I’m still chuckling over the absence of the inevitable Dublin/Kerry final this year.
Even a few weeks ago the notion of ourselves and Tyrone making the decider was a borderline crazy one. That was reflected in the betting markets with Kerry installed as odds-on favourites to win out, even with two knockout games left to play.
But I guess everyone has become used to a world where Dublin and Kerry feature so highly. This is, of course, understandable in Dublin’s case, as they’ve been in every final bar one since 2011, winning seven times.
Kerry, though? Beaten in the 2011 and 2019 finals and winning – with just a half-formed team – in 2014, their absence from the game’s biggest day shouldn’t be seen as a shock.
It’s only, in truth, because of the media fawning about them that their defeat yesterday appeared to be so seismic. In reality it wasn’t. This is a team that has forgotten how to win at Croke Park and were beaten there yesterday by a better and smarter outfit.
So the Championship has now careered off in a completely different direction but, while it’s different, it’s not exactly a voyage into the unknown. We’ve certainly been in such territory before.
The most recent year in which neither Dublin nor Kerry featured in the final was 2012, which was also the most recent time there was an Ulster/Connacht pairing on the game’s biggest day of the year.
We all remember plenty about 2012. I always chalk that one down as one we could have won – as opposed the should-have-won ones of 1996, 2013, 2016 and 2017 – and even though Jim McGuinness’s messianic leadership of Donegal made victory for them seem inevitable, this narrative was only really developed in retrospect. Going into that final, they had as many doubts as we had about their place in the world and their capacity to go out and win the thing.
Both ourselves and Tyrone will head into this final with similar hopes and worries. Our big-day experience and our toppling of the Dubs will stand to us but they’ve beaten Donegal, Monaghan and Kerry this year so they certainly won’t fear us.
From our perspective, there’s likely to be at least some reorienting of our focus. I doubt, though, that James Horan and his colleagues had discounted Tyrone to the extent that the rest of us undoubtedly did, though I do think that the multi-faceted challenge Tyrone will pose requires plenty of different thinking within our brains trust.
In a wider sense, there is for sure a welcome air of freshness about this final. While ourselves and Tyrone know each other well we’ve never met in a final before so to that extent it’ll be a novel Sam Maguire decider this year.
That should also make for a different kind of build-up to the final too. I don’t know about the rest of you but the last time I really enjoyed the lead-in to a decider was ahead of that 2012 one. As Dublin’s successes racked up over the course of the last decade, the prospect of taking them on again became an ever more grim task. I was truly thankful last year’s final was played behind closed doors.
This year, then, feels like a new beginning. We’re still there, knocking on that door, now with renewed insistence. Tyrone have seemingly come from nowhere but they’ve been through the door more recently than us and will be confident in their ability to do so again.
We might be slight favourites but this is in every sense a 50:50 contest. We’ll approach it with optimism, albeit grounded with caution in light of our horrendous final record.
All those lost finals are, though, all history now, there’s a whole new ball game to be played on Saturday week. And one thing is sure – both teams will be well ready to play it.
Mayo will be ready for Tyrone.. Hopefully I will be one of the lucky ones to have my name drawn out of hat for season tickets draw.. If not I will keep trying to get a ticket… Great to have under 2 weeks to go, Mayoboys to focus on Tyrone now and win the bloody thing.. I was talking to Dublin neighbours this morning they over defeat and want Mayo to win.. come on Mayo….I agree with you Willie Joe we can enjoy this build up, no Dublin in it…
For some strange reason I dont feel the same pressure is on this Mayo team compared to previous years.
Aidan has to start now. Tyrone are a strong, physical team with plenty of experience. They will hit hard – did you notice or look out for much off the ball stuff by the Tyrone backs yesterday Willie Joe when you were at the game? You cant see that stuff on the tv.
The half time and full time ‘analysis’ of games on RTE is getting worse by the day. Cavanagh trying to say they were not black cards is nearly as bad as ex Dublin players saying Small should not have been sent off.
Last time we played Tyrone in the league last October, they tore our defense apart, scoring 3 goals and should have scored more. Our defense that day was, Clarke, Oisin, Coen, Leeroy, Paddy, Kevin mc and Eoin Mc. On paper a very decent back 7.
O’Hora came on as a sub. So we need to beware cos if we trart badly and give them an early lead it will be very hard to reel them in. It’s 50:50 at best. I think we can do it but we can’t concede goals.
hi REDCOL, you gave a breakdown of the ticket allocation for the 2021 final under an earlier thread, do you know if club and corporate allocations were reduced this year or whether they were roughly the same as previous years, e.g. 2016/2017?
Thanks
Obviously i have no idea who was fav’s to win in 1936 , 50 and 51 but it’s the first time i can recall we went into the final as fav , bookies don’t often make mistakes neither should we .
I’d be careful about making league comparisons Dooniver. For starters, that game was in McHale Park, which is a much tighter pitch and where we seldom play well. We went on to contest the All-Ireland final that year whereas Tyrone lost to a division three side in Ulster.
The other thing is that Kerry put six goals past the same Tyrone side in the league only two month ago.
I do agree that we have struggled with their defence in recent meetings, so we need a plan for that and above all else, we can’t fall six points behind again. It’s curtains in that eventuality.
@Southmayo Exile,.. I’m not sure that I agree with you that Aiden has to start.. The way Tyrone attack from deep, they need to be tracked.. If you play Aiden FF, he would need to be able to track his opposite number, all 3 of the Tyrone full back line scored V Kerry yesterday.. Is Aiden mobile enough for midfield or CHF? and it’s certainly not the case that Mayo don’t have other viable options!.. On his performance v Dublin you couldn’t start Aiden, if you were to go by the old adage that you are as good as your last game… But I don’t rigidly believe in old cliches, especially when Aiden has 4 week’s to get his head right, the Mayo team to get their tatics and plans right…In my opinion, it’s about 70/30 % of Aiden starting..He would certainly need marking and possibly double marking, Tyrone tend to have extra bodies at hand inside the 21 yard line in very quick time, so Aiden would likely face the same type of problems he faced v Dublin and failed to find the solution.. Now I’m sure Aiden has taught about this in the meantime and would be determined to have the solutions at hand for the upcoming test, and James Horan certainly would have the option of talking Aiden off and knowing that still Mayo would have serious alternatives on his bench..It depends on if Tyrone’s untracked runners from deep were causing us too much problems…So for me the Jury is out on that particular selection issue!
