Don’t show the white feather

FIRST things I haven’t been able to give as much time to Sunday’s All-Ireland minor final as I would like to because of work constraints. In fact I’ve been very quiet since the Meath defeat due to work pressures. But we’re well into the weekend and the final is within sight.

A DRY RUN HOPEFULLY! Mayo captain Aidan Walsh getting a good feel for the Markham Cup at this week's press session. Hopefully it will repeat on Sunday.

The first thing that strikes me about this game is the way the Armagh team is being talked up, even by their own manager. Now I’m the first to criticise cute-hoorism in the GAA. The ‘yerra we’ll turn up’ lines that the Kerry boys come out with are something else (as an aside Tom O’Sullivan outdid himself this week when he said ‘we’ll have to play beyond the best of our abilities to be in with any chance’!) and it really is an Irish thing to talk yourself down.

So a ‘we’re good and we know it’ approach is refreshing. But at minor level? Can you really judge how good a team is at such an unpredictable level. None of these lads will have played in an All-Ireland minor final before. It is a huge occasion and it really can play tricks with the mind. Creating an impression that you are invincible could work havoc with Armagh heads. Some people think they only have to turn up to collect the Markham Cup. Their manager hasn’t helped by describing them as ’special’ and ‘great’ at various stages. Maybe they might be and good luck to them. But ideal preparation I don’t think it is.

You can be sure Ray Dempsey’s Mayo won’t have swelled heads. Dempsey is the master of ‘yerra’! I think he must have spent a few summers in South Kerry learning from Jack O’Connor! I would have liked to have heard a few interviews with the Mayo minors but Dempsey has imposed a ban on them talking. Healthy? Some might say so. I reckon it’s no harm for their own confidence to expose them to the press. After all by the end of the final they’ll be playing in front of over 70,000 people. If they’re not able for a few questions then they’ll hardly manage that. But that’s only a small aside.

What I really like about the Mayo team under Dempsey is their character and honesty. They don’t know when they’re beaten. They really will plug away. They are not, by any means, the most gifted Mayo minor team we’ve ever had – 91, 99, 04 and 08 were special teams in my opinion – but that doesn’t mean they can’t win on Sunday.

Mick Burke managed a very limited Mayo minor team to our last All-Ireland in 1985. He became famous for the line ‘you can only dance with the girls in the hall’ as a way of expressing how you must make the most of the hand of players you are dealt. He did.

It was great to see an interview with him in this week’s Mayo News and it was worth noting the similarities between his team and the class of 2009. Unfancied both. But what they have is character and a ferocious workrate. The key things he says that made his team stand out were a good goalkeeper, a good freetaker, a good midfielder and a good goalscorer. Sound familiar yet?

Not alone that I think Mayo have a very fine defence and I think this will be the key to them winning on Sunday. People will say Down destroyed Mayo in the first half of the semi-final. I guarantee you they didn’t destroy the defence.

Only wing-back Ciaran Charlton got taken – by a super talent in Caolan Mooney – but all others stood strong. And why did Mayo struggle I hear you ask? We had a rookie in at midfield who struggled for oxygen beside Danny Kirby who was being pushed hard because of the next factor – we had no half-forward line in that  half. We were shapeless at midfield and in the half-forward line as a result.

Raymond Dempsey must take some of the blame for that. But he rectified things with a series of inspired half-time changes. Armagh will be a step-up we’re told. I don’t doubt that. The key is how much of  a step-up? They’ve a serious inside forward line but I’ve been very impressed with the Mayo full-back line of Walsh, Rogers and Gavin all year. None of the trio have done much wrong and Rogers has been particularly impressive – a senior career beckons in my opinion.

We’ve a solid half-back line too. Shane McDermott is a classy centre-back and Crowe and Charlton are capable wing-backs. Charlton is certainly better than he showed against Down.

But how we line out further forward is the key. Andrew Farrell is picked to line out beside Kirby at midfield. Farrell has played in the half-forward line all year and isn’t a huge player in terms of height so a lot of people are assuming he won’t play there and that team captain Aidan Walsh, picked at 14, will start at midfield.

I’m not so sure. I reckon Ray Dempsey could try to play Walsh inside with Cillian O’Connor and Alex Corduff to try to make hay off a small enough Armagh full-back line. It would be a serious gamble, to not play Walsh at midfield considering how we struggled without him there at various stages through the year. If it works it is a master stroke. But we’ll have a small half-forward line so winning ball could be a problem.

I could see either Corduff or Walsh moving out as a third midfielder with O’Connor left in with one of the big men. But it is very hard to assess how Mayo will line out from 8 up.

Armagh will take beating. But I reckon the longer Mayo can stay in the game, the more Armagh might begin to doubt themselves and, at the same time, Mayo will prosper. If we’re within two points of the favourites with ten minutes to go, we’ll win. I firmly believe that is how it will play out. Don’t show the white feather. Maigh Eo abú.

Don’t pack the jersey away just yet

OUR senior men may be out of the All-Ireland race and the county may still be subdued from the defeat to Meath but Mayo folk still have plenty to keep them busy if they want to.

The Minor men and the senior Ladies may operate off broadway but both have provided much joy. Last year’s Minors fell just short against Tyrone last September after a really unexpected run while the Ladies of Mayo gave us some great times with four All-Irelands from 1999-2003 at a time when Mayo All-Ireland winning medals were as rare as hen’s teeth. Oh wait, that’s still the case.

The Ladies are definitely operating as underdogs these last few years as everyone skips to Cork’s tune. The Rebelettes have dominated the game and are looking for a four-in-a-row this year. It would be a surprise to most if anything but that was the outcome but Mayo are still there in with a fighting chance and it would be a fool to dismiss their chances just yet.

