Mayo young guns face Shamrock Rovers

MAYO’s fledgling Under-21 soccer team have been dealt a hammer blow as Paul Walsh has been ruled out for the rest of the season.
The Castlebar Celtic winger sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury last week that will see him sidelined for several months.
Mayo Under-21 manager Joe Kelly confirmed the news to The Mayo News ahead of his side’s clash with Shamrock Rovers tomorrow (Saturday) at 2pm at Milebush Park in Castlebar.
Kelly’s charges come into the game on the back of a maiden voyage which ended in a 4-0 home defeat to Galway United.
Another home game beckons in the latest in a series of challenge matches for this experimental side, which is composed of 30 players mostly from Super League clubs.
Bar Paul Walsh, Kelly expects to have a full complement to pick from when ‘Rovers come to Milebush on Saturday.
“Their Under-19s would always be in the elite stage of the U-19 Airtricity [League of Ireland]. They’ll be coming down with a very strong group,” Kelly said of Shamrock Rovers, who have some international players in their ranks.
Due to existing club commitments, the Mayo Under-21 squad have been training collectively once a week.
Kelly said that his side have mainly focused on tactics and defensive strategies since the defeat to Galway United.
“We want to see ourselves building our own game plan. It’s not just a case of curtailing the opposition,” added the Westport United clubman.
“We want to start getting a hold of the ball, holding it for longer periods and creating more chances. It’s just a matter of watching each player.
“We just want guys more comfortable in possession. We want them more aware of where they have to be when we don’t have the ball and just building a platform so we’re becoming more and more of a team in every game we play.”