There were 9,000 people in Markievicz Park on Sunday but as Rob Hennelly's 74th minute reprieve travelled through the air, it sounded like twice that. After firing just 0-2 in the first half, Mayo dug deep and hit Donegal with five unanswered points to draw level on the wintriest of afternoons. On paper, it was only a league point at home. In truth, the day looked like another symbol of Mayo's depthless resilience. Why the transformation? James Horan says afterwards that there was no big showdown in the dressing room.
“Not really. We don’t shout or roar that much anymore. But Donegal, the way they played the first half with the wind, they’d a lot of extra numbers back - and they had extra numbers creating in their attacks, and we didn’t know maybe when to pick them up or where to pick them up.
“So, we were sort of in no man’s land for a bit, and it can be hard to adjust to that times. We just changed a few things around, but ultimately it was the 15 guys on the field - how they pressured, and the tackle count in the second half was immense and the turnover count was immense, and that ultimately, from an attitude point, of view was very strong.”
A more cold-blooded team than Donegal would have been out of sight here. The day could have turned into a bleak start to the league for Mayo. But then Horan has always used the league to tinker and test various evolutions and that will continue.
“We’re looking at doing loads of different stuff and that’s a challenge for you to see can you spot it on the field and do a bit of analysis for us,” he told the gathered journalists with just a glint of mischief on Sunday.
“ If you get it right I’ll tell you if you get it right. When we play to our strengths we’re very, very strong. I suppose when momentum goes against us we’re looking to see how we can get better there.”
When Mayo lost their captain and fullback Stephen Coen to a second yellow card in the 51st minute, the remaining fourteen just knuckled further ahead. Michael Murphy converted a 45 from Hennelly’s penalty save and after that, Donegal would score just one more point in the remaining 24 minutes of football. It was a complete reversal.
“Paddy [DURCAN]got a good point at the start of the second half, then they went down and got two. But our intent in the second half was very good right through. Yeah, the penalty and the save from Rob - but we have to remember in the first half as well, Rob made two good saves that kept us in it. The game could have been gone at half-time to a certain extent, so he kept us in it and gave us a chance to come back.
“It kept it close enough, but the way we played we could have been further behind. So that was huge. We just drove on, every play. You saw the workrate there. Look, I’m obviously delighted with that and to get a point then is great on top.”
Next week, a visit to Clones to meet ever-up-for-it Monaghan. More ice baths beckon. But the return of Jason Doherty and Brendan Harrison gave Mayo a meatier look on Sunday last. Lee Keegan and Oisin Mullin are likely to feature next time out. The countdown to Cillian O’Connor’s return continues.
“Mark Moran is going very, very well, David McBrien is going very well as well so they’re pushing, “ Horan added.
“There’s a couple of guys, Michael Plunkett is going very well and we didn’t use him today so there’s good competition building there and, look it, we’re happy with how it’s progressing.”
