Shock and disbelief remains in aftermath of dismal Mayo setback

by Martin Carney, Mayo's foremost GAA columnist

EVERYTHING beforehand was perfect.

The day summery and football-friendly.

An expectant crowd; over 15,000 basking in the sunshine.

A Roscommon team coming to town short some of their best players.

Yes, the absence of Daire Cregg, Ruairi Fallon and Ben O’Carroll looked to have robbed the visitors of a cluster of their more influential players and served, I thought, to tilt the compass in Mayo’s direction. Mayo looked in a good place.

By full-time, however, the sense of shock and disbelief among the Mayo followers was everywhere.

They had witnessed a second-half performance where by every known football metric their team was a distant second.

By way of application, skill execution and desire, there was only one winner.

Roscommon had delivered one of their most complete performances seen against the Green and Red and left Castlebar the fully deserving winners.

There is no hiding the fact that on the day Mayo were way below the levels that we had hoped to see.

Even in the opening half, when they led from the opening whistle to the break, their performance lacked fluency and was pock-marked with errors.

Bad use of the ball, where poor handling betrayed them repeatedly, poor skill execution and bad decision-making contributed to a less-than-convincing lead having playing with the wind.

Registering one goal and 11 points was a less-than -atisfactory return during a half where they looked the better team.

The half-forward line of Jack Carney, Ryan O’Donoghue and Jordan Flynn kept a reasonable supply of the ball moving goalward.

Half-backs Conor Loftus and Paddy Durcan fired over some good scores and although they were by no means dominant, the midfield duo of Tuohy and McBrien foraged effectively.

The opening 10 minutes gave a false sense of what was to come. Conor Loftus, Paddy Durcan, Jordan Flynn and Kobe McDonald established a nice base from which to work with four unanswered points.

A completely preventable goal from Diarmuid Murtagh undid much of this.

Moments before he found the net, his thunderous shot hit the inside of the post and went wide.

In his rush to re-start the game, goalkeeper Robbie Hennelly miscued his delivery, which was intercepted.

The resultant move ended with Murtagh walking the ball into the net.

Though it was the Rossies' first score, it was one that gave them hope.

Murtagh, incidentally, went on to play havoc with the Mayo defence every time he got the ball.

His movement, awareness of what was possible, accuracy and industry presented an amalgam to which Mayo couldn’t find an answer.

That he finished the game with a total of one goal and 10 points tells its own story; this was a masterclass of forward play.

That said, in this opening period the Roscommon attack lived on meagre rations. Worryingly, whenever they got forward, they displayed patience and good judgement, which kept them within scoring reach.

From Mayo’s perspective, the youngster Kobe McDonald was their shining light. His three points before the break were struck with confidence.

Aside from this, his appetite and willingness to work shone through and betrayed none of his inexperience. It’s hard to believe that the lad is still in second- level education.

What unfolded after the break I hadn’t anticipated.

Though Mayo had been sloppy and disjointed, the break afforded everyone time to assess matters, regroup and iron out the many flaws apparent in their play. Nothing of the sort materialised.

It was Roscommon who re-emerged full of enthusiasm, energy and purpose. Their six points immediately after the resumption delivered the blow from which Mayo never recovered.

Roscommon grew in confidence, always seemed to have a plethora of options available and ran whatever belief Mayo may have had in themselves into the ground.

In truth, what evolved was one of the most disappointing displays delivered by a Mayo team in a long, long time.

Even the introduction of experienced subs like Mattie Ruane, Tommy Conroy and Donnacha McHugh did nothing to stem the tide.

Durcan’s score midway through the period, which brought the margin back to two, couldn’t disguise the fact that his team was labouring in every sector and failing dismally to stem their opponents' continuous attacking waves.

That quick-fire surge after the break lit the fuse for Roscommon and created a momentum that never abated from there to the final whistle.

This year, and as recently as the London game, Mayo’s defence looked vulnerable when run at.

Unfortunately, here was to be no exception.

In most of the 1 v 1 duels, Roscommon came out top. A worrying sign (and it surfaced on numerous occasions) was that Mayo didn’t appear to have the legs to stay with their immediate opponents.

The Rossies always seemed to have an extra man to call on, a greater awareness of one another’s needs, and were clinical in front of goal when the opportunities arose.

One goal and 17 points in that second period against Mayo's meagre return of seven points is clear evidence of the dominance they enjoyed.

I didn’t see this result unfolding. There was, I thought (erroneously, as it turned out), enough experience, fresh blood and football knowhow to have negotiated the challenge. What we got was the opposite.

When it falls on the shoulders of a debutant, Kobe McDonald, to provide the leadership, it’s clear something is amiss.

A player of the calibre of Sam Callinan, who has been outstanding all year, looked flat and devoid of the energy we normally associate with him.

Clearly this is a player suffering from the demands that a never-ending schedule of club and county has wrought. In no way should he carry the blame.

The half-forwards – Carney, O’Donoghue and Flynn – never lacked effort but the overall inspiration, hunger and willingness to die for the cause was absent.

This was a collective collapse and one where everyone involved must look honestly in the mirror.

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