MERCILESS MAYO MAKE MONAGHAN A BAD BET

I walked into a bookies in Castlebar on Saturday morning and placed a modest bet on Monaghan to beat Mayo at 5/2. Wearing a knowing smirk and a Monaghan cap, I wholeheartedly believed I was getting one over on Mr Power. It was universally accepted that Monaghan just hadn’t shown up against Derry and came into the game with a massive point to prove. This Mayo team were stricken by injury, and it was hard to fathom how they were such clear favourites. I fully believed; the bookmakers had got it all wrong.

As I was handed my slip, the young fella behind the counter laughed at me and offered some goodnatured taunt about washed diesel in some form of indecipherable Western English. Only at this point did it occur to me, that I may have been duped and gladly fallen for the ancient Mayo curse of misplaced hope. To their credit, the people of Castlebar played their role in this fiasco to perfection.

Before the throw-in they praised Monaghan’s game, shook their heads apprehensively about their new pitch and even grimaced at their apparent injury crisis. Then, when the ball was thrown in and Aidan O’Shea took Gary Mohan out of it in the air, the enormous Mayo crowd roared and jeered like the Romans in the Coliseum. The Westies had lured Monaghan out and were insisting on Northern blood. Mohan responded brilliantly and kicked two points in the opening three minutes as Monaghan silenced the crowd and raced into the lead. It looked like they were only getting going when…