Mayo manager Andy Moran took some satisfaction in seeing his side fire over two-point scores at crucial stages during the win over Galway but also expressed a degree of worry over some aspects of the performance.
The Division 1 encounter saw Moran's troops prevail by three points at Pearse Stadium, standing tall in the face of a spirited rally late on from the hosts.
Reflecting on the game, the Mayo boss assessed the good and the bad, telling RTÉ Sport: "I was more concerned about getting a performance out of the lads and showing what they can do going forward. Galway fought like hell coming up the stretch but we held on.
"Galway were missing a fair few and we were missing a few ourselves. Jack Coyne was out and Mattie (Ruane) is to come back, Darren McHale and Cillian (O'Connor) also on the way back.
"Did it feel like a big win? It did. Galway have four in a row on us: two championships, a league game in between and the FBD. You have to stop the rot somewhere and today we thankfully got over the line.
"The worrying part is how easy we let Galway back into the game. One or two substitutions from them and Galway took over in the middle of the field.
"There are so many aspects of the performance that we need to improve on. You can't be playing the way we played at times with being so open at the back. We need to sort that out."
What satisfied the Ballaghaderreen clubman the most was watching those orange flags being raised.
Goalkeeper Robbie Hennelly and captain Ryan O'Donoghue showed the way, much to the delight of the Green and Red faithful.
A marked contrast to last season when scores from beyond the arc were few and far between.
"The boys can kick them," Moran boasted.
"It's just about them having a belief in themselves to go and kick them. I think it's a conversation they are having with themselves. Last year many games were left to a point or two and they began to realise this is part of the game. We just need to go after it, led by Ryan who is pushing the standards that are needed when we go shooting."
As for Moran's counterpart, Pádraic Joyce also picked out the positives, praising the grit shown by his side in making the contest interesting heading for home.
"Some game of football, some entertainment, some brilliant scores, but a bit topsy-turvy from our side," he remarked.
"We found ourselves 11 down going into the second half but the fight and character our boys showed was brilliant. We left six or seven good goal chances behind us at least. A great game for this time of the year, first day out. We'll take it on the chin."
