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FOOTBALL O’Mahony has called on Mayo’s footballers not to make any ‘hasty decisions’ regarding retirement.
O’Mahony proud of his players as season ends
DANIEL CAREY
JOHN O’Mahony has called on Mayo’s veteran footballers not to make any ‘hasty decisions’ regarding retirement in the wake of Saturday’s defeat by Derry. While arguing that the current transitional period represented ‘a great time of opportunity’ for young players to force their way into the squad, the manager said this many of the older generation still had something to contribute. “It’s very obvious that the transitional period has started in Mayo football,” said O’Mahony when asked to assess Mayo’s season. “That was always going to happen. I don’t want people to be making assessments on who should be or might be retiring. “We’ll sit down in a few weeks time, and think of where we’re going, and I’ve asked every player in there to do that as well, and to make no hasty decisions. “The structures that we have put in place since last October are still there, and there are lads in development panels and weight programmes who aren’t here with us today. “I think it’s a great time of opportunity in Mayo football for players to come forth and come into the squad, but that doesn’t mean that I want everybody else to retire or anything else. Looking at some of the veterans out there today, they played some massive games and they will have a big part to play as well.” Mayo’s late capitulation meant supporters were heading for the exits before the end, but O’Mahony argued that Derry’s late surge was not a true indication of the relative merits of the two sides. “It’s disappointing, and I know what the headlines will be about tomorrow, about the scoreline and the distance between us. But I would be very proud of the work that we put in right up to the goal. I suppose Derry are probably at a farther stage in the development curve than we are. We had two 19-year-olds out there. I’m not making excuses but it’s disappointing that we were beaten by 10 points in the end, because I don’t think it reflects the effort or the commitment or the closeness of the teams for the most part of the game.” The Ballaghaderreen clubman admitted he knew the game was up after Enda Muldoon scored Derry’s second goal, an outrageous lob after the Ulstermen had carved open the Mayo defence. “When it went to four or five points, I felt at that stage we needed a goal, simple as that,” he said. “It’s just that the momentum went out [of our performance]. We had huge momentum there for about 10 minutes, and I think we had two or three chances, and who’s to know what would have happened if we went ahead at that stage? “It wasn’t to be, and now people will make their assessments on what they saw in the last 15 or 20 minutes. I won’t make my assessment on what I saw in the last 15 or 20 minutes. I feel I’d have to be a bit more balanced than that.” O’Mahony singled out Barry Moran for praise in an RTÉ interview with Marty Morrissey, but Mayo’s failure to find their front man in the second half played a part in their downfall. The manager said his side’s poor scoring return was at least in part a reflection of their struggles elsewhere. “We knew coming up here that the Derry defence was going to be a lot tighter than the Cavan defence,” he commented, as elated locals blew horns and hooters in the background. “How much did Derry score in the last 10 minutes – 1-5? So I suppose if you’re analysing the game, that’s the difference between us really. I mean, they had 1-8 up to that. We didn’t finish the game strongly and it showed in our scoring return. They were dominant in that period and we didn’t have the ball in the last 10 minutes.”
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