Good points Leantimes. My worry is Tyrones outstanding ability to accelerate with ball in hand and break the line. If anything, they do this better than us. Where will Aido fit into this? As you say, the 4 weeks gives him a right chance to improve, however, he won’t get any faster really. He may still have a big say in this final.. but.. Tyrone have the tools to thwart his threats.
Perhaps an avenue is us focusing on the role he could play in helping us to obliterate Morgans restarts. However… I simply cannot see Tyrone being as poor at fielding the long kickout again. They’ll make a change here and will likely get it right. We’ll press them with every inch of our lives and you’d like to think that the Kevin Mcloughlins and Diarmuid o’connors, Oisins, etc will cause Tyrone lots of trouble on the break.
Why has the narrative changed so much in 24 hours? I saw 2/3 posters at most tipping Tyrone and now they’ve turned into the greatest team in history. Tyrone beat Kerry because Kerry were red rank useless, they had enough possession in that game to win by 6/7 points. Obviously winning 35 All Irelands buys you a lot of credit but who have this team beaten? They lost to Cork last year, lost an All Ireland final by 6 points to a 14 man Dublin and Spillane calls our 4 point defeat last year a humiliation? They beat a couple of hurling counties on the way to this game.
The media so wanted a Dublin v Kerry final that they completely papered over the glaring cracks in this Kerry team. Tom Parsons ran David Moran into the ground in 2017 and we’re to believe he’s gotten faster at 34? O’Shea and our full forward line would have destroyed that Kerry full back line. Keegan would have had a field day on Clifford running riot up the pitch, Mattie Ruane would have retired Moran.
It’s all idle speculation at this point but it would have been some way to win one by dismantling Kerry. We’ve no fear of Tyrone but their antics off the ball need to be highlighted over the next two weeks. We’re no shrinking violets but these boys bring things to whale shit depth.
I remember us being favourites in 97 on the basis that we had beat Kerry the year before in the semi anyway I’d doesn’t matter who are favourites it’s all on the day. We need to protect our goal and not concede anything soft. Tyrone are a good team but even a bad Kerry team (if there’s such a thing)when they get to a final can dramatically improve and lift it for a final especially against us. So I’m glad it’s not Kerry in the final. Obviously Tyrone will be very hard to beat but we have a 50 50 chance and I think we will just about do it
On Morgan and kickouts yesterday, incredibly I think he lost most of his own, and Tyrone seemed to concede the Kerry kickout too.
However, surely this wasn’t just poor work from Morgan but Tyrone being content to allow Kerry to press. Was it a tactical choice?
A poster mentioned in a thread yesterday that Tyrone were prioritising their defensive shape above all and I understood they weren’t getting drawn into moving around or over committing for kickouts that could disrupt things.
They knew Kerry’s main threat was their lethal forwards and the game required this to be negated, first and foremost. Maybe they made a choice to discount competing hard for kickouts in favour of something else.
They seemed to get several opportunities to run at at speed on the counter attack towards the Kerry defence. Space seemed to open up for them.
I think Morgan showed great mental strength to deal with this yesterday and he is an asset to Tyrone against us (long accurate kickouts, marking space, plus one on forays upfield), one we’ll need to have plans to deal with.
Maybe another poster could shed light on Morgan and the kickouts yesterday. He is a top keeper and I don’t accept him being a liability at AI semi final stage.
Siege mentality alone won’t win the match for Tyrone in two weeks time. If it does then we deserve to be beaten. We’ve enough hurt and grievances to last a couple of lifetimes. Tyrone won’t have the edge on us in this respect and they know it.
Evidentlybinghamstown..Just thinking same before I read your post.Went back and read the comnents during the week on the blog and barely a mention of one Tyrone player aside from Mc Shane.Remember reading someone doing the match ups between Kerry and Mayo and just thought that it was such jumping the gun..
No doubt Tyrone looked very impressive .They had four weeks to plan for Kerry ..
Certainly Tyrone is a whole new ballgame and offers us a completely different type of challenge to kerry.
Watching the game I always felt kerry would find a way to win, but when it wasn’t settled in normal time, one could see the worried look on the Kerry guys as they left the park…this is not the way it was meant to be.
I’m sure that James and his backroom team will be waisting no time in planning for the new challenge that this Tyrone team will bring!
We’re odds-on favourites for a final for the first time in my life. It’ll be a tough game. Tyrone far better defensively than Kerry. Kerry, however, we’re overly reliant on their few exceptional players, namely Sean O’Shea and David Clifford. Mayo, to me, seem more of a team and capable of scores from a few players.
This time we may travel more in expectation than hope.
Tyrone are very strong in the half back line and we’re a bit weak in the half forwards . We don’t get many scores from there and we are not even sure who will be selected there. Kevin Mc, DIarmaiad and AN Other?
At the very minimum we have to stop their half back line raiding up the pitch.
We have to win this one. There is no excuse as someone posted yesterday. We’re not playing the greatest team ever, its not the psychological monster that is Kerry in a final, its not a team in red hot form.. we would have bitten the hand off to be offered playing Tyrone for Sam at the start of championship. Covid has been kind to Mayo no super eights to sharpen Dublin and Kerry and to give then a 2nd chance. We will never get this opportunity again i feel. Yesterdays game showed up a few interesting things. Tyrone were destroyed on their own kickout that should give us hope. Yet their defence did very well considering all that possession conceded. Tyrone have a strong bench probably stronger than ours and we all know that story. Tyrone were very indisciplined but can we nail those frees without Cillian in the high pressure situation.
