Mayo's minor battlers are as graceful as they are ruthless

When Philip II of Macedon was expanding his empire, he sent a threatening message to the Spartans that was in no way ambiguous.

“If I invade Laconia,” he said, “you will be destroyed, never to rise again.” Although Philip had a vast and powerful military to call upon in the ancient kingdom, located at the top of the Greek peninsula, the Spartans had a reputation for fearless defiance. So, they were always unlikely to immediately stand down in fear. And the renowned warriors were, at the same time, also known for their laconic wit and therefore responded to the threat with a single word: “If”.

The beautifully terse response encapsulated the manner in which the Spartans approached life and war. They were both ruthlessly bloody and blissfully carefree. Every bloody battle was treated with the casualness of a Sunday stroll in the park, and yet they were never found lacking for courage and defiance. They were incredibly unique in that sense.

Over a millennium on, Mayo minors have begun to convey that Spartan streak in their own style of football. And blending a ruthlessness in defence with a joie de vivre in attack is an exceptionally difficult balance to strike. It should, in fact, be near-on impossible.

But against Cork in the All-Ireland quarter-final earlier this month, the young Mayo side came very close to perfecting that blend, and there's no reason they cannot improve the potion even further over the coming weeks as they eye a first All-Ireland title at the grade since 2013.

The Mayo youngsters were tenacious in defence, giving up only six points over the course of the afternoon at Cusack Park. It's exactly what any management team craves within their defensive units – a dogged commitment to chasing every ball like fearless archaeologists in pursuit of the Ark of the Covenant. Yet the team also plays with a gracefulness in possession, gliding forward and displaying a willingness to take on difficult opportunities. The county's fleet-footed vanguard wouldn't look out of place in Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre. Mayo forwards have been given a licence to play with freedom and they're delivering dividends hand over fist.

It's the result of investment in underage structures, and specifically in a Mayo GAA academy of excellence, in the county in recent years. The academy has leveraged the experience and expertise of some of the most well-known names in Mayo football over the last couple of decades, and young talent is pouring off the end of the conveyor belt as a result.

But the county board didn't make these investments to re-establish Mayo's position as the most successful underage team in Connacht. From the outset, the primary ambition has been to increase the amount of talent available to the Mayo senior football team in time. Counties with decorated traditions – the likes of Meath and Cork and Down – have shown that taking the foot off the pedal even momentarily can result in decades of mediocrity.

After winning All-Ireland titles in the 1990s, all three of the aforementioned counties have struggled to remain in the upper echelons of intercounty football on a consistent basis. Though Cork managed to appear in a couple of All-Irelands in the 2000s, which culminated in an All-Ireland title in 2010, they've since struggled to continue competing with the best sides in Ireland. A similar fate could easily befall Mayo should they fail to continue building upon the talent they currently have coming through the ranks.

The best way of ensuring the current Mayo minors continue playing at a high level into their 20s, which the Mayo minor management have consistently stated is their key objective, is to breed a winning culture. For all Mayo’s investment in underage football, the county needs to grasp the nettle when potential champions come along. And the current minor squad are radiating potential.

Most pleasing about the minor's current campaign is the manner in which they've been making progressions in every outing since the very first game of the season when registering a statement six-point win over Roscommon. The side are playing with maturity and are consistently taking the right decisions in high pressure situations. This was exemplified in Mayo's third goal in Ennis the weekend before last.

Cork didn't seem under undue pressure when the ball was switched across the field within their own half as the game entered the final 10 minutes of the second half. But an opportunistic interception from Dylan Flynn, before offloading to the sprightly Kobe McDonald, who was haring down the centre of the pitch, saw a glorious opportunity present itself. After doing most of the dog work, the Crossmolina tyro capered away from a number of Cork defenders and earned a shot at goal to add to his already impressive tally. But despite seeing the white in the eyes of the Cork goalkeeper, the teenager unselfishly hand-passed the ball across goal to allow Oisin Deane to tap the ball into an empty net. Most star forwards finish their senior careers without ever showing that level of unselfishness and foresight.

This weekend’s semi-final will, however, be Mayo's greatest test yet. Though Armagh lost the Ulster final to Derry by two points, the Ulster champions eased past Dublin in their minor quarter-final while the Orchard County dismantled Longford, the Leinster champions, with ease. That makes for very easy reading in the form book.

Armagh hasn't progressed to the All-Ireland minor series since 2014 when a side led by a promising young Rian O'Neill fell short against Mayo in that year's quarter-final. It wasn't a pleasant experience for the Ulster side either, with Mayo gambolling to a 13-point win in Croke Park. Proud counties like Armagh don't quickly forget those experiences. And if Mayo fail to bring their A game, and perhaps struggle to raise their standards by another couple of notches, the Orchard County have the ability to plough over them and earn their first All-Ireland appearance in any grade since 2009.

If.