Mayo a joy to behold thanks to renewed freedom and swagger under Moran

by Martin Carney, Mayo's foremost Gaelic football columnist

Last Sunday's game against Armagh had an X sign hanging over it before ever a ball was thrown in.

A promise of fire and brimstone – not because of Mayo’s desire to put on a show for the faithful, but more so because of Armagh’s needs.

After their opening four rounds of the league, the Orchard men, surprisingly, found themselves in a perilous position close to the foot of the table. Relegation beckoned if another defeat became them.

Their need was the greater, then. Defeat in their minds was unthinkable.

As it came to pass, it didn’t work out as planned for Kieran McGeeney’s men and at the end of a toe-to-toe contest, they went home smarting from another loss – their fourth on the trot, and one that leaves them clinging to Division 1 survival.

From start to finish this was an arm wrestle – a game played on an afternoon that ‘pitied neither wise men nor fools’ and forced participants to drag every last vestige of energy from their systems.

It was by no means a perfect (nor even anything approaching a perfect) performance from Mayo. The conditions dictated this. Ball control was difficult and mistakes were plentiful. Despite this, Mayo applied themselves with an unrelenting energy and will to win that saw them hold fast by the minimum at the final whistle.

Given the advantage of the wind in the opening half by Armagh (the visitors won the toss and ceded wind advantage), an opening point followed by an opportunist goal provided the ideal start.

Jordan Flynn did the necessary here by volleying a loose ball to the net during a goalmouth skirmish.

Yet for the next 20 minutes, Armagh managed their possession better, had an excellent link man in Cian McConville, and restricted Mayo to a single score – a two-pointer from Flynn.

Most of the contest was waged in the Mayo half of the field. The midfield dominance, certainty from restarts and quick transfer of the ball forward was missing in this period.

Midfield exchanges resembled a footballing version of trench warfare. Armagh’s trio of Tiernan Kelly, Callum O’Neill and Ben Crealey possessed that superior physicality which gave them the edge in these exchanges.

Then, as we saw against Monaghan, Mayo found that spark of inspiration in the closing 10 minutes of the half.

A three-point lead morphed to nine thanks to some excellent shooting from distance. Conor Loftus, Ryan O’Donoghue and Cian McHale found their range from beyond the arc, and Sam Callinan’s final point in the half left Mayo with that handsome interval advantage.

It was fitting that Callinan got on the scoresheet. His was an immense display of energy and courage with an insatiable appetite to attack sensibly.

Flynn likewise resembled a human dynamo and his gluttony for work never diminished.

Four two-pointers was a good return in the period and it’s an aspect of Mayo’s game that has improved beyond recognition.

That more than four are armed with the skill has given the team a dimension opponents are struggling to deal with; in fact, over the course of the opening five league games, Mayo have had 10 different players scoring from beyond the arc.

Though sheer heart and determination, Mayo, now facing the elements, managed to keep the Orchard men at a distance for the opening 10 minutes of the second period, their advantage fluctuating between nine points and 10.

Then a brace of two-pointers from Greg McCabe and Oisin O’ Neill lit the fuse that seemed to give Armagh hope.

What had been an understandably dour affair suddenly sprang to life, and over the closing 20 minutes fortunes swayed one way and the other as Mayo sought to hold on and Armagh did all in their power to reel in the deficit.

Yet, just at the point when Armagh had reduced the margin to three, we got the move of the game and the reward it merited. A delightful incision by Kobe McDonald (who replaced Aidan O’Shea on 50 minutes) was carried on by Ryan O’Donoghue and finished to the net by an impressive Cian McHale, putting a halt to Armagh’s gallop and giving Mayo a six-point cushion, which just about saw them squeeze through at the end.

McDonald once more lit the place up every time he got the ball.

He played – I stress played – as if this is what he was born to do. I watched him leave the pitch before the throw-in, nonchalantly playing keepy uppy with alternate feet. Delightful.

With Kobe blossoming up front alongside Cian McHale and Darragh Beirne, Mayo now have a trio whose progress will be worth monitoring.

So, this game was an examination passed with flying colours.

The win against an opponent renowned for its physicality has, first and foremost, assured Mayo of Division 1 football next year, aside from having allowed management the opportunity to groom many of the younger lads to the rigors of senior inter-county football.

On the day, conditions dictated that the game was going to be blemished by passages of error-ridden football but when big hearts and cool heads were looked for at the end, it was Mayo who were to the fore.

After five rounds it seems clear that Andy Moran has already decided on at least two-thirds of his championship 15.

Before then, depending on results, there is even the possibility that the team could contest the league final.

A trip to Kerry beckons on Saturday next, and with it the penultimate occasion for further experimentation.

By then Mayo are within a month of their opening round championship fixture with London. Time is running out for many of the squad players to show what they are capable of.

Any new faces that he has in mind will likely see game time there.

It's fair to say that the Mayo we have seen so far is one that’s playing with confidence, a sense of freedom and a swagger that has been a joy to behold.