A must-win no-win situation for Mayo

Back in the mid-noughties, Crossmolina Deel Rovers were at the peak of their powers. Calling the club a powerhouse of Mayo football would perhaps be underplaying their superiority at the time, and so all opponents naturally went to great lengths to negate their myriad threats. But the subject of most sleepless nights would've been the North Mayo's club's deadliest weapon. Dealing with the left boot of Ciaran McDonald was akin to nullifying the damage caused by Thor's hammer. The mercurial god with flowing blonde locks and limitless confidence was a nightmare scenario for opponents back in the day – shackling McDonald was no walk in the park either One particular club in East Mayo devised an imaginative way of tackling the threat McDonald posed. They would attempt to suffocate Crossmolina by asking the club groundsman to take the sidelines in to the brink of regulation ahead of their clash with star-studded club. As this required more work than usual from the groundsman, he protested.

But the management team were adamant. They needed to do something radical ahead of the game and so the groundsman eventually went about taking in the lines as much as he could. When game day eventually came around, McDonald wandered over to take a sideline ball within the first couple of minutes. And as his wont, he effortlessly caressed the ball between the posts. It wasn't the first or last time the Crossmolina forward would drop jaws.

And the groundsman, perfectly located behind the home team's dugout, responded to the point in a beautifully brutal fashion.

Leaning in towards the team manager, he quipped: "How are those sidelines working out for you?"

As in all sports, Gaelic Games have plenty of groundsmen, many of whom have never lined or mowed a pitch. And there is little sympathy for those who throw themselves into the world of intercounty management like Kevin McStay. It comes with the territory.

Prioritise the league and you risk hitting a wall later in the season. Fail to perform in the league and you're written off in the championship. Either way, the groundsmen are coming for you. It's difficult to strike the right balance. This year, it's clear that the Mayo manager is attempting to avoid peaking too early and, luckily for him, he can rely on the counsel of Stephen Rochford who seemed to have mastered timing All-Ireland runs during his stint as Mayo manager, even if those sides ultimately fell short of glory on the biggest days.

Mayo lost to Galway in the Connacht championship in the three seasons while Rochford was at the helm. His sides would then generally tend to splutter their way through the qualifiers while still managing to compete in two of the most entertaining All-Ireland final match-ups of all time in 2016 and 2017. For that reason, Mayo could never be ruled out of All-Ireland contention during his years in charge, even if they were struggling against sides in lower divisions earlier in the season.

But by aiming to peak in July, the early-summer journey is rife with potholes, the first obstacle coming into focus this weekend as Mayo kick off their latest championship campaign in New York.

As always, little is known about New York’s form given they don't compete in the league. It's nevertheless clear that they have been improving in recent years, finding superior players and playing with a greater sense of harmony and identity. They registered their first-ever win since joining the championship in 1999 when beating Leitrim in a penalty shoot-out 12 months ago. And that win had been coming for a while.

Two years ago, in their first game following the pandemic, Sligo beat the Exiles by only four points. The hosts came agonisingly close to an upset on that occasion, being on level terms with three minutes remaining only to run out of steam. They also took Leitrim to extra-time in 2018, while Roscommon only beat them by a single point in 2016 after the visitors had made it to a Division One league semi-final only a few weeks earlier. That same Roscommon side, under McStay’s management, went on to push Galway to a provincial final replay later in the summer.

Pummellings such as the one they received in 2019 are the anomaly; more often than not, the first game of the championship is a fascinatingly tight affair.

McStay knows it, too. Speaking to the media in Clones after the final game of the league, he said: "Let me assure you, we will be going very, very hard after that New York game."

Last year's encounter at Gaelic Park was a wake-up call for every other side in Connacht. The game may have been laden with errors, but the mishit shots, poor decision-making and clumsy handling skills made it arguably the most entertaining game of the championship. Above all else, the hosts' extra-time performance revealed a sense of self-belief that has been fostered within the side in recent years. That allowed them to dig out their first win in the championship in a hugely pressurised environment. Subsequent games against Sligo and Carlow, in the Connacht championship and Tailteann Cup respectively, would've only have accelerated their progression.

So, the Exiles are a danger, certainly for a side who are struggling to fire as they were only 12 months ago. Mayo's forward line had more sparks than a fireworks display this time last year. Alas, the fuse has gone damp. Most worryingly of all is the fact that McStay seems to be a few weeks away from settling on his strongest starting XV – only a few players starred in the league and some of the more experienced and reliable names are still only returning from injury.

New York have shown that they're capable of punishing complacency, even if they don't have the luxury of competitive match practice during the spring months. And they will have been pining for a crack at Mayo – it’s the biggest game to come to New York since 2019.

Mayo remain one of the strongest sides in the country after all, regardless of their form which is by no means deplorable. They still beat Dublin, last year's All-Ireland champions, in the early rounds of the league and only lost by a point to Kerry, last year's runners-up. No other Division One side came within one score of beating both last year's All Ireland finalists during the league.

But the pressure is on Mayo. The team brings a horde of supporters with them like no other county. Online tickets for the game sold out within minutes of becoming available. Local radio has been inundated with queries from ticketless Mayo fans making the journey across the Atlantic over the coming days. Only a pulverising victory will be deemed adequate.

Anything less and the groundsmen will be baying for blood.