O'Connor primed to kickstart Mayo rescue bid

Gaelic football
The last thing new Mayo manager Stephen Rochford would have wanted was a trip to Enniskillen in the second round of the qualifiers to face a Fermanagh side who know their way through the back door better than most, but last year’s beaten All-Ireland semi-finalists have the talent and mental strength to sidestep the banana skin.

It looked like Mayo were trying to execute a gameplan against Galway that was better suited to the latter stages of the championship. They deployed Kevin McLoughlin in a sweeper role which did not work and their plan seemed to be geared towards meeting Dublin or Kerry later in the campaign.

Galway punished that complacency with a bright start and a sucker-punch of a goal at the perfect time in the second half. While they did not want to be here, perhaps a game against a decent Fermanagh side is just what Mayo need.