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Mayo are back within one game of the All Ireland quarter-final after a comprehensive win over Kildare in Elverys MacHale Park on Saturday night. Stephen Rochford’s men ran out nine point winners of the Lillywhites thanks in the most part to a late first half burst which saw them kick 2-2 in the closing seven minutes of the half.

Mayo’s reign in Connacht was always going to come to an end at some stage, on a drizzly and grey night in Castlebar the maroon and white invaders from south of border, stared them down and stood tall at the end of the battle. When the final whistle went, the Galway faithful celebrated their 39th championship win over their old rivals with as much gusto and glee as if they had just claimed the All Ireland title.

Mayo’s reign in Connacht was always going to come to an end at some stage, on a drizzly and grey night in Castlebar the maroon and white invaders from south of border, stared them down and stood tall at the end of the battle. When the final whistle went, the Galway faithful celebrated their 39th championship win over their old rivals with as much gusto and glee as if they had just claimed the All Ireland title.

Stephen Rochford has named his first championship starting team for Mayo this lunch time, Rochford has handed Ballina Stephenites attacker Evan Regan his championship debut in this game and has named nine of the side who started Mayo's All Ireland semi-final replay defeat to Dublin in the starting 15. The players coming into the side who didn't start that day are Brendan Harrision, Kevin Keane, Patrick Durcan, Jason Gibbons, Evan Regan and Conor O'Shea. Dropping to the bench from that clash are Seamus O'Shea, while Ger Cafferkey, Donal Vaughan, Chris Barrett, Barry Moran and Diarmuid O'Connor aren't part of the match-day 26. There had been doubts of the fittness of O'Connor, Barrett, Moran and Ger Cafferkey ahead of the game.

Ballyhane v Glenhest Rovers

The weekend after the nation celebrated the 1916 Rising, Mayo are looking to stage their own rising in the U21 ranks and will head to the ground named after Countess Markievicz in Sligo tomorrow evening to do so. It has been seven years since Mayo last claimed the JJ Fahy Cup, in the same venue, beating Sligo 3-14 to 1-8 in the provincial decider.

Mayo get their National Football League campaign under way on Sunday away to Cork in Páirc Uí Rinn, and for new manager Stephen Rochford it is going to the first major test of his side's credentials in the new season. Rochford will be dealing from a slightly rigged deck when he makes his first team selection, with no players from Castlebar Mitchels available to him, or from Hollymout-Carramore and Ardnaree who have booked their places in their respective All Ireland club finals.

With the greatest respect to the pre-season provincial leagues, they are really what they are, challenge matches with large attendances. They are a means to an end, to prepare you for the competitions that matter, the National league and the championship. They are to build up fitness, improve your football skills, and try to unearth a player or two that might make a difference in bigger more important games. Unlike some folk out there, Mayo’s defeat by Roscommon in the final group game in the FBD league does not bother me in the slightest. After all Mayo, like most, were experimenting and playing with a very under strength team. There are two matters that do concern me however; firstly the delay in appointing Stephen Rochford means Mayo are a full month behind the other counties in terms of work done, and secondly the number of players Mayo have out injured for the start of the league.

For the second time in 12 months Roscommon came to Castlebar in the FBD League and went home with a place in the final after beating Mayo on their own patch. How this season will be judged will be seen in the months that come on much sunnier days, but in this encounter the hungrier and more in tune visitors were deserved victors.

The FBD League threw in last Sunday and Mayo full back Kevin Keane had some new faces for company alongside him in Stephen Rochfords first starting 15 as Mayo manager. The Westport club man was happy to get the year off to winning start and get some miles into the legs in game conditions.