Hope springs eternal but sterner tests to come for Mayo

It was quite apt that Sunday was the first day of spring because Mayo’s first home game under Andy Moran showed plenty of hope for the future.

But it was also clear that a lot of maturing and growth is required before they are in full bloom.

For the Mayo supporters too, Sunday appeared to mark a rebirth of sorts. There were over 15,000 supporters in Hastings Insurance MacHale Park for this second round league game. Contrast that to just over 6,000 at the same venue for a championship game – and defeat – against Cavan last May.

A new management will always bring about a certain bounce but there can be no mistaking that while it was clear what Kevin McStay and Stephen Rochford were trying to do with an often conservative, cautious style of play, it certainly did not resonate with the vast bulk of Mayo supporters.

That’s not to condemn management as wrong and supporters as ever wise… We’ve seen plenty of times in recent years where a patient build-up play was required at certain stages depending on the score and the defensive setup of opponents.

Regardless of the merits, it often led to restlessness in the crowd and there is a bounce at the moment. Wins over Galway and Dublin, two of our greatest rivals across the last decade in different ways, will always help to rally the troops.

So too will the direct and positive style of attacking football Andy Moran’s Mayo are playing. Though one cannot wonder what the mood music would be like if Mayo had lost either or both games.

Because right now, Mayo fans are getting the best of both worlds – wins and with a bit of style thrown in.

The way Mayo are playing is to be encouraged and applauded though. They are going direct as often as they can, with deliveries by the boot from midfield to the full-forward line very pronounced in the first-half on Sunday.

Players are not afraid to take on two-point efforts. Mayo are creating plenty of goal chances. The wastage of so many of them is a concern but not as much as not creating them at all.

They should have been out of sight by half-time and continued to waste very good attacking positions after the break.

Ironically, when Dublin’s Seán McMahon was sent off just after half-time, it called for a more measured, patient build up play. Which should have been no problem to a Mayo team who were so married to that style last year. But they found it more challenging. It was almost a reminder that while there is a need for the ability to play patient, controlled play at times, it does not seem to be something that is in our DNA to any great extent.

It would appear we can only thrive when we play heavy metal football.

Mayo have a lot of room for improvement. Andy Moran was quick to contextualise his dissatisfaction with how Mayo played after the red card by referencing that they have not done any work at training in playing with a man less or a man extra.

It is a reminder of the time of year, with many players still returning from injury, a new system of play being unleashed and the reality that like flowers in the garden, teams need managing, minding, the right environment, and above all else, time to thrive.

But it is encouraging to see the progress shown by the likes of Bob Tuohy and Darragh Beirne, Sam Callinan continues to show his undoubted ability and Ryan O’Donoghue was quite simply head and shoulders above anyone else on the field.

If you are looking for asterisks from the two wins – and there are as many Mayo fans who seek to dampen the hype as get carried away – it comes in the context of the opposition.

Galway were missing a huge chunk of their key staff last week. They still created nearly ten goal chances and nearly completed a comeback from 11 points down.

Dublin? Well it is fair to say they are in transition at best. It was as bad a display from a Dublin team against Mayo that this writer can recall. Mayo won by more in 2012 than on Sunday, winning 0-20 to 0-8 in the league but if they brought their shooting boots, they could have won this by 15 points.

So while Mayo can take credit for their approach and their execution being on a relatively okay level, they will know that the tests will increase considerably in the weeks and months ahead.

But the scope for Mayo to improve is there too. For now there is a spring in their step.