within minutes of his introduction. Damien Burke and Conor Mortimer were having a great battle and the Galway back did brilliantly to thwart his direct opponent before fouling the tenacious Mayo attacker for the free that produced Dillon's fifth point, 0-10 to 2-6. Galway had completely lost their shape at this stage and were unable to get out of their own half, with their forward line totally non-existent. Right on cue, on the stroke of 50 minutes, another substitute - Aidan Kilcoyne - struck the goal that Mayo's positive play merited. Kilcoyne latched onto the breaking ball close to goal, after Tom Parsons had retrieved Dillon's free on the end line, and the substitute slammed a low shot to the net to put his team back in front with 20 minutes left, 1-10 to 2-6. Padden missed a decent chance to stretch the gap and Padraig Joyce landed Galway's first score in 14 minutes, bringing his own tally to 1-2. Pat Harte cut inside his man with a superb dummy and clipped over a great lead point off the outside of his left boot. John O'Mahony's men now appeared to be on course for a famous win. Both teams missed chances before Joyce again provided the equalising point for Liam Sammon's team. Kilcoyne was unlucky to see his shot drift wide when he went for his second goal after being picked out by Dillon with ten minutes left. Three minutes later, Meehan drilled over a point from close range, but the versatile Padden replied instantly to level matters or the sixth time. Dillon floated a wonderful 66th-minute free between the posts after relieving Mortimer of the responsibility, but Galway levelled straight away when the superb Bradshaw supplied the pass for substitute Sean Armstrong. With two minutes to go, another replacement, Paul Conroy, kicked the Tribe back in front. A minute later, Bann's third score had two points between the teams. Dillon tapped over a point with 95 seconds of injury time played but time ran out for Mayo, who were ultimately unfortunate to lose out by the narrowest of margins. Galway - P Doherty; G Bradshaw 0-1, F Hanley, D Burke; N Coyne, D Blake, G Sice; B Cullinane, N Coleman; C Bane 0-3, P Joyce 1-3, N Joyce; M Clancy, M Meehan 0-3, 2f, F Breathnach 1-0. Subs - K Fitzgerald for Coyne, S Armstrong 0-1 for Clancy, P Conroy 0-1 for Coleman, M Lydon for N Joyce, N Coleman for Breathnach. Mayo - D Clarke; K Higgins, K Conroy, C Boyle; T Cunniffe, D Heaney, J Nallen; R McGarrity 0-1, T Parsons; A Dillon 0-7, 5f, P Harte 0-1, T Mortimer 0-1; C Mortimer 0-2, A O'Malley, A Moran. Subs - A Kilcoyne 1-0 for T Mortimer, P Gardiner for Boyle, A Higgins for Conroy, BJ Padden 0-2 for O'Malley, M Ronaldson for Parsons. Ref - D Coldrick (Meath) Tweet

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