Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
The Mayo nays will become hoorays on this form
IF Sunday in Newbridge told us anything, it’s that Mayo certainly haven’t gone away.
The stakes were high in this game; both counties desperately needed the points to avoid relegation. It was a real four-pointer.
By the time I arrived, St Conleth’s Park had already been colonised by Mayo supporters who made the long journey and significantly outnumbered the locals (who support their county well themselves).
It was an enjoyable contest in the first 20 minutes, with some brilliant scores. Kildare were moving quite well in that period but you could see just how focused Mayo’s main men were.
The performance was completely at odds with what Mayo had served up in previous weeks. I couldn’t believe it was the same team.
Granted, Kildare aren’t the strongest outfit in Division One. They put in a big shift but their wastefulness killed them, as 12 wides and six shots short will do.
Still, if I was asked a couple of weeks ago who I felt would win on May 13 between Mayo and Galway, my answer would have been Galway. Not now.
There is definitely a big kick left in Mayo.
Colm Boyle and Lee Keegan protected their full-back line brilliantly, Tom Parsons was excellent and Aidan O’shea had his best game since the All-ireland final.
He scored 1-1 but it was his work off the ball that was most striking. It’s something that could have been questioned before but not on this occasion.
Kevin Mcloughlin was named man of the match but it could easily have been O’shea.
Diarmuid O’connor had his best outing for some time while Andy Moran wreaked havoc yet again. Kildare tried three different markers on him but none could handle the classy veteran.
He was like a spring chicken bouncing around the place, magnificent from start to finish.
An interesting development was Rob Hennelly playing in goal for the second successive match. He was superb; I’ve never seen him playing as well. His shot-stopping was impressive, his kickouts were outstanding and he knocked over a couple of booming frees to boot. Perhaps Stephen Rochford thinks they just need something different back there this year. That as good a shotstopped as David Clarke is, there are issues Hennelly can resolve for them, long-range freetaking being one of them.
I’ll be keen to see if that change is just a fad or if it’ll take root moving towards the Championship.
Adam Gallagher at cornerforward also caught the eye for Mayo, but the gulf in class between the sides was apparent.
Cian O’neill cut a forlorn figure and why wouldn’t he? His side have now lost nine games in succession between Championship, O’byrne Cup and League.
With relegation inevitable, O’neill will have his work cut out to lift Kildare for the Championship.
His side left an awful lot to be desired up front.
They do have a favourable Leinster Championship draw, however, and look set to battle it out with Westmeath to reach the provincial final.
They won’t be troubling Dublin, however.
The only team that will come within an ass’s roar of them is Mayo.