Five-time All-Star Lee Keegan says he expects a strong response from Mayo when they take on Monaghan this weekend in their All-Ireland SFC Round 1 clash in Clones.

The game will mark the Westerners’ first competitive outing since losing to Roscommon (2-25 to 1-18) in the semi-finals of the Connacht championship four weeks ago, with the Rossies going on to edge Galway in the provincial decider before losing to Tyrone by a point in their Sam Maguire Cup opener last Sunday.

Writing in his RTE Sport column ahead of this weekend’s games, Keegan says he expects Andy Moran’s side to produce a response to their disappointing display last time out when they travel to take on the Farney men on Sunday (4pm).

“Mayo have had five weeks to lick their wounds after the debacle in MacHale Park. The backlash was fairly intense after that performance and the inquest was unsparing. Andy Moran wisely released the players back to play a round of league games with the clubs,” the former Mayo defender wrote.

“It's all been very tight-lipped down here. Even the county players at Westport are keeping out of my way so they don't have to talk to me until the Monaghan game is over.

“They did hammer Kildare in a challenge match the other week, though, as we know, there's a limit to what one can read into that.

“It can go a couple of ways from here but I expect a strong response to the embarrassment of last month. They can hardly play as bad as they did in the Connacht semi-final.

“I'd be fairly confident they'll get the win in Clones, their second of the year.”

Tweet

Most Read Stories