MAYO GAA COLUMN: They let this one slip

MOST things in life are about grasping opportunities when they arise. That was certainly the case on Sunday. Galway took their chances, Mayo didn’t - simple really!

The Mayo players will go away from this game saying, 'Jesus, we should have had that one.' They know that they let that one slip right through their hands. 

Decent performance, big crowd in McHale Park and they couldn't get it done. Until Mayo get better at dominating midfield and being clinical in front of goal it's going to be tough to win big games. Unfortunately, once again, that was the difference between Mayo winning and losing last Sunday. 

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IMPROVED PERFORMANCE

WE did see a dramatically improved performance from Mayo compared to the two earlier Connacht Championship games. We have to acknowledge that. It was a much better display. The gameplan in the first half for the most part was good, but a lot of that good work was ruined by unwarranted turn-overs and silly mistakes. 

The start to the second half was excellent. In some ways you couldn't have scripted a better response after half- time. Ryan O'Donoghue slaps over a two-pointer and the eight point gap was quickly reduced, but key weaknesses in this Mayo team were laid bare yet again.

MISSED OPPORTUNITY

SIMPLY put, Mayo had an opportunity last year to win a Connacht final against Galway and couldn't get it over the line. Mayo had an even better opportunity to win a Connacht final against Galway on Sunday and they weren't able to do it. They weren't able to see out the big game when it was there for the taking.

It has become a pattern to such an extent that you get the feeling Galway will be going away from this game thinking, 'a lot of things went in Mayo's favours today, and they still couldn't beat us.'

You've got to hand it to Galway. They played much better in the last 15 minutes of the game, aided by the fact that another ill-advised kick-out cost Mayo in a big game, cost them a black card, cost them a point.

That was really impactful in the last 10 minutes of the game when you consider how easily Galway were able to hold on to possession for long periods when Mayo were a man down. That was obviously impactful. But I still bring it back to the fact that there are a number of key weaknesses.

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LACK OF OPTIONS

MAYBE it's a lack of options, that left Mayo without scores when they needed them most. Ryan O'Donoghue didn't have enough help. Mattie Ruane was an option, and Darren McHale got a score again, but that seemed to be it.

Paul Towey came on and was wide with a couple of shots he should get and had one blocked down as well. 
It gets no better when you look in isolation at the scoring chances created and missed when the chips were down.

There was a golden chance to score a goal late in the game. Enda Hession found himself alone in front of Gleeson. Not the best finish from Hession. Nice height for the ‘keeper to save. You've got to go low and hard in that situation. 

MIDFIELD BATTLE

WHEN Galway really needed it in the middle of the field, they were able to win those long kick-outs. And to me, that's probably the key difference between both teams. 

We were talking about this in last week’s column, where I felt that if Mayo were going to win the game, they'd have to dominate that area of the field. You saw last week in the game between Armagh and Tyrone. Armagh dominated that area of the field and just about won the game. It's a total change, really, with the new rules compared to the way football was played for the last number of years.

In many ways, it wasn't that important that you win the physical battles on long kick-outs in previous times because there were so few of them. Whereas now, there are many more and you have to be able to win them. That’s where Galway were able to call on a number of men who won a couple of great kick-outs in that second half and that was a key difference.

ABOUT THE FREES

IN regard to the referee: The only thing I'll say about that is Paddy Neilan was very soft on some decisions. If somebody had a hand on a shoulder at all, it was a free, and that was both sides. Of course, the Mayo one which led to a penalty for Galway was the most impactful. 

Also, there is a case of where a two-point effort from Ryan O'Donoghue, should have been a two-pointer, because it looked to me like Gleeson touched it when it was well beyond the crossbar. 

In the end, it all boiled down to the classic two differences between the teams: When Galway needed a kick-out to be won, they had a man to win the kick-out. When they needed a score to be taken on difficult circumstances, they had someone to do that.

Mayo were found wanting in both of those categories. When they needed someone to go and win a kick-out, they didn't have enough. When they needed someone to take a chance, they didn't take them. And to me, that was the key difference between the two teams.

In the last phase of play, Ruane backed himself and missed a two-point shot to equalise and force extra-time. I don't blame him for that. That shot had to be taken at some stage. The clock was rolling on. It was on his right foot and he probably should have cut across it more, but he was right to go for it. 

Going on from here, the performance to a certain extent should give Mayo confidence going in and playing teams in the All-Ireland group stage now, but lessons have to be learned. Other wise it will be a frustrating summer.

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