Family commitments meant TIALTNGO wasn’t able to make it to Ballymahon today for the quarter-final clash with Tyrone so I had to make do with the television. Judging by the crowd at the Longford venue it would appear a lot more made a similar decision. Which is a pity. I’d like to think that now that Mayo are in the last four that Mayo football folk would get behind them. About 30,000 of us travelled to the 1999 final win over Waterford when Mayo’s victory gave the whole county a massive lift. Lets be having ye again folks!

Anyway back to the football. This year Mayo have been able to welcome back Emma Mullin and Triona McNicholas to the team and they’ve added badly needed zest to a forward line far too dependent on Cora Staunton in years gone by.

Staunton is as lethal as ever – believe me when I say Ladies football will never see her like again – but while she is hard to stop it does become easy if she is the only threat. Mullin, and to a lesser extent, McNicholas, keep defenders guessing and that has helped Cora find a bit more room for herself.

Certainly Mayo will need these kind of options if and when they come up against Cork. In last week’s win over Laois Mullin kicked 1-6 from play, Cora kicked 0-12. Not a bad return from your inside duo. Triona McNicholas chipped in with 1-1.

ONWARDS: Cora Staunton celebrates Mayo's third goal which sealed their place in the semi-finals.

Staunton, while not at her best (when she is stand back and admire), still ended up with 1-5 today. Emma Mullin wasn’t quite brilliant either but Mayo still won with their vaunted inside line off form. The fact that Mayo have room for improvement in this sector will frighten whoever they have to face in the semi-final.

Further back Mayo have felt the pinch by the losses of Helena Lohan, Nuala O Se and Sharon McGing in defence but, by the same token, players like Kathryn Sullivan, Aoife Loftus and Nicola Hurst have come on stream and are improving all the time.

Above all else though it was Noelle Tierney who was imperious in defence. The Carnacon defender excelled at full-back today on the vaunted Sarah Connelly.

Mayo had to line out today without Caroline McGing and Claire O’Hara in defence but when they get both of those girls back, they will have serious options in the rearguard. Mention too must be made of Yvonne Byrne who made two crucial saves in goal.

Claire Egan has been moved to defence too, from her usual stomping ground of midfield. She looked comfortable and commanding today at centre-half back, blunting the impact of no less a player than Gemma Begley. We think Egan’s best position might have been found.

At midfield Sinead Hughes and captain Martha Carter provide industry with both able to improve also.

More might be needed of the half-forward line but Fiona McHale, Lisa Cafferkey and/or Sinead Cafferkey and Natasha Beegan (Beegan played wing-back on Saturday) have plenty of ability to improve so I reckon Kevin Reidy will be quietly pleased with the progress of his team.

Cork remain the standard by which teams will strive to match. I reckon if Mayo avoid Cork in the semi-final, win that game and show a decent improvement from today, they’ll go into a final with a chance of causing an upset. But, like we tend to do with the men, that kind of thinking is getting ahead of ourselves.

But it could be an interesting summer yet.

Raymond Dempsey certainly won’t be letting his minors get ahead of themselves despite being joint favourites to win the All-Ireland with Armagh. Mayo now know their semi-final opposition in two weeks time after Down made light of the swine-flu outbreak in their squad to defeat Dublin by two points in Cavan on Saturday evening.

Dempsey’s side don’t look spectacular but, much like last year’s group, they appear to be a team capable of improving all the time. I’ve long mentioned the ability of Ballintubber’s Cillian O’Connor and he’s looked the part this year, his first at the grade. Impressive too have been Killala’s Andrew Farrell – a workmanlike wing-forward with football ability to boot. Further back Shane McDermott, Keith Rodgers and David Gavin have caught the eye.

We’ve yet to see Aidan Walsh, this year’s captian, shine. That will happen yet and the minors have every chance of being in a September decider again. Hopefully it will be a different outcome. But we’ll worry about Down first. Certainly Ray Dempsey won’t be talking of September.

So there you have it folks. Plenty of Mayo interest still in All-Ireland competitions. Don’t put that Mayo jersey away just yet!

Where o where to begin?

IT sucks, doesn’t it. It really does. Same old story. A no-show when it mattered in Croke Park. Mayo ticked all the boxes that the country pidgeon hole us in and it is hard to argue with them.

This year looked different. We looked like we might have something about us. Nothing as fanciful as an All-Ireland, that would be stretching it. But we looked like we weren’t going to be found wanting for resolve. For leadership. For character. We referenced the league game against Galway. The league game against Donegal. The Tyrone league game. The late winner against Galway when, we told ourselves, previous Mayo teams would have wilted after losing a seven point lead.

This team had something about them. A bit of chutzpah. Sadly untrue. We can go on all we want about refereeing decisions going against us – and they did, have no doubt. But the fact remains that when all these decisions were made the teams were level and there was just under 20 minutes to go.

Time to shit or get off the pot. Mayo wilted, visibly, with the game there for the taking. That was the most disappointing part of it.

TIME TO PUSH HOME: Aidan O'Shea's goal put us four points up with twenty minutes to go but instead of closing the game out, we wilted.

There’s much disappointment in the county and talk of when we are going to win the All-Ireland. First things first we need to stop that sort of talk. We need to look at improvement and see where that takes us. But talking of All-Irelands, whilst being the ultimate aim, is, in actuality, short-sighted. Because we’re just hoping this might happen on a year to year basis instead of putting better structures in place.

We’ll get to that in time but first we need to assess where this group of players are at. I have to admit that I’m fearful about a lot of them. They’ve been excellent servants but how many times can you go to Croke Park and suffer a disappointing loss, often because of a non-show on your behalf, and be able to change that around when you find yourself in a battle at HQ again?

Time and defeats take their toll. There was signs this year that things were different. We’d heard about the great work that the team’s psychologist Gerry Hussey has done. We heard leaders had been developed. That character was there. That this is the time of year that John O’Mahony comes into his own. He looks after all the fine details, keeps players focused etc.

