Bad day at office but newbies offer hope

A sobering result but no need to panic just yet. With players missing, new ones coming in and a raft of new rules to get used to, we thought that there could be a few rough days this spring. Mitigating factors or not though, it’s never nice to get such a drubbing from your oldest rival.

It was a 10 point hammering even though Galway only scored four more scores than Mayo, 19 to 15. In a game where no green flags were raised, the damage was done by Galway’s outstanding two-point shooting. They kicked seven two-pointers to Mayo’s one. Teams that can master this element of the new game have such a huge advantage and Galway are stacked with big boots. The likes of Shane Walsh, Cillian Ó Curraoin and Paul Conroy were all licking their lips any time they approached the 40 metre arc. Damien Comer will fancy it too when he returns.

Mayo have just not perfected the knack of kicking these long-rangers yet. Paul Towey kicked a beauty, but everyone else snatched or scuffed their attempts – or, even worse, refused the opportunity when it presented itself. Mayo’s best long-range kicker, Fergal Boland, had a real off day with the boot missing four scoreable chances. I commend him for having a go, as once he gets the radar firing again those four wides could easily become eight points – and what a difference that would make.

Every forward or player who enters the opposition’s half needs to be thinking about two-pointers now though. Teams that aren’t kicking at least three or four a game will not be winning anything. In the past teams wouldn’t take on risky shots for fear of not getting the ball back for ages after the restart, with short kick-outs leading to slow build-ups from the back and possession heavy football. The days of short kickouts are gone so even if you miss a shot from distance, your team will have a 50:50 tussle to win it back in midfield seconds later. If in doubt, shoot!

Probably the most disappointing and frustrating aspect of Mayo’s performance on Sunday was that the team did not seem to have a brilliant grasp of the new rules. They were punished for so many new rule breaches. This allowed Galway to kick a plethora of frees outside the 40m arc which finished the game as a contest and killed any chance of Mayo mounting a comeback.

Mayo’s indiscipline or ignorance to the rule enhancements surprised me. If there was one thing that Kevin McSttay was a stickler for when working as a pundit with RTÉ, it was the rules. He knew them inside out and is known for trying to promote a similar depth of rule familiarity amongst his players. I’ve heard anecdotally that the first thing he does after taking over a team is to give each player a quiz on the game’s rules. If players don’t get all the questions right, they have to go off and learn them; otherwise, they will have no business questioning referees on anything.

It’s early days in this new look game but Mayo need to get up to speed with all the changes quickly as laziness, sloppiness or lack of knowledge will be severely punished by referees and more importantly, by lethal opposition forwards on the scoreboard. I’m certain McStay will make it a priority and Mayo will improve in this area going forward.

Galway looked like a far more settled, experienced and mature team but there were some small green shoots for Mayo. The team once again responded well to a very poor start and somehow found a way to go in ahead at half-time. It would be nice not to be giving teams head-starts every week though.

Paul Towey was excellent and it was great to see him get the full game. He’s a finisher and these new rules reward finishers. We’re not blessed with too many natural scorers right now either so we have to stick with him and hope that he continues his good form. Davitt Neary also impressed again and chipped in with three good scores. He has had a great start to his Mayo career and, again, like Towey, needs to be persisted with.

Conor Reid did a lot of good work in the first-half but so did his marker Sean Kelly. It was a good battle and facing up against the irrepressible Kelly will be a good learning curve for Reid. Sean Morahan and Frank Irwin kicked nice scores too and any positives to be taken from Sunday came from newbies who showed some dash.

He’s not a newbie and he owes us nothing but Ryan O’Donoghue had a tough enough day. It is a problem for Mayo when playing Galway that Galway have the ideal man to quieten O’Donoghue. If you could design the perfect corner-back in a defender-making factory, he would have all the traits of Johnny McGrath. He’s low to the ground, rapid, hardy and as tenacious as a terrier. All features that ROD possesses too which probably makes him such a good match-up.

When Ryan is shut down, Mayo look a blunt enough instrument so it is vital that we continue to develop and promote finishers like Towey and Neary. Cian McHale will need to be given a proper run soon too. It’s only early February but O’Donoghue has already played a lot of football in 2025 through his Sigerson Cup exploits with University of Galway. Giving him a break somewhere down the track wouldn’t be the worst idea either. We need him firing on all cylinders in summer, not chugging along lethargically.

Week two of the rule enhancements and they are either the worse thing to happen to Gaelic football or its saviour, depending on who you are talking to. I have to say that I thought the Derry v Kerry match on Sunday morning was an absolute thriller. If that’s how a lot of games will be played this year, then I say “Yes, please!”. The first-half of the Mayo v Galway game was enjoyable too but the second-half became very stop-start and mired in technicalities and frees. Everyone’s still finding their feet so let’s keep an open mind.

Winning the NFL was always out of the question this year with so many new faces in and established faces out, but we don’t want to lose every game either. It’s difficult for debutantes and newcomers to feel like they belong at this level if they’re losing matches every week. A win can validate all their hard work and show them that they can make the step up.

With that in mind, the Tyrone game in a fortnight has become a big one. Tyrone must be on shaky enough ground too after their own hammering by their beloved neighbours last Saturday. It would help if the Canavans were given another few weeks’ rest after their arduous club campaign.

Sunday was a dispiriting loss, but there’s a very good chance that Mayo and Galway will meet again in the Connacht Final at the same venue on May 4. Over the next 13 weeks, Mayo have plenty of room – and need – for improvement.

One more thing… 

After last week’s unwanted record of a wing-forward (Seán Bugler) scoring seven points from play, Mayo set another undesirable milestone last Sunday. Shane Walsh and Cillian O’Curraoin scored nine and eight points respectively.