AS THE ENERGY seeped out of the Hastings MacHale Park stadium and the drizzle fell outside the Castlebar Mitchells ground on Sunday, Cillian O’Connor emerged in partial Mayo tracksuit, bag slung over his shoulder, wearing compression leggings.
A group of Mayo die-hards were close by the gate, picking their way through what was left of the Connacht championship exit. Draining the last of goodness out of the day, the teeming rain entirely appropriate.
“The six weeks will do yous no harm,” one of them barked in support. O’Connor nodded in silent acquiescense.
Maybe, just maybe, this is the best possible result for Mayo. No, it’s not the sort of thing that is said among polite company, but when you deal in the harsh realities of intercounty football you think differently.
Perhaps we might even be coming round to the theory that a league win may be a bigger achievement than a game in the championship. Especially when the real championship begins in six weeks and will involve at least six games in 11 weeks.
To briefly revisit the Rossies ransacking of Castlebar, we recognise a few things about both teams.
Mayo need grip. They need a ball transferred rapidly through hands to stick like glue and they need their footing to be sure. Not slipping and sliding on a pitch greasier than Kevin Webster’s overalls.
The second part is that they aren’t producing effective, deliberate build-up. Is this a strategy, or emotional response? Undoubtedly, it makes them the most exciting team to watch, but Roscommon’s brain trust put roadblocks in their way.
For a start, Mayo’s counterattack is proscripted. Rather than pick a way through the maze by running the ball after a turnover, they seek to get an early kick-pass to get some rocket fuel burning.
Roscommon diligence denied them that out ball. Some fouling and three-quarter fouls at the right time.
Once Davy Burke’s side were able to get into their defensive formation, they played it bravely.
Were there multiple sweepers? No. But it wasn’t quite man for man, either. Instead, they set up two banks of defensive lines. So when a Mayo player would try to penetrate the first line, a second defender was in like a train to double-team the man in possession.
As the game went down the stretch and Mayo’s need to go more direct increased, these turnovers increased in frequency and each time they happened, the visiting crowd and players were energised.
Where have we seen this before?
Ah yes. Donegal 2012.
Back then in their Croke Park games, Jim McGuinness’ team feasted on turnovers. Whenever they happened, the Donegal support would celebrate them like scores in themselves as they went off careering on a counter attack against a defence that had routinely committed too many bodies forward.
There’s a bit of tweaking and sophistication to it since, but the impact of one-time Donegal sweeper Mark McHugh as Roscommon trainer was generously praised by Burke afterwards.
“Mark knows a lot about defending too and he has helped us big time in that regard,” he began.
“But his energy, Mark is going places as a coach, he’s infectious and has a top-class football mind. What a sweeper he was, we all know his brain. His football brain is his best attribute but his brain combined with his energy is hard beat.”
When it came to them living on the edge, Burke added, “I thought Mayo got a number of soft ones last Sunday, so fair enough on a wet day I’m sure there’s going to be plenty of physicality from both sides and I thought our defending was excellent. Again, we were the second lowest conceding team in the league but that just got forgotten about so I think we showed that we are not a bad defensive team.”
The performance of goalkeeper Conor Carroll was immense. When Mayo were setting up with eight players inside the Roscommon 45-metre line to exert pressure on his kickouts against the first-half gale, he delayed his kick just long enough to get the Mayo camp ratty while also not attracting referee Noel Mooney.
Mayo couldn’t score while Roscommon held the ball and when they lost it, they had structure.
With such stout resistance, the absence of line-breakers such as Oisin Mullin and Lee Keegan was critical for Mayo.
Right now, Kevin McStay will be tempted to throw all the jigsaw pieces up the air and start again. It might be an earlier championship but there is no danger the players will be sent to their clubs for some downtime.
Now, they have an opportunity to do what others caught in the sugar-rush and comedown cycle of continual games don’t have, and that is hunker down and get their training gains in peace.
It also puts the Mayo team at a remove from their public. The Mayo support live for the drama – why on earth wouldn’t they – but now it’s time to take the logic scalpel out and start trimming away.
This new All-Ireland system is built to favour the big counties, with big squads and huge resources. We haven’t heard the last from Mayo.
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