Moran: McGuinness 'took apart' Mayo plan
Mayo manager Andy Moran conceded a "very poor" first-half display put paid to any chance of victory over Donegal in Letterkenny.
The Division 1 contest was effectively over at the break as, despite playing into the win and rain at O'Donnell Park, Jim McGuinness' side engineered a 0-11 to 0-05 interval lead, and in truth could have been even further ahead.
It took Mayo 16 minutes to register their first point of the game and while it was much-improved in the second period, the result was never in doubt.
It marks a first league defeat under Moran's watch, while Donegal boast the only remaining 100% record in Division 1 after three successful outings.
Speaking to RTÉ Sport after the game, the Mayo manager said the damage was done in the opening half.
"It was a very poor first 20 minutes," he said. "I thought we recovered a bit before half time.
"We stuck to the plan, played really well. We only lost the second half by two points against a gale-force wind. We had four or five goal chances and really opened them up. We showed that we could play football, but the opening 25 minutes was very disappointing.
"We must lick our wounds, go away and learn from this."
Moran insists there will be plenty to be gained from the loss, for both the players and backroom team, crediting his Donegal counterpart McGuinness for their approach to the conditions.
"We had a plan coming out here in the first half," he said. "Jim kind of took apart the plan and then all of a sudden you have to change.
"You have to move and think. Getting players better at that is the key message. Am I happy with what I’m getting in the league? Absolutely."
With wins in the bag against Dublin, Kerry and now Mayo, Donegal manager McGuinness admitted his team are "in a good spot", before addressing shortcoming in both kickouts after the break as well as "sloppy" handpassing.
Conor McCahill - pictured above - marked his first league start with three points in a lively showing and McGuinness was quick to heap praise on the Four Masters teenager.
"It was great for Conor," he said. "That’s what you want from a young fella. He kicked three scores and could have got another at the end.
"His movement was good, his finishing was good. We want to try and develop young players and build depth."
