Mayo have the means and the Maughan agenda

 All-Ireland SFC semi-final Mayo v FermanaghFermanagh's supporters are obviously emulating their team in out-performing expectations, as Croke Park is heading for a near-capacity crowd in tomorrow's Bank of Ireland All-Ireland semi-final.

That the northern county's first appearance at this stage is against Mayo has probably helped the interest.

They beat the Connacht champions last year and would regard them as a more manageable proposition than neighbours Tyrone, with whom Fermanagh have had an oppressive relationship down through the years.

The irony is that, having reached this point with a series of deserved but unheralded wins, Charlie Mulgrew's team go into this weekend being given more of a chance in an All-Ireland semi-final than at any previous stage of the championship campaign.

More than novelty, however, is expected of the match.

Unfancied they may have been but Fermanagh's style of football is familiar enough to have earned clichés such as "uninhibited" and "abandon".

Mayo, for their part, come into the match with arguably the summer's best portfolio of performances.

Naturally, their dispatch of the All-Ireland champions Tyrone attracted most attention but the other defeats of both Galway and Roscommon were also good performances in which the team's greatly improved forward play was on view.

It's as well to be cautious though.

A year ago this weekend the Kerry-Tyrone semi-final was eagerly anticipated as a clash of the two most attack-minded teams left in the championship. In the event it triggered a national outcry.

Fermanagh are unlikely to change their style at this stage given its centrality to their progress. Any check list of the assets that have got the team this far includes the manner in which so many players have exceeded their previous form and the dash of the newcomers.

Having dealt them a bad hand with the injury to Barry Owens going into the final stages of the Tyrone match, fate has been occasionally helpful in the meantime.

Donegal's wides kept the fourth-round qualifier afloat and both Armagh and Donegal reduced their numbers by picking up needless red cards.

But the drive and ability of the team has been the prize asset. Down the middle they are strong, with Owens, Shane McDermott, Martin McGrath, James Sherry and Stephen Maguire providing a solid core of strength, ball-winning capacity and shooting accuracy.

The defence isn't flawless but after bad starts in the Donegal and Armagh matches the backs came to terms with their task and finished strongly. Up to then, however, they had looked in difficulties.

Pace on the wings has been another component of the game and the relentless support play when the ball goes into the forwards has been too much for Cork and Armagh.

Mayo do bring an in-form centrefield to the party.

David Brady's display against Tyrone was notable for his point kicking but that's a sufficiently rare phenomenon for it to be advisable for the experienced Ballina man to play the percentages a bit more and concentrate on holding the middle.

His partner Ronan McGarrity, both parents from Fermanagh, had a good day marking Seán Cavanagh and will need to be equally mobile tomorrow but overall the Connacht side look to have the edge in the sector.

Fermanagh's task will be to defuse Mayo's attacking threat. That means tighter marking on Kieran McDonald than would perhaps suit McDermott's game so it will be no surprise if a man marker is assigned that detail.

McDonald does his best work in relatively loose situations when he drifts onto ball or has it teed up for him.

On the inside line the Mortimers had different experiences, with Trevor a constant ball-winning threat but Conor's input more intermittent.

Their opponents Owens and Ryan McCloskey won't be intimidated by the prospect.

Last year's match is of limited relevance, as Mayo retain only seven of their starting line-out and Fermanagh six, but there are straws in the wind.

Against Tyrone scoring honours went to Alan Dillon on the wing but he didn't have the happiest of afternoons when the counties met last year.

Recent meetings have established one trend: the matches go down to the wire. In those circumstances Fermanagh would feel confident having won three matches by a point, two after extra time, whereas Mayo have never really been brought the full distance.

There is one crucial area where Mayo have an advantage. Manager John Maughan has a genuine All-Ireland agenda. Fermanagh's year has been recently marked out in terms of unparalleled achievement but anything less than the championship will be a disappointment to the Connacht champions.

Together with this motivation is their ability to combine the best of Fermanagh's opponents to date.

They have the consistency that for instance Armagh, alternating between awesome and sluggish, lacked this year. They have the pace and mobility to stay with Fermanagh's relentless running and the attacking creativity to keep the scoreboard moving.