Maughan happy to get out of 'jail'

All-Ireland SFC Semi-final: post-match reaction: Phew! A collective sigh of relief came from the Mayo management and players in the aftermath of yesterday's drawn All-Ireland semi-final. Now wasn't the time for picking through the bones of a disappointing performance. Unlike all the other big guns that have been hit by the Fermanagh train this year, Mayo survived.

Eventually, they flung open their dressing-room door and talked about how lucky they felt to have avoided becoming victim number five of the story of 2004.

"My initial reaction is that we got out of jail," said John Maughan. "With 15 minutes to go I was praying to the Lord and calling in any favours that were due. Yeah, we were very, very lucky. Fermanagh had a wonderful opportunity to beat us today. You have to take your hats off to our boys, our defence in particular, they showed marvellous resilience.

"There was one particular incident in the game I remember, where David Heaney put in a tremendous rob on the near side. That sent out a statement that we were not going to give up easily.

"Thankfully we held on and when I saw Kieran (McDonald) with the ball in his hands late on I thought maybe we were going to win it but it would have been a total injustice from the way we played today."

So Mayo, the class act of the summer, hit early autumn and the giant-killing Fermanagh. Bam! Nothing seems to work. Just like Armagh, except this week Tom Brewster's late shot for glory fell short.

"It's very difficult to put your finger on it," admitted Maughan, "because we have been playing absolutely brilliant football to date. Maybe it's the best thing that has happened to us. These guys are human, you know. They have to go to work during the week and some are quite clearly very sore at the moment.

"It's difficult. The approach was right, the training was right, the attitude was right but quite clearly something is wrong. Whatever that mystery thing is we will now have to clarify and rectify it by next Saturday."

Selector Liam McHale expressed relief, but more pertinently pointed to Fermanagh's missed opportunities, and in an even clearer manner.

"We're absolutely delighted. I'd hate to see how many wides they kicked (six in the second half). It's going to be very difficult for them to pick themselves up now after this; they really have thrown the game away. We were just hanging on in the last 15 minutes. I'm sure the guys will be delighted to be coming back next Saturday.

"We played with a lot of tension. I think it was two young teams that haven't been at this stage of the competition for a long time. It showed in both performances."

The manager and selector were in agreement that James Gill's red card for a second caution was harsh.

Down the other end of the hall Charlie Mulgrew gave his opinion at a decibel level barely above a whisper. Yet, there is a glint in his eye these days. As the championship has developed he has become more relaxed with the media, more comfortable at talking and saying nothing. In fairness, his players have been a deafening mouthpiece.

How did you rally the troops at half-time Charlie? "Well, we've been in this position before so it was the same as any half-time. You talk about the things you have done in the first half and try and get rid of the bad things, then try and move on."

What about the missed opportunities late on? "Well, that's the game of football. There is nothing you can do. We were trying. I suppose we didn't go through the heart of Mayo, we kept going down the flanks so we were under pressure shooting from out wide but because of the weather factor what we needed to do actually was punch down the middle. But we didn't do that so it's a bit disappointing.

"I think we owned the ball in the second half after that guy from Mayo (Gill) was sent off but we didn't capitalise with scores."

Unlike his counterparts, Mulgrew failed to see the result as a hindrance to his team. Psychological factors do not come into play against Mulgrew's Fermanagh. They've come too far.

"Both teams are in the same situation. It's a level playing field."

Mayo feel like they have earned a reprieve. If the weather is kinder they will be flowing much smoother come Saturday. Fermanagh only know one way to play: flat out.