No time to relax for Mayo Ladies ahead of must-win meeting with Waterford

“It mightn’t be the best performance, it mightn’t be the performance we’re looking for, but we got the win and that’s all that matters.”

Aoife Geraghty summed up Saturday’s against Kildare quite well afterwards. It was Mayo’s best result of 2025, given that they’d lost their five previous games. Nothing less than a win would suffice here. And, in true Mayo fashion, when the need was greatest, they found a way.

“We played today like a team that’s really really desperate for a win and we played scared a little bit in the second half,” Geraghty’s manager, Liam McHale, conceded afterwards.

“We were afraid to make mistakes and get that two or three points in the second half to give us that cushion. Again, the effort and the application to apply themselves was just fantastic.”

For a man who’s facing yet another do-or-die contest where a win may not even guarantee Division 1 survival, Liam McHale was in great form after Saturday’s win.

The jovial general singled out his ‘inspirational’ captain, Danielle Caldwell, for huge praise afterwards. Saoirse Lally and Lucy Wallace also got a mention - deservedly so. Indeed, nobody could fault the aforementioned or their teammates for effort and, more so, for their dedication. Particularly at a time when approximately 20 able-bodied Mayo players have opted out of intercounty football.

But systemic problems persist. Mainly, Mayo’s inability to play two good, solid halves of football.

“We played really well in the first half, we lost our shape and our composure in the second half,” said McHale. “That has happened to us twice or three times this year. It happened to us against Tyrone, we make it very difficult for ourselves. We’re five up or three up and we play like we’re five down or three down, we have to figure that out and be a little bit more composed and understand that they’re chasing the game.

“I told them: ‘I’m really happy for ye guys, but this scoring, having that much possession and having that wind and we can only score one point. That’s a massive concern.”