In adversity, Tyrone will find more than Mayo
But for all that it must be said that Donegal were a beaten team from very early in the day. It was apparent in Michael Murphy’s frustration in the 19th minute when he shot needlessly under pressure. It was in every gesture of Anthony Thompson during his brief time on the field. It was in the understandable weariness in Karl Lacey’s stride and it was there all day in the amount of flailing Donegal arms in the tackle. There were plenty of those “oops, I just missed the tackle and took myself out of the game there” moments that betray a jaded team. Donegal had played themselves out. The hamsters were tired of the treadmill and Mayo went to town on them.
There was so much to admire in the way Mayo went about their business three weeks ago. The performance of Aidan O’Shea at centrefield has drawn enough loose talk at this stage, but perhaps the most impressive aspect of Mayo’s game against Donegal was the quiet and understated excellence of his brother Seamus alongside him.
The Richie Feeney point that put Mayo 20 points ahead in the 53rd minute was emblematic of all that was good about the less heralded O’Shea’s performance. His industry and attitude in taking possession from his own end-line, supporting the movement of the ball every step of the way and getting back to his midfield base immediately, reflected the no-nonsense side of Mayo’s game that wasn’t always there.
Robert Hennelly, Chris Barrett and substitute Cathal Carolan are further examples of Mayo players who have substituted substance for flash in recent times and are now beginning to reap the rewards.
But tomorrow they come up against Tyrone. Not the greatest ever Tyrone team. On paper, not even the best Tyrone team this year. But this is a Tyrone team who are harbouring a deep hurt at the barbs that have been cast their way in recent weeks. It is also a Tyrone team that have been tested and tempered by four successive two-point victories against decent opposition. Contrast that with a Mayo team who’ve had an average winning margin of over 16 points in their four championship games to date. What can one learn from such contests?
We know from the last few matches that Donal Vaughan likes to get forward but what, for example, did James Horan and his management learn about their centre-back’s ability to defend against direct pacy runs through the middle of the defence since the championship began? You know, the exact type of run Mark Donnelly has been making all season.
We also know from the last two matches that Cillian O’Connor has few peers when it comes to maintaining composure when in close proximity to goal. But what of his ability to win the type of ball that he pulled out of in the 25th minute of the game against Donegal? Or the type of ball his forward colleagues had such trouble controlling in the frantic first 20 minutes of last year’s All-Ireland? Apart from the obvious improvement brought about by Andy Moran’s return, we don’t really know if Mayo’s capacity to make ball stick in the inside line has improved in any meaningful way since last September. The fact is they simply haven’t had to deal with that type of intensity all year...until now.
Because of Mayo’s early excellence in their four games to date, they have played more minutes than any team left in the championship in slackened-off mode at the end of a game. Contrast that with Tyrone who’ve had to dig deep in five of their six championship games and who know the value of each lost possession, each missed tackle, each pot-shot hit in hope and each free given away.
Mayo hit 18 wides against London and whether through last-ditch defending (Mark McHugh, 31st minute), sheer bad luck (Cathal Carolan, off the post 35th minute) , nonchalance (Lee Keegan, 41st minute) or a misplaced pass (Andy Moran, 48th minute), Mayo didn’t convert four gilt-edged goal opportunities against Donegal. The fact that they scored four more has masked that wastage, but I’ve no doubt the players involved are well aware of it. Such profligacy tends to catch up with teams when playing the likes of Tyrone.
We got an indication in the second league game in Castlebar this year of the type of game we might expect tomorrow. In a game where Mayo played second fiddle to Tyrone all day, they struggled to suss their way through the Tyrone defensive system and went 31 minutes of the second half without scoring until Keith Higgins got a goal which turned the game on its head. Crucially, Tyrone still managed to eke out a one point win thanks to a Stephen O’Neill penalty in the 75th minute, further copper-fastening their reputation as the last of the die-hards.
As league games go, it was instructive and James Horan’s comments afterwards suggested he thought so too.
“We came up a Tyrone team that are going well. Usually we figure it out during a game but we didn’t at all today.”
Mayo managed just two points from play from their starting six forwards against Tyrone last February and those points came from Lee Keegan and Jason Doherty who won’t even start in the forwards tomorrow.
When stitched to the statistic of only four points from the starting six forwards in last September’s All Ireland, a worrying trend emerges. Despite regularly dominating midfield, Mayo struggle to put scores on the board in really tight quarters when each ball delivered into the full forward line is contested with a manic intensity.
The notion that Tyrone will allow Seán Cavanagh waste his talents going toe-to-toe with Aidan O’Shea is fanciful, too. Would it surprise anyone if Conor Clarke or Joe McMahon gave the day horsing into the big Breaffy man allowing Cavanagh to roam with impunity, read the breaks, and to kick his scores coming, at speed, off the shoulder of his team-mates?
Tyrone may even concede the aerial battle to Aidan O’Shea as they did when playing Darragh Ó Sé and Kerry in 2003, 2005 and 2008. It is only when they turn to face the white shirts spread across the field, that teams then lose their way, either carrying the ball into the maelstrom or sending hopeful balls into the full-forward line who have to compete individually with three or four Tyrone defenders. We have to assume Mayo have improved in this regard and that their decision-making is better than it was before.
Of course, any rational analysis of current form would almost certainly predict Mayo winning by a good few points, but semi-finals rarely follow a rational course. Mayo see themselves as a team of winners who have been fortified by some sickening defeats. They don’t reflexively talk themselves down like so many teams out there at the moment, but by not doing so they leave themselves open to the suspicion that theirs is a manufactured and fragile confidence. Sometimes, such teams only learn enough about themselves when it’s too late.
We saw the Limerick hurlers, Mayo’s parallel GAA universe cousins, struggle last weekend to respond to adversity when things took an unexpected turn early on. Through no fault of their own, we still don’t know how Mayo would deal with a similar setback.
Perhaps before the year is out Mayo will silence the last of the unbelievers, but I’m with Tyrone on this one.
