MARTIN CARNEY: Mayo were truly majestic against Donegal

RECORDS are there to be broken. The scarcely believable, but nonetheless true, statistic that Mayo had never beaten Donegal on their home territory was well and truly shattered on Sunday.

With a display of unending power and conviction, the visitors left Donegal a chastened outfit by the final whistle, rendering their future as part of the elite of football surely at an end.

Mayo were truly majestic once they addressed and came to grips with the initial stages. With the team lining out as selected, they probed and found Donegal resolute in the opening minutes before a smallish crowd on a horribly wet afternoon.

Once the central axis, through which so much good has flowed this year, began to establish a grip, Donegal were left without answers. Lacking personality, personnel of note and pace, they began to find their opponents elusive, inventive and above all dynamic in all they did.

In the opening half Fionn McDonagh, Patrick Durcan, Jack Carney and Diarmuid O’Connor foraged selflessly, kept themselves to the fore and provided a consistent supply to the full-forward line, where the inspirational Aidan O'Shea gave a display of composed leadership. Carney’s point added to his assist for O’Shea’s opener had a settling effect.

With the teams level on four points, Patrick Durcan added a lead point after great work from Jordan Flynn who up to then had been slow to get to the pace of the game. From there to the final whistle his standards never waned and his energy was instrumental in adding to the stranglehold that Mayo established.

Ruane's hat trick of points in the half were another of its highlights, O’Shea’s ball-winning prowess translated his two marks into scores, and O’Donoghue’s final point of the half had a consummate piece of skill by James Carr to thank for it.

All over the field Mayo dominated this half. Converting 11 from the 18 chances created, they might have added a goal were it not for a wonderful save by the Donegal goalkeeper Shaun Patton from the boot of Fionn McDonagh.

CHEMISTRY

Central to Mayo's unbeaten run, coupled to outstanding performances, is a wonderful chemistry coursing through the team.

Players are supporting one another, appear to understand the prescribed system that management has devised, and support one another over all the pitch.

How often did we see full-forwards Ryan O’Donoghue and James Carr acting as defensive screens during the game? Corner backs Sam Callinan and Jack Coyne were regular outriders in supporting attacks and Patrick Durcan, as always, probed and carved openings from which others benefited.

Yet the best example of this ‘total football’ occurred just after the break. Donegal, with a rare show of defiance, probed for an opening. Not content to intercept their through ball, David Mc Brien took off at full speed to support the ensuing counter-attack. Tearing at full tilt and acting as a decoy, he provided the pass and space for Ryan O’Donoghue to score the only goal of the game that effectively put the contest beyond Donegal and sealed the result for Mayo.

From then their ability to manage the lead while at the same time not allowing, generally, their standards drop will come as a real source of satisfaction to the team and management. Late in the game tiredness on what had become a glue-pot surface became inevitable and was a contributory factor to some uncharacteristic turnovers but overall, the team continues to go from strength to strength.

Having the opportunity to introduce Kevin McLoughlin, Tommy Conroy, Padraig O’Hora, Paul Towey and Bob Tuohy was welcome. For make no mistake about it, competition this year for championship places will be keener and more fiercely contested that has been the case in recent seasons.

Indeed, Conroy provided one of the afternoon’s highlights when a turbo-charged run through half the Donegal defence ended with Ryan O’Donoghue notching another score.

Donegal by then had capitulated. Their entire four-point return for the second half was a reflection of the drop in standards that has become their norm this year. In retrospect, that win over Kerry in the first game was a false dawn, yet I thought that their draw with Galway in round four would have given them confidence. Alas, it wasn’t to be. Life after Michael Murphy is proving more difficult that we all anticipated and I fear that their road back to eminence will be torturous.

SALVATION

Last up then in the regular season is Monaghan, the final game in Hastings Insurance MacHale Park before the opening game with Roscommon in this year’s championship.

What is there left to learn about the team in its present state? Are there still new faces on the panel, so far unannounced, worthy of game time? Will the expected strategies and tactics for championship get another airing? Time will tell, but the visit of the Farney men is a nothing game for both in many respects.

After the win over Donegal, Mayo, on 10 points, are certain of a league final on Sunday week while Monaghan are virtually certain of relegation. Their first-half display against Tyrone on Sunday had elements of salvation. Moving the ball well, they made an honest contest of the fixture.

A double sending-off early in the second period, however, left them powerless to reduce what was an already five-point deficit.

Working from a small playing pool, Monaghan have over the years managed to dredge every last ounce from those at their disposal. Still, only a series of the improbable and unexpected results will save them from relegation after next Sunday’s fixtures. For that to happen, Tyrone will have to lose their last game against Armagh while at the same time a weakened Monaghan, short the suspended Jack McCarron and Killian Lavelle, would have to find something special to beat Mayo.

All the Division 1 games, incidentally, throw in at 1.45 p.m.

What’s left to decide is who will oppose Mayo in the league final. It will either be Galway or Kerry; if Galway win or draw then they will provide the opposition. For Kerry to advance, they would need to win by more than four points. With the game in Pearse Stadium, I’d fancy the Tribesmen.