A FIRST ever League victory in Donegal, on Sunday, brought Mayo the dubious reward of a four-match schedule in just over three weeks, including a League Final and a Connacht championship clash with regular rivals Roscommon.
However, Mayo star Aidan O'Shea has no complaints, and is looking forward to the challenges over the next month and further forward, as the Division One leaders target silverware at both levels.
Kevin McStay's side host relegation-threatened Monaghan in the final round of the League on Sunday coming, then a week later will meet one of their recent Championship adversaries – either Galway, Kerry, Tyrone, or perhaps even the Rossies – in the Division One decider.
On April 9 they'll host Roscommon in MacHale Park, Castlebar, with the winners to meet reigning Connacht champs Galway 13 days after that.
"It'll be four weeks in a row now. Look, it's been a hectic schedule, but it's a new season for everybody. We're all kind of in the dark, trying to figure out everything at the moment. Games are great, it's just important to stay healthy and keep ourselves fresh, work week on week.
"Two more points at home is important and then we'll focus on the League Final, and then the Connacht Championship around the corner."
It's definitely the hard side of Connacht draw, a comment that draw a wry laugh from O'Shea: "Yeah, and they're all going very well – Roscommon went fairly well down in Kerry, could have snuck it, and Galway got a big win up in Armagh.
"Look, that's for another day, but we know Connacht has always been strong. It's probably been undermined outside of Connacht for the last couple of years but it's quite a strong Championship. It's very hard to win but we'll be ready for it when it comes around."
The focus for now remains on the League, and O'Shea was delighted to get his county's first ever League win away to Donegal, at the 10th attempt:
"Ah, I thought that all right – I've been playing for 15 years and we've drawn here a few times and probably left a few results behind us. It's always a tough place to go for any team. We knew that coming up here, and they were looking for points as well, so it kinds of put a bit of focus on it for us during the week.
"We were saying that we could be in a League final potentially. A great challenge coming up here, trying to get two points, and to win a game here is always difficult."
Before Sunday that was certainly true for Mayo, although they had drawn on their last two visits to MacCumhaill Park, in 2018 and 2020.
When the victory in Donegal finally came, it was by the biggest margin ever in League meetings, 11 points, 1-17 to 0-9 in favour of Mayo.
"We're happy with that win," acknowledged 32-year-old O'Shea. "Overall we played well; for a spell in the middle of the second half we missed a few chances that could have made it a bit more comfortable, but overall we'd be happy.
He earned the 'Man of the Match' award – although only after the PA announcer mistakenly called it for Diarmuid O'Connor – and declared himself: "Happy enough. In fairness to the boys they found me with a couple of nice balls in the first half. When you have that kind of pace and power coming through the middle of the pitch it creates space for us. We've got plenty of that, it's just important for us to mix it up and keep teams guessing. Happy enough with how I went in there but it's early days; we've Monaghan next weekend and we'll focus on that."
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Even before Aidan O'Shea's senior inter-county career began in 2009 Mayo had seemed cursed in Donegal.
The hosts won the first such meeting comfortably in 1984, by 1-13 to 1-5 in Ballyshannon, but seemed destined for defeat at the same venue the following year in Division Two when Mayo led 1-6 to 0-2, the goal from Jimmy Burke – however, Donegal were inspired by Brian Murray at midfield and Mayo needed a late point from Noel Durcan to secure a 0-14 to 1-11 draw.
Two late goals brought a four-point home win in Ballybofey in 1994, and Donegal edged to a three-point success in 2007.
The pattern for several future games in Donegal had the hosts on top but Mayo refusing to accept defeat.
The spoils were shared again in Letterkenny on St Valentine's Day 2009, Mayo battling back from nine points down to level it 2-10 to 1-13. The draw in 2018 was arguably even more dramatic, Kevin McLaughlin's late leveller relegating Donegal and keeping Mayo – managed by future Donegal assistant boss Stephen Rochford - up in a 0-13 apiece thriller.
Yet another draw in 2020, yet another Mayo comeback, with a wonder goal from James Durcan deep into added time snatching a 0-19 to 2-13 result.
The two counties also drew last year, in their Division One opener, but in Sligo's Markiewicz Park, as MacHale Park in Castlebar was being re-developed.
Mayo's League record in Donegal:
1984 (Ballyshannon): Donegal 1-13 Mayo 1-5
1985 (Ballyshannon): Donegal 0-14 Mayo 1-11
1994 (Ballybofey): Donegal 3-7 Mayo 0-12
2007 (Ballybofey): Donegal 1-13 Mayo1 1-10
2009 (Letterkenny): Donegal 2-10 Mayo 1-13
2012 (Ballyshannon): Donegal 0-17 Mayo 1-7
2016 (Ballybofey): Donegal 1-14 Mayo 1-12
2018 (Ballybofey): Donegal 0-13 Mayo 0-13
2020 (Ballybofey): Donegal 0-19 Mayo 2-13
2023 (Ballybofey): Donegal 0-9 Mayo 1-17
Other League draws:
2015 (Castlebar): Mayo 0-12 Donegal 1-9
2022 (Sligo): Mayo 0-11 Donegal 0-11.
