THE best thing about Sunday's league final is that by next weekend, we'll have completely forgotten about it.

Truth be told, it was a performance that we want to forget.  Things just didn't happen for Mayo on the day. The same energy they showed over the past number of weeks wasn’t there and it was marred by mistakes on the basic fundamentals of the game. 

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Kevin McStay echoed all of this afterwards. Likewise, a couple of tactical decisions made by management didn’t pay off. Winning silverware wasn’t the be all and end all.

A performance on the day that would set Mayo up nicely for championship next weekend was more important. That didn’t happen, but it's not the end of the world.

FRUSTRATING

THERE isn’t a huge amount of positives to be taken from Sunday. You could give credit to the bottle they displayed. Even while playing poorly, they kept Kerry pretty honest. 

When Eoghan McLaughlin hit the net and Ryan O’Donoghue put over a two-pointer right after, there was a glimmer that Mayo might have a say in the game yet. That flame never took fire.

McStay brought attention to the number of frees awarded to David Clifford on Sunday in his post game interview. He cut a frustrated figure, and he has a point.

Clifford was afforded an awful lot of protection on more than one occasion from referee David Coldrick; protection Aidan O’Shea could only ever dream about. It was frustrating to watch irrespective of the result. 

But the single biggest concern has to be the injury to Colm Reape. Mayo bet the house on him and haven't tried out another goalkeeper throughout the league campaign. 

The extent of his injury could have a huge impact on the season. It's one of the reasons why this columnist was adamant that we were going to get no benefit out of a league final. 

Going into the first round of the Connacht Championship with an untested and unproven goalkeeper is far from ideal. But overall, looking at the league as a whole does change the perspective.

JOURNEY TO HERE

MAYO have come a long way in just a few weeks. In these very pages, and after the demolition job Galway did on us, there was a bad feeling amongst the supporters about that defeat – the lack of physicality and unwillingness to lay a hand on Galway was alarming.

Against Tyrone, it wasn't much better, although those two points at the end turned out to be very important. 

For long stretches of the Armagh game, it looked like supporters were going to absolutely lose their heads because we were staring down the jaws of another thrashing. God knows what would have happened if Armagh didn’t collapse. 

Credit where it's due – Mayo have looked a different animal over the past number of weeks.

CHANGED TEAM

WHETHER it was a tactical shift or a mindset change, the team was on a constant upward trajectory before Sunday. 

The form of Mattie Ruane and Ryan O’Donoghue has been monumental in Mayo’s success. It’s no coincidence that Mayo didn’t play well on Sunday when neither had their best display.

Kevin McStay has changed too. In his post-game interviews, he's no longer trying to be the media's best friend. He's feistier, more combative. He's clearly been pissed off at the criticism they've fielded (from this columnist included), much of it unwarranted, he'd argue.

And you know what? It's great to see. Mayo need a chip on their shoulder. We've spent long enough plaumausing ourselves and everyone else around us. 

If they want respect, McStay knows they are going to have to earn it the hard way and forget about hurting anyone’s feelings along the way.

TURNING POINT

WAS there an overreaction post-Galway? Maybe a small bit. But let's not forget where Mayo were then. 

For nearly three games, they were miles off the pace. That Armagh swing was a tipping point – and how big it was remains to be seen.

If you asked the management, they'd probably say there was no tactical change. Ask the people watching, and they'd say something different. 

It’s still not clear exactly what type of game Mayo are playing at times, but there’s certainly more urgency going forward and not sideways. 

Tough wins in Castlebar against Kerry and Donegal were huge confidence boosters.

LOOKING FORWARD

SunDay wasn't pretty, but as stated above, it’s important to keep perspective. The league is the league. We’re all guilty of getting caught up in its perceived importance at the time, but a month from now, it will be just a distant memory. 

Mayo improved as time went on and their key players found and rediscovered form. The injury to Reape could end up being a disaster, but time will tell. 

Mattie Ruane has looked like the Ruane of old. O’Donoghue remains our most important player and his fitness is paramount to Mayo’s summer.

Enda Hession has looked more like the Hession that burst onto the scene a few seasons back and Jack Carney continues to look more and more complete as the games go on.

There’s still places to be nailed down in the half forward line. Another week of recovery into Diarmuid O’Connor should see him get at least a half next weekend. 

Sligo will be lining up an ambush, without a doubt. But with the greatest respect to them, Mayo should have much bigger intentions on their minds. 

It’s all about Championship. 

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