McStay working on Mayo puzzle
IF Kevin McStay went to MacHale Park on Sunday afternoon to take the pulse of Mayo football, then he’ll be confident enough that the heart is beating strong. Midway through the double bill of football championship quarter-final action in Castlebar, the TG4 cameras picked him out in the stand, watching intently with members of his freshly-appointed management team. Stephen Rochford cut a familiar figure over his shoulder, while coach Damien Mulligan was in frame too and in earnest conversation.
He would surely have been encouraged by what was on view, with scenes that were very familiar to the legion of county supporters who have trekked to Croke Park for All-Ireland finals this past 25 years or so when the Sam Maguire Cup has been within view so often – and yet remained tantalisingly out of reach.
Look at Cillian O’Connor slotting scores with that familiar free-taking style of a player who is well established as the county’s all-time championship scorer.
It felt somehow fitting that the official Man of the Match in the second quarterfinal between Ballintubber and Breaffy went to the player who had the last kick by splitting the posts with a nerveless deadball to make the game safe.
There were echoes of Mayo versus Meath in the 1996 All-Ireland final in his 24th-minute goal in the shape of a high delivery around the square, and a ball that was somehow allowed to bounce and cause chaos. When a team-mate’s ballooned effort didn’t reach the posts but swirled around to bounce on the white paint of the six yard box, it allowed O’Connor enough time to come barrelling in and fist to the net, getting there ahead of goalkeeper Rob Hennelly, who had far less distance to travel but who was stuck flat-footed waiting for the high bounce to come back down.
The right man at the right time, was the view from the commentary box, and it’s hard not to think that he will remain an instrumental figure when McStay plans for 2023. So, too, his younger brother Diarmuid, who produced a trademark box-to-box type display.
In the next attacking play for Breaffy, another modern totem of Mayo football was involved – the referee calling a 13-metre free for a foul on Aidan O’Shea before the ball had been delivered in.
Repeating the county trick of competing for the throw-ins, he remains an imposing target man when sitting deep and living up to the 14 on his back.
While clearly frustrated at times throughout by the quality of the high ball angled towards him, he still caused so much trouble at times for Ballintubber, constantly drawing fouls from various defenders who couldn’t live with his physicality and presence.
When midfielder David McHale went to put manners on him at one point in the second half, the pair ended up grappling and on the ground, with a pair of yellow cards issued.
And for all that they have soldiered together on the field with Mayo, the ultra-competitor in O’Connor saw the Ballintubber forward booked himself with a few minutes to go after pulling back O’Shea by the jersey as the latter’s team chased a late goal.
One moment in the second half, though, reminded of how he has stopped pulling the trigger at Croke Park and lost a bit of confidence in his shooting.
Awarded a free, he wasn’t confident enough to go for the shot out on the left, just 30 metres out, and instead played a short ball where Matthew Ruane was swallowed up by a group of defenders and turned over.
It didn’t fully add up either that, with Breaffy needing a goal in last few minutes of an extended period of injury time, he was the one popping the ball in to the full-forward line rather than being the one underneath it.
The opening quarter-final, too, produced some headline performances.
Take the point-scoring of Castlebar’s Ethan Gibbons as Knockmore were dethroned, coming up with some sweet thumping efforts off left and right. A promising young player whose own Man of the Match award wouldn’t have escaped those watching eyes in the stand. There will always be a demand for a Mayo forward who can almost casually hit 0-7, only two of those coming from placed balls. The loss of Tommy Conroy and
Ryan O’Donoghue clearly blunted Mayo’s attack this summer and that bit of added sparkle and quality up front is arguably key to the county’s ambitions next season. McStay didn’t exactly have to do a deep statistical dive to know that no player scored more than a single point from play in the tame 1-18 to 0-13 All-Ireland quarter-final defeat by Kerry – bar Jordan Flynn who managed two points. He won’t be lacking dynamic runners like Paddy Durcan or Diarmuid O’Connor, who both produced lung-busting performances.
Kevin McLoughlin’s cultured left boot was evident, too, in one raking long ball to very nearly put his team in for a score.
It’s whether McStay and company can unearth a hidden gem or polish up some of the rough diamonds that are already there.
Is O’Shea still to be regarded as a kind of talisman and leader, someone to continue to man an important central position up the spine of the team? Or is he the kind of explosive, game-changer from the bench that any AllIreland contender also needs?
It was a weekend for Mayo football when there were echoes of past and present in another popular figure, Andy Moran, signing off on his club career in style by hitting 3-3 for Ballaghaderreen in Saturday’s relegation play-off win over Davitts.
A guard of honour afterwards said everything about how Mayo view their old soldiers.
If McStay can put all the pieces of the puzzle together, imagine how many will stand shoulder to shoulder to line the streets.
‘Defenders couldn’t live with his physicality’