Mayo’s chance to finally banish demons of the past

Inside Track with John McIntyre

SIX times Mayo footballers have been beaten in All-Ireland finals since 1989 and on each occasion, they have fallen short – and badly short in their three September showdowns against Kerry. During that period, the Connacht men have run the gauntlet of being labelled as big day failures and lacking the necessary bottle as a county’s six decade yearning for Sam Maguire reaches desperate levels.

Last year, they suffered an honourable four-point loss to Donegal despite being raided for two morale-sickening early goals, including Michael Murphy’s rocket. Mayo didn’t die or collapse and battled bravely to the finish even if there was a certain inevitability about the outcome after the opening ten minutes. Manager James Horan has brought a harder edge to the Connacht champions and they have certainly trained on in 2013.

It’s doubtful if ever a team has proven as superior to all their rivals in the provincial championship as Mayo did out west this summer. They just didn’t beat Galway, Roscommon and surprise finalists London in turn, they beat them all out the gate before also powering over Donegal in the All-Ireland quarter-final. Still, the jury was out on how good the team was as all Mayo’s opponents so far had hardly raised a gallop and only offered token resistance.

We were always going to find out more about Mayo’s capabilities against Tyrone in the subsequent semi-final and for a while they reverted to type. Under-performing, shooting bad wides and in trouble until defenders Chris Barrett and Lee Keegan stormed forward to pick off critical points approaching half-time. By the end of the game, there was only one team in it as a physically powerful and mobile Mayo almost cantered home.

They look a new Mayo but until they actually win the All-Ireland title, long-held suspicions about them will not evaporate. And they face a massive challenge on Sunday in coping with an in-form Dublin outfit who again steamrolled their way through Leinster before accounting for Cork and Kerry – the match of the year – on their way to the final. The Dubs came close to falling in that epic battle with the Kingdom but, ultimately, their younger legs, stronger bench and a Roy of the Rovers style finish got them over the line.

It would be a great way for Mayo to end their title famine and they do have every chance despite Dublin’s current verve and strength indepth. For a start , the O’Shea brothers, Aidan and Seamus, are a much more formidable midfield pairing that what Jim Gavin’s men had to contend with against Kerry and it should also be to the Connacht champions’ advantage that they will hardly engage Dublin in an end-to-end shootout like Kerry did. Mayo are tactically astute and are hardly going to allow opposition half-backs Jack McCaffrey and James McCarthy the scope to attack at will.

Mayo will also have to target Stephen Cluxton’s kick-outs which are so often a launching pad for Dublin’s attacks, while they can’t afford the level of poor finishing that was so evident in the opening half against Tyrone. It is heartening, however, the manner in which they got themselves out of a big hole in that match and there is undoubtedly a seasoned maturity about them now. There is little evidence either that Mayo will under-perform in the final. They have come through the school of hard knocks and are all the better for it.

There is such an intense longing for an All-Ireland title among their long suffering supporters that a Mayo triumph on Sunday could herald unequalled-style celebrations. It would be a mighty final to win with a formidable Dublin team in the other corner and though their well-chronicled list of final failures is lurking in the background, it’s about time Mayo stepped up to the plate on the biggest day of them all. In reality, this team has no excuses as they are good enough to do it.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.