Mayo have handed Kerry their first defeat of the Division One campaign, coming away from Tralee with a massive 1-10 to 0-11 victory. It was a magnificent performance from James Horan's men against a strong Kingdom outfit, one that had won all five of their league games in 2019 up to this point.
It was a hard fought game for the entire 70 minutes, with very little to split the teams. Ultimately it was a piece of magnificent playmaking from Kevin McLoughlin that gave Mayo the all important goal in the closing stages.
He got on the the ball on the Kerry '45 before producing a wonderfully quick pass to play in Matthew Ruane, who finished very smartly.
Matthew Ruane of @MayoGAA keeps his composure to slot home a vital goal. pic.twitter.com/JWvP1TzW44
— The GAA (@officialgaa) March 16, 2019
Ruane didn't even have to break stride in gathering the ball, and you are unlikely to see a better foot pass all weekend.
This was not the only fantastic piece of skill in the game, with Sean O'Shea producing a very cheeky dummy solo earlier in the contest.
Sean O'Shea kicks a lovely score for @Kerry_Official following clever link up play with Tommy Walsh. pic.twitter.com/mLLV77p4az
— The GAA (@officialgaa) March 16, 2019
Kerry pushed hard to get back into the game, but Mayo ultimately did enough to secure the two points.
The win puts Mayo in with a chance of reaching the league final, where Kerry will likely await. They face competition from from neighbours Galway and Tyrone for the spot, and it will come down to the final round of games. Mayo will host Monaghan, while Galway travel to take on Tyrone.
