COLUMN: Examining Mayo's progress under Moran after Armagh win

It's hard to believe it’s the first week of March.

Two months of the year gone already, and when you sit back and take stock of where this Mayo team are under Andy Moran’s guidance, the honest assessment has to be a very positive one.

Four wins from five league games is serious form in Division One.

When you factor in trips to Letterkenny, Clones and Galway, that record carries even more weight.

Win your home games and take two out of three away — that’s the sort of return that keeps you comfortably in the division and leaves you glancing up rather than down the table.

PROACTIVE MAYO

From a broader perspective, the trajectory has been upward. Even in defeat to Donegal — in shocking conditions — there were lessons learned.

The attacking game malfunctioned that day, particularly with the wind. But what has impressed since is how quickly that issue was addressed.

In the two games that followed, Mayo played with the breeze and looked like a side that had done its homework.

The use of the two-pointer has become more natural. Shot selection has improved. And crucially, early scores have been banked when the wind is at their backs.

There’s a psychological element to that. When you’re playing with the elements and the scoreboard doesn’t move early, doubt creeps in.

But Mayo have been proactive. Early goals — like the one from Jordan Flynn off the turf— and quick points have created immediate cushions.

That four-or five-point head start changes everything. It frees the shooter. It steadies the defence. It builds belief.

What’s particularly encouraging is the spread of scorers. This no longer feels like an attack reliant solely on Ryan O'Donoghue or Aidan O'Shea.

We’ve seen goals from Cian McHale, Flynn again, and last week a sharp cameo from Kobe McDonald. Darragh Beirne continues to show his finishing instinct, although absent on Suunday, while Paul Towey is adding to the mix.

That was one of the lingering questions coming into the season: where would the scoring come from beyond the established names?

The last two outings have gone a long way towards answering it. The younger players Andy has introduced are not merely filling jerseys — they are contributing.

JOY OF YOUTH

That breeds confidence at management level. The clearest evidence of that confidence was the decision to withdraw Aidan O’Shea when the game was still very much alive. You don’t make that call unless you trust what’s coming off the bench. It was a bold but clever move — maintaining energy in the stands while signalling belief in youth.

McDonald’s cameo again underlined why that faith exists. Two scores, involvement in McHale’s goal, pace and composure into the wind — that’s no small contribution.

For a young forward, coming into a game against the elements is far from ideal. You’d much rather be coming on with the wind at your back, but the skills of Kobe still shone through.

Around the middle, the partnership of Bob Tuohy and David McBrien continues to give structure.

There were spells where kick-outs were under pressure — that will happen under the new dynamics of the game — but the key was that Mayo didn’t allow a bad patch to spiral. Lose two, win the next. That resilience matters.

Jordan Flynn deserves special mention. At his best, he is an all-action footballer — winning breaks, driving forward, defending, scoring.

With Tuohy handling much of the primary aerial contest, Flynn can play to his strengths: arriving off the shoulder, collecting the break and surging into space.

When he hits that first shot, you almost expect the next few to follow. When he’s in rhythm, he’s a serious weapon.

SETTLED STRUCTURE

Defensively, Mayo were solid enough. There will always be passages where you come under pressure, and perhaps Armagh’s decision-making spared Mayo at times. But the structure looks settled.

Conor Loftus's departure early will have raised eyebrows, given how involved he was

If there’s a caveat to the positivity, it’s that injuries can quickly alter momentum. Depth is improving, but certain players remain central to how Mayo want to play.

Still, stepping back to the bigger picture, the progress is clear. The attack is more varied. The midfield has shape.

The defence is settled. There’s visible trust in youth. Safety in Division One has effectively been secured early — that alone is no small achievement.

If you were grading it, you’d be comfortably in B+ or A territory two months into the year. Not perfect. Not the finished article. But trending strongly upward.

Andy will, rightly, point to areas for refinement. There will be sterner tests ahead. There were moments in the game where sharper opposition decision-making might have tightened things considerably.

But Mayo found critical scores into the wind when they needed them. That’s a mark of maturity.

On a good afternoon in Castlebar, Mayo didn’t just win; they continued on their trajectory and kept up the sense that something coherent is building.

For the first of March, that’s a healthy place to be.