COLUMN: Moran’s Mayo embrace bold football in thrilling opener

Mayo won. Andy Moran won his first competitive game as manager against Galway. The final score read 3-18 to 2-18 in Pearse Stadium.

Those are the facts.

But the real story people were curious to hear from Sunday is what type of Mayo team would show up.

The travelling support will have been encouraged to see a team that looked a lot different to the Mayo we watched last year, most of the time.

The lateral handpassing that drove supporters demented was binned. A slower, more conservative build up that allowed teams to set up defensively has gone with it.

In its place is a Mayo team that want to move the ball forward with a lot more purpose and pace.

The footpass was king. Quick ball into the full forward line. Direct running. Players looking to attack space instead of working it sideways. And not afraid to take risks. 

It was an exciting game all round and both teams set up to endorse that.

THE EVIDENCE

THIS columnist was fully focused on how Mayo would approach their offense early on and the numbers suggest positive intentions going forward.

Robbie Hennelly's two-pointer in the opening minutes came after a quick ball inside to Aidan O’Shea. Ryan O'Donoghue pointed not long after to put Mayo 0-4 to 0-1 up – again, a quick pass inside. No messing. 

Darragh Beirne's excellent turnover and direct ball inside resulted in Jack Carney pointing for Mayo’s fifth score. And the impressive Claremorris man pointed to rack up Mayo’s sixth point after Ryan O’Donoghue won a turnover, found Callinan straight away, who slipped to Beirne. 

Mayo had four attacking chances wasted in the next few minutes, all of which came from kickpasses. Mistakes, but intentions were good. 

Likewise, it was great to see Jack Carney hit a whopper of a two-pointer right on the buzzer. A low percentage effort we saw very few of in recent times. 

Yes, Mayo were wide open in defence at times (more about that below), but that can be coached. Speaking of, it was always great to see neither David McBrien or Stephen Coen running into the full forward line with no purpose of winning the ball as we used to see last season. Something that infuriated everyone. 

BEIRNE’S ARRIVAL

THE teenager announced himself in style.

His goal on 43 minutes was a lovely, calm and collected finish. A nice back door cut to find the space, and a lovely daisy cutter under the goalkeeper.

Composure. Timing. Execution. 

His movement throughout was intelligent. He found space. He took his scores. He looked like he belonged at this level from minute one.

Mayo have been crying out for natural forwards, with a left foot, who know where the goal is. It’s early days, but Beirne might be the answer to that problem and it’s a pressure he is going to have to carry on his shoulders.

THE SPECTACLE

BOTH teams came to play football. Attacking football. The type of game supporters want to see.

There were goal chances everywhere. Galway had plenty. They should have had more goals than the two they managed.

Truth be told, Hennelly should have saved Galway’s first goal on 55 minutes. But he more than made up for it with a string of saves that earned him the man of the match award from TG4.

When a goalkeeper gets such an award it tells you something. It means he was busy. It means there were lots of goal chances. It means the game was open.

He kept Galway at bay when they were piling on the pressure.

The performance was far from perfect. There was a worrying period in the third quarter that bled into the fourth.

Galway were on top. Mayo were struggling around the middle having been eleven points to the good and let Galway pull it back to four with ten minutes left.

The midfield battle was being lost. Breaking ball was going Galway's way until Cian McHale finished a goal well after McBrien’s surging run on 61 minutes. That steadied things.

Fergal Boland kicked a big score at 65 minutes. Mayo found their feet again and closed it out.

THE MCBRIEN QUESTION

DAVID McBrien was excellent in midfield. His running with the ball caused problems all day. But there’s still a conundrum. Mayo need him at full back.

The full back line got very little protection at the weekend and looked very unconvincing under high balls. Galway should have got much more return from them.

McBrien is the best full back in the county. He's in the top three full backs in the country. It’s a robbing-Peter-to-pay-Paul situation. 

The space between the half backs and full backs was massive at times in the first half. Galway had success popping the ball into that area and there’s very little a full back line can do about that.

If Mayo come up against more on-form forwards than Galway had on Sunday, they will be punished.

Where does the greater need lie?

PERSPECTIVE

It's only round one. Both teams are finding their feet. Players are building fitness. Systems are being tested.

Drawing massive conclusions from a January league game is a fool's game. But there were clear differences in how Mayo approached this match compared to last year.

The willingness to kick the ball. The quick transitions. The attacking mindset. These are all positive signs.

Galway came to play too. They weren't sitting back. They were pushing forward and creating chances.

That's what made it such a good watch.

Let's see if the changes stick when the stakes get higher.