COLUMN: Analysing Mayo's victory on the rocky road to Clones

The road to Clones feels more familiar than it should, or perhaps it’s just recency bias. But we were anticipating every little landmark as we made our way up.

The point on the way to Sligo from Ballina, when you turn a corner, and the coastline spreads out before you. The breathtaking Glencar Valley.

The little house perched right on the corner, into whose living room it is a miracle nobody has driven. The point where you cross the border twice within two minutes (depending on your speed).

The Inishmore Viaduct spanning Lough Erne, which sounds grander than it looks.

The two helicopters parked in the garden of a house in Clones… oh, wait, that was a slightly unusual sight.

One of our usual crew had been waylaid at day two of a family wedding, so in her place came her 14 year-old niece, who I am certain after being subjected the questionable musical choices contained in the Mayo Away Days Spotify Playlist on the way up, and two solid hours of giving out about Mayo football on the way down, will never repeat the experience.

We were unexpectedly early, and arrived into St Tiernach’s Park to the sight of a (very small) big screen showing the Dublin v Louth game, with the commentary being broadcast around the ground.

An absolutely genius move and one that should be replicated in grounds around the country when there are other games happening.

This new format is great, I think. It has cracked the code and hit the sweet spot of holding just the right amount of risk and danger for teams, without being callous about it.

There is a delightful air of unpredictability about it too, in terms of which teams will meet on their second day out, and the games in two weekends’ time will be absolute dynamite.

After a five-week break, supporters were feeling a bit rusty, but the Mayo turnout was better than anticipated.

The team announcement during the week had made it known that Andy had rung the changes, and ensured that fans were appropriately apprehensive about our prospects.

The introduction of rookie goalkeeper Jack Livingstone was probably the biggest talking point, given his lack of competitive action up to this point.

Mayo started brightly with a two-pointer from Jack Carney, and the first half went pretty well. Some beautiful direct attacking play meant we looked dangerous and clinical, and Monaghan looked down and out.

But those of us who know anything about Mayo football and Monaghan football were feeling, despite the half-time standing ovation by the Mayo fans, decidedly uneasy.

On several occasions, our defence had been left exposed, and while Jack Livingstone was proving himself up to the task, had Monaghan availed of any of those opportunities, would have left the gap closer than eleven points at the break.

A word for Ryan O’Donoghue, who worked his socks off all day, and engineered a sublime two-pointer seconds before the buzzer, to the chagrin of Monaghan goalkeeper Rory Beggan, who was understandably livid.

Beggan would – unsurprisingly – have a bigger part to play in the second half.

Mayo fans have endured many a nervy final quarter, and this one was right up there.

The wheels started falling off, not helped by some surprising substitutions, for which I’m sure there are explanations, but left us scratching our heads.

David McBrien fluffed a goal chance, and the ball almost immediately ended up in our net down the other end, thanks to an excellent Bobby McCaul strike.

Had the latter not gone off injured, it’s safe to say Mayo would be in the pot with the rest of the losers on Tuesday morning.

Despite that, there was absolutely no joy in seeing a top player, just back after over a year out, being stretchered off in agony. Sport is cruel.

Twelve points of a lead should have given us some comfort, but as a woman behind us remarked: “Mayo could be 20 points up and we still wouldn’t be able to relax.”

“We’d be better able to relax if we were 20 points down!” quipped her husband. Facts.

When Aidan O’Shea arrived on, in what is perhaps a sign of the times, he wasn’t met with the customary roar of old; in fact, Hugh O’Loughlin – quite rightly – received a louder ovation as he departed play.

Aidan’s introduction, however, marked his 100th championship appearance, an incredible achievement in anyone’s book.

He has given 17 years of service at senior level, and during that time, absorbed a disproportionate amount of physical and psychological abuse, much of the latter dished out by Gaelic games "supporters", our own among them.

It's a real shame he'll be another of that great team not to reach the pinnacle. We'll miss him when he's gone. So will Joe Brolly. Who will he write about then?

Somehow, some way, despite falling to pieces, Mayo fell over the line. And we all know that a win is a win, but no one really felt like celebrating.

Monaghan yet again showed outstanding resilience and can feel a bit hard done by.

Mayo football still feels like an unknown quantity, and Sunday’s game will have done little to steady anyone’s nerves. We continue to cling onto the tightrope with our toes – and yet, we are where we are, up there with the big guys, and in a better position this Tuesday morning than the Rossies!

How will we fare, though, if we meet a big gun in the next round? How many more brilliant saves can Livingstone pull off in the absence of a functioning defence?

We are conditioned and, therefore, probably are too inclined towards negativity, and the player and managers’ interviews after the game were far more upbeat than we felt. Maybe we should take a leaf out of their books.

The road home spread out before us, and with it, another welcome landmark. A big feed in KFC set us right for the night.

The Tuesday draw awaits, and of course, we go again.