Cork 4-12 Mayo 1-12
Cork football is on the rise.
One week after their under-20s dismantled Dublin in an All-Ireland final, the minors did likewise to Mayo in the wide open spaces of Croke Park.
Patrick Campbell, that sharpshooter from Nemo Rangers was the main man for the Rebels who got goals at the right times to keep Mayo at arms’ length the whole game long.
And now they’re through to an All-Ireland final. Having threatened Kerry’s distinguished record at this grade in the Munster final they showed their promise but they really came good here at the biggest stage.
Now they’re set up for a second crack at the Kingdom or indeed a first meeting with a highly rated Galway side with the two counties meeting in the other semi-final on Sunday.
Saturday was Cork’s day however. That man Campbell made sure of it.
There were no less than six minutes on the clock when he drew first blood for the Reds. A loose Mayo kickout was latched onto before he punished the goalkeeper with an exhibition for a rounded finish.
There’s no stopping that.
Now that's how you round a goalkeeper ⚡️
Patrick Campbell of @NemoRangersGAA is clinical ☄️pic.twitter.com/ly5cP5bhWD
— GAA JOE (@GAA__JOE) August 10, 2019
Mayo wouldn’t go down easy though and this was mainly down to the skill and resilience of Paddy Heneghan from Castlebar Mitchels. A club captain the whole way through the underage ranks, this is Heneghan’s second year a Mayo minor and he came into his own out there on Saturday.
Last year he was an impact sub, this time around he’s one of main men and he kicked three gorgeous points off the left in that first half to keep Mayo in touch. Honestly, each one of them is a joy to watch and they’re well worth reliving here.
First half highlights of Mayo Cork minors…
And it's all about ONE man and his left boot ☄️
Paddy Heneghan of @MitchelsGaa looks pure class 😱pic.twitter.com/YMlIHRLyIT
— GAA JOE (@GAA__JOE) August 10, 2019
Bobbie O’Dwyer’s Cork boys were the better team though and it was as simple as that.
They hit the ground running in the second half, none more so than their marauding full back Daniel Linehan who lit up Croke Park with a scandalous solo goal.
The pace, the power, the nerve and the finish. It was some score by the Castlemagner man.
Ah here, full backs shouldn't be able to do things like this 🤣
Daniel Linehan, take a bow 🙇♀️🙇♀️pic.twitter.com/W4XxxWkyiw
— GAA JOE (@GAA__JOE) August 10, 2019
That was added to by a brace of goals from Conor Corbett and those green flags ended up being the difference between the sides, though sub Niall Feeney showed the Mayo lads how to do it with an audacious effort of his own.
Mayo lose but Niall Feeney will always have that goal he scored in Croke Park
Holy Moly what a strike from the @NaStiofanaigh playerpic.twitter.com/HQgZWBMvqV
— GAA JOE (@GAA__JOE) August 10, 2019
Campbell was named the man of the match and his nod to the Cork 20s, as well as the Cork ladies minor team was well received.
“We’ve been training so hard for the last couple of weeks after losing to Kerry. We just came here to win today, we got great confidence from the under-20s and the ladies minor team winning too…”
These lads will take a bit of stopping on All-Ireland final day.
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