Fifth semi for Mayo is ‘satisfying’

Satisfying, said Keith Higgins. Not exhilarating, not life-changing, but satisfying.

It is a word that summed up Mayo’s latest step on the road to September and that reflected just how consistent they have been. Higgins has ten years in the senior ranks. He managed just one All-Ireland semi-final in his first five and didn’t even make the last eight in three of those campaigns. Now, here he is in a fifth semi-final in as many seasons.

No-one will remember that in the years to come. All this comprehensive defeat of Donegal has earned them is a shot at the all-powerful Dubs.

The road remains arduous.

“Who else do you want to be playing?” said the Mayo captain. “We’re playing one of the biggest teams, and at Croke Park it’s going to be as close as possible to a full house, so that’s where you want to be. There’s no other way to describe it.”

Mayo enter that tie in fine fettle, having scored two goals against a Donegal team that had conceded just one in five previous outings, and having kept a clean sheet themselves, after allowing Galway and Sligo to pilfer a pair each.

It was a salutary lesson to the many sides who have found it impossible to lock their own doors and, at the same time, pick the lock to the opposition’s defence, what with Colm Boyle staying put and Barry Moran joining him, at times, for extra protection. The result was extra licence to roam forward for Higgins and, in particular, Lee Keegan, which the pair did to wonderful effect.

But Higgins said this was not some masterplan worked on rigorously for months in training. “We did a bit of it the last couple of weeks, nothing too major,” said the Ballyhaunis defender. “Barry’s a smart player. You go through things a few times and he knows where he has to go. It’s not like we were sticking rigidly to it (a set strategy). You had to play it as you saw it and it worked out well.”

It wasn’t a victory that came without a price, however.

Kevin Keane’s straight red, for a swipe at Michael Murphy, disqualifies him from the semi-final and constricts Mayo’s options in the full-back line, while injuries may also restrict selection.

Goalkeeper David Clarke was replaced by Rob Hennelly at half-time, due to an abductor injury, while defender Tom Cunniffe made way shortly before half-time with a hamstring complaint.

The extent of the damage in both cases will become apparent this week, although Mayo are hopeful that the knee injury for which Barry Moran come off late in the second-half is merely a minor matter.