Connacht Senior Football Championship quarter-final: London v Mayo (Sunday, 3pm, Irish TV Grounds, Ruislip)
IT WAS almost the scene of one of the biggest upsets of modern times but, five years on, it is impossible to make a case for Mayo finding themselves in any difficulty when they head back to Ruislip on Sunday.
Back in 2011, the westerners were in a bad place. Down on their luck after a troubled couple of years, John O’Mahony’s final year in charge saw them bounced out of Connacht by Sligo before meekly exiting the Qualifiers at the hands of Longford.
In came the relatively unknown James Horan - and the rest, as they say, is history. Mayo have ruled Connacht ever since, reached back-to-back All-Ireland finals in 2012 and '13 and are third favourites behind Dublin and Kerry to lift Sam this year.
Yet, it could all have been so different for Horan, who eventually stepped aside in 2014 after a successful tenure. As is the case for current incumbent Stephen Rochford on Sunday, a trip to London was Horan’s first taste of Championship action. The Exiles led by five at one point and were two ahead going into added-time as a major Championship shock looked on the cards.
Late points from Trevor Mortimer and Kevin McLoughlin forced extra-time and Mayo’s greater conditioning stood to them as they eventually edged home by three points.
Rochford would not thank his players for subjecting him to a similarly torrid afternoon and with the confidence success has brought - allied to a talented crop coming through from their All-Ireland U21-winning side - the future looks bright.
The Mayo management will have watched with interest as their provincial rivals Roscommon almost came a cropper in the Bronx at the start of the month, a timely reminder of just what the game can throw at you if eyes are taken off the ball.
After impressing during a difficult Division One campaign, Rochford hands a Championship debut to the tricky Evan Regan. The Ballina Stephenites man starts at right corner-forward in a full-forward line which contains team captain Cillian O’Connor and Breaffy’s Conor O’Shea on the far flank.
As expected, Young Footballer of the Year Diarmuid O’Connor - the star of that U21 success - misses out with a hamstring injury, while Alan Freeman is unavailable after damaging ankle ligaments last week.
Aidan O’Shea continues at centre half-forward, with Tom Parsons and Jason Gibbons at midfield in the absence of Castlebar colossus Barry Moran, still sidelined with an Achilles injury.
Parsons had been considered an injury doubt, but came through training in Athlone on Wednesday night, while Andy Moran, Alan Dillon and Seamus O’Shea are fit enough to take their place on the bench. At the back, Mayo are still without the experienced trio of Ger Cafferkey (groin), Chris Barrett and Donal Vaughan, both of whom have hamstring injuries.
After a tough Division Four campaign, London boss Ciaran Deely also faces a few selection headaches, as corner-back Darragh Quinn misses out with an ankle injury and Cathal Og Greene faces a race against time to recover from a broken finger. Former Cavan forward Lorcan Mulvey, who caused Mayo plenty of bother in that famous 2011 clash, is a doubt with a hamstring injury.
Ruislip was sold out over a month ago for the highly-anticipated visit of the reigning Connacht kingpins but, considering Mayo’s all-round strength, it is very unlikely the Exiles supporters will be given too much to shout about this time around.
TEAM NEWS
Mayo: R Hennelly; B Harrison, K Keane, K Higgins; L Keegan, C Boyle, P Durcan; T Parsons, J Gibbons; K McLoughlin, A O’Shea, J Doherty; E Regan, C O’Connor, C O’Shea