1996/99
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Mayo fail to take-off for Manchester but . .
GAA
11 March 1998
Things are looking up for Mayo
John Melvin
MAYO manager John Maughan has set his sights on the National League title in a bid to kick-start his championship bid in May.
Apart from the important psychological boost of carrying a league title into the championship, there is the financial spin-off which would greatly reduce the huge deficit that the Mayo County Board is currently faced with. A league title could knock £50,000 off the bank balance. What makes the final round of the league even more fascinating is that Galway ,Mayo's first round championship opponents, will also be in the play-off's. What odds a Mayo-Galway league Final?
Maughan, who travelled to Manchester at the weekend without a team, admits he has set his sights high, and for what many believe could be his final shot at the jackpot. He is determined not to leave behind him a legacy of runner-up awards, and believes he has a team this year as committed as ever to attaining the ultimate goal of an all-Ireland title with the league title as a sweetener.
Blocking Path
Blocking Mayo's path to the lucrative play-offs is Laois, a team that comes to Crossmolina on Sunday with nine hard ten hard earned points which keeps them in with a chance. They must win, a draw will do Mayo, but a home defeat would spell disaster for the Connacht champions who open the defence of their championship title on May 24th... The Connacht champions unbeaten run in a serious game since last September's All Ireland has been good for their confidence, and it would have been interesting to see how they fared against Kerry in Manchester at the weekend.. That game did not go ahead due to industrial action, not by the players on this occasion. Mayo were to play Kerry in Manchester on Sunday but the dispute at Dublin Airport left the Mayo team stranded on Saturday while Kerry, who had got an earlier flight, were in Manchester expecting the game to go ahead. What has annoyed Maughan more than anything was the fact that he travelled on Friday and couldn't get back in time. which meant his team wasted the entire weekend without a work out, not the best preparation for Sunday's crunch clash with Laois. "I had travelled over on Friday and I can tell you there are a lot of disappointed people in Manchester', said Maughan.
He said there was nothing that could be done due to the sudden action of those involved in the dispute. However, Maughan will be focussing on Mayo's top-of-the table clash with Laois at Crossmolina on Sunday.
'It's winner takes all, and we will be going all out to advance our hopes in the league', he said. Asked if a league title was within their sights, he said if they win on Sunday, they would be going all out to capture the title. 'Obviously a league title would be a great boost to us coming into the championship but the risk of injuries in a prolonged league campaign is always very great, and very real', he said.
However, some encouraging news for Maughan is that Kevin O'Neill and Kevin Cahill are making steady progress. 'O'Neill could be on the bench on Sunday, depending how he works out this week while Kevin Cahill will definitely be making an appearance if we cam extend our league run', he said. Peter Burke, injured in the match with Louth, is also likely to be passed fit for Sunday but Diarmuid Byrne will be out for a another few weeks with a ham string. 'Diarmuid is unfortunate as I thought he was shaping up well at full forward', said Maughan.
The Mayo manager admitted the search now has to continue to get the right balance up front. It is stating the obvious that we have problems up front but we are still winning games and that can't be bad', he said.
Defence
However, the winning of those games has come done very much to the spirited performance in defence, particularly from James Nallen, and David Heaney who has done very well at full back and is expected to be wearing the number three shirt again on Sunday. Kenneth Mortimer, Noel Connelly Fergal Costello and Pat Holmes all played critical roles in Dogheda to keep Mayo on course for a qualifying position, and maintain their unbeaten run in a league in which they dropped just one point when they drew with Galway..
However, Maughan cannot be too happy with Mayo's failure to maintain their presence at midfield where David Brady and Pat Fallon faded in the second half.
He will also be looking for a much improved displays in attack from Liam McHale, Kieran McDonald, Ray Dempsey and Maurice Sheridan, all of whom are expected to be named for this vital.
Maughan faces a minor dilemma in deciding on where to play John Casey. He was sprung from the bench in Drogheda to score a match winning point and given the shortage of scoring power could be shoved into the half forward line for this crunch tie with Pat Holmes holding down the right half back berth. Certainly given the importance of the game I would be included to play Casey up front and leave the defence as it is.
Colm McManamon, who experienced a loss of form and was for a few weeks with a bug, is also in contention to regain his place and he could well be in from the start, doing what he does best, working all over the ground. Unbeaten Laois, who are just one point behind Mayo, with ten points, will prove a very tough nut to crack.
They drew with Galway and Leitrim two very hard games and had wins over Carlow , Kilkenny, Fermanagh and Louth. It is a record that has to be respected and Mayo will need to pull out all the stops to take this one, even it is at home where a bumper crowd is assured.,
'Names like Hughie Emmerson, Michael Lalor, Jacko Murphy, Ken Reilly, Dave Lalor, Tom Maher, Eamon Delaney have been very much to the fore in keeping Laois still in the hunt for the playoffs.
Connaught Telegraph - News & Sport - March 1998
