Time has come for O’Shea to deliver on final day
Mayo will need massive performance from Breaffy man to claim elusive All-Ireland title
T HERE’S not too many people in Galway who would begrudge Mayo an All-Ireland title – but they have to go and earn it. This is the pinnacle for any footballer and unless you’ve done it, the experience is hard to describe.
It’s everything – from pride in yourself, for your family, friends and the local people who supported you for years.
But there can only be one winner and Mayo manager Stephen Rochford won’t want to feel like he did at the end of last year’s replay against Dublin again.
He has plenty to consider ahead of another showdown with the Sky Blues and here I take a look at what will be occupying his mind before throw-in under a number of headings . . .
STRENGTHS
The strongest element of the Mayo team is defence and midfield – by a mile – and the running game they implement.
What Rochford will want to see is his men going at Dublin with great pace and when the likes of Lee Keegan, Colm Boyle, Donal Vaughan and even Keith Higgins break forward, it gives Mayo something extra.
Dublin will try to negate that and Rochford will also be conscious of ensuring that his defenders do their primary job – defending.
I’d expect every one of these Dublin forwards to be man-marked but then you have their bench to worry about.
The fact that Eoghan O’Gara was brought on against Tyrone says to me that he’ll have a big role to play again.
And he’ll cause a lot of problems because Mayo struggle in that fullback position.
It was a big move putting Aidan O’Shea on Kerry’s Kieran Donaghy but given O’Gara’s size and strength, I don’t know if Mayo have anybody in that back six capable of matching him, unless Vaughan picks him up.
Bernard Brogan loves playing against Mayo and this is a real headache for Rochford because his defenders could spend 50 minutes chasing Con O’Callaghan and Dean Rock and then they’re up against Brogan or Kevin McManamon down the stretch.
That’s tough, no matter how fit you are, but a lot will depend on the mood of the game, and if Mayo are in control. But if they’re under pressure, and a point or two down, it’s a daunting prospect.
WEAKNESSES
It’s very hard to see a chink in Dublin’s armour but I do think that opposition teams give them too much respect.
I’m not suggesting that Mayo get overly-physical or dirty but teams do sit back and allow Jonny Cooper, Philly McMahon and Cian O’Sullivan time and space to get Dublin moving.
Ciarán Kilkenny will drop back and handle the ball 30 or 40 times, prodding and probing.
Mayo will look to push up on Dublin, with their forwards six on six and attacking Stephen Cluxton’s kickouts.
While I wouldn’t be an advocate of pushing up all of the time, if there’s a period of the game where you’re a point clear, you have to take a chance and try to move two or three ahead.
That Dublin full-back line hasn’t been tested all year and we’ve seen Cian O’Sullivan drop in there but because the Dubs win so much ball in the middle of the field, we rarely see Cooper, McMahon or O’Sullivan exposed one-on-one.
TEAM PREPARATION / LEADERS
Mayo will be familiar with the hotel they’ll stay in – and the bus journey to Dublin on the eve of the game was always a sanctuary for me.
You’re finally getting way from the hype and once you’re on that bus, you’re with the team-mates you want bring Sam back across the Shannon with.
When you reach the hotel, you’ll have food and a short team meeting. Then it’s down to players as to what they’ll do for the rest of the night.
Tomorrow morning, I’m sure that Rochford will be speaking with individual players, specifically a leader in each line to control the game.
THE MIND GAMES
We were always told, as forwards, to shake hands with the referee before the game and wish him well. It’s something I do to this very day at club level.
When we played Kerry in 2000, Darragh Ó Sé was having a full-blown conversation with Pat McEnaney for the first five or ten minutes.
Pat was a players’ man and I’d know him well myself, as my wife is a Monaghan woman.
Whether or not the players can get an inch out of Joe McQuillan is hard to know but he’ll have a huge bearing on this game in terms of how he implements the rules.
If he allows it to flow early on, we could be in for a teak-tough and cracking game but if he goes in early, stops the flow, pulls lads for off-the-ball stuff and is booking players, that will have a negative impact.
X-FACTOR
All-Ireland finals have a habit of throwing up unlikely heroes and in last year’s replay, Cormac Costello came off the bench to score three points. For Mayo to win this match, they’ll need a massive performance from Aidan O’Shea. There’s no point in hiding away from this – he has to produce. He’s an inspirational figure and if he kicks a point in the last 10 minutes, with the game in the melting pot, it would be almost worth two scores. Overall, he needs to score two or three points for Mayo to have a realistic chance. Andy Moran’s a proven performer and in line for Footballer of the Year, Cillian O’Connor’s coming and going while Jason Doherty’s playing well and winning ball but not scoring enough. Andy will score his two or three points, Diarmuid O’Connor will chip in with one or two and you might get one or two from the half-back line. But Mayo will need 1-15 or 1-16 to win this game and they’ll need 1-10 or 1-11 from O’Shea, O’Connor, Doherty and Kevin McLoughlin. Dublin have X-factor everywhere in that forward line. If one or two don’t produce, there’s others that can step up to the plate. It’s up to Mayo’s attackers to support Moran.