'Croke Park is exactly what this Mayo team and Andy Moran need'

Of course, winning a game doesn't paper over every problem but it gives teams and management groups the time and opportunity to improve, develop playing-styles and enhance strategies.

Of course, the more teams play together, the more they get accustomed to changing course mid-game too, and that was the case in Castlebar on Saturday night.

I was disappointed with the first half display. It lacked precision and physicality and there were too many individual errors. Of course Mayo were still in with a chance at half-time and that's the way it worked out, but it took some time.

The lack of precision continued in the opening stages of the second half and if you don't have the physicality to dominate a game, then precision becomes even more important. If you're giving the ball away easy with bad hand passes or bad shooting, it's extremely difficult to win football games.

LEADERSHIP QUALITY

HOWEVER, to Mayo's credit they never gave up and kept ploughing away in really warm conditions. They put in a huge effort and it's no surprise that players with big leadership qualities are the ones that kept plugging away.

Enda Hession made a bad mistake, which (not entirely his fault) led to a goal, but his response and his performance was about trying to make something happen. Every time he found himself in and around the ball he tried to make something happen, whether it was a dispossession, whether it was the two points he scored, whether it was driving out of defence or a couple of great interventions.

Jack Carney, to his credit, made a couple of bad decisions in terms of some of his shooting, and wasn't in the game for long periods in the first half, but he stepped forward when needed.

The same can be said for Jordan Flynn and suddenly Mayo were dominating around the middle of the field. They're two players that we rely on to be physical in the middle of the field and get hands on the ball. They didn't do that in the first half, but they were different players with the wind at their back.

As Meath tired, Flynn in particular was doing everything quicker and with more intensity and that was important in terms of winning the game.

Defensively, in the second half, Jack Coyne and David McBrien, were better and didn't give up simple chances. Meath won't be happy with their finishing at that stage and Jack Livingstone had to come up with another big save. Theses were all big factors in contributing to Mayo's win.

​PERSISTENCE PAID OFF

TOMMY Conroy came on and was really involved. He wasn't perfect and made a few bad passes, but when he settled he did what he does well, taking on people and passing the ball over the bar.

Ryan O'Donoghue, not having his greatest game either, lacked precision at times, but kept plugging away and got a couple of really important scores. The biggest lesson to take from Saturday is the benefit teams get from refusing to give up. Persistence and plugging away pays dividends.

There are a lot of positives in that respect. Mayo's backs were against the wall. They were ten points down and still came back and got a win. That says a lot. It wasn't pretty at times, but it's a results business.

Obviously the crowd was a big factor too. The support was audible and obvious at vital moments.

THE SENDING OFF

The sending off of Ronan Jones was also a huge factor in deciding the result. I didn't see any striking action and Meath will be absolutely livid, but he shouldn't have got involved.

Somebody getting sent off puts huge pressure on their team in this new style-game. It basically makes it almost impossible to win with 14 players and the writing was on the wall when Jones saw red. Mayo were on the charge anyway, but playing against 14 men was a help.

THE CORK QUESTION

WHEN the draw was made my mind immediately went to the 1989 final and that clash between the two counties. It also reminds me of a reawakening of Mayo football when James Horan's team beat a Cork team who were the reigning All-Ireland champions in Croke Park in 2011.

Cork have been stuck in Division 2 for the last while, but, like Mayo they'll see this as a great opportunity to get to an All-Ireland semi-final. The men in red always give Mayo trouble. They always have that hard-running ability to be able to counter what Mayo do well and that's dangerous.

They have talented forwards – Steven Sherlock and Brian Hurley in particular – who can be very dangerous opponents. Ian Maguire is a really good lad around the middle and can be a very physical presence.

They'll be coming into the game much fresher than Mayo and that's a huge advantage, but Mayo are going to have to step up and play their best game of the season so far.

They've got to be physical, as they were in the second half last weekend – more of that aggression is required. The defender and midfielders have to back themselves and produce the goods. Bigger performances are also needed from the likes of Ryan O'Donoghue and Kobe McDonald and I'm really looking forward to seeing what they can do on the big field. This will be Kobe's first outing in Croke Park and I'm sure he's loving the thought of it.

It will be a very interesting game, and if Mayo can get the bodies right and recovered this week they have a 50/50 chance, but some really big performances will be required if they're to get over the line.

CROKE PARK LESSONS

GETTING to Croke Park is exactly what this young Mayo team and Andy Moran needs. He needs to learn more and more about his players and they need to be able to put into practice what they're trying to do week in, week out.

They need game time to allow plans and strategies bed in. There have been times in games when Mayo looked totally disjointed, not physical and don't know what the plan is, but then it clicks for a while and you can see what they're trying to do. The more games they get, the more the plan will come together.