Clones offers ideal chance to return to winning ways
Andy Moran will bring his Mayo side to St Tiernach's Park in Clones on Sunday for a fourth round NFL Division 1 clash with Monaghan. Picture: INPHO/James Crombie
Up until last Sunday, life under Andy Moran had been sunshine and rainbows, and there was a bit of that in Letterkenny. But management, players and supporters were also drenched in not just the temperamental elements at O’Donnell Park, but a hit of reality.
It was a first competitive loss for the Ballaghaderreen native since he took charge and there could be no complaints over the result. Moran said after the game that he hoped he could erase the first 20 to 25 minutes, although people watching on television would not have seen much anyway given that the main camera for TG4’s coverage got quite a soaking throughout.
"It was a very poor first 20 minutes. I thought we recovered a bit before half-time.
"We stuck to the plan, played really well. We only lost the second-half by two points against a gale-force wind. We had four or five goal chances and really opened them up. We showed that we could play football, but the opening 25 minutes was very disappointing.
"We must lick our wounds, go away and learn from this."
A reality check is no harm, nonetheless. It is still very early days for this Mayo team while Donegal, who had started twelve of the side that played Mayo in the championship last year, looked a team who want to claim every piece of silverware that is in front of them this year.
As for the Mayo positives? Despite the defeat, there is plenty of them. Donnacha McHugh, Diarmuid O’Connor and Paddy Durcan got some much-needed minutes, Jordan Flynn has picked up where he left off from in the championship last year but the biggest positive of all was Sunday’s return of Flynn’s Crossmolina clubmate Conor Loftus on his first game back for Mayo since June 2024.
Appearing as a first-half substitute in place of James Carr (who was one of five or six players who could have been easily hooked before the break), Loftus inspired those around him with his driving runs and although he was unfortunate with a double hop that led to a Mayo goal being disallowed, he looked someone who has not missed a beat and appears all but assured of a starting place against either Monaghan this Sunday or Armagh a week later, or even both.
Darragh Beirne was also lively and could have had two goals to his name, while Sam Callinan popped over two lovely scores in the game, and it bodes well ahead of another trip to Ulster to take on under-pressure Monaghan.
The Farney men were beaten by Dublin in their bottom of the table clash last Saturday in a game where they missed a gluttony of goal chances. Monaghan remain without a point, and with games still to come against Kerry (away), Galway and Donegal (both at home), Gabriel Brannigan’s side need results and fast to avoid a drop back to Division 2.
The Monaghan manager will also be wary of Andy Moran’s vast knowledge of his side. Moran was a part of Brannigan’s backroom team last year as Monaghan stormed to the Division 2 title before falling to Donegal in the All-Ireland quarter-final.
It is a big game for both teams this Sunday for different reasons but should Mayo replicate their second-half performance in Donegal across the 70 minutes in Clones, they will likely be coming back with another victory and, at a minimum, secure a spot in Division 1 next year, a place Monaghan likely won’t be if they fail to win here.
Verdict: Mayo
