The story behind Mayo's remarkable footballing transformation since April 26

Andy Moran’s willingness and bravery to invest in youth has been central to the team's change in fortune

by Martin Carney, Mayo's foremost GAA columnist

HARD to imagine in some ways.

Certainly if viewed through the lens of that awful second-half display against Roscommon on April 26 that culminated in a 10-point defeat; a defeat that seemed to offer little hope of recovery such was the lack of quality evident on the day.

The reality, though, scripted a different story.

It became one of an unflappable manager and his team who weren’t prepared to let that result define their season, regrouped admirably, and found the necessary resolve to accept each challenge as it unfolded and reach their Mayo’s All-Ireland final since 2021.

The All-Ireland SFC semi-final victory over Louth was fully merited, one that left little doubt who was the better team and came on the back of a performance laced with self-belief that fuelled some excellent football, especially in the second half.

Louth, playing with the advantage of a strong wind, established an early lead.

A third minute point from their centre-back Dara McDonnell gave the impression of a team that had settled easily and one that was there for the long haul.

Yet once Mayo’s reply of a Ryan O’Donoghue goal sent the rafters in Croke Park shaking and the Mayo crowd into orbit, we knew that the lads in green and red were properly primed.

The lead changed hands on a couple occasions before, fittingly, a Ryan O’Donoghue two-pointer on 23 minutes gave Mayo the minimum advantage, one that they were never to relinquish.

That it was the Belmullet man who set the tone at the outset and laid down the terms of engagement was entirely fitting.

From that opening seminal moment he led by example, ran the Louth defence ragged, and pulled his team-mates into his slipstream. To a man they took their cue.

Though struggling at retaining our own restarts, the team more than compensated for this in different ways. Their energy, willingness to work for one another, ability to execute turnovers and counter attack at pace soon left Louth reeling.

To be fair to the men from the Wee County, a number of factors militated against them.

I felt that the intensity and energy demanded from them in defeating Dublin, Armagh and Monaghan robbed them of the sharpness required to deal with Mayo.

None of their heroes from those earlier ties were able to leave their imprint on the game.

While he opened the scoring, centre half-back Dara McDonnell was left chasing shadows as he tried to curb the wiles of the elusive Paul Towey, who again acquitted himself well in his role as a roving centre-forward.

Sam Mulroy, even though he played in a front line nourished with a good supply of ball, couldn’t shake off the attention of a Mayo half-back line that, for the second game running, showed a marked improvement from their earlier championship ties.

Twinning Stephen Coen with the resident centre-half provided again a more than useful tactic in guaranteeing this.

Coen and his fellow defenders closed off space, marked tightly in the main, and broke forward with purpose and pace to ensure the necessary energy base.

To compound Louth's woes, an injury to the star of the wins against Dublin and Armagh in particular was cruel and untimely.

Wing-back Craig Lennon, an All-Star in 2024, crumpled in a heap midway through the opening period with what looked like a very serious injury.

With him at his best the hill was steep; without him Louth were hit under the waterline and shipped water from there to the end.

Flanking O’Donoghue with the talented Kobe McDonald and Darragh Beirne has been central to Mayo’s midsummer improvement.

Their delightful improvisation and inventiveness has kept defences guessing.

Meath and Cork had already discovered this to their cost and by the interval, Louth saw that all the pre-match talk about them was fact rather than fiction.

Of Mayo’s first-half tally of 2-9, the trio accounted for all but one point of the total.

Their scores came in different forms. O’Donoghue's opening goal was a delightfully disguised daisy cutter to the Louth net that franked a fine turnover, while Beirne’s right-footed blaster following an excellent Sam Callinan assist on the stroke of half-time sent Mayo to the dressing room with a comfortable four-point lead.

In one respect the lead flattered them. Possession wise they were second best in the period and struggled in retaining a healthy percentage of their own restarts.

Yet, to their credit, the middle eight never flagged in compensating for this deficiency with a display of unremitting enthusiasm and belief.

That it is still a facet of the game that needs to improve is undeniable but last Saturday Louth hadn’t the quality to exploit this.

Variety, a sense of the unexpected and a willingness to put boot to ball also helped Mayo’s cause.

Keeping their foot on the throats of their opponents when they have established ascendancy has crept into their repertoire.

Louth got a mouthful of this in the third quarter. That five points interval lead stretched to 14 in this period with some fast and fluent attacking football.

Jordan Flynn set the wheels in motion just after the break.

Not to be outdone, Kobe McDonald and Ryan O’Donoghue followed suit before substitute Conor Loftus put the result beyond doubt with Mayo’s third goal.

Even though there were still a good 20 minutes remaining, that score was decisive. Louth were utterly demoralised by then.

Had it not been for a couple of scores from the admirable Ciaran Downey and Tommy Durnin, the game would have been a procession towards the Davin End.

That Mayo rediscovered the joy of goalscoring was one of the subtexts of the game.

With just three from all their previous championship outings, seeing them match this in an All-Ireland semi-final should provide future encouragement.

Andy Moran’s willingness and bravery to invest in youth has been central to the team's change in fortune.

Sensing the joy they feel and the flair they bring has had a liberating effect all round. Marvelling at Kobe’s array of skills and leadership, Beirne’s lust for scores, the dynamism of the Garrymore left flank, Livingstone’s shot-stopping and Callinan’s consistency have added a welcome dimension to the team.

The bigger, bolder and more experienced have flourished with this nourishment.

Ryan O'Donoghue has thrived more than most.

A three-year project, Andy?

How about shortening it to one?