Regular readers will know that I don’t hold with the mutterings one sometimes hears on the bleachers (and, indeed, on the telly) about the supposed shortcomings of Conor Mortimor. Even in that empty cavernous cathedral of Gaelic football last Saturday, where Mort contributed 1-4 (most of it from play) to our total of 1-9, there were a few detractors within earshot and, of course, that prick Brolly had a few snide comments to make about him as well. (Incidentally, I think he was right to take his point early in the second half: I’m not sure that goal chance was as easy as it looked and you can imagine the howls from the anti-Mort brigade had the goalie saved it).
So, for everyone who would continue to question Conor’s value to the cause, it’s worth pointing out that, despite a poorer than average championship campaign on his behalf (see? you’ve got me started now), the records show that, once again, he was our leading scorer in the championship this year. That’s seven years on the trot that he’s done this, as he’s also done for every league campaign – bar one (2006, in which he didn’t feature all that much) – back to 2002 as well.
As I’ve pointed out before, the problem with Mort isn’t Mort himself, it’s the lack of other complementary and varied attacking options within the side. Yet again the last day, we saw plenty of high ball being hoofed into him as if he was Kieran Donaghy. He isn’t (that reminds me of the classic Jimmy Magee-ism – “He’s not Carl Lewis but then who is?”) but, as Tom Parsons’ switch late on into full-forward showed, with a big man in there, we could trouble opposing defences a lot more. Moreover, as the stats so clearly show, we can only hope that – as Young Mort morphs into Old Mort – he continues to outperform in the scoring stakes for us.
I think that unless we get a big full forward we will have to move Conor Mortimor out of the corner. High and unsuitable ball was rained in on him on Saturday v Tyrone. This is not the first time such stupid ball has been delivered and it begs the question ,what are the coaches up to. If we persist with a withdrawn full forward then Mortimer has to move out to the half forward line and get on the ball, run at defences and draw the frees. I am amazed at the thinking of the Mayo managment. In a season defining game last year in Derry Campell is sent in. He is then more or less forgotten about until a year later in a similar season defining game he is launched on us once more. I am also amazed that the powers that be in Mayo are not on to croker about the referee. We seem to draw the short straw with peculiar decisions and worse we swallow all the time. Time to stand up boys of the board.
Two things sum up C Mort for me:
i) Taking that 45 in the Connact Final when the world knows he doesn’t have the power to get the distance without sacrificing accuracy and
ii) in the game against Tyrone he fisted a high ball over his head to nobody when he was free because he thought there was a challenge coming in-you can see it on the RTE footage. The high ball into him was not a good option, but he doesn’t go to win it anyway- he tries to stop the defender from getting it and hopes something falls for him.
I wouldn’t blame him for not going for the goal ( I presume he chose to drive the ball over), he was in the best position to make the decision. He could very easily be better than he is.