Mayo 0-11 Cavan 0-8: In horse racing parlance, Mayo forwards left themselves in grave danger of having to face a stewards' inquiry for their inept display in Saturday's All-Ireland football qualifier at Hyde Park.However they still managed to end Cavan's campaign in front of an attendance of 13,217.
The Mayo attack accumulated an abysmal 19 wides, most of them from very scoreable positions, and that disturbing fact will concern the beaten Connacht finalists and their manager John Maughan over the coming days as they prepare for a major quarter-final test against reigning champions Kerry.
Attacking ability apart, Mayo played well in terms of the Gaelic football coaching manual which says that matches are won and lost between the two 45-metre lines. But despite their 80-20 monopoly in this area, they barely survived because of their wayward shooting at the Cavan posts.
Maughan euphemistically declared that his team had kept the door open to Cavan. He could have added that the door was of the barnhouse variety and lifted off its hinges.
But Cavan showed no ability to exploit the situation as they fed off scraps provided by their central players. In fact, had two serious last- ditch Cavan attacks in search of the goal they craved proved successful it would have been an injustice.
Dermot McCabe and Finbarr O'Reilly in turn during the fifth minute of stoppage time tried to lob placed balls into a crowded Mayo goalmouth in the hope that someone would deflect the slippery ball into the Mayo net.
Happily, for the neutrals at least, this did not happen and we were spared having to look at any more of a frustratingly poor encounter.
Cavan's sluggish scoring rate spluttered and stalled but ironically two of their number, McCabe and Larry Reilly, contributed two of the best best points of the day.
Both sides did not seem to quite know what they were trying to achieve by playing only two inside forwards with Mayo's Billy Joe Padden being asked to fulfil an outfield role which left Ciarán McDonald and Conor Mortimer to forage in the front line.
Ronan McGarrity and Shane Fitzmaurice generally controlled the midfield sector and perhaps might have achieved more by sending more direct ball into their inside forward line. The Mayo duo were assisted by Pat Kelly, a late call-up for Alan Roche, James Nallen and Peadar Gardiner.
The Mayo half backs were in turn influenced by the stout-hearted play of Dermot Geraghty, David Heaney and Gary Ruane in the full-back line. Mayo were more comfortable in their work before the sort of ball available on the day reached their forwards.
Cavan, in contrast, became more and more unsettled as the game progressed. They could have done without full back Darren Rabbitt being stretchered off in the opening quarter. Before they got to sample wind advantage in the second half almost a third of their original starting line-up had been replaced.
Mayo stretched their lead to four points, 0-6 to 0-2, by the 20th minute. Larry Reilly and Finbarr O'Reilly reduced arrears to two points before Alan Dillon and Michael Moyles (a late call-up for Andy Moran) topped up Mayo's account to help them lead 0-8 to 0-4 at half-time.
After the break the wides flowed for Mayo and it was 20 minutes before they increased their tally with a point from substitute Marty McNicholas.
Another 10 minutes elapsed before another substitute, James Gill, had Mayo's next point. Infrequent scoring of this order will hardly be good enough against Kerry. Those who like to rub it in were heard to quip on leaving the ground: "Kerry are smiling".
MAYO: D Clarke; D Geraghty, D Heaney, G Ruane; P KellY, J Nallen, P Gardiner; R McGarrity (0-1), S Fitzmauice; M Moyles (0-3), C McDonald (0-1), A Dillon (0-3 one free); C Mortimer, BJ Padden, A O'Malley (0-3). Subs: M McNicholas for Mortimer (51 mins), J Gill for Moyles (56 mins), B Moran for Fitzmaurice (70 mins).
CAVAN: J Reilly; M Hannon, D Rabbitt, P O'Reilly; M Cahill, A Forde, P Reilly; D McCabe (0-3 two frees), P McKenna; M McKeever, N Walsh, F O'Reilly (0-1), S Johnston, J O'Reilly, L Reilly (0-4 two frees). Subs: C Collins for Rabbitte (8 mins), P Brady for P Reilly, J Tierney for Johnston, A Gaynor for McKenna (all at half time).
Referee: T Quigley (Wexford)
