MAYO have found a new messiah in John Maughan. The Mayo manager was carried shoulder high from McHale Park yesterday in scenes reminiscent of the time when he brought Clare out of the wilderness to a famous victory over Kerry.
The army man had fulfilled one of his life long ambitions by returning to manage his native county. And yesterday he achieved two further aims he had set for himself when he accepted the reins as Mayo manager - promotion from division three of the National League and winning a Connacht title.
Maughan's belief in the side never faltered. "This team does not give up easily and I knew they had a big game in them," he said. "It was no less than they deserved. They really believe in themselves and all that hard work over the winter months has finally paid off."
Anthony `Larry' Finnerty, carrying a smile as usual, put the bad days of 89 behind him with a memorable performance yesterday. The man who made two goals, the first for John Casey and a clinching goal for Ray Dempsey, vindicated his recall as one of the old guards Maughan had restored his trust in.
"I've played a lot of years for Mayo but this must surely have been the sweetest victory. Galway are a hard team to beat. It was tough out there, but we weren't going to settle for anything but a win.
Mayo team captain Noel Connelly, the first man to hoist the cup after a win over Galway in a Connacht final since 1969, said it was a new team, a new manager and a new spirit.
"This is a great team to be part of. It is a completely new team and everybody is working to put in the effort," he said. Mayo county board chairman, Fr Noel Ford attributed Mayo's first Connacht title since 1993 to John Maughan and his team of former Mayo players Tommy O'Malley and Peter Ford. "This championship was won in the darkness and dampness of long winter nights," he said.
With the prospect of a Mayo/Kerry All Ireland semi final, John Maughan was not ruling out anything: "I set the targets of getting out of division three and winning the Connacht title. Those have been achieved but this team will not be leaving it at there."
