The voice coming over the speakers was convincing nobody.
As this All-Ireland qualifier ground to its inevitable conclusion the public announcer kept reminding the spectators that they were to stay off the pitch as it was being preserved for Sunday’s Connacht SFC final replay.
He might as well have been saying: “Please stay off the grass folks, YOUR grass, as we want it to be a perfect surface for the two showers playing for your Nestor Cup.”
It was only going to go one way.
— GAA JOE (@GAA__JOE) July 16, 2016
Mayo do not want to be in these qualifiers. It is the road less travelled and it was almost a short trip when they took a half of football to get into the game against Fermanagh here last week.
Having manoeuvred for new management, a second round qualifier exit would have been catastrophic for this team and Stephen Rochford. The thought of it seems to have made them angry,
You wouldn’t like Mayo when they’re angry (unless you’re a neutral or from Mayo, in which case you’d bloody love them).
Keep an eye on these O’Connor boys – the brothers who have pretty much made the Young Footballer of the Year gong a fixture on their mantelpiece at home in Ballintubber the past three years. Between them they scored Mayo’s first five scores, showing themselves to be the sharp end of a Mayo attack that bared its teeth here in the first half.
Fair to say @KildareGAA have more experience of the qualifiers than their hosts @MayoGAA pic.twitter.com/LRlslNKu9R
— Mikey Stafford (@me_stafford) July 16, 2016
As beautiful (and they really were beautiful) as Diarmuid’s first three points were they did not compare to his goal – a mazy dribble through the Kildare defence that he finished with a low and slow shot under Mark Donnellan.
The wing-forward had no right to even consider a shot when he gathered the ball on the right flank, but he eyed up the white wall in front of him and plotted a course through them. He jinked left, he jinked right, he showed poise and power before forcing the ball home.
It was a beautiful goal, the crowning glory of a first half that saw Mayo regain some of their old snarl, their old swagger and their old drive.
Every underage coach you ever had told you that the ball travels faster through the air than you can ever run, and Mayo’s kick-passing with the wind at their backs in Castlebar was a joy to behold.
They played the ball quickly and they played it accurately into a full-forward line, who more often than not started close to the endline so they could make a quick, surging run to collect a pass that,more often than not, bounced once and into their chest.
Evan Regan had six shots in the first half, scoring 1-3 and kicking two wides – he also dribbled one ball over the endline.
Mayo’s first three points (two for Diarmuid from play and one free from Cillian) came directly from Andy Moran – recalled after a superb cameo against Fermanagh – winning possession from a long pass into space in the corner.
Regan’s third point came from sweeper Kevin McLoughlin breaking forward and playing a heart-breaker of a pass crossfield to the lively Ballina attacker.
Short, squat and powerful, Regan is the archetypal forward for this Mayo team, who look pissed off to be taking the backdoor route after relinquishing their Connacht title with a meek semi-final defeat to Galway.
They kicked their way through Kildare here and when they couldn’t they ran straight at them. They had two penalty shouts in the first half that Derek O’Mahoney waved away, the second one in particular, which saw a free out awarded after Diarmuid was dragged down, seemed a sure thing.
But they didn’t need any help from the referee this week. They led by nine points at the break, thanks to an unanswered 2-3 before the break.
They were losing a lot of possession around the middle of the field as Tommy Moolick and Kevin Feely benefitted from the absence of Tom Parsons. However Mayo achieved a high number of turnovers thanks to the work of Lee Keegan, Keith Higgins and the non-stop industry of Colm Boyle.
The centre-back’s block on Cathal McNally early in the second half was a sight to behold, his black card tackle on Fergal Conway displayed the Davitts man’s will to win.
You haven't breathed in real passion, says @ConanDoherty, until you've witnessed @MayoGAA fans at MacHale Park https://t.co/j6qaQSWCeO
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) July 16, 2016
Some called it cynical, Cian O’Neill afterwards called it tactical. Either way Boyle knew exactly what he was doing – he was walking off the pitch before O’Mahoney had even reached into his pocket.
As he walked he was afforded a standing ovation by the majority of the 14,557 in attendance. They may have scored 2-14 from play and cut Kildare open with some lightning fast running football, but the Castlebar crowd still love a bit of bite and bollocks.
They love Colm Boyle.
They also love Aidan O’Shea who, after a difficult week, found himself spending the second half of the game playing in the Mayo defence – the only square the big Breaffy man was standing on the edge of was the Mayo one as he did a stint at full-back after Kevin Keane was withdrawn.
Mostly though he played as a second sweeper alongside Kevin McLoughlin. The wing-forward is a surprising choice to play as the extra man in defence but he was frequently in the right place to tidy up loose ball.
At times Mayo seem to have it all mixed up. Keith Higgins surging forward and kicking ugly wides, Diarmuid coming back to collect kick-outs, his brother floating around the middle third for much of the second half and Aidan O’Shea in the full-back line.
But on Saturday night it worked because they had quality all over the field and, until the game petered out in the latter stages, they were playing a direct attacking game.
A game everyone seemed comfortable playing.
Galway, Kerry and Tyrone have used the qualifiers to hone an All-Ireland title-winning team. Mayo have come agonisingly close taking the straightest possible route.
They don’t look like All-Ireland winners yet but they look like contenders. Pissed off contenders.
https://soundcloud.com/user-787320910/the-gaa-hour-with-colm-parkinson-new-donegal-and-dubs-versus-the-spread
