Cork Win Division One Title
Cork's Patrick O'Shea and Trevor Mortimer of Mayo (INPHO)
Allianz GAA National Football League Final: Cork 1-17 Mayo 0-12
Cork claimed their first Allianz GAA National League title since 1989 with a 1-17 to 0-12 destruction of Mayo in a one-sided Division 1 final at Croke Park.
The Rebels led 0-9 to 0-5 at the break after Donncha O'Connor had kicked five points in the first half.
Two Conor Mortimer points after the restart reduced the gap to two, but that was as close as the Westerners came in the second half, as Cork kicked 1-3 in a three-minute spell to ease to the most comfortable win imaginable.
Daniel Goulding, who finished with 1-5 to his name, rammed home the only goal of the game in the 63rd minute, ending any Mayo hopes of a comeback in the process.
For Mayo, there was yet more bitter disappointment in Croke Park, which has proven to be a graveyard for their dreams all too often in the past.
Cork's forwards gave another brilliant scoring display, with five of their attack as well as their two midfielders on target. In contrast, Conor Mortimer was the only Mayo forward to score from play until Andy Moran added a late point when the game was over as a contest.
The Rebels' thoughts will now turn to emulating the class of '89, led by their current manager, Conor Counihan, who followed up on their National League success with an All-Ireland title in the same year. On this evidence, not many would bet against history repeating itself.
Cork were ahead after three minutes when Ciaran Sheehan, the Rebels' full-forward, repaid the faith shown in him by Counihan with a fine point from play.
Mayo took eight minutes to get off the mark and it was their midfielder, Seamus O'Shea, who kicked a towering point to level the game.
Cork then hit five successive points in a dominant 12-minute spell to assume complete control of the game. Remarkably, five of their forward line contributed points in the opening 20 minutes, while O'Connor slotted over two glorious points from play to leave the Rebels 0-6 to 0-1 ahead.
Prior to O'Connor's brace, Mayo missed three goal-scoring opportunities in as many minutes. Aidan O'Shea came closest when he fisted the ball off the crossbar after he had beaten Paddy O'Shea, the Cork goalkeeper, to Kevin McLoughlin's crossfield ball.
Mark Ronaldson then skewed another goal chance wide, before Aidan O'Shea was played through on goal and looked set to hit the back of the net when Jamie O'Sullivan denied the giant Mayo full-forward with a brilliant full-length block.
Mayo's profligacy was in stark contrast to the efficiency with which the Cork forwards used the ball. Despite making ten changes from the team that lined out against Mayo in Páirc Uí Chaoimh two weeks ago, the Rebels' attacking play was fluid and O'Connor, especially, was on top of his game despite missing much of the league campaign through suspension.
Mayo ended a 15-minute spell without a score when Alan Dillon landed a free before Conor Mortimer chipped in with his first point of the game to reduce the gap to three, 0-6 to 0-3.
O'Connor kicked three more points from frees for Cork to bring his total to five for the half, while Conor Mortimer was Mayo's only forward to score from play in the opening 35 minutes, registering two more points before the break, as Cork led by 0-9 to 0-5.
In contrast to the opening 35 minutes, it was Mayo who made the better start to the second half. Conor Mortimer was starting to cause Ray Carey real problems, and he beat the Clyda Rovers clubman to an early ball to kick a brilliant point off his left foot. The blonde-haired forward brought his total for the afternoon to 0-5 when he landed a free that brought Mayo two within two points, 0-9 to 0-7. However, that was as close as the Connacht champions would get.
Cork eased further ahead with a Goulding score from play and might have closed the game out as a contest but for a brilliant save from David Clarke, the Mayo goalkeeper. The experienced Ballina man - one of two Mayo men with a National League medal in his locker from the 2001 win over Galway - reacted brilliantly to tip Alan O'Connor's fisted effort over the bar. As if to hammer home their complete dominance, Cork's Aidan Walsh and Goulding added to their tally to give the Munster champions a six-point advantage with 17 minutes left.
Mortimer and Dillon provided some resistance for Mayo, but it was all Cork in the final quarter. They scored three successive points before Goulding hit the back of the net in the 63rd minute to end the game as a contest. The Eire Óg man brought his tally to 1-5 when he took a superb pass from Sheehan and planted the ball low and beyond Clarke's reach. Cork led by 1-17 to 0-9.
Mayo finished with three points in a row, but it was a face saving exercise at this late point for John O'Mahony's side, who endured another nightmare afternoon at Headquarters.
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