BATTLE AWAITS IN WILD WEST

The stakes couldn’t be higher in this weekend’s Monaghan and Mayo match-up in the All-Ireland qualifiers – JACK MADDEN believes the winner-takes-all context will suit the temperament of Séamus McEnaney’s side football, the history books would suggest Mayo and Monaghan are little other than strangers. Few need any reminder that Monaghan have reached just one All- Ireland final in our history, back in 1930.

Mayo have appeared in the showpiece event 18 times, but they too have had their hardship, winning only three of those finals, the last of which was in 1951. To crunch the numbers further, both sides have also had less than impressive semi-final records. Monaghan’s 13 All-Ireland semi-finals have seen them progress just once, with a tally of 1-6 enough to see off Kildare all of 92 years ago.

Their western counterparts have qualified for an impressive 50 last-four encounters, with 48 Connacht titles to boot. Historically, their win percentage in those half century of semi-finals only stands at 36%. The revamped backdoor means it is the clash of two Division 1 heavyweights, but all this championship history gives little to no indicator as to how events will unfold in Castlebar this coming Saturday. The bookmakers unsurprisingly give Mayo the upper hand, with home….