Mayo to put down a marker

It’s likely Conor Mortimer’s departure from the Mayo panel this past week will have an impact, be it good or bad, on the team tomorrow afternoon.

Mortimer has several friends in the panel and he is understood to be one of a number of players frustrated with James Horan’s youth policy. The fact remains that same policy has served Horan reasonably well these past 12 months or so and he won’t be sacrificing it all now.

Competition for places in the Mayo forward line increased this year and has been the one area where outside of custodians Alan Dillon, Andy Moran and Kevin McLoughlin there has been a lot of personnel fluctuation.

Mortimer would have been called on in the second-half tomorrow but clearly was not satisfied with such a cameo role.

In what should be a tighter game than what most are expecting, his absence could be keenly felt.

Although, if Enda Varley or Jason Doherty manage to bag a goal, it would certainly show up some of Thursday’s statement by Mortimer’s family.

The timing of the player’s exit is unfortunate and hasn’t done Mayo any favours. However, the spine of the team looks good, Barry Moran is in form although Aidan O’Shea’s aggression will be missed in a game like this.

Donal Vaughan gives that necessary bit of needle to the Mayo outfit although his priority will be ensuring the feed inside to dangermen Adrian Marren and David Kelly is in short supply.

In fairness, Sligo’s win over Galway was out of the blue. Their league form didn’t point towards it although having Kelly back certainly made a difference.

Mayo have greater designs than winning Connacht titles but if they don’t win tomorrow it will be a structural blow to what Horan is attempting to do.

A second successive Connacht title will be a statement of their intent and cement themselves as a top five team.

Verdict: Mayo