Hyde hangover to blame for another Mayo tragedy

“History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce.” 

Karl Marx Just when we thought there was no new way in which tragedy could arrive at Mayo’s door, the county is presented with a penalty shootout with a supposedly out-of-form Derry side. But if indulging in masochism was an Olympic sport, no nation would ever beat Mayo to the top of the podium.

Frustratingly for Mayo, everything had been going their way coming into the game. Barring Paddy Durcan, the Mayo management team had a full squad to pick from. Mayo had also rediscovered their form against Dublin in their previous outing at Hyde Park. And they had the luxury of home field advantage.

Derry, on the other hand, had won only a single game in the championship and were being forced to come to Castlebar for a do-or-die clash. And history has taught us that once a team loses form in the championship, they almost never regain it. All the indications were that Derry had peaked too early in the season when winning the league and may as well have been readying themselves for the post-season holiday.

Mayo’s immediate future meanwhile glistened with possibilities.

After Dublin rescued a draw in the final seconds of their final group game, Mayo seemed disgusted at how they had let the game slip through their fingers. As Kevin McStay strode down the sideline for the customary handshake with Dessie Farrell, he pulled his best Victor Meldrew impression. He knew the side had let a glorious opportunity disappear and were likely facing into a tough task the following weekend.

Another manager would’ve been pleased to have come so close to overturning the All-Ireland champions, but the fact that the frustration was chiselled on to Mayo’s faces should’ve been a positive sign for the county.

This was a county that had rediscovered their raison d'être, that was pining for the big days in Croke Park once again, that could take the summer and their supporters anywhere. But in the hangover following that game in Roscommon, Mayo lost the chaotic energy that had served them so well.

It was apparent from the opening stages of the encounter that this was another version of Mayo – the older, more passive iteration of the outfit. They lacked the urgency, penetration and audacity needed to break through the staunch Derry rearguard. And the opening exchanges were cagey, as a result.

Lachlan Murray was Derry’s best performer up front, causing Mayo’s defence plenty of issues on a day he tapped over five points. His solo exploits were also giving the rest of his teammates confidence, as they began to stretch away from their rather unimaginative hosts.

Mayo’s game was also littered with errors – simple kick passes bobbled away from their intended targets, players allowed themselves to be pushed out over the sideline, and defenders were a split second late out of the blocks against their respective opponents. The game had an uneasy pre-season feel to it – an early ominous warming for the home side.

Although Derry were never out of sight, Mayo needed an inspirational moment to resuscitate them into life. And the further the game developed, the more difficult it would become to produce that moment. As it happened, McStay must have been fairly satisfied that his side were heading into the half-time break only three points behind. It could – and should – have been much worse.

Whatever expletives were fired out within the walls of Mayo’s dressing room at the interval, they seemed to have worked as Mayo clawed back the deficit and then went ahead through a Ryan O’Donoghue free within eight minutes of the restart. Tommy Conroy was again at his sprightly best, while Aidan O’Shea was gradually charging his way into the game like a steam engine.

Finally, Mayo began playing like a side equipped for the white heat of championship. Then, a clever flick from O’Donoghue, as two Derry players converged on him, led to a penalty that the Belmullet man converted with a slick daisycutter. Mayo were finally playing with precision and Derry were scrambling.

The penalty seemed to briefly re-energise Mayo, and the home crowd who had been subject to a dour encounter thus far. Mayo players now began barking instructions at each other, setting higher standards, becoming more demanding than Aer Lingus pilots.

They were beginning to kick for home, but they still couldn’t get out of sight and the league champions were allowed to continue jabbing away. O’Donoghue scored Mayo’s last point of normal time in the 60th minute to push Mayo two points ahead – that should’ve been a platform from which to kick on. But Mayo have always struggled when kicking for home too early, and Mickey Harte’s men were given 10 minutes to save their season.

Shane McGuigan first brought them within a point before Chrissy McKaigue popped up late to send the game to extra-time.

When Derry last played Mayo in Castlebar in the 2017 championship qualifiers, Stephen Rochford needed to pull Conor Loftus from the bench to rescue the side with an extra-time goal. But that Derry side was a very different version to the side that arrived in Castlebar at the weekend. The 2017 side had just been relegated from Division Two of the league. The current Derry outfit, although short on confidence, were still regarded as the pre-championship favourites. And Mayo had helped them restore some of the confidence that had evaporated in recent months. As that confidence grew, it became clear that they weren’t going to allow Mayo to waltz through them and produce a mercurial moment like Loftus’ maximum seven years ago.

Mayo were still given an array of chances to book their spot in this weekend’s quarter-finals. But they ultimately left themselves with too much to do in extra-time, having allowed Derry build a lead again. It took late efforts from Loftus and Jordan Flynn to force penalties and, with that, set the script for yet another tragedy to unfold.