Mayo must leave comfort zone

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The querencia is the spot in the ring to which the bull returns. Each bull has a different querencia, but as the bullfight continues, and the animal becomes more threatened, it invariably returns to his spot. Of course as the bull returns to his querencia, he becomes more predictable. And so, finally, the matador is able to kill the bull because instead of trying something new, the bull returns by default to what is familiar to him — his comfort zone.

In recent years the Mayo football team have threatened on a few occasions to leave their comfort zone and celebrated league wins over Kerry in 2007 and 2008 plus even more celebrated league and championship wins over Galway in 2009 had their pathologically passionate supporters dreaming of an extended ramble outside the querencia.

After the small but significant reward of a Connacht title last year and in the absence of any truly outstanding team on the horizon, Mayo supporters dreamt of 2009 finally being The Year only for those dreams to be ritually dismantled in Croke Park once again. For a county where nothing about their football team is straightforward, the only predictable aspect of Mayo football right now is the self-deprecating and sometimes withering resignation of its supporters. Even after a more than promising start to their 2010 league campaign, it is almost as if the green and red diehards are afraid to hope, afraid to dream and afraid to once again trust their team.

This reticence is of course framed by the fact that no other county has contested 18 major finals since their last minor victory in 1985, losing all bar one U21 title in 2006. Fittingly perhaps, that successful 2006 Mayo U21 side now form the backbone of John O Mahony’s senior squad in 2010 just as the Cork side they defeated in that 2006 final has supplied 10 of Conor Counihan’s team that saw action as recently as last weekend against Tyrone.

As endorsements of the U21 grade go, it’s quite an impressive follow-through and there is considerable disappointment in Mayo GAA circles this week that the county’s four-year reign as U21 Connacht champions drew to a close with defeat to Roscommon on St Patrick’s Day.

Given that the U21’s were out on Wednesday and due to the uncertainty surrounding the participation of a number of players because of injury, it is understandable that O’Mahony would wish to delay the naming of his team for the game against Kerry until just before throw in tomorrow.

O’Mahony did exactly the same thing in the corresponding fixture in Tralee last year and the ultra-defensive set up of the Mayo team that eventually took the field in Austin Stack Park did much to frustrate the Kerry forwards 12 months ago.

It took an eight-point contribution from Colm Cooper to ensure a two-point win for Kerry but Mayo are unlikely to have Chris Barrett detailed with marking duties and may instead opt for Keith Higgins to undertake a man-marking job on the in-form Gooch.

Mayo’s best forward in last week’s stirring win in Celtic Park, Alan Dillon, was only included on the 11th hour and it may well be an indication of the intensity of this year’s league campaign that a recently-returned veteran could have such an influence on proceedings even if that veteran is someone of Dillon’s quality.

Either way, Dillon’s presence on the inside line or in the more familiar half-forward line is bound to settle the likes of Enda Varley and Mark Ronaldson should the latter be available for selection again after serving his suspension arising out of their hard-fought win in Tyrone.

Both Ronaldson’s and Dillon’s scoring ability were sorely missed in Castlebar two weeks ago when Mayo shot an incredible 18 wides in a one point defeat to Dublin. Kerry’s last home game against Derry showed once again how difficult it can be even for players on home turf to master the blustery conditions that often prevail in league football in Tralee. It may well be a case of asking their backline to bail them out in a frenzied low-scoring affair.

If recent league campaigns do what they say on the tin and if Mayo unearth new faces that might illuminate their summer out west and beyond into frontier territory outside the comfort zone, then the 2010 campaign will have been a success for O’Mahony.

This time last year it was suggested by Mayo football folk that their team was in need of a number three, a number six, a number 11 and a number 14. With Ger Cafferkey struggling recently, Trevor Howley conceding inches to most 40 yards men, Seamus O’Shea labouring manfully on the other 40 and his brother Aidan still trying to find his game inside, the spine of the Mayo team has an unstable look about it.

On the plus side, Donal Vaughan and Kevin McLoughlin have made promising starts to the league. Tom Parsons is a year older too and Varley and Ronaldson (until his suspension) were keeping the umpires ticking over. There are positives to be gleaned from the enthusiasm of some of the relatively experienced players such as Dillon, Keith Higgins and Andy Moran but these fellas have taken an awful lot of punishment in recent seasons.

Our friend Hemingway said that “a man’s got to take a lot of punishment to write a really funny book”. Keith Duggan’s classic House of Pain chronicling the years of heartbreak endured by Mayo teams over the years was at times funny but mostly sad and wistful. While no Mayo GAA person seeks sympathy or empty platitudes, it is about time the chroniclers of Mayo GAA got to write that funny book!