Horan’s Mayo team did everything asked of them - Martin Carney

THE Connaught Telegraph's GAA analyst Martin Carney gives his thoughts on the Connaught SFC semi-final win against Leitrim.

Well, it was different, ok.

A crowd. Noise. Life. Atmosphere. People interacting on the terraces.

An occasion, where for the first time in a while, the roars of the crowd muffled management sideline instructions and players’ verbal exchanges that had been commonplace in the Covid emptied stadia of the last year or more.

A slickly organised occasion by the Connaught Council brought a degree of life and normality to a Mayo championship occasion for the first time since their semi-final meeting with Dublin on August 10, 2019!

And yet rumours of a Covid outbreak in the camp stained much of the canvas leading into the game. News that players had fallen victim to the virus gained traction over the weekend.

Full scale testing on Friday morning, antigen tests the following day and even careful screening up to the appointed hour on Sunday created a worry that the occasion wouldn’t happen at all. Thankfully Mayo had sufficient bodies fit and raring to go and the numbers with the virus didn’t exceed levels that, had they done so, could have caused the postponement of the game, I gather.

On top of everything, Lee Keegan was rested due to an arm injury and Kevin McLoughlin was surplus to requirements for the day. Hopefully they will be in the frame for the final showdown on Sunday week.

When the championship draw was announced earlier this year Mayo were put in a tricky situation. Without exception everyone expected them to beat the teams they were drawn against, Sligo and Leitrim, and do so with a fair degree of conviction.

Yet no matter how they won, plaudits were always likely to be muted and scarce while learning more about themselves a limited exercise.

‘Ya bate nuttin’ is more often than not the common refrain accompanying these wins and sometimes preparation for the final joust with the old enemy carries with it a degree of doubt. Nagging questions linger. How really good are we?

Have we had our weaknesses exposed in time to remedy them and are we as good as the average 22-point winning margin that has been a statistical feature of our wins to date?

Well, at the end of the day Mayo can only beat what is put in front of them and by doing it with the levels of conviction we saw on Sunday gave notice that they mean business once again.

From the opening whistle they shredded whatever ambition Leitrim may have harboured and, truthfully, by the first water break the result was a foregone conclusion.

The starting selection was notable for a few reasons. Rory Byrne made his debut in a game where he never came under much pressure and Aidan O’Shea made his 150th appearance for the county with a display from midfield that oozed authority and class.

That he has been ever present game after game since his debut against New York in 2009 is a testament to his dedication, fitness, strength and enduring ambition to give his best for the county. Operating nearly exclusively from midfield on Sunday, he gave another commanding performance and lay down the ground rules for those around him.

The Mitchels' goalie, in his first outing, had, understandably, a few nervy moments early in the game but as he settled into the task he could be reasonably satisfied with his handling and restarts.

The procession towards the Leitrim goals began almost immediately. A feature of Mayo’s early play was, aside from the whistle-clean tackling, the speed in transitioning the ball from defence to attack. Leitrim had no answer to the sheer pace of Matthew Ruane, Patrick Durcan, Ryan O’Donoghue and Tommy Conroy as they carved lanes through their defence. The point taking was the culmination of good decision making and efficient finishing.

The aforementioned attackers had nailed six of their team’s opening eight scores by the first water break and once the Darrens, McHale and Coen, plundered three majors before the change of ends the game was as good as over. Leitrim simply had no answer to Mayo’s power play.

With the occasional exception of a gutsy Tom Prior and Paddy Maguire they lacked the rudiments that teams today need to compete at the top.

What disappointed me, more than anything, was how far they have regressed since their gutsy performance against Mayo in last year’s championship. That game, last November, was keenly contested for long periods.

Eight months later, devoid of ambition and sense of purpose, they succumbed meekly to a Mayo team who to their credit never took their foot off the accelerator from start to finish. From a Leitrim perspective it was, sadly, a display that was most un-Leitrim like.

Early goals in the second half from Ryan O’Donoghue and Tommy Conroy provided some window dressing. A ten-minute period midway through the half when Leitrim scored four unanswered points was as much to do with a drop in Mayo concentration as it had to do with a Leitrim resurgence. During this time the Mayo defence looked a little uncertain of itself at times but holding judgement for now is prudent.

On the basis of their displays to date this is a Mayo team that is more than capable of winning Connaught again.

As a vindication of his policy of introducing new faces last year James Horan has seen many of them come to terms with the demands of the inter-county game much quicker than expected.

I like the growing maturity of Conroy and O’Donoghue, the increasing self-assurance of Hession and Mullin and the contrasting skill set that Darren McHale has introduced to the attack.

On top of that Jordan Flynn had a fine opening half on Sunday which should help his confidence.

In Darren McHale’s case, he possesses an elusiveness, work rate and awareness of others that has freed up many of his inside colleagues. Likewise, his poacher’s instincts have seen him find the net on successive championship Sundays. Let’s hope this form continues to wax.

Overall Mayo have done all that has been asked of them and it sets things up nicely for the Connaught final.

*You can read Martin Carney's full column every Tuesday in our print edition.