Mayo has the quality, now to work the mind

Now that was championship football. The Westport versus Crossmolina match had it all: big players, big match-ups, big moments and a big crowd. I know it had to end on the day but nobody would have objected to a replay and another chance to see these two duke it out next weekend. After years of mediocre fare, I can’t recall the last time I saw a senior championship match in Mayo with such quality and drama.

Westport are an extremely powerful side but it took all their brawn and might to curb this wonderfully exciting and free-flowing Crossmolina team. Cross’ still scored 1-20 but I thought it was a masterful defensive display from the Coveys to limit them to just that. It was always going to take a team with top-class defenders to halt Cross’s gallop – and Westport have those in abundance.

I used to hate facing Westport back when I was playing my club football in Mayo. The likes of Keegan, McDermott and McManamon were all built like brick outhouses and had electric pace too. With their powerful backs and behinds, it was like marking a rugby player. Those lads are still around and they’ve since added Eoghan and Finbar McLaughlin, Conall Dawson and Ben Doyle to the mix. Their half-back line of the McLaughlin brothers and Dawson is awesome.

Eoghan McLaughlin in particular was exceptional at the weekend. Physically, he looked like an enormous man on a different plane to everyone else. Niall Coggins, his direct opponent, still popped up in different areas and looked dangerous but McLaughlin set the tone for Westport and drove them forward at every opportunity. After a checkered few years for Mayo, I still maintain that McLaughlin has been pivotal to Mayo’s best performances in recent seasons. This is the player we want to see – fit, focused, sharp and making good decisions. He will be central to Andy’s plans.

The talk before the game was that Westport might be able to stifle Crossmolina with their stellar defence but wouldn’t have enough firepower to hurt them at the other end. A scoreline of 1-24 blows that theory out of the water. Their full-forward line was excellent. Killian Kilkelly was sharp and tidy all afternoon and Colm Moran still has a dash and is a superb ball-winner. Joey Holmes is also a very interesting proposition and a real handful for opposition defences. He’s a huge man with a forward’s instinct who’s comfortable playing as a target man.

Oftentimes in Mayo, we put big midfielders on the edge of the square to cause havoc, simply because they’re big, without taking account of their footballing ability. Holmes is different. He’s comfortable with his back to goal, can throw his weight around and can score. He’s young but he’s the type of player Mayo should be channelling resources towards as we look to find effective inside men.

Brian O’Malley was superb at midfield against the best club midfielder in the county, Jordan Flynn. Lee Keegan succeeded where most other defenders in Mayo have failed this season and fairly blunted James Maheady – but that, as they say, is his wont.

With McLaughlin and Keegan imperious in the centre of their defence, Deel Rovers needed some magic to make any headway. Luckily, they had a magician. Kobe picked up where he left off against Belmullet in the quarter-final and produced an out-of-this-world performance. If a 17-year-old scored ten points in a county minor semi-final, we’d be lauding it as one of the great displays. For a teenager to do it at senior level is just ridiculous.

He has all the skills and the full repertoire of scores, but his biggest asset is his cojones. With Cross’ three down with a few minutes left, he pulled the whole team up by their shoelaces and nailed three massive scores to level the game. He channelled the spirit of his namesake, Kobe Bryant, and came up clutch for his team when they needed him most.

As Dorothy said in The Wizard of Oz, “There is no place like home.” Hopefully Kobe feels the same, as we don’t want to see our wizard in Oz.

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In Mayo footballing circles, it’s high time we put some respect beside the name of Pat Holmes. For me, he’s right up there with the two Johns and James Horan as one of Mayo’s greatest managers of this generation. He probably doesn’t get enough credit for his achievements because of the messy and acrimonious end to his Mayo tenure in 2015, but his record speaks for itself.

Another county club final awaits next Sunday, having already led Castlebar Mitchels to county glory in 2013 and an All-Ireland Club Final in 2014. He managed the Mayo under-21s to All-Ireland success in 2006 and masterminded their dominance at that grade in Connacht for the following three years. Even his tenures as Mayo senior boss, though probably not remembered too fondly by him, yielded a league title in 2001, a stroll to the Connacht Championship and an epic semi-final replay defeat to the legendary Dublin team in 2015.

What we’d give right now to be strolling through Connacht at senior level and dominating the provincial under-20 ranks.

I loved playing for him and probably played my best football under his tutelage. I liked how clear and direct his communication was. He never complicated things, yet he always had a great knack for setting up his team to get the very best out of his players. It sounds simple, but he consistently picked balanced teams and placed lads in positions that suited their strengths. He also loved a curveball or tactical innovation to keep opponents guessing – leaving Kevin Keane in reserve until extra-time was one such tweak, and it worked a treat.

He’ll take great pleasure in getting one over his great buddy and old mentor, John Maughan.

I was delighted to see Keith Higgins, Kevin McLoughlin and David Drake get a crack at the Mayo under-20 job. They’ll bring great freshness and energy to the role and will probably be more aligned with Andy’s philosophy and grand plans. It would have been interesting, though, to see how Maughan and Holmes might have fared with the talented crop of footballers emerging at that grade. They’re serial winners who tend to get results. We were lucky to have two great management teams vying for such an attractive job.

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I was scrolling mindlessly through LinkedIn last week when I came across an announcement from Rachel Sheehan, who shared that she was “starting a new position as Performance Psychologist with the Mayo Senior Football Team!” Rachel actually worked with us in Oranmore-Maree prior to our club championship campaign this year. We had a bad run, but that is no reflection on her – she is good at her job. She is knowledgeable, practical and hands-on and a strong appointment by Andy. She also worked with the Dublin hurlers this year as they ousted Limerick from the championship in remarkable fashion, which is definitely a feather in her cap.

Over the years, I worked with many different sports psychologists or mind coaches while playing with Mayo. Johnno recruited Galwayman Gerry Hussey who had a boxing background. James Horan brought in Kieran Shannon of Irish Examiner fame. Pat and Noel enlisted Des Jennings who had worked with Joe Kernan in Armagh in 2002. Stephen Rochford added Jennifer McDermott from Ballina, who had worked with him in Corofin, to his team.

Each had their strengths and impressive CVs. Some players reacted better to their support than others – their work is not for everyone. In my experience though, proper commitment to the “three inches up top” can reap big gains.

Nowadays, ball skills, athleticism and mindset are the three main pillars of a Gaelic footballer’s preparation. Based on last weekend’s outstanding match in Charlestown, Mayo are well served in the first two departments. Over to Rachel (and Andy!) to take care of the third.

One more thing… 

For all the talk of Northern dominance in this year’s club championship, the showpiece finals across the grades will be contested by three teams from East Mayo, two from West Mayo and just one from the North.