Odds are stacked against Mayo but never say never

With the pressure of a relegation playoff for the second successive season firmly in the rearview mirror, Mayo’s upcoming TG4 All-Ireland LSFC Quarter-Final against Galway on Sunday evening (Tuam Stadium at 5.45pm) will likely be approached with a degree of freedom.

The stakes were high against Donegal over a week ago. Mayo made the trip up north against a side that had beaten them narrowly in Swinford in the league on their way to winning the Division 2 title. Even with the new rules, Donegal remain a notoriously defensive side, but Mayo got in front early on. Although there was a trademark Mayo wobble late on, the Green and Red got the victory to secure their senior status for 2027 and the delight or relief – or both – among players and supporters was evident.

The form of upcoming opponents Galway, the bookmakers favourites at 6/4 to win the All-Ireland, looked ominous in the group stages. They scored a combined 6-41 against their group stage opponents Meath, last year’s All-Ireland finalists and champions back in 2021 and 2022, and Tyrone, against whom Mayo battled back to earn a draw when they met in Division 2.

To put that further into perspective, Mayo are 20/1 to win the All-Ireland, with only Kildare at a bigger price. The saying goes that the bookmakers are rarely wrong so on that evidence, Galway are expected to beat Mayo with a bit to spare. Yet meetings between these two in recent years might give some hope to followers of the Green and Red.

The two counties met at this stage in 2021 and 2023, and Mayo won close games on both occasions, while the latest meeting in the Connacht final back in May saw Mayo almost reel Galway in after a flat first-half, but the Tribeswomen held on for a three-point win.

For one or both of those two big wins however, Mayo could call on the likes of Sarah Rowe, Grace and Niamh Kelly, Shauna Howley, Saoirse Lally, Deirdre Doherty, Rachel Kearns, Dayna Finn and Kathryn Sullivan. All have since departed for various reasons, and a new group are making the step up.

Some are having to make that step quicker than expected with the likes of captain Ella Brennan and former All-Star Danielle Caldwell out for the season with ACL injuries, along with Erin Murray. Elsewhere, Eilis Ronayne, Ciara Needham and Fiona McHale remain sidelined with injury and there is no timetable on their return to the panel.

A big plus for manager Diane O’Hora however, is the return of Kayla Doherty to the panel following the completion of her Leaving Cert exams and she will add further attacking power alongside her MacHale Rovers clubmate Sinead Walsh, Maria Reilly, the in-form Aoife Staunton and the evergreen Cafferky sisters, Lisa and Sinead.

Ciara Needham’s twin sister Tara has impressed in midfield alongside Aoife Geraghty, and they may remain the duo there while Finola Collins and Meabh Delaney have been thrown into the deep end of defence due to the absences of Caldwell and Brennan and have not looked out of place.

Collins and Delaney will get their stiffest test to date against a formidable Galway attack. Olivia Divilly scored 2-12 across the two group games against Tyrone and Meath while Roisin Leonard has scored 2-11. Indeed, the full-forward line of Leonard, Eva Noone and Leanne Coen hit 2-11 against Meath alone and the likes of Lucy Wallace, Shein El Massry, Delaney, Lynda Hanley and Hannah Reape will have to play at a very high level to prevent them from running riot.

They may be underdogs and down key players, but write Mayo off at your peril.