Gardiner hails heart and character after first win as Mayo U-20 boss

IN many ways, this game was a complete inversion of Peadar Gardiner’s first championship game as Mayo U-20 manager.

In the Hyde against Roscommon, they were brilliant for the first 20 minutes and out-of-sorts after that.

The opposite was the case in their latest outing.

“I think we just lacked a bit of composure in the first 20 minutes. We were at sea at times,” Gardiner admitted afterwards.

“Galway could have got three or four goals, but we settled and when we did settle we played some really good football and got back into it.

“We knew we had a lot more in the tank and the boys came out in the second half and really battled and performed and just got over the line, so we’re delighted with it.”

Beating the local rivals made it all the sweeter.

“They are great lads, they love the battle and they like playing Galway,” the Crossmolina man said.

“They got I think 29 turnovers there tonight, played some really good football. They are tough lads, tough footballers, they put their bodies on the line for Mayo, playing at home in front of a big crowd in MacHale Park so it was a brilliant occasion for them and I'm delighted they got the result.”

With eleven different scorers, including two subs, one gets the sense that Gardiner will have some selection headaches for the trip to Ballinamore.

“It’s a very talented forward group though. We’ve a lot of good attackers from all around the pitch and we needed them, because Galway put us under huge pressure,” said Gardiner.

“We’re very lucky, we’ve talented forwards, they worked really hard. We hit a lot of wides there tonight as well, I’m not sure eight or nine wides we think. But really good.”

He politely dismisses the suggestion that his team showcased a brand of football that is tantamount to Horanball 2.0.

How much of an influence the most high-profile selector in Gaelic football has had on this team has yet to be quantified. But based on this performance, it cannot be dismissed.

“This is just the Mayo U-20 of 2024 and they’re good footballers and they are pacy, that’s one of our big strengths,” Gardiner replied.

“They know where the goalposts are. I think these boys will create their own identity and their own history. It's a joy to work with them, I’m very privileged to work with them.”

The next focus is Leitrim, a team managed by ‘a great friend’ and current Leitrim senior boss Andy Moran.

Lorcan Silke, Niall Hurley and Darragh Reilly may all be slight injury worries heading into the meeting of Gardiner and Moran.

On the loss of one his marquee defenders, John MacMonagle, to a red card, Gardiner said: “John is a real honest tough player, and he said it was very harsh. The ball was there, so we’re disappointed with that. John is a warrior and had a great game there tonight.”