All these proved false dawns. Do we blame Gerry Hussey or John O’Mahony? Or do we have to ask the hard questions about the players? You can have all the ancilliary features in the world but if the players cannot grab the game by the scruff of the neck on the home strait, in the last twenty minutes of an All-Ireland Quarter-Final in Croke Park, then you really do have to look at the players.

I’m not knocking the benefits of psychology. I’m actually a big fan of it. But it needs a certain base point with the subject in question. If, the Mayo players in this question, are vulnerable mentally then there is only so much papering over the cracks that can be done.

They might not always have been like this but heartbreak takes its toll. And despite what we might say about how anquished we feel after Mayo lose, there is no one that puts more into the effort and has as much to lose as the players. That accumulates and is hard to remove. If we are to look at the players who started on Sunday and also played in the 04 and 06 finals we see four players. David Heaney, Ronan McGarrity, Alan Dillon and Trevor Mortimer. Four men who should be leaders of this team.

Sadly only Alan Dillon stepped up to the plate. He was joined by Andy Moran, a sub both years, Aidan Kilcoyne, in his first full year starting, and Aidan O’Shea, who collects his Leaving Cert results in a few hours.

Things looked like they might have changed. We looked like we had a bit of gumption about us. But when the hard questions were asked on Sunday too many were found wanting. And that’s not easy for me to say and it is very easy to hide behind a keyboard and say this but I fear I am right on this one.

Until we discover leaders, and it is not a quality that can really be cultivated, I think it is either in you or not, then we will not be a threat in the latter stages of the championship.

In the mean time we will be competitive in Connacht and may easily win a Connacht title here and there but in the high oxegen setting of the knockout stages in Croker, we’ll be short of breath again. I am afraid I don’t see that changing in the next couple of years.

There are lots of things we need to do in Mayo football to reverse the cycle and I’ll look to examine what I feel might be some of the underlying factors in the coming weeks. For now I think it is fair to say that a lot has to change. And those who understand the dynamics of football in the county will, hopefully, concur.

We’ve been ad-libbing for too long. That needs to stop. More anon.

Croke Park here we come

August. Championship. Croke Park. It is what it’s all about. It’s great to be part of it and for the first time since 2006 and we travel east with the wind in our sails. The anticipation and the build-up are something to savour. The feeling when you turn off the Clonliffe Road and that wonderful vista of the stadium dominates the entire sky-line – well it makes you proud to be a Gael. And altogether better when you’re county are at the business end of the championship.

That’s where we’re at folks. Five teams left in the championship and we’re one of them. Will we be in the last four come Sunday evening? I certainly hope so and I believe it will be the case.

WILL HE, WON'T HE? Despite being picked during the week, questions still linger over Barry Moran's participation on Sunday.

What will be interesting in terms of management thinking is who will play on the edge of the square. Barry Moran has been picked there but there are a few reasons why I don’t see him starting there. The hand injury is obviously one but, if Moran had been, say, the key man in the full-forward line, O’Mahony would start him even if he is only, say, 80% fit. Moran, though, needs to be fully fit because he has just been average this year, although he is capable of more.

And what’s more the injury is significant because it impinges Moran’s best asset – his hands. Moran has been only a threat this year when the ball has been lorried in on top of him. He hasn’t been quick out in front to low ball and he hasn’t been pinging the ball over the bar. If he is going to struggle to actually field the ball then the question is begged – is there any point starting him?

I know John O’Mahony isn’t one for passing dummies with his team selections. We all thought he was acting the smartass when he picked Ronan McGarrity for the Connacht final after his fractured cheekbone picked up only two weeks before the Galway game.

But McGarrity started, proving that O’Mahony was being completely genuine. The key difference is though that Ronan McGarrity at midfield is one of our most vital players. Barry Moran, in his current form at full-forward, is not. I don’t see him starting.

So who will? Three names are in the reckoning. Tom Parsons. Conor Mortimer. Billy Padden. Who would you pick? Personally I’d go for Parsons because it will continue the twin towers approach which has been a successful tactic. And he’s actually pacier than Barry Moran and some might argue has more football in him. But I’m led to believe he wasn’t a massive success on the edge of the square in auditions.

The second option is Conor Mortimer. He’d move into the corner and Aidan O’Shea would go to full-forward. While it might make sense on one level – both players may be comfortable in their respective roles – I’m loathe to it happening. We should try and retain the strong ball winners inside. Conor has serious talent and has a point to prove but he has been a great weapon off the bench. He could start and be shackled by the likes of Seamus Kenny and then we’ve blunt. But he can come on with twenty minutes in an open game and make hay.

I hope and I think that John O’Mahony is of a similar mindset. And what looks like the preferred option is Billy Padden on the edge of the square. Padden is easily the most undervalued member of the Mayo squad. He has football oozing out of every pore. The main difficulty he has is probably a lack of pace. But he is strong, even footed and very aware.

His ability has brought him all over the park but I liked him at full-forward in 2005. He will be able to contest high ball, perhaps not as effectively as Barry Moran or Tom Parsons, but enough to allow the tactic to continue. And, crucially, he’ll be a great leader of the full-forward line with his awareness. He’ll really link well with the two Aidans. I believe he will start and, given that Tom Parsons isn’t flying, if reports are to believed, I think Billy Joe is the right man to start.

I haven’t been blogging all week due to manic work pressures but what has been striking me during the course of the week, in fact since last Saturday when Meath beat Limerick, is how confident Mayo supporters are of victory.

Part of that makes me uneasy – we’re the past masters of setting ourselves up for a fall. It’s as engrained in people’s perceptions about Mayo as much as tightness is a trait of a Cavan man.

People are talking about whether we will beat Kerry or not already. Dangerous talk before a game against a county who truly fear no team. But I like what I see and what I hear from team Mayo. There is no manager in the country who has a reputation for making his team concentrate on the here and now like John O’Mahony.

