Mayo will bring youthful zest and sprinkle of stardust to final

ICING: Mayo's Conor Loftus celebrates scoring his side’s third goal in their comprehensive All-Ireland SFC semi-final win over Louth at Croke Park. Pic: Tom O’Hanlon, Inpho

All-Ireland SFC semi-final: Mayo 3-23 (3-4-15) Louth 0-15 (0-4-7)

Before “The Green and Red of Mayo” was prematurely played over the Croke Park PA system, supporters in the upper deck of the Hogan Stand had begun belting out The Saw Doctors’ tune.

Their people on Hill 16 followed suit and while the chorus was out of sync it was special. A rare moment of in-game euphoria for the county.

Mayo have won plenty of All-Ireland semi-finals with plenty to spare. In 2013 against Tyrone, ’16 against Tipperary and perhaps ’17 against Kerry (supporters weren’t there in 2020), they had plenty of reason to be cheerful before the final whistle. 

But none as emphatic as this.

If All-Ireland semi-finals are only for winning, Mayo didn’t get the memo. Boy was Ryan O’Donoghue determined to kick over that last two-point free amid the celebratory commotion as the hooter sounded and his team-mates danced in off the sideline.

That single-mindedness from their man of the match and genuine footballer the year candidate will serve him and others well ahead of a final that at the 12th time of asking the county will hope to win on July 26.

“Have hope” is what a victorious Wicklow captain Dean Healy had advised from the rostrum of the Hogan Stand earlier on Saturday. Maybe a renewed sense of it is all Mayo needs to break what has become one of sport’s greatest hoodoos.

Afterwards, Andy Moran took umbrage at our question about what he thought the build-up in Mayo might be. 

As David Brady correctly highlighted in these pages last week, the support has not been the same since 2021, a day that genuinely felt like it was going to be theirs.

The forthcoming final will feel nothing of the sort. Mayo will be considered also-rans, making up the numbers, perennial bridesmaids and a large reason for that will be history.

They can be anything but with an inside full-forward line that has score 4-43 from play in their five All-Ireland series games – will they ever have as electric a trio again – and as ravenous as they were in Louth’s half of the field in the second half on Saturday.

Mayo has never been a laughing matter in this quarter. In saying that, Moran is right to lean into that siege mentality. But does he have enough of his own people believing the same as he? For all the Mayo cheer that enveloped Croke Park on this balmy evening, that is not certain.

Moran’s old mentor James Horan spoke before of “a sense of anxiety” after the current manager scored a 50th minute goal to level the 2013 All-Ireland final.

What happened against Tyrone four years ago severed part of the connection between the team and supporters. Hearts had been broken into far too many pieces.

And yet, to quote Tom Morrissey from 2018 when Limerick removed their own albatross of 45 years, this current group may not be “burdened by past lives”. 

 They are young, they play free and they sure seem happy.

On Sunday week, they are likely to start with a team that has two players that began the 2021 final – Stephen Coen and Ryan O’Donoghue. Another six are on the bench but only three of them were used against Louth.

To push away from the past and compete in the present, Moran is clearly embracing the future. Three of his starters – Kobe McDonald, Darragh Beirne and Eoin McGreal – weren’t born when he came off the bench against Kerry in the 2004 All-Ireland final.

Each was lauded by Moran, especially McDonald. O’Donoghue’s 1-11 was masterful but McDonald wasn’t far behind as Mayo’s best player. 

“Oisín (Mullin) is a tiny bit different – he’s a defender and he’d take you out of the game and he’s that burst going forward,” said Moran. “The two that I've seen like that are Pearce Hanley and Kobe.

“Let's be honest, they're generational talents. You're going to watch a guy, Ciaran Kilkenny playing for Dublin, who went over for a month or two and came back a couple of months later and played against us in 2012 in an All-Ireland semi-final.

“Of course, these boys bring something different. The Aussies aren't after them because they're average players. They're after them because they're the best.

“He (McDonald) went through on goal in the last minute against Cork. I tried to tell him to hit it over the bar, but there was no chance. He's just his own guy.

“Stevie (Coen) would tell you there, you wouldn't even know he's around the place until he puts on the pink boots and starts playing a bit of football. He’s just quite a humble young man. He plays with that kind of 18-year-old freedom.

“We have a few of them in terms of Eoin (McGreal) would have the same sort of, I suppose, quietness, but when he plays, he plays differently. He'd play a bit like Keith Higgins and these guys. So, when these guys come along, they absolutely elevate everyone around the place.” 

McDonald weaves such wizardry that even the most shattered of Mayo people may begin to believe. 

They led this semi-final by four points at the break – 2-9 to 0-11 – after O’Donoghue and Beirne goals. Their unanswered run of 2-7 across the two halves, Louth going 28 minutes without a score, was crucial to the victory.

A Conor Loftus goal in the 50th minute, set up by another substitute Tommy Conroy who along with O’Donoghue had goal openings beforehand put Mayo 12 up, confirming a result that what most had suspected as Louth were pinned in their own half.

Louth manager Gavin Devin could only pay tribute to Mayo. 

“That is a new game now. You've got to bring that to the top level. Quickly they can transition that ball through the foot. They could have scored five more goals today, moving that ball through the foot. 

"To get to the next level, you've got to be prepared to do that. You can't constantly run the ball. You want to score majors.” 

Mayo are packing that punch. No team has ever won an All-Ireland having lost twice. But then few counties will be as dismissed as they will be entering a final. There are worse places to be.

Scorers for Mayo: R. O’Donoghue (1-11, 1tp, 2 tp frees, 0-2 frees, 0-1 mark); D. Beirne (1-2, 0-1 free); K. McDonald (0-4); C. Loftus (1-0); J. Flynn (1tp), C. McHale (0-2 each); P. Towey, M. Ruane (0-1 each).

Scorers for Louth: C. Downey (0-6, 2 tps); C. Grimes (0-4, 1tp); S. Mulroy (0-2, 1 tp free); D. McDonnell, C. Keenan, T. Durnin (0-1 each).

MAYO: J. Livingstone; J. Coyne (c), E. McGreal, D. McHugh; S. Coen, E. Hession, D. McBrien; B. Tuohy, J. Carney; S. Callinan, J. Flynn, K. McDonald; D. Beirne, R. O’Donoghue, P. Towey.

Subs for Mayo: T. Conroy for P. Towey (h-t); C. Loftus for S. Coen (42); C. McHale for D. Beirne (50); F. Kelly for E. McGreal (55); M. Ruane for J. Flynn (62).

LOUTH: N. McDonnell; D. McKenny, E. Carolan, D. Nally; C. McKeever, C. Downey, C. Lennon; C. Early, D. McDonnell; J. Maguire, S. Mulroy (c), C. Grimes; C. Keenan, K. McArdle, R. Burns.

Subs for Louth: T. McDonnell for C. Lennon (inj 23); C. Byrne for C. Keenan (40); T. Durnin for J. Maguire (46); C. McCaul for C. Grimes (53); A. Williams for C. McKeever (62).

Referee: D. Coldrick (Meath).