Psychological masterclass paved the way to glory

It summed up Andy Moran’s thinking perfectly.

From the throw-in, the sight of Eoin McGreal heading in the direction of Paudie Clifford caught almost all of us off guard.

The job was seen as a two-horse race between Enda Hession and Sam Callinan. If so few of us saw McGreal as the man for the role, perhaps Jack O’Connor didn’t either.

The Kerry manager is wily but could he have foreseen Mayo sending a 19-year-old rookie the way of Gaelic football’s best playmaker? We doubt it.

The concern was would McGreal be physically strong enough for Clifford. At times he wasn’t as Clifford sometimes brushed past but the key thing was, another player got there and McGreal is so fast across the ground and so quick to recover that he often got back in time.

Clifford was good but his influence was considerably curtailed compared to against Dublin and last year’s final against Donegal.

The move was not just an expression of faith in the rookie’s ability but a statement of attacking intent from Moran.

He didn’t want to have either Hession or Callinan playing with the handbrake up, more concerned with a defensive man-marking role than the explosive, front-foot football both are so good at.

Hession, in particular, was exceptional, carrying ball from tight spots with his typical dynamism and injecting great pace and energy into attacks.

It showed the terms Mayo wanted to play the game on.

But over two weeks before the ball was thrown in Moran made another extremely effective statement.

In his famous statement allowing fans to enjoy the build-up, he spun it perfectly back at the press gang.

Did any of them think Mayo could win? Silence until Colm Keys bravely ventured no.

Straightaway the agenda was set for the final build-up. Mayo were not just underdogs but practically no hopers.

It was a masterclass.

Darragh Ó Sé said it was hard to see anything but a Kerry win.

“I just don’t see Mayo being up to it,” he wrote.

Ciarán Murphy, a Galway man with a soft spot for Mayo, couldn’t see it either. ‘Honourable defeat’ was the height of our hopes. I always admire people who are willing to put their head on the block. I know how easy it can be to get it wrong.

But the narrative was all about how this was a formality. Perhaps that seeped into Kerry minds.

But one thing that was very apparent watching both semi-finals was the energy levels. It was something we flagged in advance as a potentially decisive factor for Mayo.

Mayo were explosive against Louth but in the aftermath of the semi-final, the importance of that was quickly dismissed.

Kerry played a cagey, conservative game against Dublin. They looked like a team who had only so much throttle in them. The final proved that.

At the very least, those two games should have opened questions about the possibility of the upward direction of Mayo and how, after winning a semi-final so convincingly, that we did not know where their ceiling was.

But the tendency in recent games has been to see the problem as being Mayo’s opponents, not what Mayo brought themselves.

Against Meath, the narrative was Mayo won because they had an extra man down the stretch. There was little acknowledgement of how Mayo were surging back from a 10-point deficit at the time.

Against Cork, it was their wastefulness that allowed Mayo to win the game, not the fact that Mayo controlled practically the entire second-half and won comfortably.

Against Louth, they had had their day against Monaghan and couldn’t rise themselves again. Very little about just how clinical, ferocious and ruthless Mayo were.

Perhaps now after the final, the narrative will be Kerry’s injuries, taking their eye off the ball and the Ó Sé boys might have a cut off Jack O’Connor too. Let them at it.

Moran could have played a very public siege mentality and argued back about how good Mayo had been in their three games before the final. Moran chose not to. He played his masterful stroke in the press room after the semi-final and let the pundits and reporters off.

It is a strange part of Irish psychology that being written off can be a very positive thing. Everyone rushes for the underdogs tag. Moran masterfully made the most of that for Mayo.

Even in the county, there was a feeling of a ‘free shot’. Very few you talked to expected Sunday to be ‘the day’.

All that mattered was inside the four walls of the dressing-room and Mayo’s mindset has been brilliant in this regard.

They wore the weight of history so lightly. Teenagers like Kobe McDonald and Darragh Beirne were empowered to be brave, have a go and not dwell on mistakes.

In the last two games, both started slow with errors before really growing into the game.

But it wasn’t just their youthful fearlessness. Throughout the team, Mayo players played with a composure that belied our history. The psychology work in this regard must have been considerable.

The scoreboard after 15 minutes was ominous – 1-5 to 0-1. There was a real sense of déjà vu from 2004 and 2006. Mayo were jittery with some opening possession.

Kerry were going for Mayo early and trying to silence the crowd.

They nearly managed it. But Mayo remained calm. Jack Carney has hit some big two-pointers this year. He will never kick one as important as the one that got Mayo to three points. Ryan O’Donoghue followed up and suddenly the gap was just that David Clifford goal.

As the half wore on, Mayo got more and more dominant. They were superb on pressing Shane Murphy’s kick-outs. They fought like demons for breaking ball on their own. Crucially, they got enough of a possession platform around the middle.

It looked on at half-time and being honest, Mayo could have been home and hosed by the end of the third quarter but a series of successive misses had us wondering might this slip away. The anxiety in the stands looked like it might seep onto the field too.

Kobe McDonald’s goal chance that went over was crucial to stem the tide.

Mayo would win this on the front foot if they were going to win it. They stretched five clear. Jordan Flynn was agonisingly close to a goal that would have sealed the deal.

Kerry came back. That’s what champions do. David Clifford kicked a right-footed two-pointer for the ages. Donnacha McHugh was happy that he was not on his left. Clifford still did it.

Somehow, a game we probably deserved to be winning by ten points had only two between them with two to play.

Seán O’Shea’s effort dropped short, Jack Livingstone dealt with it and Jack Carney produced a sublime 45-metre pass to David McBrien to turn defence into attack. That was the game secured in that moment.

Jack O’Connor came into the Mayo dressing room after the 2006 All-Ireland final and told the losing team that his Kerry team were able to summon more hunger after going one year without the All-Ireland than Mayo were after a 55-year wait.

It wasn’t the most gracious comment. But one thing was for sure, Mayo were not lacking for hunger on Sunday.

Every man attacked the ball and hunted turnovers as if it was the last ball in the game. Ryan O’Donoghue personified it. He said afterwards Aidan O’Shea challenged him to see how many tackles he could get in. It wasn’t about the scoreboard. It was about creating the turnovers to create the chances.

Defensively it was masterful from Mayo. Donnacha McHugh did really well on David Clifford. You’d have taken 1-6 in advance. Jack Coyne was excellent on Dylan Geaney. David McBrien was immense on Joe O’Connor, Eoin McGreal super on Paudie Clifford.

It is a game we are all looking forward to watching back, if we haven’t already.

I’ve analysed so many games over the years but this one still feels far too immediate to properly assess. There is a tidal pool of emotion all over the county. We will have plenty of time in the coming weeks to break the game down some more.

But we can say this much – Mayo were, by some distance, the best team on Sunday. And Mayo are, without a shadow of a doubt, the most deserving All-Ireland football champions. Isn’t that a wonderful thing to be able to say?