McGrath backs Mourne men to combat fatigue factor

DOWN’s U-21 football schedule is hectic enough these days, without breathless finishes being factored into the equation.

In Wednesday night’s Ulster decider the Mourne men needed some injury-time heroism to salvage the spoils, Conor Poland flashing in a late goal that enabled them to pip Armagh by a point. Yet despite the odds tipping against them under the Casement Park floodlights, Pete McGrath never felt his Down side’s chances of success had been killed off.

“I didn’t think it was gone from us. This side had been in that position before, coming behind against Tyrone in the semi-final to win. So I never lost hope, even when Armagh were ahead on Wednesday. But it was a really marvellous game of football with a relentless pace. No team had supremacy in it for very long.”

Now Down have to park that lingering euphoria and ready themselves for an All-Ireland semi-final joust with Mayo this afternoon. McGrath’s football involvement stretches back over several years, but encountering critical matches within days of each other is a unique experience for him to deal with.

“It’d be new ground for anyone or any team manger. It isn’t ideal, but no-one sustained any injuries on Wednesday night. It’s just a case of the lads resting now and trying to get the energy levels back up. But we’re glad to be in this place and I believe momentum is a great thing. The players are young and full of enthusiasm. So I wouldn’t worry about their ability to play against Mayo.”

One of the interested spectators in Casement Park was Noel Connelly and the Mayo boss departed Belfast having seen plenty weapons in Down’s arsenal that impressed him. Despite the short timeframe that Down face, Connelly refuses to believe that will detract from their challenge.

“I wouldn’t like to have two games in four days myself. That’s down to Ulster Council, for whatever reason the game wasn’t played until this week. But young lads, they recover fast. They wouldn’t have gone out or anything like that on Wednesday night, and that’s not going to go any way against them.

“They looked a very strong team, in what was an exceptional game of football. I thought when Armagh went ahead, Down kept calm and they kept going for their points. They’re very strong around midfield as well.”

Connelly was at the helm when Mayo swept to national honours in 2006 and he is hopeful that this batch of U21’s can return to the final stage.

The outcome of this match is largely going to hinge on what extent Wednesday’s Ulster success has sapped Down’s reserves. It may affect them but Pete McGrath’s theory that they can feed off the momentum derived from beating Armagh also holds some weight.

In addition, some of Down’s players have already been coping adeptly with a packed agenda of late. Peter Fitzpatrick and Paul McComiskey were both immersed in senior action, while Wednesday’s goalscoring hero Conor Poland and fellow attacker Paul Devlin were central to St Malachy’s (Castlewellan) All-Ireland Vocational SFC success last weekend.

Down still look capable of surmounting the freshness hurdle, but they are coming up against a Mayo side who have cut an impressive path through the Connacht arena. They displayed resilience in narrowly edging out Galway and Roscommon before comfortably dismantling Sligo in the semi-final by twelve points.

Mayo’s livewire attackers Jason Doherty and Mikey Sweeney have impressed of late, while Kevin Keane and Donal Vaughan are fronting the defensive effort. Midfield is a key area of strength for Mayo, with senior duo Tom Parsons and teenage star Aidan O’Shea in terrific form of late. Mayo do have injury doubts in Kevin McLoughlin (groin) and Neil Douglas (hamstring), while Cathal Freeman is definitely out with a quad injury.

Both sides have taken notable scalps to date, Tyrone and Armagh fancied their chances in Ulster, while Galway and Roscommon were eyeing up Connacht. In that sense Mayo and Down are worthy protagonists at this stage. All-Ireland semi-final losses last year will fuel both teams motivation levels, yet if Parsons and O’Shea strike form then Mayo can advance.

Verdict: Mayo