The squad was brought to Tullamore last weekend where any arrogance or lack of focus was ran out of the squad. It is all about Meath are far as team Mayo are concerned. I’ve read interviews both today and during the week with the likes of Trevor Mortimer, Peadar Gardiner and Andy Moran where the talk isn’t the usual cliched dross about ‘one game at a time’ for the sake of it. No, it’s one game at a time and they mean it.

That’s the biggest reason why we’ll win. The inner confidence in this Mayo squad is excellent. And it’s not to be confused with an arrogance we might have seen before. How far that will bring us remains to be seen but it will bring us past Meath. Mayo by three.

Maigh Éo Abú!

Minors looking for Bank Holiday Bonus

IT’S a pity that the fact that we drew Limerick or Meath has meant that the possibility of a senior/minor double header has went out the window. The extra seven days that our senior draw has given us is, of course, going to be beneficial from an injury and recovery point of view.

It should, I hope, mean that Aidan Kilcoyne is back fully fit. It will also mean an extra week to allow Barry Moran every chance to recover from the broken bone in his hand. While John O’Mahony has ruled him out we’re not so sure that it is that definite. After all Aidan O’Shea played in a Minor All-Ireland final last year (and gave one of the best performances ever seen by a Mayo minor) just two weeks after breaking a bone beneath his thumb so there is a precendent of a quick recovery.

But Moran will remain a big, big doubt.

INJURY DOUBT: Barry Moran.

Tom Parsons, I’m told, has been tried at training in full-forward this week which is, in my opinion, welcome news. I like the cut of our jib when we have two big men inside and I wouldn’t be terribly optimistic if Conor Mortimer started. I think the way his season has went means that his role from the bench is more beneficial to us.

The extra week also allows Parsons, if that is where he will play, time to adjust to the requirements of full-forward.

But, as I said at the outset, the extra week is not ideal for our minors who will travel to Tullamore on Monday fairly sure that a massive support won’t follow them. That’s a pity but it is the way of the world. When only half the Mayo supporters can be bothered to go to watch Mayo minors merely two hours before a senior game, then the minors know where they stand. They are off broadway.

But that will probably suit Raymond Dempsey. No better man to play down an occasion and get his players to concentrate on a simple game of football.

Which is exactly what they will need to do on Monday because take their eye of Tipperary and they’ll suffer for it.
There was an element of that about their Connacht final experience. A facile enough win over Galway lulled Mayo, despite Dempsey’s warnings, into a false sense of security for the final against Roscommon.

That they weren’t punished for their lack of focus is almost entirely Roscommon’s fault but Mayo got the kick up the arse they needed and play with passion and purpose in the replay.

Hopefully they will not fall into another trap of taking a team for granted because most people in the county will think that there is no way Mayo should have to worry about a Tipperary football team.

But Tipp’ have been making diligent progress in recent years. They may never have won a Munster Under 21 title and their last Munster minor title was in 1995 but they’ve come mighty close in recent years at both grades.

They defeated Cork 0-13 to 0-10 after extra-time  to get to the Munster final against Kerry but a slow start cost them there and they lost 0-12 to 0-6 against one of the All-Ireland favourites.

Their manager David Power will have learned a lot about Mayo from watching both the drawn and the replayed Connacht finals and he’ll be further boosted if Mayo’s captain Aidan Walsh doesn’t recover from the ankle injury that has him sweating to make it.

Walsh hasn’t been excellent this year but he has been vital. His workrate has been exemplary and he is a man who can really inspire Mayo.

His switch from full-forward to midfield between the drawn and replayed finals was pivotal and Mayo would nearly be demoted to underdogs if he didn’t make it.

Elsewhere I have to admit I really liked the look of Andrew Farrell in the replay. A fantastic ball winner, he also looks like someone who has that bit of panache to separate him from other water carriers in the modern day half-forward line.

We’ve spoken about Cillian O’Connor here before and continue to be impressed but Mayo will need a small bit more from the likes of Darren Coen, Alex Corduff and Brian Ruttledge. We’ve exempted Fergal Durkin from that because the Mitchels man plays the  role of a purely ball winning wing-forward, a role he performed to near perfection in the replay.

Further back we look solid. Danny Kirby and Aidan Walsh look ideal at midfield. Shane McDermott and Keith Rogers really look the part down the middle of defence, Michael Schlingermann was excellent when called on in the replay against Roscommon and none of the other four defenders look anywhere near out of their depth.

If they play like they did against Roscommon second time out we think they’ll make the semi-finals and be waiting for the seniors to follow suit. Now that would be a good double header.

Who do we want on Sunday evening?

FIVE days on from the Connacht final and if we haven’t switched attention to the All-Ireland quarter final then we damn well should. No doubt John O’Mahony had the players switched to that focus when the team went back training on Tuesday night. In fact I reckon he would have done so as early as Sunday evening when the players went to the Galway Bay Hotel for a swim after the game.

WAY BACK WHEN: James Horan in action against Kerry in the 1997 All-Ireland final. It sparked a run now at four games since we last beat them. This year we could end that rut.

Of course it is hard to completely focus on the quarters until such a time as we know who we are playing. That’ll all be known by Sunday night (unless we draw Limerick and the winners of Meath and Roscommon of course).

We can’t play Galway so that means there are eight teams we can draw - Antrim, Kerry, Kildare, Wicklow, Donegal, Limerick, Meath or Roscommon.

Now we’ll make two quick presumptions. Kildare will beat Wicklow, that much we are fairly certain of. And Kerry will beat Antrim. We’re less certain here because of Kerry’s shaky form and hassle in the Kingdom castle but we still reckon they should account for Antrim.