Like us beating Dublin Tyrone achieved a huge psychological and emotional high yesterday. Can they come down from it recover and refocus for Mayo in such a short time? The four weeks will give us an advantage there.
@evidentlybighamstown.totally agree with your post and would add that most division 2 teams would beat that kerry team if Clifford was injured. It won’t be easy the next day but if we take the mayo players individually you’d have faith in each of them to at least match and hopefully better any Tyrone player they’d be facing so hopefully they can do it as a team and get the job done.
I think had it been Kerry, it would be easier to come up with a game plan, just snuff out their best forwards whereas Tyrone is a tougher nut to crack. I can’t see our forwards getting much luck against their defence and we’ll need plenty of scores from our back 9(including Robbie). On the other side if Tyrone don’t score goals against us I think they’ll struggle to score enough points. I would assume
That mcshane will start the next day which will significantly weaken their bench. It’s a game where I’d love to have cillian back, even against a northern defence he’s good for 2 or 3 points from play.
Willie Joe, will we have any live podcasts like we had in times going by or will we be congregating the night before?
I can’t understand how Clifford didn’t get man of the match yesterday.
I would rate Mayo’s defence as being well ahead of Kerry – individually and as a collective. We’re also strong around the middle, and mobile to boot. If Robbie can repeat his excellence off the kicking tee and we use our press effectively, then I think we can exert some control on possession.
For the first time ever I can’t see us losing this one, even when we were shite we had the upper hand on tyrone and I think we have strong outfit this year.
Kerry way over rated, don’t think Tyrone were great yesterday just hungry, Kerry to reliant on Clifford, we have so many more who can take it to tyrone
Mayo by 6
Looking at that game yesterday, without making any reference to the final:
* A very poor Kerry outfit, down by 5 at half time in ET, came within a whisker of bringing it to penalties. Given the platform they were given Kerry should have had much more on the board. They messed up a simple tap in and, gave away a horrendous goal in ET.
* Morgan is a loose canon and his kicking time and time again handed possession to Kerry. Kerry had a great opportunity to lob him on his way back from one of his many sallies outfield.
* Tyrone had 2 black cards; here they ran down the clock cleverly and really, they were only under the cosh for about 7 minutes out of the 20. However, the concession of the black cards was utterly stupid, and forced even Coldrick to take action.
* They were out on their feet in the second half of ET.
* While they forced turnovers, they were turned over quite a few times themselves, and persisted in walking themselves into trouble.
It’s a completely different challenge to Kerry. We have struggled against ulster teams in the league with packed defences, usually in tight provincial grounds. However since Donegal 2012 we’ve always done well in croke park against them.
The Tyrone half forward line yesterday was made up of 3 half backs really. They will drop back into defence a lot. We need to get the balance between pushing up on them, and always leaving one defender spare to cover the full back line. Probably a role that suits Michael Plunkett down to the ground.
I don’t know why many people are getting in a heap now that the opposition is known.
From my viewpoint yesterday I saw many areas where this Tyrone team can be beaten.
Is it safe to say that Sean Hurson is now out of the race to ref the final?
I wouldn’t rule anything out. It’s 38 years since a ref from the 6 counties got the All Ireland final. 1983 and he sent 3 Dubs off. So they’ve looked elsewhere since then.
Since 2000 a Leinster man has reffed the final 10 times
Ulster man has reffed the final 5 times (3 of them was Dublin Joe)
Munster man has reffed the final 4 times
Connaught man has reffed the final 1 time.
Mayo88, I like your attitude there.
The only logical neutral candidate who is up to the job of reffing is David gough in my opinion, a Leinster ref. Joe mcquillan could have been in the running had Kerry won but he’s from ulster so he should not be considered. Same for Sean Hurson, Brannigan etc
@carrot face I think we can safely say at this point Sean hurson won’t be reffing the final given Tyrone are actually in the thing. Lol
I actually though coldrick was good yesterday, Gough is nailed on for the final though I’d say
I’d take Conor Lane for the final. He had a bad day at the office a few weeks back but I think his linesman and umpires went AWOL on him during the semi final. They are all miked up so how they didnt report more players to him for off the ball carry on I dont know. Hes a very good ref overall and did a great job of our All Ireland in 2016 in what was a feisty match. Up Mayo!
I think we all know how good we can be when we do get it right.
We saw in the second half against Galway and again when we turned the wrench on Dublin.
While there is value in knowing your opponent, we still have to go out there and bring the chaos, and win the game.
I do think it’s worth playing cautiously for the first 15 or 20 minutes.
Ensure there is no nightmare start as in 2012.
Let the players settle on the pitch first and foremost.
After 15 or 20 minutes I feel we need to go in to full on, high tempo, football mode. We proved against Dublin no team will match us for fitness and Tyrone won’t either.
No waiting around this time playing reaction type football.
We have the players, the skill, the fitness, the dogedness, the belief.
This game has to be played on our term’s.
No clawing back a 5 or 6 point deficit this time please.
Get ahead and stay ahead and extend.
Force Tyrone to empty their bench early. Convince them well before the 70 that we are not losing this final and convince them there is no way for them to win it.
It’s time to play a final on our term’s.
Let’s not leave any room for asking afterwards,
Why didn’t we ?
Let there be no excuse on the 11th.
We have the artillery this time. This has to be the year.
David Brady’s article in the Sunday World has some positives on Cillian – apparently running again ? paper not refusing ink or there is a good chance he’ll at least make the bench ?
On Tyrone they have 4-5 top players, manage them and we are in the driving seat. I have said it here before and someone else mentioned it earlier, you need to stay a few points ahead of them otherwise they can or seem to dictate their game plan – their defensive style/mindset hasn’t changed much post Mickey H
Unless Cillian is 100 % he should be left out, we beat Dublin without him and Tyrone not as good as Dublin
It’s important that we get an early lead, if they have to chase the game the gaps will come
Cillian will be doing well to play in the league next year. No chance of him being back in the next few weeks.
