Boyle happy new-look Mayo 'experiencing pressure' ahead of National League
Mayo senior football team selector Colm Boyle is looking forward to next Sunday when his side faces Galway in the Connacht GAA FBD League final in Tuam Stadium at 1 p.m., writes Kevin Egan.
He said the squad is approaching the match in good form after a solid display in defeating Roscommon yesterday.
Boyle stated: "It was encouraging to see the way they were able to work the ball and put pressure on their opponents as well.”
Mayo kicked eight scores in each half but six of those after the interval were from outside the arc, adding more than a little bit of gloss to the scoreboard at the final whistle.
“I'm not saying we're going mad on it or anything like that,” Boyle said when asked if going for two-pointers was a key part of the team’s strategy.
“Of course you want boys to be kicking two-pointers; it can relieve such pressure on the scoreboard as much as anything else if you can nail them.
“One of the most pleasing aspects for me actually is Adam Barrett actually misses before he kicks the two-pointer over onto the stand side – he actually misses a gimme in front of goal just before.
“He has confidence to take it on. He gets the ball in hand, gets the ball down and he whips it over the bar.”
Boyle continued: “You have to be practising. You can't be just coming out on game day and taking on shots from all over the place if you're not putting the practice on the pitch, even before or after training, your days off, whatever it is. That's the key thing for anyone going forward.
“But I think actually a lot of the groundwork was done with the first-half performance against the breeze, the fact that we held Roscommon to the three scores and the pressure that our lads were putting on Roscommon all over the pitch.”
As another local derby now looms, the four-time All-Star dropped a pretty big hint that supporters who go to Tuam will see more players building up their experience and staking their claim for minutes during the National League as opposed to something close to a full-strength team.
“I'd say we'll have to be smart with it,” was his considered reaction to the question of how Mayo would approach that game.
“We'll have to see what boys play during the week with regards to minutes. There’s Sigerson games on Tuesday and Wednesday. A lot of our boys are playing on Wednesday night.
“Then there's other guys that haven't played for us yet for one reason or another that we haven't seen, so they're probably going to need minutes next weekend.
“The big game is the first round of the league in Salthill rather than next weekend, but absolutely we'll use next weekend for what it is.
“It's a great chance to see boys again in a bit of a pressure environment against a really good team.”