Mayo come back with a bang

WOULD the six weeks off since the Roscommon defeat help or hinder Mayo?
Would it allow them to rest the bodies, give injuries time to heal and get back into their groove?
Or would the defeat plant seeds of doubt that championship was different gravy?
That the impressive league form was a bit illusory?
It was much more of the former. Mayo looked rejuvenated in Killarney. Never has defeat in the Connacht championship been less costly and Mayo wore any baggage from that defeat lightly.
Stephen Rochford noted on Saturday evening that the players were very aware of where they stood in the new structures and returned to training after the defeat ‘positive’ and ‘eager’.
It undoubtedly helped that Mayo had more players fit and well than in the Roscommon game.
Back came David McBrien, James Carr, Enda Hession and Sam Callinan.
Mayo looked fresher too than they did in that Connacht quarter-final. The discussion around this has been that it was hard for Mayo to recover from a league final win, mentally and physically, seven days later.
Absolutely, but what is often overlooked is that the Roscommon game was actually their fourth match in as many weeks.
The Monaghan game allowed Mayo’s management to rest players, but Stephen Coen, Mattie Ruane and Aidan O’Shea started all four games. That takes its toll.
When you look at the two benches in the Roscommon game and in Killarney, there’s no doubt that Mayo have a greater depth now too, with so many players back in action.
That squad depth will be of pronounced benefit in the coming weeks, once players remain injury free.
Speaking of squad depth, when we heard of the three changes to the Mayo starting team, one couldn’t help but wonder if Kevin McStay was holding something back.
The question was, to what end?
Were they holding back firepower for the second half?
Were they deliberately not showing a full hand for a possible second meeting down the road? And did that mean that Mayo were not approaching this game as a must-win?
Confirmation afterwards that Mayo did not feel Paddy Durcan, Stephen Coen and Fionn McDonagh, all returning from injury, had a full 70 minutes in them, brought clarity.
But add in the fact that Enda Hession, Tommy Conroy and Eoghan McLaughlin were not used to replace them hinted at Mayo holding back all the same – was it to finish strongly or playing a long game with the coming weeks ahead?
It’s hard to say, but it will be curious to see who starts and who is held back as we go on.
The Louth and Cork games have the potential to be tricky but also represent an opportunity to get football and match time into the legs of players like Durcan, Hession, Conroy et al.
When it comes down to it, Paddy Durcan will start for Mayo.
What of Enda Hession or Tommy Conroy?
Both are certainly good enough to start and are among Mayo’s best 15 players. How Mayo use them will be telling as to how important they think it is to finish with their strongest team as opposed to starting their strongest team.
It’s harder to make an argument for holding Hession in reserve. His ability to turn defence into attack is exceptional, seen when he faced down a Kerry press as Mayo laboured to build. Hession skipped by three players with speed and footwork and broke through to set up the score for Paddy Durcan on 66 minutes.
Kerry had the gap back to four and Mayo needed to respond. Hession did.
Watch it back. Look at the danger to Mayo when Hession got the ball and look at the danger to Kerry by the time he offloaded. Such a game changer is of huge worth and we saw how good he was at taking short kick-outs in the league and breaking through formidable pressure with his speed, fast feet and willingness to back himself.
Tommy Conroy has a lot of those qualities too.
He has been unfortunate in returning from injury to see so much competition in the full-forward line. Ryan O’Donoghue, James Carr and Aidan O’Shea have been very impressive this year. Cillian O’Connor too, prior to another injury setback.
O’Shea, in particular, Carr and O’Donoghue were superb on Saturday.
Conroy is probably suffering for the fact that, of all those inside men, he gives the most impact off the bench with his pace, power and direct running against flagging defenders.
So much will depend on the approach of management and what they consider most important.

Goal chances are telling
THE amount of goal chances created by both teams on Saturday was telling on a number of levels.
Mayo created five, scoring one, and Kerry created three, scoring none.
Firstly, it tells you how relatively open this game was. Gaps were there to be exposed and while both teams tried to get cover in place when they could, it was not at the expense of their own attacking play. Will it be as open in a straight knockout game? Unlikely.
That it took until Mayo’s fifth chance to find the net is a poor return by them.
Eoghan McLaughlin’s goal had one distinct difference from the previous – McLaughlin struck it low and hard.
Kerry goalkeeper Shane Ryan did well, but Mayo players just went to drill it with no subtlety.
The concession of three goal chances against a Kerry team looking to surge back into the game is not the worst thing in the world. Especially when all were created from little by the amazing David Clifford.
However, there’s no doubting that, prior to McLaughlin’s goal, you still felt Mayo looked vulnerable to a goal at the other end shifting the momentum entirely. It’s a fear you’d have for Mayo still, compared to other top teams, that susceptibility to such a sucker punch.
The concession of goal chances is a running theme when you assess the last four games.
They look tighter defensively compared to previous years, but an expansive approach up top is going to leave gaps.
Monaghan, Galway, Roscommon and Kerry all created plenty of goal chances.
Reducing the risk in this regard is a key focus for Mayo.
But, overall, this was a very big display from Mayo. It will fuel self-belief, in case the Roscommon game had diminished it. Mayo set the tone from the off and never trailed.
They were physical and fronted up.
Kerry’s set-up aided Mayo’s approach, but it was pleasing to see Mayo not allow any long, fallow gaps in this game, as has been their wont when going ahead against big teams.
They kept the scoreboard ticking over and played to their strengths when in front – staying on the front foot rather than trying to sit back too much.
Getting the balance between not conceding goal opportunities whilst maintaining your attacking threat is a balance Mayo must strike.
There’s a lot of water to go under the bridge yet, but this was as good a start as Mayo could have wished for.