Tactics Watch
Austin Garvin examines what the sidelines came up with
LAST Sunday’s Connacht final was in many ways a mirror image of the meeting between Mayo and Galway in Pearse Stadium last season. On that occasion, the Mayo defence was torn apart early on, and in the process conceded two goals that set the pattern for the game.
Galway played into the strong breeze in the first half on Sunday and targeted the Mayo full-back line. Kieran Conroy was under pressure from the word go as Nicky Joyce unsettled the Shrule man with his pace and direct running style. Pádraic Joyce was the conductor-in-chief as he made all the right decisions as well as scoring the first goal. When the Mayo defence have a look at the replay, they’ll wonder how three of them allowed him to swivel off his left foot without blocking his attempt.
When a Mayo forward lost possession needlessly in Galway’s half it led to a second goal, scored by Fiachra Breathnach on 28 minutes. It was at that point that Mayo made a double substitution, which saw Peadar Gardiner and Aidan Higgins coming on for Conroy and Colm Boyle. But at that stage the damage was already done. Galway held a commanding lead and would have the assistance of the breeze in the second half. The switch had an immediate affect, as Gardiner and Higgins settled quickly into the game and gave Mayo an assurance that removed the uncertainty that was there previously.
Mayo had earlier suffered a mortal blow as they lost Trevor Mortimer to a hamstring injury. Mortimer had started well, and Mayo would have expected him to win a lot of the breaks at midfield. This would have helped to deny Galway, particular Pádraic Joyce, primary possession. But Galway will retort that they too were unlucky to lose Mathew Clancy who was shaping up well but failed to appear after the break.
Mayo were a transformed team in the second half and played some great football. The use of Andy Moran as a third midfielder helped to gain valuable possession. Aidan Kilcoyne (who had come on for Trevor Mortimer) and Billy Joe Padden (who had replaced an off-form Austin O’Malley) played well when introduced. Kilcoyne caused the outstanding Finian Hanley some problems that he hadn’t countered earlier with his strength and directness.
Mayo’s midfield failed to replicate their form of the Sligo game, though Ronan McGarrity did a lot of good work in the second half, with Tom Parsons effective without getting on the ball too often. Barry Cullinane was the outstanding figure in this area, but he was lucky to remain on the field after a high tackle on Aidan Higgins when he had already received a yellow card.
Given Mayo’s dominance in the second half, and the fact that they took the lead at a crucial stage, one would have to question why they couldn’t or didn’t win from there. Mayo require a lot of ball to win and it was no different on Sunday. Yet Pádraic Joyce, who was quiet for at least 20 second half minutes, had a lethal effect on the game when he got possession. David Heaney played well in an overall context, but what was required for Joyce was a tight marker whose concentration was total.
James Nallen was again excellent, and perhaps now is the time to consider him for full-back in the short-term. Alan Dillon was absolutely brilliant, and his class was apparent from start to finish. Pat Harte and Conor Mortimer did quite well despite the fact that Diarmuid Blake and Damien Burke were amongst Galway’s best players.
Mayo finished with a stronger team than what they started with. As they focus on the qualifiers, hopefully the lessons learned from the defeat will be used to good effect.
