Mayo appear to hold the aces

Has there been a greater reversal of fortune all summer than that suffered by the Tipperary footballers? Two weeks ago they were on the verge of stardom when they drew with Cork in the Munster final. Last week they were on the verge of tears after Cork left them with a 19-point defeat in the replay

Now they must head out for the third weekend in succession with the possibility of another severe pounding. Manager Tom McGlinchey is adamant they haven't become a bad team overnight. But there's no denying now Cork were caught by surprise that first day, and had no problem handling Tipperary in Páirc Uí Chaoimh last Sunday. Anthony Lynch foiled almost every effort from Declan Browne, and other key men like Peter Lambert, Kevin Mulryan and Sean Maher were practically anonymous.

McGlinchey's main problem is trying to restore player confidence, but as the brief history of the qualifiers has shown, that's almost impossible to do in just six days. And with a few injuries thrown in, McGlinchey won't finalise his team until shortly before this evening's throw-in.

From a Mayo point of view all this makes for great news. Manager Pat Holmes suffered his own setback earlier in the summer with the desperately close defeat by Galway, but with the subsequent wins over Roscommon and especially Limerick the team has clearly regrouped and refocused.

Some valuable lessons have been taken from in the Limerick game. Holmes had gambled on youth this summer and it hadn't always paid off. Limerick started nervously but fought back with such determination Mayo had to call on every ounce of their greater experience to survive.

That experience had been given a greater role for this evening's game. Corner backs Ken Mortimer and Noel Connelly have been recalled, and David Brady returns to midfield alongside David Tiernan. Colm McManamon also starts in the attack.

On paper it looks like a far more settled Mayo team than the one that fell to Galway. The return of Kieran McDonald adds further weight to the sideline. There are a few problems in that James Nallen and Gary Ruane are both missing through injury. But the gloom of Sunday's defeat won't be easily lifted for Tipperary, and Mayo are poised to take full advantage.

MAYO: P Burke; K Mortimer, D Heaney, P Coyne; N Connelly, A Roche, A Higgins; D Tiernan, D Brady; C McManamon, T Mortimer, J Gill; S Carolan, B Maloney, J Horan.