Ryan ready to try and help rescue Mayo’s season

Mayo supporters might be feeling at a low ebb after the heavy defeat to Roscommon in the Connacht SFC semi-final, but Ryan O’Donoghue has not given up hope that the season can still be salvaged.

The ten-point defeat is still being felt across the county – and likely will be for some time to come. Coupled with the under-20s heartbreaking loss to the same county last Wednesday evening in the Connacht final, to say Mayo GAA has had better weeks would be putting it mildly.

But the Belmullet man is now looking forward to when Mayo get their All-Ireland SFC campaign underway later this month. Speaking at SuperValu’s launch of the All-Ireland championship last week in Croke Park, O’Donoghue was bullish in his belief that Mayo could still compete for top honours.

“Yeah, I do, and it's the reason I'm putting my life on hold and training seven days a week. If I didn't believe that I'd be away sunning myself in Australia like everyone else,” said the 27-year-old.

“I do believe that, and I do believe that we're close, but yet far away. We have to earn the right now to talk about going to the top table because we just haven't been there over the last couple of years, and that's the goal.

“It’s on us now. And we have just got to bring back that underdog mentality now, because we are underdogs. I have no reason to think otherwise.

“We haven’t won a Connacht title since 2021, so we have to earn the right to be up there. And again, after Sunday, we have a lot of thinking to do and a lot of questions to be answered.” 

Much has been made of the how and why Mayo lost so comprehensively to Roscommon, with plenty of the focus – and criticism – zoning in on Mayo’s inability to win their own kickouts, whether directly from the boot of Rob Hennelly or contesting the breaking ball.

Mayo had led by three points at half-time but were eviscerated by a rampant Roscommon second-half and Ryan O’Donoghue conceded the team was not on it at any level.

“Yeah, disappointing, especially considering we thought we were in a good place after the league, but it just goes to show you with the new rules, if you're slightly off it, especially with the results after the weekend (Donegal losing to Down also), that you can be punished and we were off it on Sunday and that's what happened.

“I think we were good in the first-half and then just the third quarter after half-time, we just never seemed to get to the pitch of the game, just lost the kick-out battle, lost the ground battle, and we just weren't able to claw it back.

“To be fair to Roscommon, they're a good side, some great forwards, and we just never got to the pitch in the second-half, which is the most disappointing thing.

“That's the nuts and bolts of the game now, the kick-out battle, and we lost that, and it's not luck that you keep losing that and we got destroyed on it on Sunday, which is very disappointing.

“We have a lot of things to work on, we were way too open when we lost a kick-out. Roscommon put on a good press and they figured out what we were doing, so yeah, we have a lot to work on over the next four weeks.” 

O’Donoghue added: “I think if we sort out our kick-outs, and the 50-50s is an attitude thing, and then our conversion rate, that's something every team is trying to succeed with.

“They are massive things, but something small can just tip the scale, and that's the challenge and the opportunity that we have over the next four weeks. And I'm looking forward to seeing what can happen and try and turn last Sunday into something positive.” 

The manner of the defeat will also be a concern given that Mayo have also shipped bad losses to Donegal and Kerry in the National League this year. They all have unfolded in similar fashion and Ryan O’Donoghue has warned his teammates that they need to find a solution quickly or their All-Ireland campaign will end in similar fashion.

“The three games that we have lost this year have panned out the same way. Decent first-half and then they've come at us in the second-half and we just haven't been able to claw back. So that’s something we have to look at over the next couple of weeks and rectify, if we want to succeed this year.” 

The only obvious positive that came out of the loss in MacHale Park was the performance of debutant Kobe McDonald, who scored six points and did what he could to take the game to the Rossies even during that second-half demolition.

O’Donoghue has seen first-hand what McDonald is capable of, both as a teammate and as an opponent, after Crossmolina soundly defeated Belmullet in the Mayo SFC quarter-final last year. Like many others, he is marvelling at the precocious talent.

“Yeah, 18 years of age and he was the one taking the game to Roscommon in that second-half. It's outstanding.

“He's a great lad and it's great to play with him and we're delighted to have him for as long as we do.

“He can do anything and he's so mature, you would not think he's 18 years of age. Even that score he got in the second-half for a dummy solo twice and then blasted over the bar, outside the boot from the 21, he's brilliant.

“Crossmolina beat us in the championship, and we were trying to get close to him and to put contact on him, but we couldn't get close to him, and he was 17 playing senior club championship.

“He's brilliant, just a great lad and he's very humble. He's great to have around the group and we're just delighted to have him at the moment.”