Armagh manager Kieran McGeeney bemoaned his side’s failure to see out the game as Mayo clinched a two-point win in Sunday’s thrilling Division One clash at Dr Hyde Park.
The Orchard Men had led for the majority of the contest after making a blistering start with Ciaran Mackin finding the net inside the first 15 seconds.
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Yet, Mayo demonstrated their strength-in-depth and showed just why they’re perennial contenders for the All-Ireland title.
James Horan was able to spring Aidan O’Shea, Kevin McLaughlin, Padraig O’Hora and Paddy Durcan from the bench and all four made a telling impact.
As the ‘home’ fans made their voice heard in the closing stages, Mayo hit the final five points of the game to claim a 0-15 to 1-10 victory to maintain their unbeaten start to the League.
However, McGeeney felt Armagh were largely the architects of their own downfall in Roscommon.
“We gave away a three-point lead and they weren’t even putting us under any pressure, it was just our stupid passing,” said McGeeney.
“We weren’t under any pressure - it is hard to put your finger on it.
“We just gave the ball away, fist-passing to a Mayo man, dropping ball, kicking ball away… it was very annoying.”
Armagh also lost out to Mayo when the sides last met in a competitive game with the Connacht side winning their 2019 Qualifier by a single point in Castlebar.
Sunday’s League defeat seemed to irk the Orchard County boss more given the strong position Armagh found themselves in, holding a three-point lead inside the final 10 minutes.
“That game (2019) was more tit-for-tat,” added McGeeney.
“We were sitting well there with the wind at our back and we just gave the ball away so it’s just disappointing, we tried hard but our decision-making was very poor.
“We’re trying to learn and that is probably the disappointing thing, we made some really poor decisions.
“We’d runners off the ball, fellas taking shots from silly angles and that decision making - that’s what we have to learn because in Championship that pressure is on all the time we just have to learn how to make those decisions properly.”
