A debut to remember

By even entering the field of play on Sunday, Kobe McDonald was making quite the statement.

By our reckoning, he is one of the youngest players to ever make his debut for Mayo.

He only turned 18 in December so he is younger than the age when some of his Mayo teammates debuted in their first year out of minor (U18 as it was for them). Aidan O’Shea, Cillian O’Connor and Diarmuid O’Connor were all closer to 19 than 18 when they made their bows.

Indeed, Kobe had just turned one when O’Shea made his senior debut in February 2009.

Pearse Hanley debuted in July 2007 in a qualifier against Cavan and turned 19 by the end of the year.

Kobe’s own Dad, Ciarán, made his Mayo debut while still minor. He came on in a league game against Derry in October 1993 but his birthday was early in the year meaning that he, too, was closer to 19 than 18.

Padraig Brogan played senior championship while still minor in 1983 but from what we can establish, was 18 years and four months by then.

Pat Kilbane was minor when he played senior in 1965 but had six months as an adult by then.

So, in short, we can find no one in the last 60 years who was younger making their senior debut than Kobe McDonald at 18 years and two months. Answers on a postcard, please!

But it is one thing to make your senior debut and ease your way into the white heat of senior inter-county football, it is another thing altogether to do what Kobe McDonald did on Sunday in Clones.

We’ll put the asterisks in first. It was a perfect game to come on in, Mayo had just stretched their lead to 13 points. An understrength Monaghan were taking in water all over the field and, in a desperate attempt to claw themselves back into the game, were leaving plenty of space up top. He couldn’t have dreamed for a better scenario.

Even still … He came on after 52 minutes and 29 seconds and had seven possessions. To score 1-4 and have one assist from that is stupendous. The other two plays were a pass to Aidan O’Shea which led to the Breaffy man shooting wide and a one-two link with Enda Hession for his two-pointer. So not one error.

Not alone that, each of his scores had different touches of class about them. The sweeping shot from the right corner for his first point when others would be inclined to recycle with their first touch. Everything about his goal from the immediate intent when he received the ball outside the ‘45; the two solos so as not to risk a bounce on a wet surface; the finish, off the outside of the boot to arch it around any despairing dive; and the joyful celebration.

His two-pointer demonstrated poise in creating the space with Enda Hession and his confidence and power in shooting and scoring from that range into the teeth of the breeze (the only player to score a two-pointer into the town goal on the day). And his last point showed how elusive he can be in the tackle, squirming free from two Monaghan defenders to fire over swiftly and accurately.

One other health warning. It has become very unusual to see an 18-year-old breakthrough in the modern era because of the greater physical conditioning of players. So that underlines McDonald’s remarkable talent but a tighter game against more gnarly and commanding defenders will be another day’s work. For instance, Armagh next Sunday. What role he plays there remains to be seen.

But Sunday could not have went any better to the extent the main negative from it is that it becomes even clearer what a loss to Mayo football he will be when he heads to Australia.

Monaghan a pale shadow Monaghan beat Mayo in Castlebar to stay up in the last league game of 2023 but to give you a sense of where they were at on Sunday, only four players started both games and gone are luminaries like Conor McManus, Darren Hughes and Karl O’Connell.

So while this looked a potentially tricky proposition for Mayo after their poor display in Letterkenny, it really was one Mayo should have been winning, especially when the news came through that their totemic goalkeeper Rory Beggan was out injured.

Still, it took two huge, in every sense, two-pointers from Fergal Boland just before half-time to open a decent gap at the break and deflate Monaghan’s hopes.

Mayo are to be credited for their application and ferocious work-rate.

The half-back line of Sam Callinan, Conor Loftus and Paddy Durcan were a springboard while the endevour of Ryan O’Donoghue, Fergal Boland and Jordan Flynn played a big part.

Bob Tuohy left with the man of the match award after another impressive display of fielding, arguably his best yet.

We have him down for winning or helping to win an incredible eleven kickouts and he got across the ground too. Having such a good fielder makes a profound difference for Mayo, especially under the new rules.

It shows the standards Ryan O’Donoghue has set for himself that he is not even in the conversation for man of the match. After a poor outing against Donegal, the Belmullet man was the conductor of so much on Sunday.

He either scored or had the assist for all of Mayo’s first eight points, when the game was rightly in the mix. He had a total of 39 possessions and his ferocious work-rate brought him to every corner of the field.

Jordan Flynn emptied himself too, scoring five points and assisting for 1-2, including his brother Kobe’s goal. It was a commanding display by him while Fergal Boland’s GPS stats will take a bit of downloading too. He went wherever the need was greatest and his brace of two-pointers right before half-time underlines the shooting weaponry he brings in the new rules.

But it was a game where Monaghan faded so poorly and were missing so much personnel in a county not as blessed with depth as others that a big health warning accompanies analysis.

It is a good response from Mayo though to a very sub-par display in Letterkenny and quite likely secures their league status which will enable Andy Moran and Co to look at the remaining three games through a different lens.