Playing at Croke Park will benefit Mayo more than playing in MacHale Park
TYNAN'S TAKE: By Stuart Tynan
AMIDST a cloud of controversy, Croke Park will be the venue for the first – and for some, hopefully the last – time when Mayo and Galway face-off in the Connaught SFC final this Sunday afternoon.
All holy hell broke loose following the announcement on Wednesday evening last during the Connaught Under 20 semi- final that the senior decider will be played outside of Connaught, with many fans in both counties making it clear that they would not be attending out of principle and urging the Connaught Council to reconsider their decision.
But once that decision was made, there was absolutely no going back and even with many people making it clear that they will not attend, there will be just as many supporters desperate to get their hands on one of those precious tickets at Headquarters.
In fairness, there is a precedent as for three successive years between 2004 and 2006 Ulster GAA took its showpiece game to Croke Park, where crowds of over 50,000 attended. Obviously, there cannot be an attendance like that anytime soon, but there will be 18,000 in Dublin for the final that many predicted before the Connaught SFC got underway this year.
From a footballing perspective, playing this match at Croke Park will probably be of more benefit to Mayo than playing in their own backyard. You would have to go back to July 13, 2014, during Mayo's run of five Nestor Cups in a row, for the last time that the Green and Red beat Galway in the championship in Castlebar. You would have to go back even further to February 6, 2010, for Mayo's last victory over Galway in Castlebar in the league, although Galway were operating out of Division 1 for a number of years during the last decade.
For whatever reason, for a team of Mayo's reputation in recent years, their record in MacHale Park has been very inconsistent. But it is in Croke Park that this side have come alive.
Dublin in 2012. Donegal in 2013 and 2015. Kerry in 2017 and Kerry once again when winning the Division 1 league title two years ago. This is a team that truly comes alive under the brightest lights and pressure that playing in Croke Park brings.
The thought of Oisin Mullin, Eoghan McLaughlin (should he be available) and Paddy Durcan rampaging down the field, and Tommy Conroy and Ryan O'Donoghue going at the Galway defence is a salivating one.
There will be concerns over the lack of test Mayo have received so far, but they deliver on the biggest stages. Expect them to pass this test with flying colours.
*You can read Stuart's full column every Tuesday in our print edition.