Mayo forward Ryan O’Donoghue has struggled to get the better of his marker Johnny McGrath in recent outings. That needs to change if his side harbour ambitions of halting Galway’s Connacht dominance, writes Eamon Donoghue.
Johnny McGrath has held Ryan O’Donoghue scoreless from play in two of their last three meetings and if he can contain Mayo’s go-to forward again this afternoon Galway will have one hand on the Nestor Cup for a fourth successive year.
If the Tribesmen are to become just the third-ever Galway team to claim four Connacht championships on the bounce, holding a player who scored or assisted 0-11 of Mayo’s 0-20 against Leitrim in their last championship outing will be crucial.
Mayo’s 10-point league defeat to Galway in Castlebar – a fifth league or championship game without a win against their rivals in today’s Connacht final venue – suggested a widening gap between the two counties, amplified by the emergence of the new rules and the increased importance of long-range shooting and kick-passing.
Kevin McStay’s team are the only side in the Connacht championship yet to register a two-pointer. Aside from Mayo, only Clare have failed to raise an orange flag across the rest of the championship, but the Banner have only played one match.
For a team who were the joint-lowest two-point scorers in Division 1, with the least amount of players finding their range from outside the new arc, O’Donoghue has still managed six of them.
In their league encounter with the Tribesmen however, Mayo’s best long-range shooter – and the top scorer – failed to get a shot from play on target from anywhere. He didn’t manage to assist a score, or to win a free for a score with McGrath delivering an old fashioned corner-back masterclass.
All in all, O’Donoghue had 24 in-play involvements, with 14 of them coming inside the Galway 45. For five of those 14 he was turned over by McGrath.
Mayo have persisted with their running game throughout the league despite the obvious gains to be had by kicking early ball into a 3v3 and a retreating defence.
In February’s league clash, O’Donoghue had just four forward kick passes played into him over the 70 minutes, nearly all of them slightly delayed but into the space in front. McGrath won possession for Galway with three of the four.
This was the second league encounter in succession in which O’Donoghue was held scoreless from play by McGrath – with last year’s Connacht final in between. In that encounter O’Donoghue kicked a mark with his only point from play in three matches coming from a sweet strike from more than 45 metres with McGrath applying pressure.
Of all the games the two have faced each other in – three league and two championship – O’Donoghue has scored three from play and three marks.
O’Donoghue’s tenacity and ability to step inside and take his man on is his biggest threat and the highlight of his last outing against Galway came when he left McGrath clasping fresh air to step inside and create a missed goal opportunity for Donnacha McHugh.
The next time he tried it, McGrath got a hand in and turned him over.
Against Leitrim however, that ability to drop the shoulder helped him to four points from play, two assists, and the winning of a free which he converted himself. The Belmullet man kicked two further wides and finished with 0-9 in total.
On six occasions O’Donoghue stepped inside his marker in an attacking position and within 35 in-play involvements he was involved in 10 scoring opportunities (aside from his frees), highlighting just how important he is to Mayo and ultimately how reliant they are on him.
However, the challenge will be to get the ball into his hands given how little Mayo kick it and how tigerish McGrath is to contest those which do come in.
Another way in which Mayo have struggled to adapt to the new rules is their kickout. Winning early possession around the congested middle third now means a high likelihood of creating a scoring opportunity.
When the neighbours locked horns in the league, Mayo went short with nine of their first 10 kickouts and 65% of them overall. Against Leitrim 12 of 14 were short.
Of course, that engine room will be hotly contested. Galway flexed their middle-third dominance against Roscommon. During the league win over Mayo they won eight clean contests to Mayo’s three with Paul Conroy, John Maher and Céin Darcy all making fetches. While Leitrim claimed four middle third marks to Mayo’s one.
Given the challenge facing O’Donoghue against McGrath though, Mayo need to take risks and deliver the ball in to him quicker. They also need to put McGrath on the back foot and challenge him aerially.
Last-time out, he conceded 0-3 to Roscommon’s Ben O’Carroll off limited opportunity, showing the danger these top forwards present if given an inch.
Much like the overall context of the game however, McGrath comes into this match-up full of confidence given their recent meetings and certainly won’t be underestimating O’Donoghue in one of the key battles that could decide this Connacht final.
