Mayo boss James Horan has vowed that he and his team will learn from their mistakes following Saturday’s nail-biting win over Westmeath in Mullingar.
The Westerners’ second victory in a row propels them into the Division 2 semi-final.
But Horan admitted that there were lessons to be learned despite the result.
“If you don’t start well, and your skills are off or your mindset is off then you’ll be under pressure,” he said.
“I thought in the second half, even though we weren’t playing well, we kept at it and kept grinding away and eventually got there in the end.
“We didn’t start the game well but we’ll look and see what can we learn from it.”
Captain Paddy Durcan produced a man of the match display, shooting three points from centre-back. Horan hailed his performance and some other Mayo veterans.
“Colm Boyle and Kevin McLoughlin both came on, and Paddy Durcan stepped up as well, so they made a big difference,” he said.
“They’re very good footballers with a huge amount of experience and they won some vital breaking balls around the middle that helped to settle us down.”
Mayo lined out without injured talisman Aidan O’Shea for the second week running, but Horan handed debuts to defender Ben Doyle and midfielder Jack Carney as he continues to try and build for the future.
Horan said: “They got their chance and it was a tough day but it’s a great chance for them to learn, and that’s what we’re all about, keeping learning.”
