MAYO’S PERFORMANCE AGAINST Kerry yesterday raised more questions than answers for James Horan.
His team started poorly, yet while down to 14 men and trailing by four points Mayo mustered what Horan considers “as good a performance” as he has ever seen during the second half.
Nonetheless, well into the final ten minutes and with a five-point advantage intact, Mayo somehow managed to allow Kerry back into the game.
On the basis of the final two minutes of stoppage time, they can now count themselves very lucky to still be in this year’s championship. Here’s the five key questions for Mayo after Sunday’s draw:
1. Can they sustain that intensity?
Mayo played almost 40 high-intensity minutes of Sunday’s game with 14 men after Lee Keegan’s first half dismissal. James Horan’s team used every last ounce of energy to draw back a four-point deficit, before taking the lead themselves.
In particular, key men such as Cillian O’Connor, Colm Boyle and Aidan O’Shea will no doubt have more than a few aches after the number of turnovers and the yardage they clocked up.
Ciaran Whelan told Sunday Game viewers last night that “six days is very, very tough for both teams to come back”, but only one of those teams played with a man less for more than half of the game.
So with just six days to recover, and plenty to work on mid-week; will the quick turnaround hamper their plans? And is it possible to maintain that high intensity for a full 70 minutes?
2. Will Lee Keegan’s absence affect Mayo?
Lee Keegan will be kicking himself to have picked up such a soft red card, but from his point of view the eventual draw still keeps his All-Ireland final ambitions alive.
For Mayo though they will now have to contend without the 24-year-old half back, who has been among their most consistent performers in recent years.
A two-time Allstar, and a nominee for Footballer of the Year last October, Keegan completes the country’s most formidable half-back line.
Yet without his panache and quality distribution to complement the athleticism and grit of Donal Vaughan and Colm Boyle, will Mayo still dominate that key sector?
3. Will Kevin McLoughlin resume in defence?
McLoughlin filled in at wing back after Lee Keegan’s sending off, and back in what was once considered his natural position the Knockmore man flourished in his old surroundings.
The now half forward, who graduated from the Mayo U21 ranks as an attacking half-back five years ago was, according to Eamonn Fitzmaurice, “a big factor in Mayo driving on” during the second half.
His awareness under the breaking ball and swift use of possession set Mayo on their way during a remarkable turnaround.
So is he the man to fill the void left by Keegan, or should Chris Barrett return, with a re-shuffle to last Sunday’s defensive positioning?
4. Is it time to stop sitting back?
During the first half of Sunday’s game, Mayo seemed to have abandoned their entire half forward line, with just Alan Dillon and Cillian O’Connor remaining in the inside line.
Mayo lacked enthusiasm as they lethargically ran into tackles and allowed Kerry to bunch them out of possession. In contrast they came out on the front foot in the second half taking the game to Kerry. Mayo’s physicality and intensity in the middle third is unrivalled, and Kerry couldn’t compete with them once they abandoned their previous system.
Yet while five points up Mayo once more retreated, first Colm Boyle and then Robert Hennelly looked to maximise every stoppage in play with the hope of killing off the game. Yes, ultimately it was Kieran Donaghy’s introduction which proved decisive in engineering Kerry’s comeback, but Mayo had by now returned to playing the game on Kerry’s terms.
Similarly Mayo tried to settle on their four point lead in the final ten minutes of their quarter final with Cork, which again very much backfired.
So should Mayo abandon this defence system entirely? Or is it foolish to continue to press on when leading in the final minutes?
5. Key selection dilemmas for James Horan, time for change?
Despite dominating possession in the middle sector for large periods of Sunday’s semi final, Mayo came out second best in the one-on-one midfield match ups. Both David Moran and Johnny Buckley (albeit rotating from the centre forward position) won the lions share of the game’s clean catches for Kerry, while the two also added points.
Mayo were helped massively around the middle once Aidan O’Shea began to occupy a deeper role, but his brother Seamus certainly underperformed in comparison to recent showings.
Seamus has been trusted to man that area for Mayo, with Aidan pushing on to the half forward line, but along with first Jason Gibbons and then Tom Parsons (who was making a return from a litany of injuries) Mayo lost their individual battles here.
Likewise at full back a struggling Ger Cafferkey looked off the pace throughout, and he was in even more trouble with the introduction of Donaghy.
So will Aidan O’Shea return to the middle, or will Horan opt for Gibbons, Parsons or even a fresh Barry Moran? And does Ger Cafferkey have to worry about his place, with Kevin Keane on the ready?