Donegal v Galway is less easy call and Limerick v Meath (we think they’ll have too much for Roscommon) is even harder to call. I reckon the four qualifiers though will be Kerry, Kildare, Galway and Meath.

And which of them do we want? Kerry. Kerry. Kerry.

Its not something you’d imagine Mayo people should be looking for after our recent record against them in Croke Park.

But a number of things make this year different.

Firstly Kerry are vulnerable. I know they’ve been vulnerable before and come back but this year they look like they are at death’s door. They’ll scrape by Antrim and the word from Kerry is of serious turmoil in the squad. Talk of physical striking of  a member of management by a player is out there, rumours of indiscipline have been confirmed and the overall feeling is that Jack O’Connor has been unable to control the dressing room in this, his second term, because of ‘de book’.

Kieran Donaghy is out. Darragh O Se is on the way out. Colm Cooper is having his worst season ever and the defensive six could change from week to week. They will not, mark my words, make any serious impression this year. They may not even get over Antrim.

And then there’s us. We look like a team that has a bit of gumption about us. The league game against Galway showed that. So too the league game against Donegal. The response after Michael Meehan’s goal on Sunday last was telling also.

But the ghost of those final defeats in ‘04 and ‘06 will hang over many of the squad. Could you imagine how psychologically revitalising victory over Kerry this year could be? Kerry may be vulnerable and not at their best but victory over them would be the biggest catalyst we could ask for. It would bring us into a semi-final against, presumably, Dublin.

We would have serious momentum.

Some might say we should look for Meath, or whoever the easiest draw would be. I disagree. We should look for the most beneficial tie and Kerry, followed by Kildare, would tick that box. At this stage making a quarter-final or a semi-final makes very little difference. We  have our Connacht title, everything from now should be geared towards helping us achieve our ultimate aim.

Kerry would be perfect. If we can’t beat them as they are at the minute then we’ve no business going any further. We would beat them, I am almost certain. And a massive weight would be off our shoulders. Bring them on!

Soak it in

WHAT DREAMS ARE MADE OF: Not given to shows of emotion, Peadar Gardiner's reaction here shows what scoring the winning point in a Connacht final must be like.

DEEP breaths now. Soak in that feeling. There’s a contentness about us Mayo folk today. Progress. Tangible progress. Victory over Galway in Salthill. Dramatic victory. When it looked like we had thrown it all away. And, best of all, excitement about where we can go. We won’t get too confident but there is a feeling that a lot is possible with this team. We considered that before Sunday but had only the Roscommon game to use as an argument. Now we have more.

All reasons why we’re walking with a pep in our step today. Could you imagine what today would have been like if we had drawn or lost that game? So the sense of relief is another emotion. When Michael Meehan hit that goal it was like the confidence and swagger this team had shown had been all for nought and we were to be plunged back to the dark days where belief was an alien concept.

Except that those on the field showed a courage after that goal rarely seen by Mayo teams. It was the courage of champions. ‘I am not concerned that you have fallen, I am concerned that you arise.’ Abe Lincoln would have found favour with Mayo yesterday.

CHAMPIONS: Trevor Mortimer lifts the Nestor Cup to bridge a three year gap.

Andy Moran was in no mood for feeling sorry for himself. The Ballagh’ man showed boundless energy all day and the Meehan goal didn’t sap it. He won the breaking ball, played a 1-2 with Ronan McGarrity and then made, to borrow from rugby, the hard yards.

Joe Bergin borrowed a tackle from rugby and we had a free 55metres out. Conor Mortimer wanted to take it. Andy was having none of it. Kenneth O’Malley was out of his goal screaming at John O’Mahony to let him come up to take it (O’Malley is a deadly long range free-taker with Ballinrobe).

But Andy had something in mind. Peadar Gardiner was beside him one second and running into space the next. Maybe Gardiner whispered his plans to Moran but, however it came about, Moran found Gardiner in a glorious chink of space. Gardiner could have flunked it but when he was needed most he came up trumps. A decent game had a classic ending.

And how we celebrated. Our emotions had been brought on a roller coaster without a safety brace. The point could turn out to be the most important since Ciaran McDonald’s against Dublin in 2006. Can you imagine what drawing that game would  have done to our psyche? Unthinkable. The difference between going forward and going backwards in one moment.

That we won the game means we can call 2009 a successful year and from here on we’re in bonus territory. Not that we should treat it as such either. But we would all have settled for a Connacht title at the start of the year. I’d have bitten the hand off any man or women who offered Mayo a Connacht title at half-time in the league game against Galway in Tuam when we were six points behind.

A TOUCH OF CLASS: One modern day great of Connacht football, Padraig Joyce, shows wonderful grace to congratulate another great and his long time rival, David Heaney.

Now we have it and we move into the All-Ireland series with a certain confidence. A belief not always evident in Mayo teams. So much of the team looks settled. Five of the six backs are. We’ve found a midfield pairing few would have predicted in February but even fewer would dream of changing now.

The half-forward line is one of our strongest and in Aidan O’Shea we have a real leader in the full-forward line. Options abound for the other two places. Two from Aidan Kilcoyne, Conor Mortimer and Barry Moran leaves us in a healthy position for competition for places.

How we line out or where we go from here is for another day though. Now is all about now. Soak it in. David Heaney’s two points. Ronan McGarrity’s monster point from under the stand. The same player’s courage in playing at all. Soak it in.

Alan Dillon’s one man show of a point just before half-time. Our second goal. Gardiner’s wonder point when we thought our world was caving in. Trevor lifting the cup. Soak it in. Try not to smile doing so. Hard, isn’t it?

I haven’t felt this good since the ‘06 semi-final. I hope. No, I expect and I know I won’t be waiting as long again. It is for the feeling of days like today that Gaelic football is such a big part of our lives. Days like today make so much worthwhile. Soak it in folks.

