Lion-hearted Mayo show their strength and weakness in Roscommon
Mayo manager Kevin McStay is interviewed at Dr Hyde Park in Roscommon. Pic: Ben McShane/Sportsfile
Don’t try to understand it. Feel it. Mayo’s capacity to excite and confound was on full display in Dr Hyde Park. There’ll be plenty of positives in their post-match review and they’ll struggle to make sense of how it came so close to slipping away in the end.
Somehow, a contest that they looked comfortable was suddenly struck with a sense of gnawing peril. Seconds before the clock ticked to 70 minutes, Mayo led by six points. Then Sam Callinan conceded a penalty and Conor Cox converted it.
Fergal Boland was sent off for a late and high hit on Ultan Harney. Daire Cregg pleaded for a second spot kick when his goal-bound shot hit Matthew Ruane’s foot. Donie Smith subsequently pointed. A dramatic finale concluded as Harney had one final kick to level it. He was off balance when he swung at the ball from the edge of the square and skied it over.
For the visitors, man of the match Eoghan McLaughlin and leading All-Star contender Ryan O’Donoghue led the way in a bright attacking performance. O’Donoghue won and finished the tie’s first penalty, leaving Roscommon manager Davy Burke incensed at the number of steps he took before the call. They were level 0-8 apiece at the turnaround, but Mayo left a stack of scores behind them. Their first half conversion rate was 47%.
Aidan O’Shea and Cillian O’Connor started together and both had their moments, the former thundering through the Roscommon defence before Darren McHale was fouled for an O’Donoghue free. O’Connor meanwhile started the second half by picking up some grass while the ball was on the other side to test the wind. When it returned to his side, he sized up the posts and split them with a long-range beauty.
Matthew Ruane and Tommy Conroy had goal chances of their own in the second half, Ruane blasted it at Conor Carroll. Substitute Conroy played it safe with a fisted point. All good, not great.
The thing is that the county has resided in a strange place over the past few weeks. At this very ground after the Connacht semi-final, their manager pleaded with the famous fans to bring the ‘Mayo roar’ back after its evident diminishing. Just 8,597 turned up in Dr Hyde Park to watch this All-Ireland SFC Round 2 clash.
It follows a 9,117 turnout at their last home championship game. Much of that is of course a reflection of a refusal to embrace the new format as well as contributing factors like a cost-of-living crisis. But the bandwagon that is still in operation elsewhere has stalled in Mayo. The simple reason is that supporters crave silverware. Right now, they see no realistic prospect of securing it.
Several have offered reasons why. Wicklow manager Oisín McConville, who was part of Ray Dempsey’s rival ticket to Kevin McStay’s, declared they were “set up really poorly,” after the Connacht final. Injuries have been costly.
Their two most important players, Paddy Durcan and Diarmuid O’Connor, missed the game entirely. Captain Durcan is out for the season with an ACL injury and Mayo’s management said they were yet to scan O’Connor’s “tricky” hamstring issue.
The summer’s fare looks destined to be defined by availability, as it often is in reality. Mayo’s underlining issue is a lack of top-tier quality. They are a ferociously committed side who remain admirably determined in everything they do. They are a limited team too.
Jack Carney and Matthew Ruane lined out in midfield and scored one point from five shots between them. McStay’s delight at the performance of McLaughlin stemmed from the fact that all the work they have done on his “decision-making” finally paid off. He is an immense athlete, yet that work was necessary. Their defence has improved from the Connacht final with Rory Brickenden out for the last two games and Padraig O’Hora starting on Saturday. Donnacha McHugh did a terrific job limiting Enda Smith once again.
The 2023 All-Star kicked one superb point in the first half, however, McHugh punched in a late goal thanks to an O’Donoghue break and Smith limped off with a lower leg injury before the final whistle.
Mayo haven’t had an All-Star since 2021. The last time they went two successive seasons without that accolade was 2009-2010.
When the insightful Stats and Solos X account ran a Player Power Rankings earlier this year there was only one Mayo player in the top 30. That was the now ruled out Durcan. A simple metric, sure, but a hindering one all the same. As a group they remain admirable in their determination to give their all every day. Dublin isn’t a knockout match, but it is a glorious opportunity to prove that considerable effort can still be enough.
C Cox (1-4, 1-0 pen, 3 frees, 0-1 mark), D Murtagh (0-2, frees), D Smith (0-2), R Dolan, C Lennon, D Cregg, C Carroll (45), E Smith, K Doyle, Harney (0-1 each).
R O’Donoghue (1-4, 1-0 pen, 2 frees), D McHugh (1-0), E McLaughlin (0-3), D McHale (0-2), J Flynn (0-2), M Ruane, C O’Connor, T Conroy (0-1 each).
: C Carroll; D Murray, B Stack, N Higgins; N Daly, R Dolan, E McCormack; T O’Rourke, C Hand; E Smith, D Smith, C Lennon; C Cox, D Cregg, D Murtagh.
: K Doyle for Hand (half-time), D Ruane for Lennon (44), U Harney for O’Rourke (53), R Fallon for Daly (55), S Cunnane for Dolan (64).
: C Reape; J Coyne, P O’Hora, S Callinan; S Coen, D McBrien, D McHugh; J Carney, M Ruane; E McLaughlin, R O’Donoghue, J Flynn; D McHale, A O’Shea, C O’Connor.
: C Loftus for McBrien (half-time), T Conroy for O’Connor (54), F Boland for O’Shea (61), B Tuohy for McLaughlin (70).
: F Boland (70).
: B Cassidy (Derry)
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