Moran and Mayo face a mountain of work

The football championship has delivered in spades so far this season and produced its biggest shock to date at the weekend when a well-drilled Down side slayed the beast that is Donegal in their Ulster quarter-final.

The facts are that, while Down are a very capable side under a progressive manager in Conor Laverty, they still laboured to the Division Three title just last month while Donegal cantered to the Division One crown. By any stretch, it was a seismic result and the six-point margin certainly didn’t flatter the men in red and black.

On Sunday evening, it was interesting to note the contrast in the mood between Donegal folk and their Mayo counterparts, after the latter’s humbling at the hands of Roscommon at MacHale Park.

Donegal seemed to be adopting a philosophical approach; on the Donegal GAA Podcast, Martin McHugh actually suggested losing in Ulster could be beneficial in the long run, in so far as it’ll allow them time now to prepare for the All-Ireland series after an arduous spring and a long year last year, too. And even after the defeat, they still remain among a handful of sides considered to be genuine All-Ireland contenders.

Compare that to the sense of despair that was palpable amongst Mayo supporters as they made their way home from Castlebar after watching their side slump to a 10-point defeat to the Rossies. There was very little in the way of optimism from anyone for the road ahead.

The difference between the Donegal result and the Mayo result is that Roscommon beating Mayo is not a shock. The manner of the defeat in Castlebar was the shocking part – but even at that, it’s not a situation that needs to spark a crisis.

Roscommon did, after all, do the exact same in 2019 and 2023 and, in the league this year, the sides finished third and fourth respectively in Division One. While Mayo have always considered themselves to be higher up the food chain than Roscommon, very little has separated the sides in recent times.

Roscommon deserve their due for a very effective performance. Consider the players they were missing – Daire Cregg, Ben O’Carroll, Brian Stack, Ruaidhri Fallon, the list goes on – and then also that their manager, Mark Dowd, is in his first year as a manager on the inter-county scene.

Theirs was a display brimming with intent and ambition, epitomised by the class of Diarmuid Murtagh at corner-forward, while Enda Smith also turned up and was counted in the second-half. Colm Neary’s versatility was a key part of the success while their midfield dominance was founded on some fine work by Conor Ryan and Keith Doyle, who also kicked two points.

Roscommon will give Galway plenty of it in the Connacht final. In fact, playing at home at Dr Hyde Park, they could even be considered favourites based on the weekend’s evidence.

So the sense of despair in Castlebar on Sunday came not because of the result itself, but because of the nature of that second-half when it seemed as though, at times, there was only one side at championship pace.

Incredibly, Mayo actually led by three points at half-time. In the second-half, Roscommon scored 1-17 to Mayo’s 0-7. It was a turnaround similar, though not quite as bad, as Cork’s loss to Tipperary in last year’s All-Ireland hurling final.

The reason for such a turnaround could be attributed to two things: Roscommon’s domination of the kickout battle and, off the back of that, their efficiency in front of goal.

As referenced during the Sunday Game on Sunday night, Roscommon won 14 of the 20 breaking balls during the course of the 70 minutes and, in the second-half, managed to get off 21 shots, scoring 16 times. In comparison, Mayo got off just 12 and garnered six scores.

How do you explain the absolute domination the Rossies enjoyed at kickout time?

There is a slight element of luck in being successful around break ball – a bounce or deflection can often make stats redundant – but given the gulf between the sides in this area, it will offer major food for thought for Mayo manager Andy Moran.

Decision-making from Rob Hennelly could be called into question, but more to the point, Roscommon just seemed to have more bodies in around the crucial areas in the middle time and time again. And that repeatedly happened, sucking energy from Mayo and giving Roscommon more of it. Momentum is the critical thing in the modern game and Mayo had none of that in the second-half as a result of their struggles at kickout time.

The problem for Andy Moran and Co. is that they are short on natural ball-winners in the middle sector, evidenced by the fact that David McBrien is a defender by trade but currently operating in midfield, while Bob Tuohy struggled to stamp his authority on proceedings. Mattie Ruane's return will help bolster options moving forward.

Physically, Mayo seemed to struggle. Aidan O’Shea never got into the game in the way Mayo would have envisaged, but could he have offered an option for ten minutes around the middle to just win ball and get his team down the pitch?

Now comes the real test for Andy Moran in his first season as manager. He experienced challenging situations with Leitrim and helped turn the ship into calmer waters, but being in charge of a behemoth like Mayo and dealing with the scrutiny that comes with it is a whole different ball game.

Games have gotten away from Mayo already this year against Kerry and Donegal and the same happened on Sunday. Yes, it will sting a little more because it was Roscommon and it was in the championship, but it need not be a fatal blow to this season.

There will be murmurings and post-mortems conducted this week, yet when all is said and done, Roscommon and Mayo will enter the All-Ireland series at the same stage; all that is different, really, is that Roscommon's first game will be at home and Mayo's will be away.

But on the basis of Sunday’s second-half, Mayo have a mountain of work to do to make a real impact later in the summer.