McStay pleased by response, medics “hopeful” for Durcan

The performance never reached the heights it might have but the win was all that mattered to Mayo manager Kevin McStay last Saturday evening.

The Green and Red saw off a disappointing Cavan side with relative ease to get their All-Ireland Series off to a winning start and McStay was pleased at the reaction of his players following their Connacht final defeat to Galway.

“Yesterday I would have taken a half a point (win). The win is exactly what we had on order. We needed two points to get back to where we thought we could be at this stage of the race. It sets us up brilliantly for the next round against Roscommon.

“I knew there was going to be a fairly decent reaction to losing the Connacht final. In fairness, it wasn’t top-top. [It was] pretty consistent, kept the scoreboard ticking over and [I’m] really pleased with the two points which was the big thing.” 

Mayo should have led by a greater margin at half-time (0-9 to 0-5) but Cavan never looked like reeling the hosts in and the lack of danger offered by the Breffni men contributed to the flatness on and off the pitch, with the 9,117 attendance at Hastings Insurance MacHale Park very quiet for much of the evening. While McStay could not complain too much about the margin of victory, he admits the game could have been put to bed much sooner.

“It felt like a round-robin match. You know there is a lot at stake and yet it is not maybe the heat we had up in Pearse Stadium perhaps. But I can assure you that the two points was still the big focus at half-time.

“Even though we were in the lead we wanted to go out and pad it out. We never got it done quickly. It was still in the balance. But I can’t complain with the performance.

“A lot of lads were looking quite sharp out there today. Everybody took their chances pretty much and gave a good account of themselves.” 

McStay added: “The turnovers stopped the momentum so that is a bit of work-on for us in the next fortnight. One day we might get the shooting and the turnovers to coincide and see where that gets us.

“After the Connacht final, this match was like the old Round 4 (where the beaten provincial finalists entered the All-Ireland qualifiers). They were killers altogether, you couldn’t get any oxygen into the group, so for fellas like me there was always that fear we would be flat. But we had a good chat on Wednesday and the boys were well up for it.” 

Attention for Mayo now turns to Roscommon in two weeks' time, with a win at Dr Hyde Park possibly setting up a shootout with the Dubs for a direct route to the quarter-finals – should the All-Ireland champions themselves beat the Rossies in Croke Park this Saturday.

“There’s no point dreaming about winning the group until you beat Roscommon and get those two points. That’s our only focus, but the big picture for all the teams is winning the group. The rhythm it gives and the extra week, we’ve experienced last year’s one when we didn’t have it. If I’m given the offer, I know which side of the group I’m on.

“We’re expecting a more ferocious contest,” said McStay of the clash with Roscommon who Mayo already beat in this year’s Connacht semi-final.

“We know how close that game was even though the scoreboard said otherwise. There were moments where the game could have swung either way. This is a massive match now. We’ll have a good look at them (against Dublin) next week.” 

Mayo, however, face an anxious wait to see if Paddy Durcan can play any part in that game after the captain turned awkwardly just before the final whistle.

“We are a little bit worried. Durcan is up and walking around. It could be a jar when he crossed over his knee. That will be scanned. We will know more in 72 hours but the medical team are quite hopeful,” the manager added.