Down beaten in Minor semi

All-Ireland MFC Semi Final:
Mayo 2-09  Down 0-09

Cillian O’Connor netted two second-half goals as Mayo beat Down by 2-9 to 0-9 in Sunday’s GAA All Ireland Minor Football Semi-final at Croke Park.

Down led by 0-7 to 0-5 at the break and looked to be on their way to a comfortable win after dominating the first half.

However, the course of the game was completely changed when O’Connor popped up for his first goal just four minutes into the second-half.

Niall McPartland, who popped up with a late goal in the quarter-final win over Dublin, then had a great chance to hit back immediately, but his shot was brilliantly stopped by Mayo goalkeeper Michael Schlingermann.

And the Ulster side were made to pay dearly for their profligacy as O’Connor grabbed his second goal inside a remarkable three minutes. The Mayo full-forward drove the ball to the back of the net after Jack McDonnell’s shot had been saved.

Mayo led by 2-6 to 0-7 and Down were unable to get back into the game, kicking just two points to the Westerners’ 2-4 in a strange second-half.

Mayo will now play Armagh in the All Ireland final on September 20.