Mayo manager relieved after close win over Louth

They had been cavalier in Killarney playing flowing, front-foot football.

On Sunday, Mayo came home to Castlebar and the result matched the playing surface, patchy, earthy and a bit untidy, yet good enough to get the job done.

One statistic stands out when a quick analysis of the game is surveyed. Mayo gave the ball away 18 times in the course of the day — all 18 were unforced errors. That said a lot about the home side’s performance under the cloudless skies of the county’s capital.

However, the primary objective - victory - had been achieved and when Kevin McStay spoke to the media after the game, he was realistic and relieved.

“We went after the two points hard because that’s all that was on offer for us,” he reasoned.

“I thought we got ourselves into a good position, five points up in injury-time. I thought we’d manage that out better. But the goal put it all back in the melting pot.

“But the focus we had – and this is being absolutely truthful about it – was there were two points up for grabs. If we got a great performance, fantastic. But the two points were the key part of it.

“And we got them the hard way, but thankfully we got them.”

The Ballina man also had high praise for Louth despite an ultra-defensive set-up that led to an unexciting spectacle for the 11,347 supporters..

“That was not a challenge that surprised us” he reflected.

“That’s what we got ready for. Louth set up very, very well. They were really, really hard to break down with the amount of patience that’s required. You know the crowd gets a bit anxious with that. We were trying to make sure that we stayed patient and, for the most part, we did. We stayed patient, we got some good scores off it.

“But you know Louth played really, really well. I spoke to Mickey (Harte) afterwards and it was a right contest. Even when we looked like getting the gap, it was still a contest because Louth never stopped playing, but ultimately we’re just thrilled with the two points.”

Sunday’s win ensured that Mayo will progress to the next phase of the competition. However, his side will need a draw or a win next time out against Cork to secure a route straight to the quarter finals and McStay was adamant that victory will be the only objective.

“We need to go out and look at it like we did this game, what’s on offer – two points” he said. “One point would get it done. But this is Gaelic football, it’s not a soccer match where you can play for the draw. I don’t think it works like that.

“It’s another massive challenge. Cork beat Louth in their first round game and look at the job Louth did here today. People can stack these things linearly. Ah sure look that’s a handy game for Mayo… that’s just not the way it is.

“The coaching of these teams has made it quite level. And when you don’t execute as cleanly as you wanted to and the game stays tight, it’s never simple. So we’ll be looking at Cork full-on again now with a view to getting a big performance. I think we’re in a decent place now as we approach the end of the round robin.”

Finally, the winning manager allayed any fears that Diarmuid O’Connor might have suffered a season-threatening injury. The Ballintubber man had been due to start against Mickey Harte’s team, but was a late withdrawal, spreading fear that the midfielder might have suffered a serious setback in training.

However, McStay re-assured supporters.

“No, he just got a knock that they’re having a look at, but we’re happy that’s it not too serious. It’s not a long-term thing.”

McStay was then asked about the other O’Connor brother, Cillian, who is still recovering from an injury picked up in the Connacht Championship against Roscommon.

“Cillian could have almost played today, but it’s our judgement and the medical judgement that he’s not quite there yet.”