DERRY LIGHT UP SAM RACE
Championship finally comes to life as Oak Leaf see off Mayo in shootout thriller
THE CHAMPIONSHIP caught fire on an evening of extraordinary drama as Derry beat Mayo on penalties in a gripping preliminary quarter-final clash in Castlebar – hours after Roscommon stunned Tyrone in Omagh.
After weeks of complaints about meandering competition structures, the season took on a much more dramatic look, with a bumper weekend in Croke Park looming for the All-Ireland quarter-finals.
And Derry earned their place in the last eight with a deserved win away to Mayo, Conor Doherty scoring the decisive penalty after the teams couldn’t be separated following extra time.
The league champions were fancied to compete for the Sam Maguire but their disastrous summer that encompassed defeats to Donegal, Galway and Armagh is back on track.
The short space of time to recover from over 90 minutes of intense football won’t worry Mickey Harte. ‘We’ll be living in ice baths,’ joked Conor McCluskey, but he couldn’t hide his delight, as he credited the performance with going ‘back to basics’.
Kevin McStay was left to rue Mayo surrendering another lead. As with the game against Dublin a week ago, they led by a point with the last play of normal time. Once again, they couldn’t close it out. ‘Massive disappointment,’ was how he described it. ‘We couldn’t see it out, it’s been the story of our season, and it’s hugely disappointing.’
Galway beat Monaghan in Salthill on the back of a powerful second half. Cork play Louth in the fourth preliminary quarter-final today.
In hurling, it was victory on the double for Munster hurling yesterday as Clare beat Wexford and Cork beat Dublin in a quarterfinal double bill.