Mayo champions need to find biggest performance to date

HOW difficult is it to retain your county, provincial and All-Ireland title? ‘Very’ is the obvious answer, writes John Melvin.

With that in mind, Castlebar Mitchels will be hoping that even the smallest seed of doubt might be planted in the minds of Corofin, who bring such an impressive CV to Tuam tomorrow (Sunday) where they face the Mayo champions.

One man who will be removing such a doubt with the combined skill of a surgeon and a trained psychologist is Mayo manager-elect Stephen Rochford, who is held in such high regard by the Galway champions. They sought the help of an outside manager two years ago and have not looked back since.

Unassuming, not particularly well known and highly thought of for his knowledge in terms of coaching and ability to get the best out of his players, it is easy to see why Rochford came into a club that had a very proud record at county level but had not lived up to expectations when they ventured into the provincial waters.

In his second term in office, Rochford, the holder of six county senior medals with his native Crossmolina, along with that All-Ireland club title in 2001, guided Corofin not only to a provincial title but to an All-Ireland crown as well, so it didn’t take him long to earn the respect of the club and the players.

They are odds-on to retain their provincial crown and are favourites for the All-Ireland.

As joint manager with Castlebar Mitchels, Declan O’Reilly, said: “They (Corofin) are a serious outfit and we know, even allowing for our performance in the semi-final against Clann na nGael, we were always going to be up against it anyway given the quality of the opposition.”

Both Corofin and Mitchels are scoring machines, a view supported by the high return in virtually all of their games this season, and the expectations are that we could see more goals banged in tomorrow.

For Castlebar, Danny Kirby is coming into form at the right time and the presence of Richie Feeney was a hugely influential factor in the semi-final, while Neil Douglas, Shane Hopkins and Neil Lydon are capable of rising to the big occasion.

Midfield will clearly be a serious battle ground and this is where Corofin look very strong, with Ronan Steede and Michael Farragher the likely pairing, but Castlebar will be hoping big Barry Moran turns in a performance similar to that of the county final, while Aidan Walsh, who played only half of the semi-final due to a black card, is on top of his game this season.

The breaks will be vital and Ger McDonagh may be sniffing around this area to pick up any loose ball, with Rory Byrne’s ability to find his men clearly vital in the kickout department.

Corofin carry some heavy artillery in an attack led by Michael Lundy, while Martin Farragher, top scorer Ian Burke and the experienced Gary Sice are likely to feature prominently if Corofin are to win the day.

In defence, Alan Feeney’s return has been a huge boost for Castlebar, while Paddy Durcan has been seen at his best this year. Eoghan O’Reilly, who had a brilliant county final, the consistent Ray O’Malley, the tenacious Donal Newcombe and the vastly experienced Tom Cunniffe bring to this final a wealth of talent and experience garnered over the last five years.

The strength of the Castlebar bench has also helped this year in the final push for the winning line and I wouldn’t rule out James Durcan and Cian Costello having a hand in the final outcome.

But Corofin are backboned by the vastly experienced full-back Kieran Fitzgerald, while Liam Silke, Padraic Kelly, Conor Cunningham and Alan Burke have those All-Ireland medals and bring all that experience and guile to the table.

So, does O'Reilly think his charges can do it? “If we hit the top our game and maybe Corofin don’t quite hit the heights they are capable of, I think we will push them hard and if we are in the game with 10 minutes remaining, we could pull it off as they have now been 18 months on the road and that can be hard going, but Corofin won the All-Ireland last year without breaking into a sweat and we know how hard it can be to win a club title. They are probably one of the finest, if not the finest, club teams I have seen.”

It is a difficult call, but Castlebar tend to produce the goods when the pressure is on and I think they have a squeak, a real squeak, if they can find the performance that many, especially the team itself, believe is in them. The pressure is really on Corofin once more to deliver and that will suit Castlebar.

Verdict: Mitchels by a short head.