Mayo were beaten by Kerry this afternoon in their opening Group 2 match in the LGFA All-Ireland Championship. The final score at Austin Stack Park was Kerry 0-13 Mayo 1-4.

At half-time, the visitors were right in it. They trailed by just a single point at that stage, having played their best half of football for some time in that opening period of the game.

Kerry bagged the first four scores today but then, as the midway point of the half approached, Clodagh Keane gathered a speculative ball launched in by Hannah Reape. Her first attempt at a shot for goal was blocked down but, after reclaiming possession, she rattled the net with the second.

Five minutes from half-time, the teams were level. Kerry had six on the board by then, while we had three points to add to the goal. Those scores came from Hannah Reape and two from Sinéad Walsh.

Kerry added a point to their tally, courtesy of Síofra O’Shea, a score that would have counted for two in the men’s game (what nonsense that is, by the way). The home team took that one-point lead into the break with them.

Sadly, that’s as good as it got for Liam McHale’s charges at Tralee today. All that good work in the first half was undone in a disappointing second period for them, in the course of which they were only able to add a solitary point to their total.

Their cause wasn’t helped when Hannah Reape was sin-binned just after the break. Kerry took advantage during this period, adding three points to their total before the 10-minute sin bin period ended.

The home side kept the scoreboard moving throughout the second half, racking up a further six points in total. Our sole response was a Sinéad Walsh free and that left Kerry the victors by seven points at the finish.

All is not yet lost in this year’s Championship from our perspective, though, as we’ve a match to come against Cork in two weeks time. They first play Kerry in Round 2, with that match down for decision next weekend.

Report on today’s game is here. The full match is available to view on Spórt TG4’s YouTube channel here.

Mayo: Julia Gawalkiewicz; Lucy Wallace, Nicola O’Malley, Ciara Durkan; Danielle Caldwell, Kathryn Sullivan, Sherin El Massry; Hannah Reape (0-1), Saoirse Lally; Lynda Hanley, Sinéad Walsh (0-3, one free), Aisling Flanagan; Erin Murray, Clodagh Keane, Chelsea Doherty. Subs: Aoife Geraghty for El Massry, Ciara Whyte for Flanagan, Ava McDonnell for Doherty, Ella Brennan for Wallace, Annie Gough for Reape.