ALL Mayo needed from their championship opener on Sunday was a win against Sligo, and that's what they got. But there were some sobering moments too.

The fact that Mayo were playing their fourth game in as many weekends had an impact and there's a lot to improve on.

The closing minutes were a reminder of some of Mayo's poor finishes to games last year, against better opposition. The closing stages against Derry, Dublin and Galway weren’t strong for Mayo and that was the case again on Sunday. 

READ: Five Mayo players who caught our eye against Sligo

FATIGUE

YOU could put that down to fatigue because there's no doubt about it. When you look through the line-up of Mayo players on Sunday, there were a number who had put an awful lot into the last five or six weeks of the league, before being asked to go again in a situation where they're having to run an awful lot, like Jack Carney and Mattie Ruane.

They looked particularly tired. Also Ryan O'Donoghue didn't look as sharp as usual. His decision-making wasn't as good as it normally is. Obviously, injuries or fatigue were a big problem for a number of players. They've got two weeks now, to have an opportunity to get much-needed rest. 

IMPACT PLAYER

AIDAN O'Shea was just immense again. He had a really good first half against Kerry the week before and on Sunday he was dominant, the player Mayo could rely on in any aspect of the game to do something positive.

O'Shea came out and won the really important kick-out when it is really important in the last minute. He's facilitating other players up front too and getting a couple of scores himself.

His ball-carrying ability to brush past players opens up space for his team mates and he’s really relishing the extra space when he's playing in the forward line with the way the game is now.

It's great to see him do it and it’s remarkable, considering all the football he's played in the last couple of weeks. The way he must look after himself is a credit.

GOOD PASSING 

I LIKED some of the vertical play Mayo produced on occasion on Sunday. In the build-up to O'Shea's goal David McBrien plays an absolutely wonderful pass into Carney, who collects it and lays it off to O'Shea.

I was watching that and was saying: ‘I have never seen you do that before, David. Do more of that please because that is evidence that you're capable of doing it.’ It was a wonderful pass and I think we saw a little bit more of that, a bit more eagerness to do that.

Davitt Neary did a similar job for Ryan O'Donoghue's goal. Neary played a pass into Darren McHale who then lays it off. So the goal is very similar in that respect. Those two moves show the benefit of kicking good ball into the forward line.

It opened up the defence and two goals arrived. It goes to show, when you play that kick pass, it can work out for you and it's something Mayo really need to bring even more of it into their game. 

CONCERNS

PEOPLE will be coming away from this game with a lot of concern when you consider the way Sligo waltzed through the Mayo defence at times.

While it shouldn't be brushed aside, I think that it's not fully a trend, yet. Mayo have been quite solid in that aspect of their game for a lot of the league. You've seen decent individual defensive performances from Donnacha McHugh and Enda Hession during the league.

We know what Sam Callinan and David McBrien can do when they've been given defensive duties. I really put Sligo's scoring success down to fatigue at the Mayo end. Maybe down to complacency, because the level of opponent had dropped significantly compared to what they played against in the last two rounds of the league.

If the intensity level just drops two or three percent you have a problem. Then you have a situation where that runner's coming from deep and he's not under as much pressure as he would normally be because the half forward or the midfielder's not chasing back as hard as he should.

I expect those gaping holes in the Mayo defence to be clogged up by the very nature of that defensive improvement.

IN-FORM FORWARDS

A MANAGER wants to pick the hot hand, he wants to pick the fresh body and that definitely is a factor in the way the current schedule is with games being played so quickly.

Having Darren McHale in form getting scores, having Fergal Boland getting scores, having Diarmuid O'Connor coming back onto the pitch, that's a positive in itself. It just gives Kevin McStay more options. 

I was delighted that Enda Hession got forward and scored. He's the most fluent attacker of all the defenders. He can throw a dummy, he can beat a man in a one-on-one situation. Mayo only got one point from defenders on Sunday and that will not be good enough in the rest of the campaign.

Mayo need a bigger spread of scores. It needs to be addressed, needs to be encouraged. Even if it is a case of just making the hard run.

I know we've seen situations before where Stephen Coen has found himself in a full forward position coming out, but I'd much prefer to see him coming off somebody's shoulder and even coming in along the endline and fisting a ball over the bar or taking a shot, than being in there with his back to goal. 

In summary, it's a championship win, and this one wasn't too ugly. Kevin McStay now has a bit of time and a lot of data so he can plan for the Leitrim game and the rest of the campaign.

He can now decide on which players need a bit of rest, and some of them do. The real learnings that he takes from the National League and last Sunday’s match should have the team well prepared for tougher tests to come down the road.

READ: Action aplenty as Mayo club GAA leagues get underway