Kevin McStay faces the defining moment of his Mayo tenure

by John Melvin

SUNDAY'S Connacht final could well be the defining game in Kevin McStay's tenure as Mayo senior football team manager.

Having secured the backing of the Mayo board following a review of his management record last year, McStay has set his target on winning a Connacht title as a path to a bid for an All-Ireland.

But Mayo would appear to be falling back in the queue rather than moving closer to the ultimate goal which has evaded so many of his predecessors.

That list of managers includes Liam O’Neill (the former Galway player credited with bringing a more professional standard and improved training methods to the training round), the late John O’Mahony (who served two separate terms as manager), Brian McDonald, Jack O’Shea, John Maughan (who also had a second coming as manager), Pat Holmes and Noel Connelly, James Horan (who had two stints as manager as well) and Stephen Rochford, the latter having stepped down as manager in 2018 but now a coach on McStay’s team.

McStay is not without silverware, which includes a National League Division 1 title having beaten Galway in the final in Croke Park in April of 2023 – a victory which may have cost them a Connacht title as they crashed out to Roscommon in the semi-final a week later.

As a former player, the Ballina native holds two precious Connacht senior medals, and the Nestor Cup is the one piece of precious metal he would love to get his hands on as manager having come so close last year in Salthill.

This time round the battle scene is Hastings Insurance MacHale Park, Castlebar – a venue sometimes viewed as liability as far as Mayo are concerned having lot so many key battles there.

All will be revealed from 4 p.m. next Sunday afternoon.

If psychology is to play a big role in deciding the outcome of a game – and the experts lead us to believe it surely does – then this is the kind of a final that just might play into the hands of Mayo, who go into this game as underdogs against a Galway team who are seeking a fourth Connacht title in a row and play in their 10th consecutive final.

That tag is not just based on where they are in the pecking order of All-Ireland contenders, but more so on a fragility which was exposed twice in this year's Connacht Senior Football Championship against both Sligo and more recently against plucky Leitrim, who ran them to seven points – a long way off the 20 that many punters expected.

But we are not comparing like with like. Galway enjoyed the New York holiday, as many teams tend to do given the gap between the sides, but Pádraic Joyce had every reason to smile with confidence after the game with Roscommon.

Joyce made the point that Galway’s days of being a one-man or sometimes a two-man operation are over.

They went into battle against Roscommon without Shane Walsh, who seems ideally adapted to the new playing rules, particularly the two-pointer, while Damien Comer was only allowed to dip his toe into the water.

You suspect he will be diving in at the deep end when the ball is thrown in for the final in Castlebar.

It was the manner in which Galway exposed Roscommon that will leave McStay and his team with much to ponder. The biggest conundrum for Mayo will be coming to grips, literally, with the Galway midfield, where Paul Conroy and John Maher hold sway.

The likes of Dylan McHugh, Liam Silke and Cillian McDaid led the way against Roscommon as Galway banked a tidy 1-24.

Sean Kelly also had a powerful game at centre-back and looks back to his very best, but it was the efficiency in the forward line which worries me, Robert Finnerty given the freedom of Salthill and finishing with a huge haul of 0-8, Conroy picking off two two-pointers, the one just on the half-time buzzer like an arrow driving right into the heart of Roscommon’s poor defending.

But Mayo do not go without hope.

A 10-minute period of Roscommon dominance in the second half could not be maintained but they did find a way through that Galway defence, and you can be certain of one thing – Mayo won’t balk before a home crowd which is expected to be close to the 20,000 mark.

As McStay has already accepted without argument when he agreed that improvements will be needed in all areas, it reminded me of that famous quite by Robert Shaw in the film Jaws: “We’re going to need a bigger boat.”

Mayo will surely need a bigger boat – and one that is not going to take too much water on board.

The rudder of the vessel will be in the hands of the midfield men, where this game is likely to be decided.

Mayo’s defence will have to be tight, goalkeeper Colm Reape will have to be sharp with his kick-outs, and the forwards will have to find the finishing power that has so far evaded them in the 2025 championship.

Yes, McStay and his backroom team have some big calls to make, while players too have some big questions to answer and Mayo have to be at their best as there is definitely a lot more in the tank.

Galway and Mayo encounters tend to be close games, as we discovered in last year’s final when a controversial refereeing call gifted the title to Galway.

Mayo last won the Nestor Cup in 2021 when they beat Galway in Croke Park.

They are due another big game. Time to set sail in the bigger boat.