I was on to the crowd at hairy baby tshirts lon twitter and they’ve made this classic Mayo tshirt for the AIF this year https://www.hairybaby.com/i-yam-for-sam
Tyyrone scores for the most part came from turnovers and quick counter attacking..
Like ourselves their strong line is half back.
AOShea capable of causing havoc as out and out full forward.
Energy sapping game yesterday, one week to recover and maybe one training session. Advantage Mayo for sure
Tyrones reputation is growing in some areas on here, by the time the final comes around they will be world beaters. They are a good team who work hard, they do some things very well like press the ball and force turnovers but no way are they a better outfit than Mayo. Tyrone did well yesterday but Kerry handed that game to them with some juvenile defending and arrogant attacking, Kerry going for goal all the time when it wasn’t on, O’Shea refused several easy points trying to be the hero, crazy stuff. Mayo put in a 70mins that we know they can then we will be lifting Sam.
Breaking News: Man who black card was brought in to counter, claims it wasn’t a black card.
Mayo and Tyrone are similar athletic , mobile, never say die teams.
However their run in to the final is very different.
I doubt Tyrone could produce a better performance than yesterday in two weeks.
On the other hand I doubt Mayo could play worse than their last two games ( notwithstanding we won both games)
Horan has mastered the timing of a team peaking. I believe we will peak on All Ireland Final day.
That alone gives me a lot of hope.
It’s so hard to call. The game is now 70% physicality and conditioning, and 30% skill level. There will be nothing to separate the former, but I think Mayo now have the cheeky forwards to shade it.
Imo, Mayo without COC and Aido are a more formidable team for this challenge. Fine, introduce Aido to hold up possession in the last 10 mins. However, McLaughlin (either starting or sub.) will be a huge loss..
The trickiest challenge will be the homecoming… Castlebar/Westport need to start planning for low level celebrations. After 70 years, there will be a massive outpouring to contain..
Think Aidan needs to stay away from the papers and magazines (Sunday world) until after the game and concentrate on the game itself. No need to be giving the Tyrone boys another stick to beat him with.
I thought Oisin McConville and co were quite good on the Sunday game last time out so looking forward to tonight and hope the analysis will be worth watching. One thing I am keen to be discussed is how Tyrone set up a defensive wall on the halfway line that Kerry found very hard to get through. It stopped Kerrys running game and kick passing into the forwards. It slowed the game down and allowed for it to be played on Tyrone’s terms. AOS will be very important to us against this centre field zonal defence as he has the strength to bring the ball into the tackle, suck in the Tyrone defence and off load to support players running through the gaps created. If we get inside the cover we will have a great chance of winning the game.
The Claw – there won’t be any live podcasts or blog-related gatherings ahead of the final. We’re still in a Covid world so events like that remain off the agenda for now.
Please guys. Please do not speak about the homecoming. This is arrogant , disrespectful of Tyrone , unwarranted and counter productive.
Brian Gavin’s piece in the Examiner suggests that Joe McQuillan is expected to referee the final. I think that would be a negative development from our perspective. David Gough would have been preferable.
Tyrone are dogs and mentally can really get into your head. They’ve tongues that would clip a hedge!! However feck it in fairness we should win it and have too much for them when weighing it all up….we are one fast, physical and athletic outfit. I wouldn’t want to mark Hession or Ruane or Diarmuid O’connor or Keegan if I was on the opposing team.
Hi Willie Joe. As Tyrone have now made the final, is there any chance Declan Bogue will make another appearance on the podcast before the final considering his knowledge of Tyrone. He was excellent in the recent podcast and I could listen to him talk about gaelic all day. Keep up the great work.
Watch this space, Peter! Declan was a big hit alright last time – I particularly loved his take on Kerry – and we’ll definitely have him back on again ahead of the final. He’s an absolute mine of information on Tyrone.
We need to have a man/woman (or several) to counteract Cavanagh spinning tales about Mayo’s style of play .
He only has himself to blame for getting sent off against us a few years ago…..no one forced him to clothes line tackle AOS or shoulder Lee Keegan in the back at the beginning of the second half.
We’re in for a battle that’ll make the games against the Dubs look like croquet
[Deleted].
This blog is great craic, past 2 weeks it was all Kerry, Kerry, Kerry this and that, now it’s Tyrone…..being objective, Mayo are a better team. Kerry should have won bar sheer arrogance and not taking simple points, 1st goal to Tyr was a 6 PT swing, 2nd one was shocking defending, 3rd one was a hail Mary and fell to McKenna…. McShane looked amazing when no-one was marking him.
Kerry were awful, Tyrone not much better. It was a poor game.
Few weeks to sit and think.
A lifetime to savour.
People are saying Tyrone v Kerry was a poor game and ky are a poor team.
Quality wise – it was no worse than Mayo v Dublin and remember how poor Mayo were for the first 60 minutes of Dublin game and first 35 minutes of Galway game. Reality is we will have to lift our performance a lot on what we gave done do far – hopefully we can do that
@Whitey.. I’m really not comfortable with anyone bringing very sadly deceased members of the Tyrone faternity into the debate.. RIP to them all!
We’ve beaten Tyrone in the Nicky Rackard Cup final and again today we beat Tyrone in the Nancy Murray Cup final in Camógie. We face Tyrone on All-Ireland final day in 2 weeks time. They say these things happen in threes so who knows!
Watching the Sunday game highlights and kerrys defence was woeful yesterday. Cant see them having the same freedom against our backs.
I had a good chuckle myself after the game yesterday. Met a well known former Kerry manager in a shop in Maynooth on the way to the game. We had a bit of a chat and he was confident of a Kerry win. He reckoned Kerry would beat Mayo handily enough in the final by 5 or 6 points. He was primarily basing this win on the fact that no more than 4 or 5 of the Mayo team would get on the Kerry team. He was sound and it was nice to talk to him but I couldn’t help having a good laugh after Tyrone turned them over!
