Late flurry earns Galway reprieve

Women's Football/All-Ireland senior semi-finals/Mayo 1-10 Galway 1-10: Mayo and Galway will replay their semi-final in Dr Hyde…

Women's Football/All-Ireland senior semi-finals/Mayo 1-10 Galway 1-10: Mayo and Galway will replay their semi-final in Dr Hyde Park next Saturday evening after a dramatic draw in O'Moore Park at the weekend.

The replay has been confirmed for the Roscommon venue and it will be the fourth time the sides have met in this year's championship.

For almost the entire hour on Saturday, Mayo appeared well on course to progress to yet another All-Ireland final but Galway hit 1-4 in the final five minutes to almost steal a sensational win.

Having trailed from the second minute, Galway took the lead in the 58th after Patricia Gleeson floated over a long distance point only seconds after Niamh Fahy had thumped a free, from over 21 metres out, low into the Mayo net.

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Mayo raced up the field, however, and won a close-range free which was coolly pointed by Cora Staunton - who finished the game with 1-8. Worryingly for Mayo though, only one other forward scored - Diane O'Hora - and that was from a free.

Mayo played most of the second half with only 14 players after O'Hora was red-carded when she collided with Marie O'Connell in the 43rd minute.

It was from there on Galway started to gain momentum after they had trailed 0-3 to 1-6 at the break.

Mayo, aiming for a third successive All-Ireland, have lost to Galway twice in this year's championship - in the Connacht round robin section and in the provincial final. However, they set about trying to rectify this after Staunton blasted home a second-minute goal from close range.

Niamh Duggan kept Galway in touch with two pointed frees but Mayo looked in total control going in at the break.

Galway substitute Annemarie McDonagh pointed in the 39th minute before Duggan added yet another free to leave five between the sides.

O'Hora's sending-off followed and Duggan (two) and Gillian Joyce (one) kicked three points in succession. Then with only three minutes left Fahy scored the goal and seconds later Gleeson pointed to give them the lead. However, Staunton responded to force the replay.

MAYO: L Connolly; N O'Shea, H Lohan, MT Garvey; C O'Hara, Y Byrne, E Reilly; C Egan, C Heffernan (0-1); K Colleran, D O'Hora (0-1, one free), F McHale; C McDermott, M Heffernan, C Staunton (1-8, five frees). Subs: J Moran for C Heffernan (45 mins), E Biggins for Reilly (47), T McNicholas for Colleran (49)

GALWAY: U Carroll; M O'Connell, R Stephens, F Wynne; A Daly, A Gilmore, E Flaherty; L Cohill, A Clarke; G Joyce (0-2, one free), N Fahy (1-0), G Conneally; P Gleeson (0-1), N Duggan (0-6, six frees), L Joyce. Subs: A McDonagh (0-1) for Conneally (26 mins), E O'Malley for Wynne (38), E Concannon for O'Connell (47), M Delaney for G Joyce (55)

Referee: T Clarke (Dublin).