Plenty to learn before the serious business starts

The nonchalance with which Rob Finnerty stroked over the winner in Sunday’s FBD final combined with his passiveness on the final whistle that immediately followed told you all you needed to know about what was on the line on Tuam – very little.

There may have been a cup on offer but if you want to gauge both managers priorities ahead of Sunday in Salthill, consider this: of the 30 players that started last May’s Connacht final, Andy Moran and Padraic Joyce only saw fit to select one tenth of those players to start on Sunday.

Sean Mulkerrin was the sole survivor for Galway with Jack Carney and Stephen Coen on the Mayo side of things.

So when we say there should be a health warning with certain league results, what category does the FBD fit into? Fake news?

But if every outing gives you an opportunity to learn and develop, then there was one very important lesson from Sunday for Andy Moran and Mayo.

And that is the very familiar theme of game management down the stretch.

It should not be forgotten that of the five championship games that Mayo lost or failed to win in the past two seasons (Galway, Dublin and Derry in ’24 and Galway and Donegal in ’25), Mayo let slip the result they needed in injury time in four of those games while they were level with Galway with the gale at their back with 52 minutes played in last May’s aforementioned Connacht final.

While it was under a different management team, there was a significant crossover in playing personnel in those five games from that which will likely play in Salthill.

And while to associate Sunday’s team with games most of them were not involved in might be a bit unfair, the importance of rectifying what could become an institutional problem far outweighs that.

On Sunday, Mayo led going into injury time thanks to a wondrous Stephen Coen point off his left foot (hands up who had that on their bingo card?) but contrived to fail to see it out despite plenty of possession.

They had two comfortable attacks that ought to have led to scores. Fergal Boland shot from a low percentage area when the passage of play was calling out for ball retention. Fenton Kelly’s shot was more ‘on’ but his execution was not. It must be pointed out that Kelly was arguably Mayo’s best player on the day while Boland contributed very positively when he came on before half-time. But under the new rules, the magnitude of decision making during injury time is greatly pronounced. Possession with a one point lead is precious. Even a single point can be a relief to the opposition who then at least have the chance to attack from the kick-out.

Deeper in injury time Boland was very unfortunate to be pinged for a breach, crossing over the line when racing for possession, but Mayo’s second breach, after Galway had equalised in the fourth minute of extra time, was more clear-cut. Adam Barrett started off as one of the three up when Jack Livingstone kicked the ball out and he got consumed by the breaking ball and crossed over. Still in the opposition half though after the kick-out were Nathan Moran and Stephen Coen, oblivious to the need for one of them to remain there. They both crossed back and Galway got their breach.

On one level it is an easy mistake to make and with such high turnover in squads from game to game in the FBD, systemic order is harder to impose.

But in a bigger game, it could turn the season for the worse. That’s why Sunday presents a great opportunity to learn and focus on such situations.

These were four key missteps with the game in the balance. Game management down the stretch could be every bit as important an aspect of Mayo’s play this summer as two-point shooting, for instance.

Barrett, it must be said, also showed well in stepping forward to take Mayo’s second-half penalty. He, Boland and Kelly are not fall guys here. There is a compendium of such moments in big games in recent years, shared across both experienced and inexperienced players, to make it apparent it is more collective and, dare I say it, cultural than individual.

Wouldn’t it be great if Mayo were able to create a culture where they were a team to be feared in tight finishes, capable of engineering wins from losing situations rather than the other way around?

Learn that lesson from Sunday and our brethren over the border may have done us a monumental favour.

Lots to deduce from Moran’s approach 

How Mayo fare out at midfield in the league will be telling because primary possession has been a challenge in recent times. Moran cannot be accused of not exploring his options. We make it nine midfielders or ‘fielding’ half-forwards that he has played in the three FBD games. In total, 38 players saw game time and 31 of them started at least one of the three games.

Plenty have shown enough to warrant further game time in the league and see where that brings them. That is all a good showing in the FBD can earn you.

We saw in the Roscommon game a real intent to move the ball fast with the foot. It was less obvious in Tuam. Indeed, Stephen Coen’s glorious lead score came from a rare direct ball into the Mayo full-forward line, Paul Towey delivering a low, fast ball into James Carr who offloaded to the overlapping Coen. Perhaps the changes in personnel must to be accounted for.

The six two-pointers from play kicked in the second-half in Roscommon were a marked change on last year’s championship where Mayo only kicked three two-pointers (two of them frees) in six championship games.

There were two on Sunday, Jack Carney from play and a Cian McHale free.

What does Sunday’s result mean in the greater scheme of things? With such wholesale changes certain for both teams, it cannot even stretch to any sort of psychological edge for Galway. It does confer bragging rights in the rivalry but with potentially the shortest shelf life ever seen. A Mayo victory on Sunday in Salthill will see Galway’s Tuam triumph expire quicker than milk left out in the summer sun.

A Galway triumph will have next to nothing to do with last Sunday either. Let the real games begin.