Mayo have to 'get things right' for decider

Would it have been disrespectful to write Leitrim off before a ball was thrown in? I'll throw my hands up and admit I didn't give them a prayer of hope prior to the game, largely taking their league form into account.

That being said, having been present in Ballinamore last year when an Andy Moran inspired Leitrim U20 team turned over Mayo, one constant between both was Barry McNulty. Mayo manager Kevin McStay was quick to point out how impressed he was with the opposition but that it didn't come as too much of a surprise.

"Leitrim gave a great account of themselves, but we kind of expected that. I said inside that we've been tuned in last week to the teams from Division 3 and 4 with how they've tried to manage being big underdogs. They managed it well, we sensed they'd have the same application which they did. We thought they might go after the kickout, which they did."

McStay, of course, was happy to have accomplished the main goal of the day - getting back into a Connacht final. "No matter if we won by two or 22 the only thing on offer here was the ticket to the final, and that has been our goal for a long time."

Perhaps we're being a tad hard on Mayo, all things considered. When the draw for the Connacht championship was made most people would have expected Mayo to make it into a provincial final, and that they have. McStay wants the team to fit form when it matters.

"We have to hope now that the plan we have for the Connacht final in terms of peaking and bringing our best performance it's here in two weeks time. We need to get things right; we've prepared for six months for this match."

The half-time break saw three changes from McStay, which shows the kind of impression Leitrim had left on him and his side. "When you're listening to narratives about this being a great chance to rest players and change your team, I don't know where this comes from that you can be experimenting in championship matches with six or seven players.

“We picked a strong team, but we know we had a lot of form players on the bench too. So, it was a great way to be able to call on DOC (Diarmuid), Eoghan (McLoughlin) and Shairoze Akram at half time, and of course getting Paul (Towey) in there as well.".

Saturday marked a special moment for one Aidan O'Shea, wearing the Mayo jersey at senior level for the 200th time, and chipping in with a point for good measure. He becomes only the second intercounty footballer to achieve this after Stephen Cluxton.

"We spoke about this in the dressing room, it's truly magnificent. In my day if you got 50 you felt it was a decent career, now we've a man that has 200!

"It's just the way he goes about himself, in all his time he's never hit a dirty stroke, he's a very humble lad and has been nothing but supportive of me and the management. He's highly regarded, and we all love him. I'd go as far as to say he's played some of his best football in the last three years, but it's his 201st game I'm really worried about now!"

From a Leitrim side of things Steven Poacher was able to take serious pride in now his team performed. "We're so proud, and you know we've had a good look at Mayo in the last few weeks starting on Colm (Reape) and their kickouts, and I think we've put them under a serious bit of pressure."

The work 'belief' was a big one as Leitrim look forward and into the Tailteann Cup. "I think a performance like this can give you that belief as you go on in that competition. Without that bit of belief, you've got nothing, both in football and in life. Throw in some structure and organisation here and spirit and we can be encouraged."

Poacher had an interesting observation with regards to how they went to defend Mayo, and their perceived reluctance to take on two pointed efforts. 

"Mayo were the team in division one with the lowest two point scores in division one so we felt if we sat with a bit of a lower block, we suffocated a bit of their space and stopped their game plan a bit, so we're delighted"