McGinley And Keegan Speak Perfect Sense On 'Stupid Rule' That Cost Mayo A Vital Point
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Galway made it four Connacht titles in a row with a 1-17 to 1-15 win against the old foes Mayo.
The Tribesmen started with the breeze and had a comprehensive 1-11 to 1-3 lead at the break. With Mayo being the lowest two-point scorer in the country, it was hard to see a comeback happening. However, a comeback was what was in store as a wind-assisted scoring fest occurred.
Interestingly a Mayo two-pointer provided one of the game's big controversies.
In the 53rd minute, Ryan Donoghue attempted a huge free from 55 yards out. It sailed over the bar, but the umpire only waved the white flag because Galway shot-stopper Conor Gleeson had tipped the ball over the bar. Under the new football rules committee rules, it is deemed a one pointer if the opposition touches a two-pointer attempt before going over the bar.
It was a heads-up play from Gleeson, but the play captured both the silliness of the rule, as well as the issues with officiating it.
On closer inspection from the goal camera, it appeared that Gleeson touched the ball when it was over the crossbar, making the intervention irrelevant.
Having trailed by 8 points at the break, Mayo are level and maybe should be in front after a very tight call on a two-pointer.
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Enda McGinley on RTÉ co-commentary described it perfectly:
"The goalie shouldn't be rewarded for doing that in my opinion, but anyway that's the rule at the minute. It goes from a two-pointer to a one-pointer. I would hate for an All-Ireland to be decided by such things. A forward has the gumption to go for it, is accurate, makes the distance...anyway."
Lee Keegan commented on the incident as well during full-time analysis and said he believed it was a two-pointer
"This for me is a very controversial call. Me personally, and this not me having a Mayo bias, I think this is a two-pointer. I think the bar crosses the bar before he touches it. As Enda said, it's a stupid rule anyway. It's a silly rule."
Galway won by two points in the end, but an extra point on the Mayo side of the scoreboard would have surely impacted the endgame.
Galway v Mayo: Conroy delighted with winSpeaking after the game, 2024 Footballer of the Year Paul Conroy was delighted with the win and explained how a Connacht title still means so much.
“It does,” he said.
"Since I was a young lad, all the lads and the Mayo lads have been attending these games with their parents. We're massive rivals on the border, but we work together. It was a great, hard game out there today.
Mayo are a fantastic team. There’s nothing between us; it’s always a point either way, and it was the same again today. We're just delighted to see the joy afterwards; it's just amazing.
Look, there was a strong wind here. I'm not sure if you could see that on the TV, but there was a very strong wind going down the field, and we had it in the first half, so it was massively important to get those two points on the board, cause they're big scores.
We were very happy with the second half of how we dug it out. It didn’t look likely there for us for a while because Mayo came back very strong."
Galway's Paul Conroy is the man-of-the-match and while his side are Connacht champions for the fourth consecutive season, it's not something he ever takes for granted. #RTEGAA #TheSundayGame pic.twitter.com/2D7aZiX7Yf
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) May 4, 2025
This win sets Galway up for a Titanic battle against a wounded Dublin who will be out for blood after the Meath loss.
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