The power point of Mayo GAA lies in the north of county
by Martin Carney, GAA's foremost columnist
TO date I’ve been guilty of pushing the Egan Jewellers Mayo Intermediate Football Championship fare to the sidelines at the expense of the senior competition.
The column then will try to rectify the matter and give some space to last weekend's semi-finals.
Though played at different venues, both games had the misfortune of competing in conditions that were far from favourable.
Fleeting rain is one thing (and is bearable). Howling gale is a different matter entirely. and usually it has the effect of creating the proverbial game of two halves that paint a backdrop where contests become prisoners to the elements.
For a time in Fr. O’Hara Park, Charlestown, this was the case – but not in the conventional way. Davitts, wind-assisted in the opening half aspired to draw advantage from a gale blowing in their direction.
Did they squeeze the maximum from this?
No is the answer, and when they reflect on reasons for their defeat, failure to maximise wind advantage will top the list surely.
Moy Davitts, in contrast, during that period slowed the game to their preferred pace and contentedly retired at the break behind by a single point after just scoring twice themselves.
Stronger physically and enjoying plenty of possession, they created a stranglehold around the middle and though their attacks yielded little, they had to be content with their work.
Most, myself included, anticipated a one-way procession in the direction of the Davitts goal after the interval.
This assumption failed to take into account that the present group, though inexperienced, are heirs to a proud tradition. And this they copiously drew on.
Their goal settled a team that may have suffered stage fright in the opening 30 minutes.
What had been a slow burner to that point became a game of tit-for-tat where each team put themselves in a strong position to claim the final spot.
Yet that bit of composure and class that Cian McHale showed in firing over a late score ultimately proved the difference.
In an overall sense, the east Mayo men were stronger all round than an opposition inspired by the irrepressible Colm Boyle.
Nothing reflected Davitts' total devastation than the sight of the former county hero slumped on his hands and knees in despair at the final whistle.
Crossmolina and Ballinrobe, in the later fixture, served up a replica in many ways. For openers, both teams struggled to make sense of the elements in the opening half.
Ballinrobe, in that period, were particularly wasteful. In the opening 10 minutes alone they were wide of the mark on nine occasions; their overall wide tally of 20 tells its own story. Crossmolina settled better and managed to establish a slender one-point lead by the interval, late Patrick Leddy, Fionnan Duffy and Diarmuid Coggins points the reason.
Whereas the opening half was tentative, from the resumption to the conclusion spectators were treated to a good old-fashioned no-holds-barred championship game which could have swung either way.
Joe Burke, Ewan Duffy and Kevin Quinn led the way for Ballinbobe, while an excellent Conor Loftus, James Mahedy, Kevin Mulhern at full-back and the Coggins brothers were a handful in a Crossmolina team that boasted seven players still under 21 years of age. Great credit to both teams.
Once the teething troubles of judging the wind were complete, everyone saw why they are so highly regarded in the grade.
Crossmolina’s extra sliver of composure possibly made the difference in the end. Their press on Ballinrobe restarts worked to their advantage.
An added ability to get some vital scores in pressurised situations stood to them. I’m thinking in particular of an excellent 45' struck by J.P. Mulhern.
Yet Ballinrobe’s inordinate tally of needless wides from reckless shooting made their task easier. Had the south Mayo men been a little bit more discriminatory when it came to shot selection, we may have had to contend with a different result.
For a long time in the opening Connacht Gold Mayo Senior Football Championship semi-final between Ballaghaderreen and Ballina, cagey football was the order of the day. Defensive systems dominated, shutting down space was prioritised, by Ballaghaderreen in particular, who faced the elements.
Though not as windy and wild as the previous day, the breeze was still considerable.
The east Mayo lads were content to flood all approaches to goals with as many bodies as possible. Their strategy succeeded and Ballina’s total of five points in the period looked an unlikely return to inspire hope.
David Drake in particular had marshalled the Ballaghaderreen defence to great effect, and proof of their labour is that of Ballina's five points, just one had come from open play.
Teams remained deadlocked through the early stages of the second half. Then an exchange of goals by Sean Regan and Darragh Kelly within a short time-space lit the fuse the game badly needed.
When Kuba Callaghan netted Ballagh’s second goal 10 minutes into the second half, it should have provided a platform for his team to push on. Instead, the three-point deficit roused a Ballina response and for the remainder of normal time they limited their opponents to two points while at the same time adding five of their own.
I felt that, subconsciously, Ballaghaderreen went to defend their three-point advantage after the goal rather that go all-out to copper-fasten their advantage with more attacking football.
Just when they needed him most, Ballina's Sam Callinan surged forward for a fine score, while the guile of Evan Regan added a hitherto missing dimension to their attack.
During extra-time Ballina managed the game better. Their running power and ball handling was that bit slicker than that of their opponents.
Fisted scores by Regan and McStay gave Ballina some breathing space but there was a moment of drama close to the final whistle where Ballaghadereen butchered a four-to-one overlap with the goal gaping, and with that went their chance of reaching the county final.
One goal and 18 points was an impressive return for the reigning champions but some of their defensive tackling and dispossessing provided the necessary foundation.
If extra-time was the weekend’s theme, Breaffy and Knockmore stayed true to script by giving us another overtime blockbuster in the last quarterfinal. The wind once more was a factor but like in all the other games, not in the expected manner.
Breaffy’s eight points to seven lead at half-time having faced the elements looked encouraging from their perspective. Tommy Reilly, a rejuvenated Mattie Ruane, Aidan O’Shea and Pierce Deane were their principal score-takers.
Knockmore struggled in that opening period and found the outfield play of Ruane and Conor O’Shea a handful. Being who they are, Knockmore like nothing better than a scrap; a tussle where the odds are stacked against them and seemingly insurmountable. Little by little they wore Breaffy down with their hard running and support play.
Nobody epitomised this aspect of play more that Aidan Orme, who probed and prompted their spirited response. Centre-back Conor Flynn put the north Mayo men ahead with minutes remaining and it needed a late point from Breaffy’s Aidan O’Shea to take the game to extra time.
Really it should never have come down to this. Breaffy missed three clear scoring chances late in normal time to seal the deal.
Extra time is a story easily told. Breaffy establish an early two-point advantage playing into the wind. Knockmore have a man sent off.
A brief Breaffy rally re-establishes their leading margin. Then, in quick succession over the final 10 minutes, they themselves are reduced to 14 men, concede two goals to Knockmore substitutes Charlie Burke and Sean Holmes, and are left chasing a game.
At the final whistle Breaffy are on the wrong side of a three-point defeat. It was a real sickener for them.
For their opponents, it was a vindication of that never-say-die spirit that has been their hallmark for generations.
We are finally down to two. As I heard a man holler exiting Hastings Insurance MacHale Park: “Football is alive and well in north Mayo!”