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25th Aug 2013

Gallery: Mayo emerge victorious from a tough semi-final clash with Tyrone

Mayo took some time to find the answers to the questions Tyrone posed them today, but still look to be playing like a team who have only one goal in mind

JOE

Mayo took some time to find the answers to the questions Tyrone posed them today, but still look to be playing like a team who have only one goal in mind

Mayo grew into the game today, and despite a very strong and quick start from Tyrone, they emerged victorious by a score of 1-16 to 0-13 with a commanding second half display.

The pace of the game was blistering from the start, and Tyrone came in to the match absolutely fired up for a huge encounter, with Mayo taking a little bit of time to find their rhythm.

Cillian O’Connor and Peter Harte were both shaken early on and had to be taken off with injuries, which was a huge loss for both sides, but in a strange way almost levelled each other out.

Harte was in a massive collision which left him unable to continue, but an innocuous looking incident gave O’Connor serious shoulder problems which forced his withdrawal.

Mayo fans were very upset when in the 25th minute, a fantastic goal from Alan Freeman was chalked off as the ref had blown the whistle before hand for what seemed a very soft call in the first place, and this could have been a talking point if the scoreline was different.

However, he wasn’t to be denied his goal, as he absolutely blasted a penalty in to the back of the net that Mayo were awarded early in the second half, although in the replay it appeared that the foul took place outside the area. Tyrone keeper Pascal McConnell got a hand to it, but it was so powerful there was nothing he could do. Whatever was said by James Horan at half time obviously worked, and they came out looking like a different side.

That seemed to leave Tyrone a little bit shell shocked, as they looked out of sorts after the break, and Mayo capitalised by really turning up the pressure. They began to dominate the kickouts and high ball in the middle of the park, and took their points when they were presented with them, even when there was a chance of a goal. Most importantly, they began to play with the confidence they had shown in previous matches up to this point.

That chipped away at Tyrone who found it impossible to come back once Mayo had gotten themselves into a commanding lead. The goal made life easier, but the continuous scoring made them the dominant side in the match.

Aidan O’Shea had another fantastic game, and with just a few short minutes left on the clock, he was substituted, to a standing ovation from the Mayo supporters in the crowd.

Mayo are headed for another All-Ireland final, and will meet either Dublin or Kerry, but today it seems that they finally faced the stern test that many pundits claimed they needed, and still found their winning formula.