We now have a great opportunity to finally win Sam. Tyrone will be hard to beat but we are not playing Dublin or Kerry in the final and we should have enough for them. It has been far too long a wait and there has been more than enough heartbreak. For any amount of reasons we need to win this one.
I feel sorry for Des C, hard for him to keep a brave face on it with no Dubs and now no Kerry….
Fully agreed Dave Johnston, watched the match again today and was amazed at the difference re amount of pressure on the ball. in first half in particular when Kerry went past the 45 they had to constantly back up. I’m still very surprised that Tyrone pulled off that performance as I was definitely one of the people assuming that covid cases would have left them wrecked. Trying to not lose the run of myself but this really feels like it could be our time
Kerry were very poor yesterday, cut wide apart for Tyrones second goal, that said, they still had a shout in it at the end, Tyrone might have being dogged and defiant but they re not the Tyrone from the noughties, the third goal was a bit fortunate imo, Morgan is a bit of a hit and miss character, midfield can be easily exploited, I could mention several mayo runners the Tyrone boys won’t keep with, it ll take a great performance by our lads, agreed,but it ll need a great performance regardless of who is there, I still think we ll shade it,
Well at the end of the day if Tomas O’Se ever calls me a scumbag I’m walking away with my held held high…what a compliment!!!
Interesting point made by Dick Clerkin that Kerry may have started Jack Barry instead of Diarmuid o’connor to give him game time before the final. Barry had started every single munster championship match before that, with o’connor playing only 15 “junk” minutes against Tipp. Outrageous management decision by Kerry.
When asked tonight on the Sunday Game, why couldn’t McStay just not say that Mayo will win. Same old gripe, “they are building nicely “, we hear this every time when Mayo progress to the final.
A bit of arrogance is no harm at all.
Sorry, that should read: O’connor had started every munster match before that, with Barry only playing 15mins.
Southmayoexlie. The conditions between the two games were night and day literally. Mayo and Dublin had way worse conditions to deal with. It was a perfect day for football for Tyrone and Kerry
He said that they would win mayo88.
Whitey – I’ve removed that distasteful reference you made to deceased people from Tyrone. That’s not the kind of stuff that’s welcome here.
Kerry are poor defensively and yesterday finally confirmed that as a fact. They dont have the bench either but Tyrone do have options to bring in. I thought Tyrone very poor from their own kickouts and I expect its something Horan will pore over for next week. I would worry for Mayo defence against Cathal McShane. Tyrone have discipline issues but were still able to beat Kerry after two black cards dont think they can afford black cards in the final. Its a novel final with it representing Mayos best chance in some time to win an AI. I would have it as a 50\50 match where goals will decide it. If Mayo can avoid soft goals they could indeed take a first win in 70 years. Kerry without Clifford are a very ordinary side it just shows how poor they are to have to leave Geaney on the pitch and Tommy Walsh is still a viable sub. I expect their manager is gone but there is no obvious successor.
Apologies-WJ
No offense intended
I’m friends with dozens of Tyrone people on FB and these people are a real inspiration and motivation to the county (as they should be)
I duno Mayo88, let the talking be done on the pitch. I was hoping he’d flat out tip Tyrone like O’Rourke did. We can be as arrogant as we want if we land the Holy Grail.
The wise man who said we could go home at half time in the Dublin game, the game was over, has spoken.
Mayo having played top class football for the best part of a decade and Tyrone who squeezed through to the final due in great part to a mistake ridden Kerry performance,
And the great Meath soothsayer has predicted Tyrone.
I would have been worried if he had picked us.
The Tyrone team seem to feed off a siege mentality and perform best when they have a chip on both shoulders. The Kerry crowd really seem to get up their noses, with their innuendo that Tyrone were anything other than honourable about their Covid difficulties.That possibly fuelled them a bit yesterday
We don’t have the same history with Tyrone so hopefully they have less create their siege mentality.
But it s not all psychology either, they were highly organised and had a plan to disrupt Kerry s forward play and score on rapid turnovers. This worked well, but it was tight. I would hope we wouldn’t be turned over as easily, and prepare for the blanket. It will probably require all the S/c work done to date and a bit with it, but it is quite achievable. I think our team won’t be as complacent as Kerry were, believing the hype that they just had to show up. I have no doubt it will be a dog fight, but we should prevail.
That’s fine, Whitey, thanks for responding on it. We’ll leave it there.
No silly chat about Homecomings or counting our chickens before our next game. Keep a lid on the hype, rumours and speculation about injuries etc and let our players and management have the required space to prepare in peace.
No stupid comments or fodder to be given to the media (and by extension to Tyrone)by ex Mayo players or pundits. Hopefully we can learn from our years of hurt and pain to get over the line by hook or by crook. There’s no curse, but we definitely left a few All Irelands after us for a variety of reasons, from bad decision-making on the field and on the sideline, to sheer bad luck, not having enough squad depth, injuries to key players, many dubious dodgy refereeing decisions and of course meeting teams who were better than us and who knew how to close out games.
1989, 96, 97, 2004, 06, 12, 13, 16,17, and 2020 are in the past and cannot be changed.
Getting carried away until such time as the ball is thrown in during this our latest opportunity in 2021 is pointless and doesn’t help our hunt for the Holy Grail.
Maybe our time is now, but we Have to Earn it by playing with that Skill, Intelligence, Hurt and Passion right to the final whistle..
Time to Bulldoze the House of Pain. Wouldn’t it be amazing for this generation of young footballers to end the Famine! For themselves, all of the unbelievable Mayo Players , Captains, Managers,
Backroom teams and Supporters who have not got over that line during the last 70 years, but particularly those who have given us so much joy in reaching all of the finals since ’51 but who sadly returned to the West without the silverware. Also for Paddy Prendergast down in Tralee. There would be no prouder Mayoman if the deed is done..
