It had the potential to be a banana skin ever since the draw for the Championship was made, but Mayo safely negotiated their trip to the Hyde on Sunday with a comfortable five-point win over Roscommon.
Having secured their Division One status in the National Football League, April was all about seeing off the championship challenges of both New York and Roscommon. Now Kevin McStay and his charges have a fortnight to get ready for a huge Connacht Final against Galway in Salthill on Sunday, May 5.
Sligo put in a great display against Galway on Saturday, and very nearly pulled off the shock of the Championship, but Padraic Joyce had a late Rob Finnerty goal to thank for sealing their place in what is now a very eagerly awaited final.
The provincial championships have definitely lost some of their sparkle since the introduction of the All-Ireland round robin series, but winning some silverware is undoubtedly a huge priority for Kevin McStay, as he told reporters after the game on Sunday. He wasted no time in hammering that message home.
“I never won one with Mayo. Some of the coaches have, obviously. A lot of young players in our group haven’t won Connacht championships, so it’s huge.
“We value the medals. I know people pooh-pooh it; this is the best way into the round robin. We’re going to go after it, that’s what we feel. That’s our analysis. And we’re going to go after it as hard as we can.
“The nice thing is we have two weeks because we’re in charge of our rhythm now again and we have work to do. We can get that work done and put up a massive show against Galway. That’ll be what we’ll be thinking anyway in the buildup to it.”
Strong line-up
Padraic Joyce too will be keen not to hand any further incentives to Mayo, and we are sure to see a very strong line-up from the Tribesmen, who have been blighted by injuries to key players this season.
Mayo too will be hoping to have a clean bill of health and the return of the O’Connor brothers, Diarmuid and Cillian, would add some strength in depth to a squad that this season has looked a bit short of options from the bench.
So, all in all, it promises to be an occasion to savour in Salthill next Sunday week. Galway are going for three Connacht titles in a row – something they haven’t done since the early 1980s – and it is clear from McStay’s quotes that he feels nothing less that a victory will be good enough from his side.
Along helping to satisfy the real hunger for silverware, a victory would also ensure top seeding in the round-robin series, which will definitely make it easier to negotiate a path back to Croke Park later in the summer.
The defeat for Derry and a lacklustre display from Kerry over the weekend means that Dublin are now hot favourites to again win Sam Maguire this year, while Mayo are now back into fourth favourites with most of the bookies.
They certainly would love a crack at one of the big names in a semi-final, and the scintillating form of Ryan O’Donoghue will no doubt be key to getting to the later stages of the championship.
The Belmullet man is perhaps currently the best forward in the country, and if the likes of Tommy Conroy, Jordan Flynn and Jack Carney can find their top form, then Mayo could prove they are a match for most teams. Their loyal supporters will be dreaming of making it all the way to an All-Ireland final in late July.
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