Mayo forwards moving better with the arrival of Doherty on the scene

SIDELINE CUT

IF one could put that first half against Donegal in round one of the National Football League in the lost property department, the positives have so far outweighed the negatives in relation to Mayo’s progress in their two opening games.

With the league and championship almost running in tandem this year, every game is now vital for both survival and for progress – and that just adds that tinge of anticipation to Saturday evening’s clash between Dublin and Mayo in round three of league, which is repeat pairing of last year’s All-Ireland semi-final.

That victory will go into the annals as the game. It brought Dublin’s bid for six All-Ireland senior titles in a row to a dramatic end. It marked the demise of one great team, but it didn’t herald the birth of a team that was ready to take their place.

The win did catapult Mayo into pole position to finally end that great football famine, which still stalks the Mayo landscape since 1951, but as we all well know, Tyrone spoiled the party to ensure that Mayo’s All-Ireland misery continues for another year at least.

With the league and championship coming on like a train pulling two carriages. The league carriage will be barely parked when the championship train takes off once more, and by the end of July we will know the destiny of the Sam Maguire. Many pundits would have us believe it is heading for Kerry.

I wouldn’t be one of those pundits. I still believe Mayo will be on the premises for the second year running.

MISLEADING

League results can be misleading and if you had backed Armagh to be standing pretty in the top spot with full points from two games, well, you’d have a tidy sum in your wallet.

Mayo have, of course, got off on the front foot this year, unlike 2020 when they failed to defend their Division 1 title and ended up being demoted for the first time in 23 years.

Similar to 2020, Mayo began this year’s league campaign drawing with Donegal, only that game was played on the neutral ground of Markievicz Park on an absolutely atrocious afternoon.

The misery for Mayo was taken out of a game whey looked almost certain to lose when they produced a grandstand finish, scoring five unanswered points to leave Donegal with the feeling that someone had raided the dressing rook at half-time and empted all their pockets.

Unlike 2020, when Mayo lost to Monaghan in Clones, they produced a workmanlike performance this year which had a lot more positives than negatives. A similar performance this Saturday night could see their security in Division 1 guaranteed with just three games played.

But this is a tricky league, with Mayo having to concede home advantage due to Hastings MacHale Park being reseeded and they have some big tests ahead of them, including Armagh at Hyde Park (round four) and Kildare in Carrick-on-Shannon in round seven, not to mention Kerry and Tyrone away in between those two 'home' games.

The cruciate knee injury in a Sigerson Cup game has cost Mayo and Tommy Conroy as he is unlikely to kick a ball until the later stages of the club championship, if at all, this year.

The news on Eoghan McLaughlin is better and from what I gather, the vibes are positive following the injury to the Westport player against Monaghan.

Oisin Mullin’s decision to turn down the Australia offer, the return of Mattie Ruane after a two-match ban following last year’s sending-off in the All-Ireland final, a rejuvenated Jason Doherty and the return of Cillian O’Connor (perhaps not for the Dublin game) will put that All-Ireland defeat into the dark recesses of the mind and focus the Mayo lads to put in another performance which could help push what was undoubtedly the greatest team of the modern era (if not all time) a step closer to dropping into Division 2 football.

But it is not a case of how the mighty fall and it wouldn’t be the end of the football world as we know it if Dublin had to move from the five-star setting of Division 1 into the less salubrious company of teams in Division 2.

Yet if truth be told there is little between Division 2 and Division 1, and I have a feeling 2022 will not be about who wins the league. It will be very much about Sam, and the queue for having a serious shot at the title seems to be getting longer each week.

POSITIVE

That is a discussion for another day. For the moment, James Horan will be working on fine-turning some of the work that is obviously ongoing, and there are positive signs that Mayo are beginning to play with a lot of belief in their own ability.

I honestly think one of the main reason for that is the return of the man from Burrishoole, Jason Doherty, who seems to be linking up very well with Ryan O’Donoghue in a full-forward line which plundered two goals against Monaghan – one each from the DOC and ROD.

For the moment at least, Horan seems to be getting a tune from Aidan O’Shea, who has done well in both games when coming off the bench, particular against Donegal. He played no small part in turning that particular tide.

The reliable generals such as Lee Keegan, Paddy Durcan and Padraig O’Hora have the pace to thrive in the open spaces of Croke Park. All three have been solid in a Mayo’s defence, which will relish taking on the Dubs, while there was an encouraging performance from Conor O’Shea against Monaghan and the same can be said for Diarmuid O’Connor, who was poor against Donegal but got through some serious work against the Farney men.

However, the man who was really taken this league by the scruff of the neck is Robbie Hennelly. He has been a commanding presence in both games, his penalty save against Donegal and a free kick to draw that same game highlights that will undoubtedly boost his confidence as sterner tests beckon down the league and championship road.

Knockmore man Aiden Orme seems to have plenty to offer in terms of attacking options, and I expect Horan will be road testing a few more of his bench players against the Dubs.

We hear the word 'transition' used a lot by managers and Dessie Farrell is without a doubt the manager of a team that is in the throes of transitioning, but he seems to be handling the pressure that he always knew would come with managing team which represents a county with such high aspirations.

Defeats to Armagh and Kerry have put him under pressure but I still think Dublin will be a serious threat come the championship if Farrell, as seems likely, uses the league to give the newer players more experience and rest some of the more seasoned ones. A lot of teams are doing the same thing but when you become used to winning All-Irelands it becomes the norm and anything less than success is treated with scorn by a county that always has high expectations.

The man who was always going to be measured by the same ruler of success which was established by the man he replaced, Jim Gavin, has a point when he said after losing to Armagh: "A lot of core players have left the squad over the last two to three years. We're trying to replace that quality. You can't replace the experience obviously. But the league is going to tell us whether we have the quality to step in and fill the boots that have left. That's what we're going to see.

"It's nights like tonight that you get a good handle on who potentially are capable of playing in the big time."

I have feeling Mayo will be well up for this one knowing that two big points will put them in a very strong position and allow Horan more freedom to tinker with the league in an effort to get the balance right for a serious championships charge.