Seán Rice
AS minors they freed Mayo from a football quagmire almost three decades old. Now, they are being asked to come again to the county’s rescue, this time to bring to an end ten years of under-21 failure.
If anyone can do it, they can. Not just because they stalled Dublin’s underage bandwagon, rolling on it seemed towards invincibility, but because of the character they showed in ditching the Dubs.
Despite their dramatic win over Roscommon in the Connacht final, we had to wait for the All-Ireland semi-final to fully appreciate the traits that have distinguished the underage careers of this Mayo bunch.
Nine of their All-Ireland-winning minor side contributed to the drama of their contest with Dublin two weeks ago. We had given up hope for them halfway through the second half when an interval lead of six points had become a shortfall of four, and calamity seemed inevitable.
We should not have doubted their mettle, and we won’t disbelieve when they line out in Cusack Park, Ennis, on Saturday to assume an even greater task against Munster champions Cork in the final.
They won’t have had time to enjoy the pleasure that a victory over Dublin, in particular, engenders because Cork looked even more imposing in their win over Monaghan. And Mayo have got to iron out the imperfections that the ecstasy of their semi-final may have concealed.
Not that they would have underestimated Cork in any case. They don’t do complacency.
They don’t fool themselves into thinking that the next game is already won. They will have analysed that spell of inadequacy that allowed Dublin to command the exchanges for more than a quarter of an hour, when Mayo lost control in vital sectors, and the balance shifted.
That won’t have slipped Cork’s notice.
Beaten by Roscommon two years ago and in the provincial final last season, the Munster champs are determined to clinch this year’s title by concentrating on Mayo’s tender spots.
Their scoreline in the semi-final bears a staggering statistic in that every one of their total of 2-15 came from play. Not one point from a free. From all angles they picked off points, most of them from the boots of Seán O’Donoghue, Seán Powter, Ryan Harkin and man of the match Michael Hurley.
Hurley at corner forward was imperious, and said afterwards that what he liked best was to get a bit of space and take on his man. Brian Coakley in the other corner had a huge advantage in height, and at centre forward, Powter’s searing pace opened up the Monaghan defence with ease leading to Cork’s first goal.
O’Connor will be a marked man
THEIR defence has not been Mayo’s strongest sector, especially their full-backs, who shipped some punishment from Roscommon and Dublin. They have not yet met a combined forward line that can kick so accurately at speed. Yet it is an indication of their unflappability that against Roscommon when pressure was greatest, the full-back line of Eoin O’Donoghue, Seamus Cunniffe and David Kenny held their nerve.
In the semi-final, much of the pressure was soaked up by the resilience of half-backs Michael Plunkett, Michael Hall and Shairoze Akram, but against Cork they may need the assistance of a sweeper to hold steady against the combined force of the Rebel forwards.
It might help, too, if goalkeeper Mattie Flanagan entrusted his midfielders to win kick-outs. Short deliveries give me the creeps especially when, whatever benefit comes from them, is cancelled by fast, vigilant forwards. Flanagan is a good keeper, but one wonders is Stephen Cluxton too much of an influence nowadays.
There is no ambiguity about the importance of the work of midfielders Matthew Ruane and Stephen Coen. They dovetail impressively and much of Mayo’s stability and attacking flair hinges on their distribution. Play seemed to have bypassed them for a while in the semi-final. But the flash of brilliance with which Ruane engineered the levelling point lit up the whole team.
Diarmuid O’Connor will be a marked man on Saturday. All opposition is now aware of his enormous capacity for work. Cork will employ every possible artifice to rein him in.
In doing so, other Mayo strong points might be overlooked, and it’s up to O’Connor’s colleagues to make hay while the sun shines, to avail of Cork’s concentration on the Ballintubber man to make their own presence felt, and to leave the opposition with something to think about.
O’Connor apart, there is a capacity in the Mayo forward line to be more penetrative than they have been.
Conor Loftus is creative, Fergal Boland tenacious, and in Liam Irwin, Brian Reape, Fionán Duffy, a physically strong front line. Subs James Carr and James Kelly have seriously increased the productivity of the unit, and will be vital to Saturday’s outcome.
Ennis is restricted, not the most ideal of grounds for speedy wingers.
Could be though that for a change it might suit Mayo, in the greater cramping effect it may have on Cork’s speedy forwards, providing Mayo’s backs with a better chance of closing them down.
Cork is not like anything Mayo have met in the campaign so far.
But the same could be said about Roscommon and Dublin, and Mayo found a way around them. It will take all of their conviction, their belief, their inventiveness to grind out the county’s fifth title on Saturday. But they are a can-do squad and I expect them to succeed.
