Refreshing freedom to how Mayo are playing

Job done in Ruislip. A comprehensive and comfortable victory, what more could we ask for?

There is a skill to beating teams you’re comfortably expected to beat. It’s a sign of a team in a good place when they can routinely dispatch an inferior opponent with relative ease. At the same time as the Mayo match, some 15 miles across London, Arsenal were struggling to get over a plucky Bournemouth. What the Gunners would have given for a professional, clinical display like Mayo’s.

Similar to Bournemouth, London were plucky too and can be proud of their endeavours. A physically stronger Mayo, with much greater squad depth, always kept them at arm’s length, but this was a good London showing.

Mayo’s conditioning and professionalism have gone to another level since previous outings in the English capital, meaning shocks, or even close-run things, are becoming far less likely. I can distinctly remember the look of horror on James Horan’s face as some players stepped onto the bus after the 2011 scare with packs of crisps and jellies. That day marked a cultural shift in Mayo and the dawn of a high-performance environment.

Mayo’s management won’t overanalyse last weekend’s game. They will simply be happy to have escaped unscathed and move on. From Sunday morning, focus will have automatically switched to Roscommon.

We won’t read too much into proceedings in McGovern Park either, but there were a few notable elements. Mayo’s attacking play is unrecognisable from this time last year. Thirty-one points is a monster haul. Mayo’s seven first-half two-pointers is also a standout figure. The huge gale helped, but it is fair to say that Mayo are the country’s top two-point getters right now.

Moran’s men kicked four two-pointers in the opening 16 minutes of their 2026 championship opener. The same players kicked a total of three two-pointers across six championship games in 2025. The turnaround is remarkable. I am not privy to any insider information, but as a forward and an aspiring coach, I would love to witness some of their sessions to see how such a transformation has been achieved. It is not by accident. There is clearly a strong emphasis on both technical execution and the mental side, giving players the freedom to have a go and not fear a miss.

And there were quite a few misses in the first-half. Mayo had a barely believable 16 shots at two-pointers in the opening 35 minutes. They scored seven but missed nine. You can look at that two ways. Mayo’s attack was wasteful and profligate, or Mayo’s attack kicked 14 points from 16 attempts. When encouraging a previously shot-shy team to express themselves, you are likely to emphasise the latter.

By almost shooting on sight, Mayo are taking a risk and reaping the rewards. That risk of missing is somewhat mitigated by the fact that even if you don’t raise an orange flag, the opposing goalkeeper has to restart the match with a kick-out that must travel outside the arc where the battle becomes 50-50 again.

The two-point rule has altered the game dramatically, and that impact becomes even more pronounced on a windy day like Saturday. Although it is working in our favour right now, I’m not sure that the rule enhances the spectacle particularly in wild weather. When a team has the aid of a big wind, they almost feel the necessity to get it to the arc and have as many pot shots as possible. A well-worked goal, worth three points but much harder to come by, becomes less attractive when a two-point attempt can just be launched on the wind from distance.

Cricket uses the Duckworth–Lewis method to adjust scoring when weather intervenes. It may sound far-fetched, and probably totally unworkable, but should Gaelic football consider removing two-pointers when winds exceed a certain speed threshold?

On a stormy day last autumn, as Lahardane played Burrishoole in the Intermediate Relegation Playoff, Lahardane, powered by nine two-pointers, scored 2-21 of their 3-22 total in the first-half alone.

Just last week, at the launch of the GAA championships, Sean O’Shea lamented the fact that the wind can now have a massive bearing on the play. “It's probably the one downside of the new rules… it's almost like cricket, you put up your score and you declare. In some games in the league, if you're with the wind, you're literally asking, ‘How much can we be ahead here at half-time?’” It’s not just a league phenomenon, as we saw last weekend. With championship starting earlier in the year, these games are increasingly exposed to the elements. The new rules have been great but I’m not a fan of how much two-pointers on blustery days are distorting the outcome.

Another striking feature of the Mayo team right now is the wealth of attacking talent. Even without Fergal Boland, Cillian O’Connor, Tommy Conroy, Kobe McDonald and Daragh Beirne starting, Mayo had ample scoring threats up top. I’m not sure if they’ll start against Roscommon but Paul Towey and Cian McHale are natural finishers.

At the other end of the field, however, Mayo are light on corner-backs. It is a surprising shift, as traditionally Mayo teams have been stacked with teak-tough, tight-marking corner-backs rather than an abundance of natural scorers. Apart from Jack Coyne, and perhaps Donnacha McHugh, Mayo lack natural full-back line players who are dogs, enjoy getting tight on their marker and, most importantly, play there regularly for their club. Corner-back is one of the most specialised positions on the pitch so good ones don’t grow on trees but a dearth of them could leave Mayo exposed. It’s fun to watch but simply outscoring opponents in a shootout every week won’t be a sustainable ploy as things tighten up.

Without wanting to sound hyperbolic, Mayo’s tie against Roscommon in a fortnight is a season-defining match. Lose that, and another year without a Connacht title would be a crushing blow. But Mayo are in a good place right now, well positioned to exert their dominance, showcase the excellent progress that has been made this year and come out on top.

Championship 2026 has begun, and with this condensed season, it’s only 103 days from today until the All-Ireland Final.

The weather may still be cold and windy but in championship terms, things are about to get hot and heavy.

//////////////// One more thing… Armagh were roundly lauded for the fact that their starting team versus Tyrone contained players from 13 different clubs. After a generation of Crossmaglen dominance, this was a significant stat. Mayo, however, went one better and had players from 14 different clubs starting in Ruislip, with Castlebar Mitchels the only club represented twice.