Reborn Ruane delivers a masterclass

There are few tougher assignments in Gaelic football than walking into Celtic Park as a midfielder. The ground itself is compact, the crowd close enough to read your thoughts, and the conditions can turn a routine pass into a Hail Mary. But the real challenge is the men who stand at the heart of Derry’s midfield: Conor Glass and Anton Tohill.

Glass is the quintessential modern midfielder, a player who makes the difficult look effortless. His hands are reliable, his instincts are razor-sharp, and his ability to transition from defence to attack is almost robotic in its precision. He does not do off-days. And if he has a flaw, it has yet to reveal itself. He is a man that can do it all, the Swiss Army knife of midfielders.

Beside him stands all 6’6” of Tohill, the long-limbed heir to royalty. He carries his father’s name and footballing bloodline but has refined his craft, like Glass, in the high-octane world of Aussie Rules, where the game demands the endurance of a marathon runner and the steel of a street brawler. Derry’s pairing is not just immensely skilful – it is physically imposing, tactically astute, and forged in the fires of professionalism.

The Bogside is where midfielders come to be humbled. There is no hiding place in the middle third here. If you wilt, they will steamroll you. If you hesitate, they will strip you. If you do not impose yourself, you will simply not matter.

Into this cauldron swaggered Matthew Ruane at lunchtime on Sunday. And by the time he left it, he had delivered perhaps his finest performance in a Mayo jersey.

Six points from play is a tally to make any forward beam with satisfaction for months, never mind a midfielder. But Ruane did not just score, he dictated the proceedings of the afternoon. He punched holes, made angles, carved out space where there was none.

Glass and Tohill had their moments, but this was Ruane’s game. It was the kind of performance that lingers in the memory, that makes a statement, that shifts how we speak about a player.

The Breaffy man would be the first to admit that the form that earned him an All Star in 2021 has been elusive in recent seasons. The bursts from deep, the sharp finishing, the sense of authority he once carried haven't been as prominent in his game.

He has always shown flickers of that player, and almost scored a decisive late goal in last year's defeat to the Oak Leaf County in MacHale Park, but he wasn't the dominant force he once was.

Sunday in Derry, however, felt like a Road to Damascus moment. In the most hostile of settings, against formidable opponents, Ruane rediscovered the version of himself that once terrorised the best midfielders in the country. He was everywhere, demanding the ball, carrying it with purpose, picking off scores like a sniper in Helmand. This was a rebirth. And in the process, he helped condemn Derry to relegation, enacting revenge for last summer's disappointment in Castlebar.

For all Mayo’s control in the opening half, there was a frustrating predictability to their attack. The ball moved side to side, probing but rarely puncturing, their middle third caught in a cycle of hesitation and rarely opting to kick. And Derry, for all their struggles, found joy on the break, their runners ghosting past green and red jerseys in open country. It was Mayo, though, who carved out the three real goal chances that should've raised green flags before Jordan Flynn eventually hit the net after the hooter buzzed.

And so, with Mayo lacking a clinical edge, it was left to Ruane to inject urgency into the afternoon. He sensed the need for someone to seize the game rather than merely participate in it. And he responded in the most emphatic way possible with four points from play before the break, each one delivered with the conviction of a player who had decided that he could bend the game to his will.

The pick of the scores was an exquisite clinker. From beneath the stand, he arched one that seemed to hang in the Derry sky for an eternity before dropping inside the uprights.

Another saw him trapped, seemingly bottled up in a swarm of red and white, only for him to explode from a standing start, past the flurry of defenders and bisecting the posts with an effortless finish. While Mayo struggled to find their fluency, Ruane was already composing the defining narrative of the afternoon.

If there was a standout moment within Ruane’s performance, it came after the interval. With Mayo now attempting to build up an insurmountable advantage and Derry still lingering in the contest, Ruane produced a score that belonged in any marquee forward’s highlight reel.

Shaping up on his right, he made Conor Glass, one of the smartest operators in the game, buy a dummy. The Derry man shifted, adjusting to block the expected strike, only for Ruane to shift the ball seamlessly to his weaker left. In the space of a heartbeat, he was in the clear, the shot already on its way, curling gloriously inside the post.

Only after nearly an hour of football, when the contest was already tilting Mayo’s way, did he finally pull a shot wide. But six from seven is a phenomenal return for any midfielder.

By the time the final whistle sounded, Mayo had left Celtic Park with a five-point victory and two more league points. More than that, they had a midfielder who had just delivered one of the finest individual midfield displays in recent memory.

But performances like this can’t be isolated moments; they must be the foundation for what comes next. The league has been useful, but the real football starts in a few weeks. And if Mayo are to make a genuine push for silverware, Ruane will need to be more than a midfield presence – he will need to be a driving force capable of consistently producing scores. If Celtic Park was anything to go by, he’s already champing at the bit.