Danny Cummins provided the crucial score as Galway got the better of Mayo yet again – 1-11 to 0-12 at windswept Castlebar.

With 10,675 braving the elements on a wild, wild night for football, Cummins (1-2) flicked first time to the net at the end of a brilliant counter-attack ten minutes from the break – the visitors down to 13 men at the time after having had both Michael Daly and Barry McHugh sin-binned within a minute of one another.

Strong wind at their backs, Galway led by five points to three when they shipped those two black cards but they crucially tagged on 1-2 before the break, Shane Walsh and the excellent Antaine O Laoi pointing either side of Cummins’ major.

Prior to Galway’s goal, brilliant defending from Thomas Flynn had denied Mayo one at the other end…

All three of Mayo’s first-half scores had come from Doherty frees but Matthew Ruane gave them an encouraging start to the second half, although Walsh replied from a free. James Horan’s men played their best football of the night between the 40th and 55th minutes as they closed within the minimum courtesy of six unanswered scores from Doherty (4), Darren Coen and Andy Moran (mark) – 1-8 to 0-10.

Doherty and Moran spurned chances to equalise and a trio of Walsh frees put the game out of Mayo’s reach as the home side lost their discipline. Despite injury-time strikes from Diarmuid O’Connor and Donal Vaughan, Mayo fell to their sixth successive defeat to Kevin Walsh’s men, who join them on six points, in joint second place, on the league table with two rounds remaining.

Galway - R Lavelle; D Wynne, S A O Ceallaigh, E Kerin; G O’Donnell, J Daly, J Heaney (0-1); T Flynn, C Duggan; A O Laoi (0-2), M Daly (0-1), P Cooke; B McHugh, S Walsh (0-5f), D Cummins (1-2, 0-1f). Subs: G Bradshaw for T Flynn, F O Laoi for B McHugh, E Brannigan for D Cummins, P Cunningham for A O Laoi.

Mayo - D Clarke; C Barrett, L Keegan, B Harrison; S Coen, C Boyle, K Higgins; A O’Shea, D Vaughan (0-1); F McDonagh, M Ruane (0-1), D O’Connor (0-1); J Durcan, D Coen (0-1), J Doherty (0-7, 5f). Subs: K McLoughlin for J Durcan, A Moran (0-1f) for S Coen, B Reape for F McDonagh.

Referee - M Deegan.

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