Line-ups point to a tight game

THE Galway team has been named and so we can start to analyse who will be matched with whom and there are some very interesting tussles ahead.

We’ll run through the Galway team, which was named tonight, for starters. Its as follows: Adrian Faherty,
Niall Coyne, Finian Hanley, Damien Burke, Gareth Bradshaw, Diarmuid Blake, Gary Sice, Paul Conroy, Niall Coleman, Joe Bergin, Padraig Joyce, Nicky Joyce, Sean Armstrong, Michael Meehan, Declan Meehan.

It’s hard to predict who will go on who but as I look through the respective teams I see Galway have some players suited to Mayo players not directly opposite them and I predict the teams to line out something like this. 

Right corner-back Mayo Liam O’Malley v Left full-forward Galway Declan Meehan.

To be honest I do hope that O’Malley fails his fitness test because Vaughan is perfectly suited to following Meehan out the field, which is the role Meehan will play. O’Malley is more comfortable in the full-back line. He could switch over onto Sean Armstrong and let Keith Higgins go out the field but I’d be more confident with Higgins on Armstrong.

Advantage: Galway

Full-back Mayo Ger Cafferkey v Full-forward Galway Michael Meehan

People might point out that Keith Higgins has a great record on Meehan (I think it’s only average myself, Dermot Geraghty was much more comfortable in the role) but, in any event, it would be very undermining towards Ger Cafferkey to move him from full-back because management feel he might not be able for the challenge.

BIG TEST: Ger Cafferkey will have a right battle with Michael Meehan.

We know he will be better than Kieran Conroy was last year (when being played way out of position) and he did reasonably well in the league on Meehan (moreso in the second-half). Still if Meehan gets good ball Cafferkey and Mayo will be up against it.

Advantage: Galway

Left-corner back Mayo Keith Higgins v Right-corner forward Galway Sean Armstrong

Armstrong’s form worries me. He was Galway’s best player against Sligo and I’ve always felt he was a classy player if he got a run from injuries and put his mind to it. The signs are this could be the year. So we’ll need Keith Higgins back to close to his best to be able for the man playing on his home club pitch. Anything less and it’s Armstrong’s day.

Advantage: Galway

Right-half back Mayo Peadar Gardiner v Left-half forward Galway Nicky Joyce

Joyce is a classy player with talent but with questionable mental strength. Gardiner is a defender who doesn’t like to be run at. We better hope that Nicky Joyce gets out of the wrong side of the bed Sunday morning and that Gardiner has him on the run which is very much advantage Mayo. And, if like two years ago, Gardiner’s man goes in corner-forward, for the love of God John O’Mahony don’t let Gardiner follow him.

Advantage: Mayo

Centre-half back Mayo Trevor Howley v Centre-half forward Galway Padraig Joyce

Welcome to the Main Event Trevor. After plenty of speculation and trials at centre-half back Trevor Howley is finally starting a meaningful championship match against a decent centre-forward. Injury hasn’t allowed a proper run for him before (he would probably have been on Joyce last year were it not for injury) but the time has now come. Joyce hasn’t the pace of old but he still has the wily old brain. Howley needs to stop him getting the ball rather than tackle him when he is on the ball because the maestro can work space very easily. Joyce might just get the better of him.

Advantage: Galway (just about).

Left-half back Mayo Andy Moran v Right-half forward Galway Joe Bergin

We reckon Bergin will stick to this wing to start but may switch with Nicky Joyce as the game goes on. He’ll have the edge over Moran for fielding but Andy should be able to make it difficult. Bergin looked sluggish in general play though against Galway and I reckon we’ll be able to get Andy on the ball plenty of times to make good use of his kick passing. He should also try to run forward regularly.

Advantage: Mayo

Midfield Mayo Ronan McGarrity and David Heaney v Midfield Galway Niall Coleman and Paul Conroy.

MORE OF THE SAME PLEASE: Ronan McGarrity pictured fielding the ball high against Galway in the league. If fit we'll need more of the same from the classy midfielder.

If McGarrity starts and is close to mentally right for the game then I expect him to easily outfield either of the Galway players. Heaney will need to keep an eye on Conroy’s runs from deep as well as playing as a sweeper behind midfield. Expect Coleman to give McGarrity a few ‘welcome to Salthill shots early on’ but this is a sector we should and need to win.

Advantage: Mayo

Right-half forward Mayo Pat Harte v Left-half back Galway Gareth Bradshaw

While Bradshaw is picked at 5 I think the profile of the other two Galway defenders, Blake and Sice, are more suited to Mortimer and Dillon so Bradshaw will end up on Harte. Bradshaw is a serious operator going forward and Harte will have to track him. I tend to be a bit worried about Harte being so one sided but I reckon he can exploit a chink in the armour if he runs directly at Bradshaw. The Moycullen man does have the edge though.

Advantage: Galway

Centre-half forward Mayo Alan Dillon v Centre-half back Galway Gary Sice

I know Dillon is picked at 12 but he was picked there too against the Rossies and played at 11 and I see no reason for that to change. Sice marked him last year if I recall correctly and is a sticky marker and Blake would not be at all suited to Dillon. Even with Sice though Dillon has the ability to make hay. We need a strong performance from Dillon, more than any other player in my view, and if we get it, we’re well on the way.

Advantage: Mayo

Left-half forward Mayo Trevor Mortimer v Right-half back Galway Diarmuid Blake

Stack back and watch the two stags go at it. Two very strong men. I hope Trevor uses his pace time and time again if this pairing comes to pass. I also hope, as do all of Mayo, that his flawless use of the ball against Roscommon carries over. Time will tell but I’m confident in our captain.

