Future looks bright for Mayo at every level
Mayo's Jordan Flynn signs autographs after last weekend's win against Dublin. Picture: INPHO/Laszlo Geczo
There have scarcely been better weeks in Mayo Gaelic football than the one just passed. Okay, it’s only February 1, and we are all prone to a little hyperbole when our flagship senior team wins a few matches, but for me, beating arch-rivals Galway and Dublin so comprehensively was not even the most promising aspect of the week.
The performances and results of Mayo schools in the post-primary Connacht championships were incredible. To have Mayo schools competing against one another in the upcoming ‘A’, ‘C’ and ‘D’ finals is just extraordinary. St Muredach’s, Ballina will face St Gerald’s, Castlebar in the ‘A’ decider. Gortnor Abbey and Balla Secondary School will face off in the ‘C’ final. St Brendan’s, Belmullet will come up against St Tiernan’s, Crossmolina in the ‘D’ section. Not forgetting another Mayo school, St Nathy’s College, Ballaghaderreen, who will play the ‘Bish’ of Galway City in the ‘B’ final.
I just cannot get my head around this level of dominance by Mayo schools. When I was growing up, the odd Mayo school briefly flirted with Connacht championship success. But that was never usually at ‘A’ level.
Indeed, my dad, when managing Mayo minors in the mid-90s, used to bemoan the fact that barely any of the players he was picking from were playing ‘A’ colleges football. That feeling of frustration became even more acute when Galway, their direct opponents in Connacht, were replete with stars such as Pádraic Joyce, Michael Donnellan, Declan Meehan, Derek Savage, John Concannon and John Divilly from the famed Tuam footballing academies of St Jarlath’s and St Pat’s.
Having so many Mayo lads now competing at this level and exposing them to such high-quality football in their formative years is bound to reap dividends for Mayo football in the coming years.
Speaking of exposure to top-level football, another highlight of my week was seeing how many Mayo players will feature in the upcoming Sigerson Cup semi-finals. Between University of Limerick and University of Galway, I make it 14 Mayo players that will compete in this week’s semi-finals.
Indeed, the vanquished quarter-finalists of DCU and UCD also had a scatter of Mayo men involved. While the top level of post-primary football is high-quality fare, Sigerson Cup action is the real deal.
When competing at a good level in the Sigerson, you are just one step away from senior inter-county football. Playing with different players from different counties under different coaches and systems broadens your football experience and intelligence.
Unfortunately, the scheduling for the Sigerson crowbars it into the middle of the NFL. But if these Mayo players can get through it unscathed and maybe with a winning medal, they will be in a great position to kick on with Mayo in the spring.
All these high-performing Mayo footballers at second- and third-level education competitions suggests that there is a conveyor belt of talent coming through. Diarmuid Byrne, Keith Higgins, and indeed Andy Moran, must be salivating at the wealth of talent at their disposal in the coming seasons.
In the here and now, the adult footballers are doing the business too. Sunday’s win against Dublin was workmanlike but comprehensive. For the first time in aeons, I actually felt fully confident pre-match that Mayo were going to beat Dublin. The greatest compliment I can pay the Mayo team and Andy Moran is that they disposed of them with minimum fuss and without much drama. That is a sign of a team growing and gaining confidence.
Of course, there are caveats to such a comfortable win. Sean MacMahon’s softish sending-off on 40 minutes ensured that there was going to be no grandstand finish in this one. With the extra man, Mayo expertly controlled it at the death and kept Dublin at arm’s length.
It also has to be considered that this is not the Dublin team of old. While they still have some household names, those legs have a lot of miles on the clock. There are also many newbies in their ranks who are barely road-tested. At this rate, they will have a battle to stay in Division 1.
Still, Mayo did what they had to do, and after the previous weekend’s great showing in Pearse Stadium there were some more promising signs this time out. Although Dublin scored two goals, Mayo’s defence was definitely a bit tighter than the Salthill shootout. It also has to be considered that Mayo’s best man-marker is Donnacha McHugh – things should tighten up even more when he returns to the fold soon.
I was delighted that Sam Callinan was not moved back to pick up Con O’Callaghan or any of Dublin’s dangerous inside forwards. It is clear that management see him as a half-back line player, and that is where he will be stationed for the year. It’s his best position, as it accentuates his strongest attributes – winning breaking ball, carrying the ball forward and being in the thick of it.
Scoring 1-18 to follow last Sunday week’s 3-18 is another hugely positive step. The directness of the play, the movement of the forwards and their confidence to have a cut make Andy’s team a real threat. Granted, our shooting wasn’t dead-eye, but there were a lot of good goal chances created, and players are clearly encouraged to take shots on. On better ground and with more practice, this Mayo team will score more than they miss.
Darragh Beirne’s introduction to the big time couldn’t have gone better. His composure on the ball belies that of a 19-year-old. Bagging a goal on his first and second start reminds me a little of Jason Doherty’s goal-a-game NFL season in his breakout year in 2011.
Having another natural scoring threat inside has allowed Mayo to release Ryan O’Donoghue out the field, and boy is he thriving. No more than Callinan being suited to the middle third, ROD loves the rough and tumble of the midfield exchanges.
In showbiz, they say you have struck gold when you find an artist who has the “triple threat”, i.e. can sing, dance and act. In Gaelic football terms, ROD is our star with the triple threat, as he can score, pass and tackle.
With Jordan Flynn and Jack Carney, he has two tall, talented and hardworking fielders either side of him to complement his many strengths. He makes the thing tick, and I found it encouraging to see him dovetail nicely with Fergal Boland so that one of them was always close to goal and not roving too far out the field.
The Donegal game in a fortnight will present a totally different challenge, but what an exciting game for a confident, fluid Mayo team. Donegal look like a team on a mission and are close to full-strength already.
With three weeks between the league final and their opening Ulster Championship game, something tells me Jimmy McGuinness is targeting the league. At the minute, he looks cranky on the sideline and in post-match interviews. Beware of teams with cranky managers – their players will run through walls to try and keep their gaffers happy. Just ask Alex Ferguson or Jack O’Connor’s teams.
The eternally optimistic and gregarious Andy Moran has no need to be grouchy right now. It is all going swimmingly thus far. There will be tougher days ahead for sure, but for now, it’s just nice to see Mayo football at all levels in a good place.
When in possession, Donegal only turned over the ball four times in their match against Kerry. That astonishing stat comes courtesy of Maurice Brosnan of the . Can Mayo force them to make more than four turnovers in Letterkenny on Sunday week?
