Green and Red ready for Big Apple battle
Adam Loughlin Stones goes to ground under a challenge from Mayo's Joe Burke during New York's win against the Green and Red in the Connacht Hurling League Final at the Air Dome in January 2024. Picture: INPHO/Evan Logan
Having watched his side secure their place in the semi-final of the Nicky Rackard Cup, Mayo manager Ray Larkin said he was delighted with his side’s performance and current progress.
Following their defeat to Tyrone on April 19, Mayo won their final three games of the group to secure their place in the last four, which sees them face New York next Saturday for a chance to return for a what would be a third Rackard final in-a-row.
Satisfied with his side’s displays since that loss to Tyrone, which has included wins over Fermanagh, Sligo and their latest opponents, Louth, Larkin said: “We are delighted. We were disappointed with the result against Tyrone, but over the last few games the players have responded well. We beat a strong Louth team in their home ground.”
This victory also saw Mayo secure their first clean sheet of their championship campaign, which was also pleasing for Ray Larkin, having watched his side ship five goals against Tyrone a few weeks ago.
“It was great to score 3-22 and get a clean sheet. I feel we are going in the right direction. We also got a chance to look at a few other players ahead of the semi-final,” Larkin said.
“We had been leaking a lot of goals at times. I think we got the balance right with our six backs over recent weeks, although Oisin Duffy came on as a sub today and did very well. I feel we’re finally coming good and peaking at a good time.”
Having managed Tooreen with wonderful distinction over the last number of years, yielding two All-Ireland intermediate final appearances, Ray Larkin is solely focused on managing the Mayo county team this year, having previously combined both roles in recent years. He says the split season makes for the transition from moving from club to county management seamless.
“With the split season, you would usually finish with Mayo in a few weeks, and then you move on to your club”, Larkin said. “You would take some time off and then you go again, as the Mayo championship kicks off at the end of August. You are working with a lot of players who overlap with both squads (Tooreen and Mayo), and I believe Mayo hurling is in a good place at the moment, which is very important.
“We have to keep the standards right, keep doing things correctly and fingers crossed, we get a positive result against a very good New York team.”
Unsurprisingly, there were a number of Tooreen players who stood out for Mayo in this victory over Louth, with Eoin Delaney particularly catching the eye, scoring 2-6 over the 70 minutes.
“We have been very fortunate to have different players standing out each week,” Larkin said. “Eoin scored 2-6 today, he was excellent. Corey Scahill I thought did very well too. David Delaney came on and scored a nice point. Fionn Delaney is only under-20, but he played well too. I thought our full-back line was solid as well. I thought we had plenty of good performers today. The next few weeks are about keeping the players as fresh as possible.”
Looking ahead to the Big Apple challenge, Larkin is under no illusions about the stiff test which New York will undoubtedly provide in the semi-final.
“They are a fine team. They have a number of good players from Tipperary, Cork and Limerick in their squad, so we will need to be ready for them. All we can do is prepare properly, get our match ups right and hopefully our fitness will count on the day.”
