Jim McGuinness believes Evan Regan's two missed opportunities at the death versus Galway are the least of Mayo's concerns.
The former Donegal manager praised Regan for taking ownership when those around him faltered, and said there was 'no shame' in his missed attempts to level proceedings. Regan was the subject of significant abuse from disappointed Mayo fans online in light of his two wides.
But McGuinness maintains that the fact Regan felt forced to shoot from the range he did pointed toward a more pressing concern for Stephen Rochford's men; their lack of cutting edge and a distinct inability to create guilt-edged opportunities - an issue which has plagued them for some time.
Writing in his Irish Times column, McGuinness wrote of how the game reminded him of the 2003 Rugby World Cup final - of all things - only on this occasion, Mayo lacked a fly-half with the dependability and guile to grab the game by the stones:
Twice, they launched critical attacks and both resulted in highly difficult, low percentage point attempts from Evan Regan. I would have absolutely no issue with Evan backing himself to take those scores on; it took courage, particularly when he had missed the first. But I would question where he ended up shooting from.
Those kicks weren’t in the scoring zone. And from Evan’s perspective, you had to wonder, what other option did he have? Who was showing for the ball? What was Mayo’s ideal outcome in those attacks? In whose hands did they want the ball? Who was their Jonny Wilkinson?
Mayo's lack of collective intuition continues to inhibit the men from the west, per McGuinness.
He suggests that if a team doesn't have within its ranks a 'Wilkinson', it at very least requires an innate chemistry and fluidity in order to create chances.
The striking thing about Mayo’s scores over the past five years is that there is no discernible pattern or source.
And part of me felt they would respond because for any limitations they may have, they have boundless courage.
If there isn’t a go-to player, then your collective system needs to be operating at a very high level. For instance, Tyrone do not have Stephen O’Neill or Peter Canavan anymore. So their collective system is well-oiled and calibrated to provide whoever ends up with the ball with a reasonable scoring opportunity.
That collective thinking wasn’t apparent in Mayo’s play in that crucial last three minutes. And so the responsibility fell to a young player, Evan Regan, and he tried to do the right thing. There is no shame in that.
You can read McGuinness' full column in The Irish Times.
