'We kept going and playing'

GAELIC GAMES:IN HIS first year as Mayo manager, James Horan has shown a knack for delivering succinct match summaries. Content with this Connacht semi-final win, he stood with his arms folded in an unreasonably cold tunnel beneath the new stand and praised his team for sticking with their plan.

“We finished strong and we kept going . We did well in the first half as well in terms of possession, we dominated the breaks 17-4 and we had a lot of shots but we were a bit tentative in our shooting and that cost us.

“But we had enough possession and we knew at half-time that if we kept our composure we would eventually get the opportunities so we are delighted with the win. Galway got in for a relatively soft goal but we knew that if we kept the work rate up we would get the opportunities.”

Horan paused for a moment when asked what it was he thought that Mayo did best. “I think we kept going. We missed a few frees in the first half, a few misplaced passes, a few missed frees and a few scares with yellow cards in the first half at full back with PJ in there. But we kept going and playing and got stronger so I am delighted with that.

“There is always relief when you win a championship match. The London match was a good experience for us in a way. It gave us a kick and it helped to sharpen us for today’s game, no doubt. So we are delighted with where we are and on Tuesday night we will get back to it and prepare for Roscommon.”

Galway exit quickly and quietly. Another Connacht semi-final defeat on the road and the prospect of facing Meath in the qualifiers to look forward to – in Navan. “It is disappointing all right,” said Tomás Ó Flatharta. “We were four points ahead at half-time and I felt we could have been a bit more ahead if we had been more direct. Any ball we played into the forwards they more or less got a score. So it was in the first half that we let it go.”

Ó Flatharta was reluctant to dwell on the 11-week lay-off between Galway’s last league match and this, their opening championship game. But given the manner in which Mayo devoured so much loose ball, it clearly took its toll.

“I don’t want use excuses for it but not having a competitive game – I suppose the team that has played a championship game before you has a bit of an advantage. But we gave some silly ball away and if we got more breaking ball, it would have been different. We will just have to pick ourselves up and get on with it.”