Mayo were more polished than they had been in previous Leitrim clash - MacHale

Mayo manager Liam MacHale believed that his team were much more polished in Saturday’s TG4 LGFA All-Ireland SFC Relegation Semi-Final than they had been in the provincial championship clash with Leitrim earlier this Summer, a factor that proved the difference in securing their Senior status for 2026, writes Michael Gallagher.

MacHale, who stepped down from his role as team manager after the game, gave his thoughts on the performance of his team on the green sod of Kilcoyne Park: “We played really well and I'm delighted for the girls that we've come through. We created a load of chances but didn't execute as clinically as we would have liked. 

“When we missed the penalty I thought it was going to be one of those days again, because we've had a lot of them this year when things just didn't fall for us. We created four or five good goal chances that we didn't take and they're the little things that you need to put away to make it comfortable.”

The Mayo boss felt his team had progressed well from the Connacht meeting between the counties in April: “I think today's display shows how much we've progressed when you see how much we struggled against Leitrim five or six weeks ago and how we were a far more polished side today. If we took half of our goal chances it would have been a more comfortable win.”

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The former Mayo star also believes that the future is bright for the Ladies side: “The sky's the limit for these girls and I predict in the next two or three years, they'll be up there with the top two or three teams in the country because of their attitude and ability. 

“It was a very tough year for them, but they were loyal to each other, they were loyal to management and they kept trying and that gives you great enthusiasm for the future. It was a struggle this year, but sometimes a struggle is good and they've now learned and can bring it on into next year.

“We had a lot of difficulties and body blows behind the scenes but we kept going and kept coming back for more and that gives me great confidence about this group and I really think they'll be a very good group.”

MacHale also confirmed that he was stepping down from his post: “As a management team, we were supposed to do three years, we've done two but I think now is the right time for someone else to come in and bring this on a bit further.  I've really enjoyed it but I think it's the right time to go. There's a great back-room team here and I hope that core group stay involved.”

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