‘We need to get better’ - Kevin McStay reacts to Mayo’s ten-point defeat to Galway

EXPERTS in body language would have had a field day in Castlebar on Sunday evening. Long after the game concluded the two opposing managers arrived in the Media Centre to talk to the press. Padraig Joyce bounced into the building with a sparkle in his words and a twinkle of devilment in his eyes. Kevin McStay was courteous and thoughtful but wore the expression of a man with a big task on his hands after the home side fell foul of the new rules at one end and failed to fire at the other.

Mayo had conceded seven two-pointers while only raising one orange flag themselves and it was the first thing on McStay's mind.

“Obviously the breeze is now linked with the two-point capability. We were a bit unfortunate with some of them,” he added before addressing the censure his side received on two occasions for only keeping two defenders back.

“Our understanding was, if you wandered beyond the half-way line you'd just be asked to come back because there was no intention to gain an advantage. That's the hard part of the three-on-three rule because the sanction is draconian – no question.

“However, there's no getting away from the fact the we were well off Galway today. It was their day,” he added before lamenting chances that weren't taken.

“We had some gilt-edged chances in the first half that we over-cooked. If you get those majors it changes the dynamic of the game, the momentum, everything changes. We left those chances behind us again. We need to get better. We have to get better. We're working at it,” the Ballina man stated.

Before he left the room, McStay was asked about the injury picked up by Diarmuid O'Connor and he didn't hold back.

"We're a bit sore about it. Diarmuid won the ball and popped it to a Mayo lad and was hit late and that's a black card - minimum, but nothing was done. You spend all winter carefully rehabbing him so that he'll be fit for the spring and this happens. He's a top player, an All-Star and he's off to hospital. We're sore about it, but we're not pointing the finger at the ref, he was fine.”

Padraig Joyce was in a completely different head-space. The Galway manager was buoyant but realistic. Today, the lads targeted a good start and they got a good start. Lads got stuck in which was great.

“It's something we are trying to get into our team a lot more. Over the years, we would probably have been seen as a team that's nice to play against. We're trying to add physicality into the pitch, and we have a lot of men over six foot out there. They got stuck in today, which was great.

“We're not going to get carried away. It's the second of February today. A long way to go yet. It's nice to have four points out of four, instead of two out of four, or nought out of four.”