Good start with room for improvement

THEY say a good start is half the battle and Mayo certainly ticked that box on Sunday afternoon. Any day you leave Salthill with a win is a good day and there were a lot of happy Mayo supporters making their way home through the wind and the rain.

I predicted a very tight game and felt there would only be a score in it either way, but Mayo’s eight-point winning margin blew that prediction out of the water on a day when an impressive first-half performance set the tone for victory.

That said, Kevin McStay is well aware there is room for improvement. Of course a lot went according to plan on Sunday but the management team will focus on areas of improvement this week and some areas didn’t really work. To go and win away to Galway and none of the full forward line, O’Donoghue, O’Shea or Conroy, to score from play. That says a lot about how well everyone else played.

Great position

THE first half was impressive. Mayo face the breeze and put themselves in a brilliant position to win when going out for the second half. When you see it in terms of Ryan getting a black card, playing against the wind, this was a strong Mayo performance.

The foundation the good start was built upon was possession. It as good a half of possession football I have seen from Mayo in a long time. They were also a man down for ten minutes and Galway still couldn’t prevent Mayo from holding onto possession.  

A lot of that is down to the defenders in particular, they were so comfortable taking the ball up down the field. Eoghan McLaughlin, Paddy Durcan, McBrien and Callinan, all of them comfortable carrying the ball out.

They accomplished this very competently, not just driving out, but holding the ball until the right pass was on.

Impressed

BOB Tuohy was really impressive. He looked stronger than last year and wasn't bullied at all. He took a point with his left boot brilliantly.  

A lot of people were looking at Fergal Boland. He was under pressure coming into the game but responded impressively finding clever pockets of space, finding the right space at the right time, and scoring points.

I'm not a fan of Aidan O’Shea playing up front in general. I think that he didn't really threaten the scoreboard. He was unfortunate to slip when he caught the sight of goal early on. He had a positive effect, but in the long term: If you play him at full forward he has to score, and not just be a facilitator. That’s the way the modern game is now. But I suppose in terms of his will to facilitate, he was really good. And he had a big contribution in the first half and was a key part of Mayo keeping the ball.  

Galway will be very disappointed with the way they played, but Mayo won’t get carried away. It was a very pleasing result but the scoreline probably flattered Mayo and I’m not sure they deserved to win the second half by five points.

Big factors

A number of players made big contributions. For example Jack Carney had a good second half. I really liked how physical he was in contesting the kick-outs and Jordan Flynn was a powerhouse around the middle.  

The key factor in the victory was the way Mayo defended and how they kept possession and although not as eye-catching in the second half, they built on that again. Callinan, Coyne, McBrien, Brickenden, Durcan and McLaughlin had really strong starts and continued throughout the game. They played big parts in driving Mayo forward.

On Sunday, the first half was very impressive; the second half less so. I was a bit disappointed with the way they drove the ball through the middle of the field and then seemed to run out of ideas. The attacking highlights of the second half, were long range efforts from Boland and Durcan. There wasn't a whole of of quality forward play otherwise. However, in an overall context this was a really strong performance by Mayo.

Impressive

Over the years we have looked for serious contributions off the subs bench and on Sunday Paul Towey made an impression.

We saw the areas where he is exceptional and the areas where he needs to improve on. When the ball came his way initially he took it into traffic and lost possession easily. But then his two scores after that, catch, know where the posts are, kick it over the bar, absolutely outstanding.

That is a great start of the League campaign for him. We want to see him catch, kick and score and we don't want to see him carrying into contact.

Fergal Boland was clever in possession, worked hard, and often when it looked like he was bottled up he got it away with left hand or right hand passing. His finishing was outstanding and it’s obvious that he backs himself, and I’m absolutely delighted with that. This gives him a good platform from which to continue.

However, this performance was built on good, solid defence and defenders who were good at carrying the ball out. This was buttressed by good work around the middle of the field, good physicality in the second half, and our own kick-outs where there was good organisation. Reape did really well getting the kick-outs to his target. 

Next in line

Looking at the Monaghan performance against Dublin, what can Mayo learn? One-on-one take-ons. There were many times, Brickenden and Callinan were coming out of defence, took on their man and went at them. Monaghan did that against    Dublin and were successful.

When you play Dublin, you have a bit of freedom to roll the dice, have a go at them. If you find yourself in one on one situation, take your man on. Obviously, that is much easier to do in Croke Park, where there is more space but I think that is something Mayo will focus on for next week against Dublin.

It promises to be a special night in Castlebar and I'm really looking forward to it.