Five Mayo players who caught our eye against Sligo

A win is a win. A ‘patchy’ performance, but a win nonetheless. As attentions turn towards the Connacht Senior Football Championship semi-final, here are five Mayo players who caught our eye during the quarter-final against Tony McEntee’s Sligo.

Aidan O’Shea (Breaffy)

He was class on Sunday. A bit like Andy Moran, O’Shea appears to be peaking in his mid-30s. 

We’re not saying the 34-year-old dog-of-war will replicate Moran in winning Footballer of the Year, but performances like these underline how important he remains for this Mayo team. 

He made something happen almost every time he got the ball, only giving the pass at exactly the right moment and using his ox-like strength to hold off the diligent Sligo full-back Eddie McGuinness before making his move. 

His contributions were numerous and significant. These include, but are not limited to; assisting Davitt Neary for his first point, pointing twice in the first half, winning two frees, a mark, an assist and scoring a goal in the second half, and rising skywards for a vital kickout catch just after Sligo made it a three-point game through what looked like an illegitimate two-pointer. 

“He was great today, gave it a great shot,” Kevin McStay said of his bear in the square after the game. 

“He’s in great shape, he’s enjoying his football. But we needed a lot more of that level of performance out there. We just didn’t get it.”

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Dylan Thornton (Ballina Stephenites)

Few would have guessed we’d see this player starting against Sligo. Thornton, who didn’t play a single minute of league football this year, was a late and surprise addition to the Mayo starting lineup in place of the injured Jordan Flynn. 

However, the senior debutant quickly made his mark around the middle, where he made some good catches, kicked a point, and was involved in plenty of play. 

Thornton had a right go on Sunday and looked like a player with a point to prove. If anything, he was a bit too eager at times, his inexperience showing when he dropped a Garryowen into Daniel Lyons’ hands and when he sent a fisted point attempt left and wide of the mark. 

Besides that, this was a fine outing for the 22-year-old. If he wanted to stake a claim for a place on the starting team, then he could not have done much better than he did on Sunday. 

But tougher tests and tougher opposition await Thornton and other aspiring starters like him. 

Jack Carney (Kilmeena)

He’ll soon be called ‘The Jack of All Trades’ - and with good reason. 

His place at midfield alongside Matthew Ruane seemed fairly secure after a very good league campaign. 

On Sunday, the Kilmeena man spent the second half stationed at full-forward with Ryan O’Donoghue while O’Shea went lurking around the middle. He was quite impressive throughout, making his presence felt just seven minutes in when he forced a save from Sligo goalie Daniel Lyons. 

His most notable and telling contribution was in the 36th minute, when he caught a glorious ball from David McBrien and dished it off to Aidan O’Shea, who summoned all his strength and footwork before walking it into the net. 

Kevin McStay revealed that Mayo had tried Carney at full-forward in training before injury stalled their experiment. 

“We took him out for two months we just had to get on without him. We had a good look at that in training back in January, so we knew he could offer something,” said McStay, before reiterating: “Everybody needs to give us more. We didn’t get enough in terms of performance, we just needed more.”

We haven’t even mentioned the three points that Carney kicked - all from play. Where to play him in the Connacht semi-final is certainly up for debate. 

Darren McHale (Knockmore)

A solid showing from McHale. Not quite the barnstorming 1-5 he kicked when these sides clashed in a near-empty Markievicz Park in 2021, but four points was a good return from the Knockmore man following a scoreless cameo against the Kingdom in Croker.

McHale chose his shots well and used the ball well throughout. It was he who gave the final pass for Ryan O’Donoghue’s first-half goal, a double-act they almost repeated in the 45th minute only to see their ‘high doh’ muted by a fine stop from Daniel Lyons. 

Though he kicked four from play, McHale played much of the game around the middle in a deep, play-making role. 

His place on the Mayo starting fifteen is safe for the minute, but he has some competition, as you’re about to find out below.

Fergal Boland (Aghamore)

Our old friend again. The 29-year-old has been in an on-again-off-again relationship with the Mayo senior team since he made his senior intercounty debut back in 2017, kicking four points in an FBD League game against Galway (remember them days?) 

On Sunday, he rekindled that flame in sunny MacHale Park by kicking two points from the bench in just nine minutes.

Those two points bring his tally for 2025 to 0-9 from six appearances (two starts).

Always good for a score, Boland is.