Mayo may benefit from recent break when facing Kerry
BY MARTIN CARNEY, GAA'S FOREMOST COLUMNIST
There is little doubt that Mayo have been drawn in a formidably difficult group where they compete against Kerry, Louth and Cork.
Mickey Harte, to everyone’s surprise, took over the helm in Louth in November 2020.
Recently relegated to Division 4 in the league, Louth were football's version of a team with oodles of unfulfilled promise.
In his years in charge, Harte has taken them into Division 2 of the league and enabled players to discover a spark that many never knew existed.
During this period he has has transformed the mindset of the Louth team and the broader football fraternity in the county.
Players like Ciaran Downey, Conor Grimes and Niall Sharkey have stated to assume a status that was reserved solely over a long period for Sam Mulroy.
In scoring 27 points in their extra-time win over Offaly in the Leinster championship, they got all but two from play – with many from distance and difficult angles.
I’d say it was the best display of point-scoring I have seen in this year’s championship.
Harte is ably qualified to plot an approach against an opponent who showed signs of weariness the last day.
An excellent motivator, his team won’t lack self-belief.
By way of scheduling, Mayo will play Kerry in Killarney next Saturday, Louth the following weekend in Hastings Insurance MacHale Park, and Cork at a neutral venue on the weekend of June 10/11.
Winners from their respective groups advance directly to the All-Ireland quarterfinal while those finishing in second and third place in each group will go into an open draw in what is called a preliminary quarterfinal!
Interestingly, the team unlucky enough to finish bottom of the group will be gone from inter- county competition on that date.
Recovery time from injuries will be very tight, squad depths will assume an importance that may have been less pronounced in the past, and with little time between games, different approaches to matters of team preparation and training will present new challenges.
In many ways the break that Mayo have enjoyed since the Roscommon defeat could be to their benefit in the long term.
It doesn’t come more difficult than having to face the All-Ireland champions in their own back yard but the Mayo we will see, I believe, will be one that has actually benefitted from their recent period of game inactivity.