THERE was no shortage of drama as Mayo won a shoot-out in Castlebar to catapult them out of the relegation zone on Saturday.
The homeside finished like a train — shooting the last four points of the match — to edge out Kerry and leapfrog them in the league table in the process.
Ryan O’Donoghue was the star of the show for the Westerners, chipping in with nine points, including a couple of two-pointers.
David Clifford was another top performer who finished with six scores, despite being tightly marked by Mayo defender Donnacha McHugh.
Reflecting on the victory, Mayo boss Kevin McStay said: “That is such a satisfying win because we got it by doing the right things.
“Yes, we made lots of mistakes but we showed a great attitude. When games are on the line with seven or eight minutes to go, you’re going to see superhuman stuff because everybody wants to win the two points on offer.
“The two points today were key because both teams were in that space where we wanted to secure our Division 1 status as quickly as possible.
“It’s not done yet, we have two massive matches ahead of us.
“We’ll enjoy this evening — but tomorrow we start thinking about how we can execute in the next match.”
A crowd of 9,358 watched Mayo race into a half-time lead of seven points.
But Kerry came roaring back in the third quarter to overtake the Green and Red’s lead with ten minutes remaining.
In fact, when the Kingdom’s David Clifford nailed a two-point score — and followed it up with a close-range free — the momentum looked to be only going one way.
But Mayo refused to bend the knee and they rallied with scores from David McBrien, substitute Fergal Boland, man of the match Ryan O’Donoghue, and Matthew Ruane to propel them to what was a well-deserved victory in the end.
The visitors had started with intent and early points from David Clifford and Paul Geaney seemed ominous.
But the hosts shot 11 of the next 12 points during a blistering 25-minute spell — with the likes of Enda Hession, Fenton Kelly, Jack Carney and Matthew Ruane driving them forward into enemy territory.
The scores came from a variety of sources and angles with Ryan O’Donoghue nailing a free worth two points.
And a couple of standard frees. Frank Irwin (2), Darren McHale (2), Jack Carney, Sam Callinan and Matthew Ruane also hit the target. This blitz meant that Mayo were 0-12 to 0-3 ahead after 30 minutes.
However, Jack O’Connor’s side were thrown a lifeline on 32 minutes when Brían Ó Beaglaoich fired in a goal that was followed by a free from David Clifford.
Mayo dug deep, though, and responded with a flourish.
The in-form Ryan O’Donoghue whipped over a magnificent two-pointer from a line ball to give his team a seven-point cushion at the interval.
Kerry played their best football of the day in the 25 minutes after the restart, kicking 0-12 during that spell and attacking McStay’s men from all angles.
Dylan Geaney chipped in with a couple of two-pointers while Paul Geaney, Paudie Clifford, and Conor Geaney also got on the scoresheet.
But they were unable to keep a dynamic and determined Mayo at bay in the closing stages.
Jack O’Connor said afterwards: “I’m disappointed that we didn’t get something out of the game,”
“I thought our second half performance probably deserved maybe a point.
“But the first half, we didn’t play well.
“We shook the cobwebs off there in the second half, but we obviously left ourselves with too much to do.”
MAYO: C Reape 0-1; J Coyne, D McHugh, E Hession; S Coen, D McBrien 0-1, S Callinan 0-1; J Carney 0-1, M Ruane 0-3; F Kelly, D McHale 0-2, J Flynn; A O’Shea, R O’Donoghue 0-9 5f 2tpf, F Irwin 0-2. Subs: S Morahan for Callinan 50 minutes; E McLaughlin for Kelly 52; P Towey for Irwin 57; F Boland 0-1 for Flynn 61; B Tuohy for McHale 68.
KERRY: S Ryan; D Bourke, J Foley, D Casey; G O’Sullivan, M Breen, B Ó Beaglaoich 1-0; D O’Connor 0-1, J O’Connor; D Lyne, P Clifford 0-1, A Heinrich; D Clifford 0-6 2f 1tp, P Geaney 0-3 1f, D Geaney 0-4 2tp. Subs: M Burns for Heinrich 30 minutes; M O’Shea for Lyne 50; P Murphy for Bourke 52; C Geaney 0-1 for P Geaney 53; D O’Sullivan for D Geaney.
