The National League’s facility for upending the consensus remains undimmed through the fifth round of games.
Tyrone’s win over Kerry at Healy Park turned a spring campaign that had looked leaden and miserable on its head. Monaghan’s momentum, built on back-to-back victories in Clones, didn’t survive a trip to Salthill. Even Mayo, unbeaten still, had to overcome the concessions of two late goals to breast the tape ahead of Roscommon in the Hyde.
“I suppose we’re probably safe at least,” joked Kevin McStay after Mayo’s 1-16 to 2-11 victory. Little did he know the truth of his gag. That Mayo won’t be relegated is just about the only outcome that is certain heading into the final two rounds of top-flight football.
They sit on top of Division One on eight points but everyone else is sardined just below them, with three points covering eighth to second. You wouldn’t be bullish about many predictions going down the stretch.
For instance, while it’s unlikely that Roscommon will go down, it isn’t impossible. After starting the league with a run of three wins on the bounce, they’ve lost two in a row now and head to Kerry for their next assignment. Lose there and the final match at home to Donegal becomes a death-match. So much for worrying about making a league final.
“And are we going to get anything easy in Kerry?” laughed Davy Burke afterwards. “They lost today, did they? That’s going to be the same craic down there so then we’ve Donegal here the final weekend so we’re right in the mix now. We’re absolutely right in the mix of the relegation battle.
“But could you sneak into a league final on eight or nine points? Probably could too! So we’re probably still in the mix for everything. But we need another point.”
Plenty of teams would pay over the odds for another point at this stage. Tyrone’s 1-15 to 2-9 win in Omagh was badly needed, with the 2021 All-Ireland champions listing badly in recent weeks. But with the young Canavan brothers flourishing and Kerry goalie Shane Ryan coughing up a desperately careless goal, they had enough in hand to see off the visitors.
“Yeah, it was a big win,” said Tyrone co-manager Feargal Logan. “We knew it was going to be a big, big challenge, and it was a big win. Believe it or not we thought within the camp we weren’t a million miles away in a lot of games this year so far.
“And maybe that shows us that we are not a million miles away. There is still a lot of work to be done. In two weeks’ time we have Monaghan but it is nice to get a good win at home and get the Tyrone crowd behind us today. We are just delighted.”
For Jack O’Connor, a relegation battle isn’t how Kerry want to be spending their last few weeks before championship and yet here they are. On a day when David Clifford was superbly marshalled by Paudie Hampsey, it was left to Sean O’Shea to take on the scoring burden but even his 1-2 wasn’t enough.
“It’s not like we hadn’t chances,” O’Connor said. “We’d enough chances but you have to give them credit. They pressurised us but we didn’t get our shots off. It is disappointing – we were in a good position early on in the game and the goal was a bit of a turning point, gave them a bit of confidence and belief.
“You’d be hoping six [points] would be enough but we’ll have to see. Again, I said it from the off every point is hard fought for. Tyrone’s backs were to the wall they were fighting for their lives here and it showed maybe at times, maybe they showed a bit more hunger than we did. This place is never easy to come to particularly when Tyrone are fighting for their lives.”
In Salthill, Galway survived a first-half red card for Peter Cooke to overcome a wan Monaghan challenge and prevail by 1-13 to 0-10. A Johnny Heaney goal seven minutes from time sealed the win but it was ultimately comfortable enough going against a Monaghan team who only managed two frees in the whole of the second half despite being a man to the good.
In Division Two, all the action was at the bottom where Kildare lost to Louth in Ardee and Limerick got their first point of the league with a draw against Meath. Clare’s defeat at home to Cork puts Colm Collins’s side in real peril of dropping into Division Three.
Elsewhere, the result of the day came in Division Three where Westmeath ran up a monstrous 4-27 to 0-8 win over Antrim. It leaves their scoring difference a coffee-spluttering +51 after five games, easily the best in the country.
