Éamonn Fitzmaurice: Mayo will bring that animal hunger to Croke Park
The Sam Maguire Cup is prepared in a workshop prior to the All-Ireland SFC final. Picture: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
DURING my first championship as manager in the summer of 2013, Declan O’Sullivan approached me about the above quote.
He had come across it and felt it was something that could help with our mentality as we had been constantly referring and working towards consistent performances. The statement and the attitude embodied by it was certainly something that applied very much to the man himself and it became our mantra for that summer, albeit with the test match animal replaced by the championship match animal.
Undoubtedly, Mayo will bring that animal hunger this evening at Croke Park but they will need a lot more than just that to finally get their hands on the Holy Grail and beat this exceptional Dublin team.
As we address the All-Ireland final, we will reminisce and reflect to make a case for Mayo. While it now seems like an eternity ago, at half-time in last year’s All-Ireland semi-final they led Dublin by two points and a possibility of a shock looked on.
What did James Horan learn from their approach that evening?
Have they improved enough in the meantime to sort out the issues that cost them in the second half? What got them to that point at half-time, can it be replicated and most importantly can it be sustained for the full match?
It is hard to prioritise one area over another when playing a team as multi-faceted as Dublin. They invariably find a way.
However, if I was to focus on one area it would be to deny them momentum. They are relentless when they rattle off consecutive scores and go into overdrive. It is paramount to respond to a score with a score and make the match a tit-for-tat battle up and down the field. Put them on the back foot, make them defend and make them chase the ball.
To achieve this Mayo will have to control their own kickout. Fail here and it is game over, simple as. In the first half of last year’s semi-final, they were excellent on breaking ball on their own long kickouts. When Dublin force an opposing team out long their predominant tactic is to burst it back in and descend on the breaking ball.
Their half forward line is brilliant at timing their runs to run onto these breaks, regardless of who occupies those slots. To counteract this Mayo got their own half forward line to come back to their side of midfield and to flood that area with bodies with the likes of Kevin McLoughlin excelling and winning those vital breaks. Securing possession on their own kickout after a score allowed them to get back up the pitch and respond, thus robbing Dublin of any momentum. This worked for the first half but disintegrated after half time, highlighting the predicament of sustaining the challenge for 80 minutes.
Dublin took over the Mayo kickout after half time and scored 2-6 without reply in a power play that buried them. Mayo will need a Plan B and the game intelligence to know to move to it should this scenario present itself this evening. I feel that the mid-length kickout might be an option for them. Kerry used that to great effect in last year’s drawn final and Cavan also got some joy from it on a few occasions in the semi-final.
Dublin tend to leave pockets of space between their midfield and half forward line as they press. If Mayo and David Clarke are brave and accurate here it could be decisive. There is a risk involved as losing it in those pockets could lead to goal chances. Horan spoke about risk and reward this week and realises Mayo have to take risks to win. Worryingly for them in the championship, Clarke’s kickout retention percentages have been reducing with each game.
They have won 55% of their long kickouts across their four championship games which won’t be enough this evening. He is an excellent keeper though, with massive experience and will understand the significance of his kicking performance this evening.
Central to the identity of this Mayo group since Horan took them over first time round has been their workrate, with their ferocious tackling and physicality being their hallmark.
They scored an astounding 3-12 from turnovers against Tipperary and 11 points of their 0-14 total via the same method against Galway. While Dublin with their superior skill levels and decision-making will be much harder to turn over, in the battles this decade Mayo have succeeded in rattling them with their sheer physicality. Dublin haven’t been tested in any shape or form this year so far and how they react to this physical assault from Mayo will be intriguing to watch.
A further positive aspect of Mayo’s play in the first half of last year’s semi-final was how measured they were in possession. They avoided contact, put very little up for grabs thus reducing their turnovers significantly. It is crucially important to have Dublin chasing the ball too, to both tire them but also to rob them of the chance to have everything on their terms.
However, after half time the two goals that Dublin got during their purple patch came from a Paddy Durcan shot for a point that came up short and from a Diarmuid O Connor turnover. This again underlines what makes Dublin great. Against most teams you will get away with the odd mistake, against Dublin you won’t, hence the need for the near perfect performance.
This is definitely an area that Mayo have improved on, conceding only six points against Tipperary and five points against Galway from turnovers. Dublin have scored 1-12 and 0-12 from forcing turnovers in the last two games against Cavan and Meath so something will have to give in this pivotal aspect.
It looks to me that a further lesson for Horan from last year’s game was the importance of a significant presence in the inside line, something they lacked last year, especially when they were on top in the first half. This year with Aidan O’Shea stationed periodically at the edge of the square, with Cillian O’Connor in the form of his life and with Tommy Conroy a goal threat they look much more menacing. To beat Dublin, they will probably need 22 points plus, so all three will need to have stormers.
In their two best performances since the lockdown, against Galway in Tuam in the league and last day out against Tipperary, they came out of the traps fast and put up big scores in the first half. They will plan to do the same this evening.
Horan has addressed a lot of last year’s semi-final issues. The one area enough progress hasn’t been made on though is the quality and balance of their defence.
I understand Lee Keegan’s value as a man marker and, as a result of the personnel currently available, his stationing in the full back line. However, there is so much more to his game. Last year he struggled with Con O’Callaghan inside who took him for two goals but subsequently when moved to his natural habitat in the half back line he drove on and got a goal. I think Mayo’s defensive match-ups will trouble them and it emphasises the importance of getting everything else right.
Ultimately this is what will probably catch them.
During the first lockdown we all thoroughly enjoyed the Netflix documentary on Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. As they faced into Game 7 against the Indiana Pacers in the championship decider in 1998 there was some fascinating footage of Jordan and his friend Ahmad Rashad two hours before throw in.
Rashad looked at Jordan and said “Some can, some can’t. That’s just the way it is.”
Jordan looked at him knowingly and repeated the mantra to himself.
This evening Mayo can, but in all probability Dublin will.