‘We Have Only One Plan!’, as a very determined talented young man recently said í bPáirc an Chrócaigh. Tá ár lá beagnach tagtha. Caithfimid an seans a ghlacadh.. Le Cunamh Dé.
Maigh Eo Abú
I think we have every chance of winning
Once we go with it’s just another game mentality and relax into the match I think we have the better players and should win.
I do expect to a massive battle but if every Mayo man plays aswell as he can we will win.
I’m tipping Diarmuid O Conor and Conor Loftus to have massive impacts.
Both men can score from distance and run aswell as anyone
Ohora on McKenna. Physical match up and need a tight man marker to stop their primary goal threat.
Keegan on Mattie Donnelly. Follow him and make him defend. No better man than Lee to be told you have freedom of Croker.
Coen on McShane. He’s a cert to start. Fine player and their biggest threat to us.
Hession on Mccurry. We need to start Hession. His pace and power will nullify McCurry who also won’t like tracking back.
Oisin on sludden. Sludden as we know from few years ago will score if given time and space
He’s not that fast and Oisin should make hay attacking from halfbackline.
Paddy Durkan. You wouldn’t be surprised if they tasked Tiernan McCann with man marking job on paddy. Either way paddy wins out every time.
Midfield is where Tyrone have two fine athletes with Matty and Conor/diarmuid will be fine with help from bench in Jordan Flynn. Flynn will remember only too well his last final visit where he got sent off underage so be keen in the right sense to show how good he is.
Half forwards for me I’d start the Diarmuid- Aidan and Kevin Mc. Kevin Mc isn’t the player of old but never has two bad games in a row so hopefully we see best of him.
Fullforward line has to be
Conroy – Carr and Odonoghue.
Carr will be the unknown quantity and his physicality and pace will leave Mcnamee s head in a reel. He really is a class act if only he gets that injection of confidence and shows his 100% best.
Conroy and Ryan can expect real close attention from Hampsey and Mckiernan but both are liable to foul so Conroy and Ryan should take advantage of that.
The Aido debate is real but if ever opposition was set for him it’s Tyrone.
Mcgeary v Aido will be hell of a battle but expect Aido to win it out Just play his own game and don’t try too much too hard.
They will expect him to go into fullforward but I’d put Carr in every time to unsettle Mcnamee.
Our bench will be key and Harrison, Flynn, D coen,
Conor O shea and maybe a place for Fionn Mcdonagh who’s skill sets be ideal to run at Tyrone whilst shoot from distance.
Anyways all ahead of us but really looking forward to it. We have no baggage or bad history only another match to play out very best in
McShane scored 1-3 but he came on in the 43rd minute and didn’t do anything until the goal on 68 minutes. Jason Foley had him under control until cramp set in.
Kevin McStay said tonight that Padraig O’Hora didn’t go through the academy system in Mayo, he started at Corner back with the Mayo minors in 2011 and was half back for the Mayo Under 21s in 2014.
Would people for heaven’s sake get a bit of wit regards the bookie’s favourites. It’s not a case of the wise men of the bookies sitting down and deciding who they think is going to win. It’s a case of the bookies trying to drum up interest and turnover to add to their profits. The odds are calculated to have them coming out on top and they will be changed as necessary to increase those profits. Like Scrooge they don’t have a heart and don’t give a damn who wins so long as they do.
Just thinking about maybe a player who comes to mind who would not have gone through the system. Tom cunniffe
The big problem for Kerry now is that they’ve served to reignite and old rivalry with Tyrone. It’s not just about Dublin for them now, or indeed Mayo. They’ve another thorn in their side now, potentially stopping them from gathering bucket loads of medals, something they and many of us believed was inevitable. With Clifford leading the ranks, they were the natural successors to Dublin. If it wasn’t for 2014, I’d feel a tiny bit sorry for Kerry. How things can change dramatically in one week in sport.
Firstly, congrats to Tyrone. Brilliant performance from them and got a deserved win, some of the (borderline libellous) bile written about them in the leadup to the game was ott and undoubtedly served to fire them up. I must say as the week wore on i suggested an ambush was in the offing and so it proved.
Lets face it though, we are now favourites for the final, we must take this chance. Will never have a better one.
Will be a fascinating duel, its incredible the similarities between the teams when you look at it especially in playing styles/strengths/weaknesses
– 2 talented keepers with good kicking range who are both prone to the occasional meltdown
– main strength being hard runners from deep joining up with attack, for leeroy/durcan/mullin see mckernan/harte/mcgeary
– nobody that would be considered a ‘marquee forward’ on either side (though conroy is getting there fast)
– both teams have looked vulnerable in most games so far (Monaghan should have beaten tyrone)
– its going to be very hard-hitting but both teams love the physical stuff. Will be lots of cards
Mayo will be favourites though and they ought to embrace that fact and carry it with confidence.
Looking forward to a novel fascinating final
McStay did say Mayo will win Mayo88, I think ye heard that wrong.
A lot here underestimating both teams Saturday. Tyrone performed almost the whole way through unlike us. Kerry fought like dogs in 1st half and turned over Tyrone plenty of times, they led until near the end and won the later stages 5-1. Kerry didn’t all choke, Tyrone choked the life out of them apart from David Clifford who was unmarkable on the day and even he dropped off in 2nd half.
So while Tyrone mightn’t have the best individual players at this level, they performed by far the best as a team of the 4 semi finalists.
I agree Swallow Swoops on your comments re Morgan..I know a few lads up that direction who know their football and Morgan is a very highly rated keeper.
Speaking of keepers. We need Hennelly to have a really good positive day. He’s due one on final day!
