Moran’s praise for youth as they survive the Monaghan mixer

This was Mayo football, as supporters of the county and indeed of the sport have come to know it. It was dramatic, frenetic, passionate, heavily punctuated with egregious errors and moments of brilliance in equal measure.

As it happened, Andy Moran’s side won the game, but even if it had gone differently and Monaghan snatched a winner, it would have been a much more Mayo way to lose than the previous outing, five weeks ago.

And while the 1-24 to 2-20 result from Clones was the topic of conversation when the Mayo manager addressed the media afterwards, the long shadow of the ten-point defeat to Roscommon was still darkening the air, if only to provide context for what had just unfolded.

“When you lose like that in a Connacht Championship it doesn't go down easy,” said the Ballaghaderreen club man.

“As a player, I probably got as much grief as anybody so I'm really good at staying away from stuff. I'd be really good at getting up in the morning, going to work on the Monday morning, you are as well to face into it and go after it.

“There were a few hard conversations around the gym on Monday morning but I just think the Mayo people, they're just class. You see the crowd there today, you see the reception the boys got coming in off the pitch, there was nobody feeling sorry for themselves, it was just let's bang on let's support the team and let's go. When I saw the flags behind the goal there today, it was just amazing.

“But did I sleep for four nights five nights? No, I didn't. Was I up every hour of the night? I was. But you get back to work and you just you have to dig in and try.” 

Implicit in his team selection was the acknowledgement that things have to change. Six changes were made to the starting team, while eight of the 20 players that saw action against Roscommon did not feature last Sunday. Moran put his faith in youth, and it was repaid – spectacularly.

“I thought every one of them – Jack, Diarmuid, Hugh, Darragh and Kobe – the five lads were just absolutely brilliant if I'm being honest,” Moran said afterwards.

He praised Jack Livingstone’s kickouts, Hugh O’Loughlin’s influence in the breaking ball battle which he described as “huge” and the cohesion of the inside forward line, a unit that scored 1-16, 1-8 from play.

When asked about what had changed, Moran was able to pinpoint why he felt that the attack was infinitely more effective than in the Connacht semi-final.

“We needed the break,” was the post-match verdict of the 2017 Footballer of the Year.

“Back in my day you'd have five weeks between games, but everything has just been two weeks, two weeks, two weeks.

“I think this team needed to stop and kind of start again and over the last three weeks particularly, the three boys inside, they're beginning to look like a unit and connecting together, which was great.

“There was a lot of little differences. The energy around the group was huge but it's all down to the lads. The lads just put everything on the table in the last five weeks.” 

There were parallels with that defeat to the Rossies as well. In Castlebar last month Mayo led by three at half-time and ultimately lost by ten. Here, their double-digit lead was down to one point by the end.

The big difference was that Moran’s experience as a coach with Monaghan, and the Farney men’s track record this year, meant that this tidal surge was expected.

“We always knew Monaghan were going to come back,” he said.

“They had two games with extra-time in their legs compared to us over the last five weeks, so listen, it was just great to see our boys digging in and holding out, getting a good championship win.

“The lads that follow Monaghan here every week know the way they play. They elected to play against the wind in the first-half, so we knew what was coming in the second-half.” In the context of an All-Ireland race where Kerry, Donegal and Armagh look to have separated themselves from the chasing pack, Mayo are still very much in that crowd of counties with a lot of work to do to be considered as Sam Maguire contenders, but Moran was delighted that at least the sense of crisis around the county will be beaten back by this victory.

“Oh my God there's a lot of work to do but I'd rather be from this position than any other.

“That's what this Mayo team needs, it's not winning by 10, 12, 14 points. It's when the game's in the mixer, can you go and fight for it? I think the boys did it today.

“I think we’ve played 10 games between league and championship this year, we've won seven, but sometimes you just need a win. Today was one of those days and I'm very grateful to the boys for digging in and getting it done.”