We’re not even out of pre-season yet and the last two weekends have brought us two penalty shootouts. God almighty, how could you not love Mayo?
James Horan’s dream of finding that last remaining inch to get Mayo over the line to finally win the FBD League once more has been dashed. Mayo are out and they’ll have to wait another year to bridge the gap back to 2012.
Six barren seasons have become seven as a late Barry McHugh goal tied the game in Tuam to force a draw and yet another shootout in what has been one of the most entertaining FBD Leagues in a long time.
7,000 people were at hand to witness the second penalty shootout of the Connacht campaign and the man who sent the semi-final into the tie-breakers, Barry McHugh, hit the penalty that had everyone arguing afterwards.
With the scores at 2-2 and Galway with a shot in hand, McHugh stepped up and hit a rasper in off the underside of the crossbar with so much venom that it bounced back out beyond the six-yard box.
Some of the Mayo fans cheered initially until the ref and umpire awarded the goal but there were still plenty who were happy to argue that it hadn’t crossed the line.
Thanks to RTÉ’s Darren Frehill, his tweet shows just how far over the line it actually was.
Look at the crowd in Tuam today. It's still January by the way #gaa pic.twitter.com/Pz8nSNtkFZ
— Darren Frehill (@Darrenfrehill) January 13, 2019
At 3-2 and with Diarmuid O’Connor having already missed an effort, Andy Moran was under pressure to keep Mayo’s hopes alive with their fourth shot but An Spidéal’s Manus Breathnach saved for a second time in the shootout.
Galway now play Roscommon in the decider on Sunday, a week out from the start of the national league campaign.
You can watch the full shootout below, courtesy of Connacht GAA.
Penalty Shoot Out FBD League Semi Final Galway and Mayo https://t.co/dX4cJNPM48
— Connacht GAA (@ConnachtGAA) January 13, 2019
