I didn’t get to Kerry on Sunday due to my own club commitments, but reports from the south would appear to be encouraging. My spies tell me Mayo could have won, or at least drawn, the match, which is more than anticipated. Rightly, John O’Mahony was critical afterwards of the demands being made on certain players. Take a footballer like Kevin McLoughlin, who didn’t play on Sunday due to an injury – he has come through a Sigerson Cup campaign, his senior debut, and the start of the u21 championship, all in the space of a few weeks.
It is ridiculous having a closed season in November and December and then overloading players at this time of the year. It’s no wonder Kevin is injured: He is putting himself through so much right now.
He was the talk of the place after his debut against Westmeath, but he didn’t get to line out in Kerry. He will hopefully be fit enough to line out again with the under 21s on Saturday of this weekend, which will almost certainly see him unavailable to play with the seniors on Sunday in Ballina against the Dubs. I imagine that senior management will again resist from playing the five members of the 21s but despite our weakened hand victory is attainable against Dublin. The Dubs look to be in bad shape. Without Alan Brogan, they could struggle against Mayo. Of the Kilmacud Crokes contingent, Mark Vaughan is the most likely to be heavily involved this summer, but he may not be available this weekend.
Pat Gilroy looks to have huge problems with the team. They were very poor against Galway and easy pickings for Derry too. Derry just blew them away at times, and this is an inexperienced – though impressive – Derry side. I fancy Mayo to pick up the two points which would definitely stave off relegation.
Galway could be building up to something big
Meanwhile, Galway are buzzing. They destroyed Donegal in another powerful illustration of their ability to put big scores up in devastating bursts. Galway are winning games in 20 minutes. That’s how potent they are. If the All-Ireland was played now, Galway would win it. They are the form team of the country. Luckily for everyone else – not least Mayo! – the All-Ireland is not being played now.
Padraig Joyce is in astonishing form. He has the whole team singing off the same hymn sheet, and the general play up front is most impressive. Michael Meehan, too, is producing some scintillating displays at the minute, and it now looks like Galway will have a major say in things this summer.
Next generation continue to impress
That’s why the victory by Mayo u21s over Galway in Charlestown on Saturday was so significant. This Galway team came to Mayo with a big reputation, understandably given the quality of players at their disposal, but Mayo handled them well and carved out a deserved win. Our u21s are going for four Connacht titles on the trot, which is some achievement, particularly when you consider that Galway and Roscommon have had strong teams in some of those years. I was hugely impressed by Mayo’s attitude and determination: They dominated the first-half, and should have been further ahead at half-time, but that didn’t knock them off their stride and they came out the right side of a seesaw battle.
It was clear that they expected to win. They weren’t fazed by their first-half misses. There is a hard core of players there who have already been successful at this grade, and they brought that experience to bear on Saturday.
Apart from the players who have already lined out for the Mayo senior team, some others caught the eye too. I’ll start with Cathal Carolan, who happens to be from my home club, Crossmolina.
At the start of the season, he wasn’t playing particularly well, and at one point there was concern that he might not make the u21 panel. But he is now coming good at the right time and contributed enormously around the middle of the field against Galway. Cathal is an example for young players everywhere. He wasn’t a star county player coming up the line, but he is now maturing, and not alone do I think he will continue to do a good job for the u21s, but I also feel, if he adopts the right work ethic, he could very well go on to make a good county senior footballer. There’s an honesty about his play that will always endear him to managers and team-mates. Every team needs players like him.
Cathal Freeman, coming off last year’s minor team, has been flagged for quite some time as a player of real potential. I was very taken by him on Saturday. He was an ever-present outlet on the wing for kick-outs and passes from defence. This helped to relieve pressure at crucial times. He may not have blinding pace, but he is a good ball-winner and, most importantly of all, he uses the ball very effectively. He rarely wasted a ball on Saturday always linking up play intelligently keeping the ball alive every time.
Kevin McLoughlin, as I’ve said before, looks a very hot talent and was deservedly awarded man of the match. Tom Parsons showed lots of signs on Saturday that he is emerging from a run of indifferent form, and we can look forward to him delivering on his undoubted potential over the coming months. He is an important man for Mayo at u21 and senior level.
Club finals left me cold
St Patrick’s Day was warm – but the club finals left me cold. It is usually the other way around.
In the company of Willie Joe Padden I watched Portumna destroy De La Salle. Portumna are one of the finest teams I have ever seen in Croke Park. The teamwork is amazing. The deft touches, the reverse passes, and the cross-field deliveries – they are something to behold. From a competitive point of view, though, it made for a bad final. I hoped the football final would make amends: It was a closer-run affair, but I thought the standard was abysmal.
Crossmaglen relied too heavily on Oisin McConville. Francie looked slow. Armagh need pace and if Francie appears in the county colours again this year, I would have to suspect he would be a target for a pacy forward. The Francie of old would relish the opportunity of putting the frighteners on such a player, but it looks increasingly likely that his days are numbered at the highest levels.
Kilmacud Crokes won’t complain, of course. It’s preferable to win a dull, dour match, as this was, than to lose a classic. Willie Joe was happy – his nephew was playing wing-back for Crokes, so he gets a prestigious medal. I haven’t been a fan of the experimental rules, but when you see the number of fouls that went unpunished by the referee in the Crokes-Rangers game, I’d have to revise my opinion. Dreadfully negative play was the order of the day: Pulling, dragging, hanging in late, and generally spoiling any prospect of creative play.
Apart from all that, one other team caught my eye at the weekend: Kildare. Have they improved or what?! They even look like Armagh with those tight fitting jerseys. It is a good day’s work to go to Clones and beat a credible Monaghan team. The Dubs are floundering. Kildare might be a good outside bet. I might get back some of the money I lost on Crossmaglen Rangers. Maybe that’s why I’m cranky with Francie!
