How much of Mayos baggage can Aidan OShea carry?
When Colm Cooper received his cruciate ligament diagnosis from renowned consultant Ray Moran in the Santry Sports Clinic in February 2014, his then manager amonn Fitzmaurice, on a mid-term break, was in his company to digest the news. On the way home, Fitzmaurice, who hadnt expected the diagnosis to be as bad as it was, stopped into the Avoca Shop on the Naas Road and, reflecting on the days events, wondered what have I done to whom here.  Cooper had just come off a wonderful 2013 season and had helped his club to an All-Ireland semi-final when he landed awkwardly after a challenge, triggering an injury that put him out of the summer. The following September, on the morning after his countys 37th All-Ireland title, Fitzmaurice was able to relate that story of the drive home and the thoughts that swirled through his head against the background of the scale they had just peaked in Coopers absence. In adversity, so many rose to new levels, James ODonoghue hitting a peak that he hasnt got close to since, chiefly because of persistent injury. James Horan hasnt had an opportunity to share the moment when he heard the outcome of the scan on Cillian OConnors Achilles tendon, confirming a tear that will keep him out of the game for up to eight months. But the example of Kerry, the team that brought his first term in charge to an end later that year, is probably a good start. Using the simplest formula with a team that has been draining experience over the last few years in search of a fresher look, Mayo minus Cillian OConnor equals Aidan OShea. Add in Diarmuid OConnors absence in these early Connacht Championship rounds and the calculation, at first glance, becomes even crisper. Except its not just as simple as that. One of the first things the former Mayo footballer Martin Carney, now a regular local radio analyst, noticed in Ennis after Cillian OConnor hobbled out of their league semi-final with Clare last month was Ryan ODonoghue seeking the ball to take the next free. He didnt look around and see was someone else going to take it. No, he took it. It might have changed after that but he went and assumed responsibility for that first kick. He has stood up very well and I was impressed by that.  For Carney, the work in fast-tracking the inter-county careers of ODonoghue, Tommy Conroy, Oisn Mullin and Eoghan McLaughlin in 2020 will pay even greater dividends in 2021 when it comes to distributing new leadership roles. Like Kerry in 2014, Coopers absence forced a necessary growth spurt in so many players, not just James ODonoghue but Paul Murphy and Paul Geaney too. And for Mayo that too was evident in Markievicz Park when they got their championship campaign off to a predictable start. Darren McHale, a 2020 Mayo senior championship winner with Knockmore, made quite the debut while ODonoghue and Conroy buzzed with great enthusiasm. Yet most eyes were still drawn to OShea and the influence he exerted, that now trademark two-handed lift of the ball over opponents heads as he drove past them now a personal hallmark. He finished with 2-2 and had the last assist for four more scores. Had Conroys disallowed goal stood, you could have added another. Its a rich vein of form he has found over the last three seasons especially. His former coach for three years with Mayo and their opposition manager the last day, Tony McEntee, felt there would be some capital in it for his team the last day in Cillian OConnors absence, not for what score he put up but what a nuisance he made of himself with his unyielding work-rate. I felt once Cillian was removed from the forward line and if Aidan was withdrawn from midfield it (the Mayo team) would lack a lot of leadership and it would ask a lot of questions from other players, said McEntee. That was of course until we played them and then you see the likes of Ryan ODonoghue. Against Clare he put in more tackles than Cillian which was surprising for me. So with him and Aidan up there there is still huge  work-rate. Its hugely impressive. And this was a team without Diarmuid OConnor as well. Probably yes there is but these other players that are in are willing, at least, to take on that mantle of work-rate and tracking and tackling. The difficulty for Aidan is that he will inevitably move from a full-forward position to a midfield position, maybe within games as well. So he has a larger burden which he is entirely comfortable with and I think he is playing really well and is in good physical condition, he added. His two goals against Sligo the last day brought to five the number he has scored in championship games against that county, almost half his entire tally (11-38) from 70 championship games since 2009. His first was his first in five years, since scoring against Westmeath in a Croke Park qualifier. Expand Close Aidan O'Shea / Facebook  Twitter  Email  Whatsapp Aidan O'Shea  For Mayo he has been a wonderful servant, clocking up a 150th appearance (between league and championship) tomorrow against Leitrim (provided he plays) and a 59th consecutive championship appearance, having last sat out the Leitrim semi-final in 2012. Nine years then since he was last absent. Thus, McEntee has often found himself at a loss to hear the negativity that sometimes attaches to him. I dont get it. After the Sligo game, despite playing really well and dominating it for pretty much it all, the conversation was led to, Ah yes but he doesnt do it in All-Ireland finals. This is entirely unreasonable and unjust on a player that has been a leading light on and off the field for the GAA over the past seven years, said McEntee. He has never shirked that responsibility. He has never not wanted to mark Michael Murphy or whoever it might be for periods of the game. Kieran Donaghy as the case was in 2017 (All-Ireland semi-final and replay against Kerry). He did it with an open heart, he took that job on, he did it well because it was a successful outcome.  He has had a more diminished presence in some of those All-Ireland finals for sure, but his one-point return in the six he has played should be the biggest part of the case against him. OShea is not and never has been a top level scorer, not like OConnor, the games most prolific championship scorer. Even at club level, Breaffy would not look to him for his finishing. So shifting that responsibility from OConnor isnt applicable. But for leadership, setting the best example hes more the man than ever. Aidan is someone who realises he has a large role to play in Mayo football. He is also comfortable with taking that pressure on himself. Not just the way he performs on the field but even off the field.  Carney has always felt and continues to feel that his best role lies in that control zone between midfield and centre-back. That area is to me, the one he fills to the greatest effect. More so than full-forward. I have always had that opinion of him. To say it (responsibility) falls back on Aidans shoulders is wrong, he added. Maybe we should reserve judgment until a bigger game but the players right across the board have assumed greater responsibility and have spread the load. To me Kevin McLoughlin has been the guy who has carried the cross for so many of them in the last 10 years. Mr Consistency. He has just got on with the business quietly and without any fuss. I think you will see him also assuming a more central role although, to be honest, I always feel he has assumed that.  For OShea, bouncing back from adversity is second nature to him by now. Last year he captained Breaffy and Mayo to county final and All-Ireland final defeats. Yet there was never a question that he wouldnt and wont be back for more.  