After a dominant victory over League and All-Ireland champions Kerry, Mayo boss Kevin McStay wasn’t about to fuel the hype.
Perhaps it was just as well then, from McStay’s point of view, that Mayo didn’t streak to a record victory in this fixture, something which looked very likely at stages.
Their lead peaked at 13 points during what Kerry manager Jack O’Connor described as a “chastening enough experience”; Mayo’s biggest ever win over Kerry was by 10 way back in the 1948 All-Ireland semi-final.
“How we played was good and bad, there was plenty of good things to look back on but we made plenty of errors,” said McStay.
“Overall I’m pleased with the two points, because we are two points closer to safe and that’s very important to us, that we hold our Division One status and it’s very important that we get there as quick as we can.
“Then we can look at other things, and there are a lot of lads pushing hard for minutes and it’s incredibly competitive.”
Mayo were emphatic winners on the night and had the game wrapped up before half-time, with Jordan Flynn, James Carr and Ryan O’Donoghue always a scoring threat, while the attack thrived around the fulcrum provided at full-forward by Aidan O’Shea, who was consistently at the centre of most of their best moments.
Again, McStay was reluctant to lavish praise when quizzed on the 32-year-old’s display, saying wryly: “You know what I think of these senior players around the scene and what they have done for us as a county, so I don’t want to individualise it and talk about Aidan.
“It’s expected - he’s a big feckin’ man! Look at the size of him, he’s expected to go in and win the balls he is winning and he should be doing more of it.
“They have to play their full height, they are big men. But we are pleased with the direction he is going in, it’s up to us to make that work as coaches and we are going to try very hard on it. He’s just a small part of it.”
In acknowledging how impressive Mayo were, particularly in the first half, Kerry’s inertia must also be referenced. Up front, they were toothless until the introduction of Sean O’Shea and David Clifford for the second half, while their defence chased shadows until Mayo’s intensity waned about 10 minutes into the second half.
First half goals from O’Donoghue and Carr both came from Kerry turnovers and by half-time it was 2-8 to 0-3. Come the 43rd minute it was 2-11 to 0-4 before Mayo went 18 minutes without a score.
Kerry made some inroads at that stage, hitting 0-4 without reply, while Barry O’Sullivan’s well-taken goal in the 69th minute put some respectability on the final scoreline from their point of view.
The champions clearly have catching up to do in terms of their training load and key personnel to phase back in, with the big win over Monaghan having perhaps given a false impression.
“We were well off it,” acknowledged O’Connor. “Particularly in the first half, we were a good bit off it.
“I know, I’ve said this consistently, we were late back training which was understandable after the All-Ireland. Mayo seemed to have the legs on us there in the first half.
“We couldn’t get to grips with their running game. We showed a bit of heart in the second half but the game was won at that stage.”
You’d have to go back to 1982 for the last time that Kerry won the League as reigning All-Ireland champions and eight years before that again since they won it outright in consecutive seasons, but getting to in and around six points and staying in the top flight is the height of O’Connor’s ambitions before the Championship kicks in.
“You can’t press the fast-forward button. Fitness takes a bit of time and sharpness takes a bit of time. Unfortunately we have to try and get work into the lads while at the same time trying to be competitive. That’s the challenge.”
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