Mayo ambitions hindered by rescheduled tie

With a yawning break of 11 weeks between their last round game and Connacht semi-final, it’s competitive games Mayo want — and badly.

Of course, that gap could be reduced by a week were they to finish in the top four of Allianz Division 1 and reach a semi-final.

But their task has been made all the more difficult by the rescheduling of their home game against Dublin for March 31, meaning this Saturday’s trip to Armagh is their first of six league fixtures in as many weeks.

Factoring in the U21s’ Connacht FC match with Galway on March 14, the like of last year’s young footballer of the year Cillian O’Connor could have seven games in six weeks.

The 19-year-old recognises the overload of games now being put on Mayo is not going to be easy and the team can kiss goodbye to any hard training sessions for the duration.

“Yeah, it’s going to be tricky. With the Dublin match put back to March 31, it’s going to be a long run.

“It’ll be difficult with training, we’ll have to be careful not to cause any injuries. But we get to mix it with the best — Armagh, Kerry and Dublin.

“We want to go as far as we can. We want a winning mentality. Our first round isn’t until mid-June so we want to get as much game time as we can.”

Meanwhile, Mayo dual star Keith Higgins looks set to miss the rest of the Allianz Hurling League campaign due to his football commitments.

Higgins scored 10 points for Mayo as they got their NHL Division 2B season off to a flying start by beating Roscommon last Sunday.

However, he has been forced to choose between the two county squads after a series of fixture clashes emerged for four weekends next month.

“It’s a pity it happens but I’m well used to it at this stage,” explained the Ballyhaunis clubman.

“It’s been a lifetime problem for me but, this year, thankfully, James (Horan) and Murt (Connolly) sat down at the beginning of the year and agreed I would play football if the two clashed.”