Mayo enter every All-Ireland Football Championship with the scars and baggage of a groom jilted at the altar, but Andy Moran is an old romantic when it comes to the big days, and he is refusing to play down the magnitude of his county’s latest quest to land the Sam Maguire.
The Green and Red meet Louth this Saturday evening at Croke Park with a 6pm throw-in in a fascinating last-four battle. While there will be lots of chatter about the heavyweight match-up between Dublin and Kerry on the other side of the draw, both Louth and Mayo are tip-toeing their way through a summer that could wind up being incredibly special.
Moran’s Call to Arms
Andy Moran, attempting to lead Mayo to their first All-Ireland decider in five years, wants supporters to get excited. He urges them to embrace the opportunity before them and leave previous heartbreaks in the past.
Moran told RTÉ Sport’s Marty Morrissey, “You’re old enough to remember the four-week wait between quarter-finals and semi-finals and semi-finals and finals.” He continued, “With that gone, you’ve only got two weeks now. There hasn’t been really time for the excitement to get going.”
He described this situation: “And that’s the beauty of sport. That’s the beauty of football. That’s the beauty of hurling and the games that we produce.” Moran stated that fans are allowed to get excited and that is what should be promoted.
“Does it go over the top at times when you win or when you lose? Of course it does. But that’s the nature of the sport we’re in,” Moran observed, adding, “I wouldn’t change it for the world if I’m being honest.” For the team, Moran clarified: “The emphasis for us really is just to make sure that everyone is healthy, everyone has done enough work, everyone is ready to go and they’re willing to fight on Saturday.”
Pathway to the Semi-Finals
Mayo, driven by the youthful exuberance of Darragh Beirne and Kobe McDonald, were excellent the last day out when they beat Cork by 0-23 to 0-18. They responded really well to a gut-wrenching Round 2A loss to Tyrone in Omagh, where Niall Morgan struck a late two-pointer to swing it.
A ship-steadying win against Meath was followed by that slaying of the Rebels. Mayo are now looking to take out a Louth side that continues to impress.
Moran thought that game in Omagh was as good a game as they were involved in this year. He explained it was a really close game; going into the 68th minute, Mayo were a point up and in a really good position. Unfortunately, Niall Morgan kicked a two-pointer and got the better of them.
However, the lads just got back to work. Moran believes they got great confidence out of that game, highlighting the way they played and performed up in Healy Park, which is not an easy place to go. He added, “I think we just got huge confidence from that game.”
Impact of New Rules
Moran highlighted the evolving nature of the game, stating, “Since the new rules came in… anything can happen in these games.” He described it as a new game in terms of what the two-pointers have brought to the game, and what the open spaces of 11 v 11 has brought to the game. This aspect, he noted, is emphasised even more when going to Croke Park.