Mayo need to rebuild morale and self-belief with a big result in Salthill
BY MARTIN CARNEY, GAA'S FOREMOST COLUMNIST
WITH all the speed of a tortoise on crutches, the group stages of the All-Ireland Championship have brought finality to this particular stage of the campaign.
The four bottom-placed teams in each one – Louth, Clare, Sligo and Westmeath – bid adieu to football for this year, thus allowing the remaining 12 gunslingers fight it out for Sam.
But was it really necessary host 24 games to eliminate the unlucky four? That’s a question for another day that we will review at a later date.
Limerick looked somewhat empty and uninviting last Sunday as it hosted the Mayo v Cork game.
Certainly, it was awash with none of the pulsating chaos that enveloped the ground a week earlier for the Munster hurling final.
Still, the Mayo support travelled and made up the bulk of the attendance.
Few there were from the Rebel County. Indeed, such were the levels of disinterest in the game with their county board that they saw fit to run a full programme of senior league football club fixtures through Sunday!
Our task from the off was straightforward.
A win or draw placed Mayo in top position and through to an All-Ireland quarter final tomorrow week.
The general consensus was that this was realisable and indeed by half-time, although Mayo only led by one point, there was a feeling that they could reel Cork in.
Throughout this cagey opening half, the Rebels took a leaf from the Louth defensive manual and managed to frustrate Mayo with their deep lying, heavily-manned defensive shield that yielded little by way of opportunity.
They set this stubborn block inside their own 45 and from there spread a web of frustration that Mayo found difficult to cope with.
Scores were at a premium and from frees mainly. Ryan O’Donoghue and Jordan Flynn were the sole point-takers from play in an overall display that seemed devoid of ideas when it came to breaking down the Cork cover.
Possibly an exception to this was the sole occasion when Aidan O’Shea got inside their full-back line and drew a wonderful save from Micheál Aodh Martin in what was the only real goal-scoring chance of the half.
Most of the remaining period was punctuated with spells of lateral and back-directed passing, taking balls into tackles and getting crowded-out by the Cork defenders, who seemed to grow in confidence as the half progressed.
Their tackling was for the most part disciplined but to say that on occasions it was borderline is being kind to them.
Ryan O’Donoghue and Jack Carney in particular were on the receiving end of hefty challenges; that the perpetrators didn’t get stronger sanctions remains a mystery.
When the Leesiders broke forward they did it at speed, with a sense of urgency and resourcefulness.
In Sean Powter they had a wonderfully energetic, low-built corner forward who excelled in a sweeping role and broke with purpose when the occasion demanded.
Rory Maguire at centre-back, Colm O’Callaghan with Ian Maguire in midfield, and Ruairi Deane in attack are others who answered the call and notched some fine scores from distance.
More than anything it was this consistency in kicking accurately from distance that distinguished the teams. Of the six points that gave Cork their one-point interval lead, five came from play and most of these from far out. Yet, sober reflection will point out that many came as a result of Mayo turnovers.
RELUCTANCE
In contrast, a recurring reluctance on Mayo’s part to take on any outside shooting or even direct an occasional long ball into the full-forward line continued.
All year, much has been made of O’Shea’s impact in his new role as target man. On Sunday, however, living on meagre rations, he was forced far outfield too often and his impact diminished somewhat after the break.
Whatever was said in the changing room at the interval was evident afterwards as a greater all-round urgency characterised the third quarter performance.
Jordan Flynn assumed a much greater sense of responsibility and set an example by claiming three excellent points from play.
Tommy Conroy’s half-time introduction offered the team a greater threat and when he scored a fine goal after 57 minutes, I felt it was a case of not whether but by how much the team would triumph.
By the time of Conroy’s goal, Cork had only managed to add two points to their interval total and I thought his strike, which opened up a six-point lead, had settled matters.
Cork looked tired. Their key front men, Brian Hurley and Ruairi Deane, had departed injured and all the aces seemed with Mayo. Inspiration with the Rebels looked in short supply.
But for some inexplicable reason, Mayo died a footballing death and didn’t add to their score thereafter.
Cork’s immediate response to Mayo’s goal was with one of their own from a Sherlock penalty and this took the gloss off Conroy’s strike.
The penalty, a harsh call I felt, was beautifully dispatched and gave the Leesiders renewed heart.
From then to the finish their three subs – Steven Sherlock, Chris Óg Jones and John O’Rourke – added six points without reply and a Mayo team that had earlier promised much finished looking jaded, dispirited and panicky.
Restarts went astray, ball was turned over, pot-shots were badly wide and too often Cork runners weren’t tracked.
The defeat, added to the below-par performance against Louth, has certainly sown seeds of doubt among the wider public.
For all involved, this was an unexpected setback and one they could have done without.
Management has a huge job on its hands restoring that sense of can-do that was ever present earlier in the season.
Tomorrow's preliminary quarterfinal against Galway is one thing but the immediate process of rebuilding morale and self-belief is an altogether bigger task.
At the moment, poor individual form is running in tandem with team displays that lack much of the early season energy.
Restoring bodily health is one thing but getting players to recover form and believe in themselves might be an altogether more difficult task.
Mayo are still standing but unless they can summon a much-improved performance from somewhere in Salthill, championship 2023 will be past tense.
Yet, what better draw to have whetted the appetite.