MARTIN CARNEY: Most of what we have witnessed from Mayo gives grounds for optimism

WITH armchair generals and supporters, last week provided an exercise where every possibility got an airing as to the selection, approach and ambition of the Mayo team for their tie with Roscommon.

Would Kevin McStay be prepared to field his strongest available side knowing that a win, aside from guaranteeing Division 1 status next year, would, in all probability, propel them to a league final? Was he prepared to disclose his full hand by way of approach and tactics or keep something in reserve given that the championship game with the same opposition is now a mere five weeks away?

Against this, squandering the benefits derived from the momentum gained by their excellent start to the season was always risky, so I expected a full-on display to keep Roscommon firmly in the rear view mirror. I suppose, in a nutshell, this was a game that neither side wanted to lose but at the same time reveal as little as possible to one another about how they intended to set up in their Easter Sunday showdown.

The Hyde looked resplendent on Sunday under a bright sky and fanned by a brisk wind blowing into the graveyard end of the ground. As anticipated, Mayo made some last-minute changes that on the face of it did little to weaken the team.

Rory Byrne’s display between the sticks went fine; conceding two goals won’t rest easy but in neither case should he shoulder any of the blame. A positive from his point of view is that he became the team’s 16th scorer of the campaign when he slotted a fine point from distance before half-time.

Patrick Durcan and Sam Callinan, who replaced Enda Hession and Donnacha McHugh respectively, looked full of purpose in the first half in particular and relished the opportunity of getting game time behind them. Involved in some excellent attacking support play, both showed flashes of good form.

Indeed, for much of the opening half the only team displaying the expected competitive instincts was Mayo. Faster, more alert and energetic they performed at levels that seemed foreign to their opponents. For whatever reason the Rossies were strangely passive. Famed for their competitive spirit, throughout the period they afforded Mayo too much respect and, perhaps with the exception of Conor Daly and Diarmuid Murtagh, seemed incapable of summoning the necessary grit to fuel a proper contest.

PASSIVITY

In truth, Mayo did as they pleased without ever extending themselves. Compact and well organised at the back, possessing levels of energy throughout, they worked hard for one another and totally deserved their seven points lead after the opening quarter.

In contrast, as proof of their passivity and below-par performance, Roscommon failed to score until the 21st minute – and that from a free by the impressive Diarmuid Murtagh.

Cillian O’Connor, a late replacement for Aidan O’Shea, steadied the ship with a late score to add to his three earlier points, and a five-point interval lead, which could have been more, left Mayo looking healthy.

A further encouraging feature of the half was the return of Tommy Conroy to the starting 15. A real crowd pleaser, lining out in the corner in place of Ryan O’Donoghue, he showed a wonderful turn of pace on more than one occasion, leaving Roscommon defenders floundering as they tried to cope with him. As well as gettting on the scoresheet, he stretched the Roscommon defence repeatedly and will feel somewhat frustrated when he failed to capitalise on a fine opening carved by Ryan O’Donoghue late in the game. Nonetheless, the game time will stand to him.

With eight points between the teams 13 minutes into the second half after Jack Carney’s goal, I thought the game was done and dusted. Even with the earlier introduction of Ciaráin Murtagh, the home side was still a shadow of what I expected and many of their players didn’t appear to have the necessary competitive instincts to bring about change. Indeed, for many spectators, it looked like a classic afternoon where leaving early to beat the traffic would become a priority.

Roscommon remained error prone beyond the norm. Turnovers were commonplace, restarts were squandered (indeed that facet of play gifted Mayo quite a number of their scores) and nobody seemed capable of arresting what seemed an irreversible decline. But football is a funny old game. Two points on the trot by midfielder Tadgh O'Rourke and impressive substitute Daire Cregg followed. But when Enda Smith found the net to add to these, matters changed and the crowd were treated to a truly enjoyable closing quarter.

No longer standing off their opponents, the Primrose and Blue derived huge belief from the goal. Another substitute, Conor Cox, left many wondering why he didn’t start when he fired over a fine point, and with his goal in injury time the Hyde erupted.

In fairness to Mayo, their response to these late scores was measured and calm. The introduction of Aidan O'Shea and Bob Tuohy to midfield stabilised a sector that had started to sag. Both won some toughly contested possessions and Tuohy guided a beauty between the posts to stretch the Mayo lead to four. Carr then hit his third of the day but, to their credit, the belated Roscommon revival didn’t sag and they could well have snatched the spoils were it not for an superb piece of defending by David McBrien and the excellent Diarmuid O’ Connor in the final play of the game.

Mayo deserved their win but that niggling tendency of allowing seemingly unassailable leads disappear is among the issues that the management will address over the next two weeks. To an extent, unfortunately, this will distract from so much of what was positive once again.

That the team is playing with a sense of joy, energy and organisation is unarguable. The progress evident in the displays of David Mc Brien, Jack Carney, James Carr and Fionn McDonagh are reasons to celebrate and this augurs well for later on.

With two games left against Ulster opposition – Donegal away and Monaghan in Hastings Insurance MacHale Park – there is a small window remaining to experiment. But overall, to date, most of what we have witnessed has given grounds for optimism.