Two weeks and counting until Mayo’s next day out
Mike Finnerty
THE Mayo senior football squad will return to the training field tonight (Tuesday) knowing that they are likely to be back in action in less than two weeks time at Croke Park.
The newly-crowned Connacht champions will learn their All-Ireland quarter-final opponents after the draw is made next weekend.
However, Mayo look set to be in action on either the Saturday or Sunday of the August Bank Holiday weekend (July 30/31).
As things stand, James Horan and his backroom team will then have less than a week to prepare once they learn the identity of their opponents.
They are likely to face one of Limerick, Wexford, Kildare, Derry, Down or All-Ireland champions Cork in the last eight.
This sextet are all in action in Round 4 of the All-Ireland SFC Qualifiers next Saturday evening.
The Mayo squad met for a swimming pool recovery session yesterday evening (Monday), with Aidan O’Shea recovering from mild concussion.
The Breaffy midfielder sustained the injury after a collision with Roscommon’s Donal Ward in the early stages of the second half.
However, he is expected to return to training with the rest of panel this week.
“We’re delighted,” James Horan said after his first Nestor Cup win as Mayo manager.
“It probably wasn’t a classic game to watch but it was never going to be with conditions like that. We worked hard, got a lot of turnovers and kicked our frees.
“At half-time it was very similar to the Galway game. We were four points down but when we looked at the facts and figures we were dominating possession around the middle.
“Obviously the wind was a huge factor but we knew if we got that much possession with the wind at our backs that we’d get the shots we needed to win the game. It worked out okay.”