Tyrone have serious momentum coming into this..I think we can or should park the whole covid situation in their camp. Old news. They best Donegal comfortably, Monaghan and Kerry and I’d urge people to not fall into the trap that Kerry ard not a good team. They are a very good team but I think their management had a bad day and the extra weeks left them a little cold. So Tyrone will be buzzing right now and I’m telling ye, they cant wait to have a crack off us. Mayo need to be ready physically, tactically and mentally. The emotion of ‘comebacks’ versus Galway and Dublin can naturally cause one to not focus so much on the poor performances that caused us to fall so far behind. A repeat of either of those 75mins+ normal time displays wont suffice.
Time now for a top performance. We have plenty of lads with loads of scope to improve.
But anyone who doesnt think this wont be an incredibly tough match really hasnt a clue.
Agreed Mayonaze, it will be incredibly close and i will think both teams will cancel each other out in a lot of ways such is the similarities in playing style.
I do think though that we have the greater ceiling for improvement though seeing as we only played for a half against dublin and a half against galway, so we will rightfully be favourites.
Going to be a big day for ROD and Hennelly on frees as scores are going to be hard won and every deadball will need to be nailed
The narrative from a certain pundit about Padraic O’ Hora being an edgy/dog player is really dangerous. Its attracting attention that we can do without. Being a man who is proficient at martial arts actually makes him more disciplined. The next 10 days of misinformation and disinformation influencing refs etc could really act against us. its going to be an interesting final. Hope we don’t get bullied and caught in blind alleys. The ref in this match will make all the difference.
Morning all, like all here I now am 100% behind Mayo and I pray this is finally your year. Some here saying that Kerry are a poor team is I believe very wide of the mark, they played the game last Saturday with a very naive tactic and that saw them trying to knock the life out of Tyrone by scoring goals. I simply couldn’t believe the amount of turnovers Kerry gifted to Tyrone be carrying the ball into contact, it was criminal from our perspective.
I’m sure Horan will have a better attacking strategy when ye meet in the final. Tyrone are very difficult to play against as their tackling is on the edge at all times and they literally sap the energy out of their opposition, it’s not hand in its pulling and holding and they are masters at bringing it to the brink.
Our defence was very shaky when they ran at us and like most Kerry supporters I was thinking how did Peter keane manage to lose Donnie Buckley the best defensive coach in Ireland last year, simply unthinkable and there was to put it mildly there was a considerably amount of rankle in Kerry at the time as everybody, well apart from keane that is saw we needed to improve greatly in that area. Tactically we played into their strengths and Kerry’s failure to take the countless wasted point scoring opportunities is what beat us, a very bad day at the office for our manager yet again so I hope that we will have a new man at the helm when we take to the field in 2022.
Good luck again and I will be watching the final in Spain roaring the roof off for a Mayo win, I even bought a red and green wristband that I will wear on the 11th, it’s there for ye so take it.
Thank you, Gamechanger10, for a kind and gracious post.
I empathise with ye and know that this must have been a heartbreaking result on Saturday. We understand those feelings, particularly when there is excitement first and it doesn’t go as hoped. I like that you are looking ahead to next year. That’s a good way to look at things.
I also think ye have a very good team and feel that time will bring them on hugely. In my view, there is a need for balance between attack and defence – having a stellar attack as a mainstay invites teams to negate that. I think Peter Keane himself recognised this last year and tried to address it in a way, and this was a factor in the defeat to Cork – he set the team up differently that day.
Here in Mayo we have lost in so many ways since 1989 and from each of those games we had to learn (Meath physicality, bench coming on for Dublin, keep ball from Dublin last year, to name only a small few). I believe it is this very hard won experience that has been the central factor in making the team what it is (as well as the players and Horan). You learn and sometimes it’s through tough experiences. As hard as it is, this will stand to Kerry. Don’t be too merciless on the team or management but learn the lessons.
Thanks a million for your support for the 11th. Great to know we have an extra voice cheering us on from Spain. Please God, we give it socks and get over that line.
Tyrone are good team but they had 4 weeks to prepare for Kerry. Only for a mental 5 minutes where Murphy missed a pen and then gets sent off, Donegal would have beat them. Mayo and Tyrone are very similiar in so many ways but the one that stands out that when either team get into a lead they sit back and invite the other team on. Both teams are at their best when chasing the game. Tyrone went 5 points up in extra time. They proceeded to sit back and 5 out of the next 6 points were scored by Kerry. Against Monaghan, Tyrone were crusing in the first half, 5 points up. Second half they got 5 points and let Monaghan back into it. It will be a very interesting final. If it was Kerry, we all know they only play one way and their defence is wide open. I’d say the final will be very cagey with neither team will to do anything crazy in first half.
Does anyone know what time the season ticket draw is on Wednesday and if we will all receive an email notifying us of the winners/results?
One of the key things that was clarified for Kerry and us also after the Tyrone game – the days of bringing any lumbering giants to Croke Park is over
I totally agree Gamechanger. Kerry are a fantastic team but they need a different approach to yesterday. Upon re viewing they played quite well in patches and if they just had taken their points they would have won the game. There was no lack of fight in them either.
But there is no doubt that there was at least one passenger on their team without the requisite fitness
Some of Kerry’s tackling was ferocious.
But they were off 1-2% and that left the door open for Tyrone. What was amazing was that their overall fitness ( while good)wasn’t what had been advertised.
Maybe as you say Tyrone’s tackling depleted them.
I think the postponements ( there being two of them ) absolutely affected them. There had to be a subliminal sense also that to some extent the Tyrone camp had exaggerated the situation and that an ambush was in store.
Lady Luck was not on your side for that last goal. We know how that feels. All of these things together left you in the situation that I’ve never seen Kerry before – not able to get a point in the last six minutes. There is little doubt that if the super eights ever return then the lack of preparation in Munster won’t be as big a thing. I tip them to be champions soon.
Also, if anyone knows of any correspondence communicated to clubs in relation to second allocation of tickets next week, can you please post it here so that more club members are aware of it.
