Division Two North Round One

Mayo v Down

Saturday, Elvery’s MacHale Park, 2pm 

By Niall Gartland

KEITH Higgins and Seamie O’Shea. Gone. Donal Vaughan, Chris Barrett and Tom Parsons. Gone.

It’s fair to say it’ll be a very different Mayo team this year. Five high-profile veterans decided to call it a day at the turn of the year, but it’s fair to say they were already going through something of a transition and still managed to reach the All-Ireland final, where the usual happened and they were beaten by Dublin.

Manager James Horan sounded relatively upbeat after their 2-14 to 0-15 defeat – sure lads like Vaughan, Parsons, Higgins and O’Shea had been relegated to the periphery anyway – and they’d exceeded expectations by reaching the final in the first place. And what about this –  three rookie players, Oisín Mullin, Tommy Conroy and Eoghan McLaughlin, were nominated for the Young Footballer of the Year award, which frankly speaks for itself.

He hasn’t had any trouble in beefing up his panel heading into the new season either; reports suggest around a dozen new players with around 25 clubs in the county represented in total, and they’ll be bidding to return to Division One at the first time of asking after their fate was sealed with a one-point defeat to Tyrone on the final day of last year’s league.

Common sense would dictate that they’ll have too much for Paddy Tally’s Down in their league opener. The Mourne outfit are only up from Division Three, haven’t pulled off a major upset since overcoming Monaghan in the 2017 Ulster Championship, and are understood to have been well-beaten by Tyrone in a recent challenge match.

The manner of last year’s provincial semi-final defeat to Cavan is sure to have stung, relinquishing an eight-point lead at half time, but it’s still worth reminding ourselves how they got into that position in the first place. Lots of pace and energy from deep, with wing-backs Caolan Mooney and Liam Kerr, a late inclusion, posing the Breffni county no end of problems.

Tally is characterised as a defensive coach, and they didn’t exactly shoot the lights out in the league though they did achieve promotion, but they did show improvements in attack.

Unfortunately, star attacker Jerome Johnston, who struck five points from play against Cavan, is likely to miss the league as he recovers from a hamstring strain, though on the flipside number of key players have returned to the fold this year.

Saval forward Pat Havern is back and could be a real option on the edge of the square while RGU Downpatrick player Anthony Doherty and Burren’s Gerard McGovern have linked up with the panel after time spent abroad. Captain Darren O’Hagan, who underwent several surgeries last season, may get some game time in the league but it looks like the Mayo game might come too soon for the Clonduff man.

Down will take succour from their performance against Mayo in a round two Qualifier two years ago, playing their part in an exciting match at Páirc Esler even though they trailed by five points by the final whistle. However, two of their best attackers – Donal O’Hare and Connaire Harrison – are injured at the moment, though O’Hare may make an appearance during the league as he’s currently managing a knee injury rather than opting for surgery.

It’d be remiss not to mention that Tally’s team will have to play all three of their league matches in ‘Division Two North’ away from home after they were caught breaching GAA Covid-19 regulations in the early part of the year.

Still though, despite the negative press and the absences of some key players, they might surprise a few people in the league. Mayo in Castlebar might prove a bridge too far, but they’ll see no reason why they can’t win their remaining fixtures against Meath and Westmeath.

Perhaps then, their main priority this weekend will be avoiding a heavy defeat. They’ll want to make things difficult for what could be an experimental Mayo team, though Aidan O’Shea could return earlier than expected after a scan revealed a worrying knee injury wasn’t as bad as feared. If they keep things tight in the first-half, it could be closer than expected, especially as Mayo have a tendancy to blow hot and cold. Ultimately though, Mayo’s superior strength and depth should see them prevail.