Doors open and doors close as Connacht gets set for a brand new era
THAT Stephen Rochford feels the need to declare Mayo are only looking at going through the ‘front door’ can be taken as a sign of changed times.
James Horan’s arrival in 2011 reduced the qualifiers to an irrelevance, Mayo’s dominance in Connacht so absolute that they were never even countenanced.
That changed last year when Galway drew a line under a five-game losing streak against their neighbours and for a few weeks there was a surge in Morning Ireland’s listenership in Mayo.
But their presence in the qualifiers invited more of a sense of curiosity than crisis, with some viewing it as a possible blessing.
That was understandable too; when you have won five Connachts in a row and still not got over the All-Ireland line it is easy to understand why some clutched at the straw that a new road might gift a new edge.
As it transpired, it made little difference, getting them close but not close enough.
The thing is that this time, though, hitting the qualifiers will leave less room for any ambiguous feelings in Mayo.
The ‘threat of the unknown’ in the qualifiers is a little exaggerated in terms of genuine front rank All-Ireland contenders seeing their summer scuppered in an ambush.
That said, the losers of today’s game will drop into the more taxing ‘A’ side of the draw, which will also include the losers of next weekend’s big semi-final clash in Ulster between Donegal and Tyrone. If Mayo were to lose today, the probability of meeting one of Ulster’s big two in the third round is one-inthree.
There is enough in that alone to focus Mayo minds, but the real reason why Rochford’s team cannot afford to lose here is that it would signpost the kind of slippage that there is unlikely to be any way of clawing back in the coming months.
Unlike last year, this time Mayo are forewarned heading into Galway’s back-yard and playing opponents who are surfing the wave of momentum that comes with promotion.
Allied to that, there is no mistaking that we will soon see a changing of the guard in the west.
Galway are set to back up their run to the AllIreland Under 21 final with an exceptional minor team who are destined to win back-to-back minor titles in Connacht.
It is 2009 since Galway last recorded back-toback wins over Mayo in the Championship and should that happen today, it will have the feel of the end of an era about it.
‘I think they’ve shown a steady progression over the last two or three years,’ admits Rochford. ‘Obviously their U21s had a good run in the championship, their minors put on a display a number of weeks ago, and the seniors now are FBD champions, Division 2 champions, and Connacht champions so that cabinet is getting fairly packed.
‘We know that it’s going to be quite a battle going up into their back garden,’ admitted Rochford this week.
But despite his nice words about Galway, he also know they are not anything like All-Ireland contenders.
Kevin Walsh may be working to ensure that they are someday soon, but right now Galway are a top eight team with top four ambitions.
Meanwhile, Mayo’s ambition is a constant, their form less so.
There is little evidence to suggest that they have progressed, but should they lose today, the consensus will deem that have regressed.
And the road back will almost certainly be too steep to climb from here.
‘We are only looking at the front door,’ insists Rochford.
It is the only one they can open which will offer hope on the other side.