Advantage: Mayo

Right-corner forward Mayo Aidan O’Shea v Left-corner back Niall Coyne

There had been speculation that Coyne would lose his place but I reckon he’s been kept because he could be a tough nut for O’Shea to crack. O’Shea gave Hanley a torrid time in the league but Coyne is stronger than Hanley and while he really struggled for pace against Sligo’s David Kelly, O’Shea’s game is more suited to the Carna man. I still expect the Breaffy man to win this personal battle though. But he’ll be sore afterwards.

Advantage: Mayo

Full-forward Mayo Barry Moran v Full-back Galway Finian Hanley

Partly for the reasons outlined above Hanley will be better suited to Moran. He’s a more rangy full-forward than O’Shea and Hanley has great pace, that should help him here also. Moran comes into this game lucky to be on the team after a shaky display against the Rossies. I must admit I’m not brimful of confidence here but if Moran finds his true form then it could be another story.

Advantage: Galway

Left-corner forward Mayo Aidan Kilcoyne v Right-corner back Galway Damien Burke

SECONDS PLEASE: Another start like Aidan Kilcoyne had in the above game against Roscommon will do us the world of good on Sunday.

Kilcoyne is capable of giving Burke a serious test here. The Knockmore man is physically strong, much more so than Conor Mortimer who has so often struggled against Burke. Kilcoyne also has pace. What he needs on Sunday is an ability to stand up to Burke, not be afraid of him and not be afraid of the occasion. I can see him performing reasonably well, if he gets a good start, but Burke might just edge this duel.

Advantage: Galway.

Goalkeeper Mayo Kenneth O’Malley v Goalkeeper Galway Adrian Flaherty

Too close to call this one. Flaherty’s kickouts are longer but O’Malley’s are very accurate and smart. Both are excellent shot stopper. We’ll call this a draw.

Subs bench

This is where Mayo will win the match. Conor Mortimer. Tom Parsons. Donal Vaughan. Kevin McLoughlin. Mark Ronaldson. Billy Joe Padden. So many good options for so many positions. Galway had to bring on a player (Joe Joe Greaney) in the forward line in Sligo when Mattie Clancy got injured in the first half. Greaney was then taken off at half-time. Kieran Fitzgerald and Darren Mullahy are good options in defence but the selection of Declan Meehan at corner-forward doesn’t say much for Cormac Bane and Co. We think Damien Dunleavy and Fiachra Breathnach are out. Regardless they aren’t massive worries. Clancy and Gary O’Donnell (injury and suspension) are out. Massive advantage here for Mayo.

All in all I’ve predicted Mayo to win seven of the outfield battles, the same as Galway. That’s counting Mayo’s midfield advantage as two.  Our defence could be a weakness. I reckon we’ll only win two of those battles – Gardiner and Moran – and wouldn’t bet my house on it.

Our bench will be the key though. And it is that bench that will carry us to a Connacht title come 5.25 on Sunday in Salthill. Maigh Eo abu!

Dempsey’s minors look for two in a row

BOTH the Mayo senior and minor teams were announced tonight but we’ll defer analysis of the Mayo team for the senior clash with Galway until such a time as Liam Sammon picks the Galway team.

BACK IN THE DAY: Ray Dempsey, then aged 19, pictured with Willie Joe Padden after the 1989 All-Ireland semi-final win over Tyrone. None of the players he currently manages was even born then.

For now we’ll have a look at Ray Dempsey’s minors who, even at this early stage, are the 3/1 favourites for the All-Ireland. We can’t imagine the Knockmore man will be jumping for joy about that one.

And we do think such a tag is unjustified. And a price of Mayo at 4/11 to beat Roscommon on Sunday is very much unjustified.

Mark my words, Roscommon will take a fair bit of beating. Mayo are in the position of overwhelming favourites simply by virtue of their comfortable win over Galway in the semi-final.

Now I was at that game and anyone who thinks that that was a good Galway team would want to have a look at themselves. They were awful. They stank the place out. Only two of their forwards look of the standard and Mayo, without looking superb, won easily.

The way they responded after half-time, after missing a lot of chances in the first half, was convincing. But question marks remain. Danny Kirby looks good at midfield but last year’s minor Alex Corduff looks slow. We hope he can improve. In defence Mayo looked vulnerable when Galway ran at them while in attack the feeling is that if  Aidan Walsh is kept quiet, Mayo have a lot of work to do.

I do like the look of Cillian O’Connor in the corner. Some of my west Mayo contacts had been raving about the Ballintubber lad who is, if I recall correctly, only in his first year of minor. He has a great football brain and is deadly close to goal.

Hopefully his bit of ingenuinty can make a big difference the next day. I was surprised John Carney didn’t start, after having started played last year. When he came on in Sligo he took a great goal but missed a couple of other chances. Still he’s someone who would make a difference but he appears to have picked up an untimely ankle injury.

From what I hear across the border in Roscommon they are quietly confident about this team. They’re physically strong and in players like Cathal Shine and Daniel Qualter they have a presence around midfield while Niall Kilroy is a top forward.

The Rossies have a serious underage set-up running now – I read somewhere that this is their fourth Connacht final appearance in a row, that is some going. Gary Wynne will love to hear everyone talk up Mayo and write-off his own team and if Mayo think they will have it easy, it’ll be too late to do something about it by the time they realise the Rossie threat is a real one.

But, like John O’Mahony dealing with the tag of favouritism for the senior team, Ray Dempsey is well able to ground lads. The Knockmore man has his critics and certainly he isn’t perfect. But he is a deep thinker on the game and knows exactly what he needs from players.

I think that he will have his team primed for a battle on Sunday and hopefully that is one they will come out on top from. I expect them to do so, but only just.

Who’ll go to war against the Tribes?

IF we can say one thing with certainty it is that the Mayo team that starts on Sunday will differ hugely from that picked for last year’s decider. At least seven of the team from 12 months ago won’t start and that really is an incredible turnover in such a short space of time.

