McStay admits road ahead for Mayo is much steeper now

SPEAKING to the assembled media after seeing his side go down to Cavan in round one of the group stages of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, Mayo manager Kevin McStay said that their challenge to qualify for the knockout phase has become 'steeper' now.

“The game against Tyrone was always to be big, but there is a different edge to it now,” he pointed out.

The Mayo manager continued: “We were up against a Cavan team who were really energetic and got stuck into the game, and we have no complaints about the scoreline whatsoever. Maybe three points flattered us.

“From our respective, we kept at it and Aidan (O’Shea) got the goal. Had it gone on a minute or two longer we don’t what might have happened as the teams were out on their feet at that stage.

"Our job becomes acute now as we have to rise for the game against Tyrone in two weeks. That is going to be a tricky fixture.”

Asked if the turnovers were a big factor, McStay said maybe they were but there were other things too, like a few goal chances missed.

“We had a couple of gilt-edged goal chances as well that would have changed the character of the game,” he stated. “Not sure would it have put us back in the mix, but it would have asked different questions.

“But look, we were a little bit flat in terms of energy from the Connacht final. But overall we stuck at it, and we can’t walk away from it. We now have to show up for the next game.”

Can Mayo get a result against Tyrone? “I believe we can,” McStay said. “That was not us out there. It was in parts, but in small parts. We were hoping to bring what we did in the Connacht final and add to it.

“Can we do it? We can 100% do it. Of course we can. We are a very competitive team. Tyrone away is difficult and they will ask big questions of us. It will tell us a lot about our desire and I'm confident we will produce a performance.”

On Stephen Coen scoring four great points, McStay said he showed great leadership. He also said that he trusted his players to decide when to kick in the ball long.

“Stephen got four terrific scores. He showed great leadership. He has been moving in and out of that position all year and it was always going to happen.

“As for kicking in the ball in long, I can’t kick them. We have to trust the players when to do it. We have a big target man in there and I back them to play the long ball. Paul (Towey) picked the moment and sent a great ball in, and Aidan did the rest. But you can’t kick 20 or 21 balls in and expect Aidan to get them all.”

Meanwhile, Cavan manager Raymond Galligan said he knew that they were not a bad team. “We were a kick of a ball from Division 1. There was enough evidence over the last three months that we could really compete, so we put a massive emphasis on our athleticism and fitness over the last five weeks because we knew we had to match Mayo.

“The one thing that stood out in the Connacht final was that they had huge athleticism, so we had to match that, and then we had to bring another layer of aggression, physicality and willingness to work,” Galligan stated.