Had we time to do so we’d check to see when the last time such a turnover was from one year to the next

For the record the team that started in McHale Park for the ‘08 decider (thanks to Willie Joe’s priceless results archive at mayogaablog.com) was David Clarke; Keith Higgins, Kieran Conroy, Colm Boyle; Tom Cunniffe, David Heaney, James Nallen; Ronan McGarrity, Tom Parsons; Pat Harte, Alan Dillon, Trevor Mortimer; Conor Mortimer, Austin O’Malley, Andy Moran.

INJURED: David Clarke

Clarke, Cunniffe and McGarrity all have injury worries, Kieran Conroy, Austin O’Malley, Conor Mortimer and James Nallen are all likely to be subs with Colm Boyle off the panel altogether. And looking back at the team that started against Roscommon and compare it to the above and it is hard not to be a lot more optimistic this time around.

But just how close to the Roscommon line-up will John O’Mahony’s selection for Sunday be. We had the (insert appropriate word) fortune/foresight/fluke to pick the right starting team ahead of the Roscommon game the previous Tuesday, calling correctly that Tom Parsons and Conor Mortimer would lose their places but we won’t be betting our house on calling the exact team this time around.

Two reasons. The first is the question over whether Ronan McGarrity will start and, if not, who will replace him. The second concerns one of the corner-back spots. Other than that we think the team is fairly nailed on.

Kenneth O’Malley will start in goal. Ger Cafferkey and Keith Higgins will be two of the players in front of him in the full-back line.  Trevor Howley will man the heart of defence with Peadar Gardiner and Andy Moran either side of him.

David Heaney will occupy one midfield position while the most constant line on the field (and the only unchanged one from last year’s final, or even near it for that matter) will be the half-forward line of Harte, Dillon and Trevor Mort.

Aidan O’Shea will be the first name picked in the full-forward line and Aidan Kilcoyne will start after his blistering start against Roscommon, helped somewhat by the lack of a real challenge for the jersey from a subdued Conor Mortimer.

Barry Moran will be the luckiest to start in the full-forward line. A poor display against Roscommon and an absence from some training in the lead-up to Sunday due to a minor injury won’t have helped him but O’Mahony’s game plan revolves around two big men inside and losing Moran would neutralise the threat of the long ball somewhat.

The type of long ball that the likes of Andy Moran at wing-back can deliver superbly and is as much a reason for his placing there as any other.

SET FOR A RECALL?: Will Liam O'Malley be called back into the Mayo team after injury?

But then there are the two question marks. One corner-back spot is uncertain. Donal Vaughan did well against Roscommon but there appears to be a possibility that Liam O’Malley, now back from injury, will edge him out. Personally I’d go for Vaughan but there is the question as to whether his ability on the back foot is suited to the corner.

If O’Malley is fully fit then he would appear more suited for picking up someone like Sean Armstrong. I just liked the glimpses of attacking corner-back play that Vaughan showed against Roscommon and with Galway likely to play just two inside, he could have filled this role and let Keith Higgins take Sean Armstrong.

But O’Mahony is a fan of the Burrishoole man and perservered with him during the league so I reckon he’ll recall him here.

Midfield is even less certain. Ronan McGarrity could yet make a shock return despite a cheekbone fracture just over a week ago (a disgraceful attack but I’m not going to go into it here, enough has been said on the matter, I just hope punishment is meted out to the assailant). Were McGarrity to be fully-fit then it would be a huge benefit for Mayo. But the reality is he won’t be fully-fit. He can’t be. The question for John O’Mahony is would he prefer Ronan McGarrity at 90%, 80% or even 70% instead of a fully-fit alternative.

Will Ronan be ready and willing to ‘get stuck in’ if the going gets tough knowing the potential harm he’s putting himself in? I’d be surprised if he was and that’s no disservice to him, merely a commentary on human nature. Certainly if someone like Barry Cullinane starts at midfield for Galway, or even Niall Coleman, does O’Mahony expect that tough footballers like this will be careful for McGarrity’s welfare. They won’t and they shouldn’t. They’ll go in full blooded for everything and were the shoe on the other foot, the same would apply.

RETURN TO MIDFIELD: Tom Parsons looks the likely alternative to Ronan McGarrity at midfield but we're hedging our bets somewhat on this selection call.

Therefore I don’t think he can start. So who will? Tom Parsons would be the obvious choice and I reckon he will start but I’m going to throw in a curve ball. Not one to pencil in as a definite but one most certainly not to rule out – Seamus O’Shea.

The Breaffy man has, from what I can see, only played seven minutes of league or championship football this year. His form has been inconsistent and he was probably towards the back end of the thirty picked for the championship panel.

But I believe he is flying at training since the Roscommon game and, against him, Parsons hasn’t been excelling. I recall from when O’Shea was last on top form, during last year’s Under 21 campaign, that he looked the more impressive of the two but Parsons went onto star last year.

I have said it before that Parsons is still raw and has plenty to learn. But the same is true of O’Shea. His form can fluctuate and his use of the ball isn’t always excellent. O’Mahony has shown that he is a believer of form in training – Heaney and Kilcoyne coming in for the Roscommon game being a case in point. But the lack of time O’Shea got in the league might hint at the fact that O’Mahony isn’t a huge fan. It would also be a huge call to pluck a guy from the edge of the squad to make his championship debut on Sunday.

We’ll know soon enough (we believe the team will be picked Wednesday night). What we’re going for is two changes from the Roscommon game. Liam O’Malley for Donal Vaughan and Tom Parsons for Ronan McGarrity.

Predicted Mayo team: Kenneth O’Malley; Liam O’Malley, Ger Cafferkey, Keith Higgins;  Peadar Gardiner, Trevor Howley, Andy Moran; David Heaney, Tom Parsons; Pat Harte, Alan Dillon, Trevor Mortimer; Aidan O’Shea, Barry Moran, Aidan Kilcoyne.