Thanks
Great post Gamechanger10 and commiserations on your defeat. I fully agree, Kerry’s inability to switch to a relatively simple plan b, i.e. take points rather than trying to kill off Tyrone with goals, was their major undoing. Also, I felt their attacking strategy had become overly reliant on Paudie Clifford in particular. He was key to everything Kerry had been doing well up to Saturday and it seemed fairly obvious to me, if his influence was stymied, Kerry’s attack might be in trouble. I read Jim McGuinness’s article with interest in the Times on Saturday also. He referenced the San Antonio Spurs and being encouraged to overplay, in relation to Kerry. It seemed to me like that ended up hampering Kerry, had they been able to take the tempo down a bit and play a simpler game, I think they’d have won the game with a bit to spare. Finally, I also think that high tempo may have caused them to run out of gas so evidently, going down with cramp etc. Ultimately though, all these things are more than fixable, and whilst it’ll be a long winter in the Kingdom, that young team still has all the tools to challenge for Sam for years to come.
Wrt to Tyrone, I’m quite surprised at the narrative now emerging as to how good they are. Sure, they put in a great defensive performance, but Kerry really played into their hands and two of their 3 goals were very opportunistic. I dont think they are that good upfront, they had some terrible misses, and I fully believe our press will cause Morgan all sorts of problems. And I’ll tell you one thing for nothing, we wont be cramping going down the stretch, that’s for sure. I’m confident ahead of this one, and quite happy to see the media talk up Tyrone’s chances, keep it coming!
This might sound familiar but…
when Kerry’s best forward went off at the end of normal time on Saturday, it had arguably a positive effect, with Kerry nearly pulling back a 5 point deficit in extra-time a very short space of time. The influence of his brother Paidi was also less important as Kerry started in attack with support runners.
Tyrone no longer sure of where the scoring threat was coming from. Suddenly the rest of the Kerry team had to step up, with scores from the likes of D O Connor, P Murphy and even P Geaney. Played some great football in a ten minute period. Paul Geaney though seems to be a shadow of his former self.
Similarly the loss of Cillian means our attacks in this championship have had to be from multiple sources, making it more unpredictable, but harder to plan against.
Mind you, I’d always want such players on my team but the manager has to be careful that it doesn’t inhibit other players/scorers.
Take your points and the goals will come, as they say.
Have to say, I was impressed by Tyrone and the more the game went on, the more anxious I became. They were decimated on kickouts for a large portion of the game, but they turned over a huge amount of ball to negate that. Mayo I feel have an advantage in the middle third & won’t cough up the ball as easily.
Anyone’s guess who will be marking who, but McNamee & Hampsey are teak tough defenders. All of their defenders are good going forward, very similar to us! But I think we might have an edge in terms of defenders being able to do their primary job, which is to defend. Our midfield are usually good for scores too.
They have a very strong bench too. And McKenna I think is a wildcard. He was very subdued by his standards on Saturday, but still bagged two goals! I could see him and Oisin going at it!
Ultimately feel if we can hit close to our peak intensity levels for long periods, we will have too much. Our fitness this year has been phenomenal & will be primed for the final. It could be a dog fight, but we have plenty dogs in our arsenal!!!
Thank you Gamechanger,as always a great post,alongside our own great posters we have some great people from Dublin,Kerry Galway who lost on here probably it shows how well Willie Joe runs the site and it is good to hear from people outside the what they think of our football team,I am sure that Kerry will be back,i can’t understand why anyone would not want D Buckley on their staff because he can certainly organise defenders,enjoy your holiday and I will be more than happy if we manage to get across the line with a one point margin,I know that down the years I have been shouting about winning by a wide margin,but believe me I always am happy to win by a point
It’s mind boggling that Tyrone managed to win the game with a much smaller share of primary possession.
They must have had faith in defending in numbers, forcing turnovers and counter attacking at speed.
It’s not a blanket because Tyrone defended man to man, but it’s for all the world like a blanket.
We’ve always found it hard to play against mass defence teams (Tyrone, and Galway under Kevin Walsh). It hasn’t been our number one strength. But as a previous poster said, these struggles with blankets mostly affected us in tight provincial grounds and not in Croke Park.
I want to give one nugget – remember how we dealt with Galway in 2019 in Limerick, a team using a shawl, that seemed to have a hoodoo over us at provincial level. We came out and ran at them early and put up two goals against them in a short time. One of the goals was James Carr’s.
I wonder is there a weak spot in Tyrone’s current approach that we could target early. I’d like to see Tyrone having to come out and chase the game rather than have the confidence that they can survive on breaking us down, attrition or waiting for us to make mistakes.
I think the primary issue in this game is that of tactics (it’s the case with this wily joint management team as well as their predecessor, M Harte). If Mayo crack this conundrum and get their specific strategy for Tyrone right, I think we have the players to prevail.
One other thing – Mayo are a shadowy entity going into this game. There is a lot unknown about them, I feel, and in a good way. This is somewhat of a positive, I feel, at least. Hon Mayo!
Actually Brian Gavin in the examiner also saying that Coldrick is in the running for the final as well.
Dublin Joe seems to be in the box seat though. I didn’t think a semi final ref would be in the running for the final. Gough might be a better choice for us.
For the sake of the sport its great to have this novel final
Reminds me a lot of 2014 actually, with both underdogs winning the semis. Like kerry that year we had a few retirements early in the year and lost a marquee forward to injury. Dont think too many would have had us down as winning Sam even a few weeks ago, yet here we are with an absolutely roaring chance
Hard to know where Tyrone really are. we would have taken this all day long early in the year, but similarly we would have taken Donegal as final opponents early on in 2012, teams can just grow into campaigns and that’s very much what Tyrone are doing
Like others have said both sides could really cancel each other out – interestingly both are probably stronger at the back (will be first time in quite a while the winner will have – arguably – none of the top 5 forwards in the country). We’re not as good as we were in 2013-2017 imo, yet this Tryone side is still a fair bit off their 00s pomp too. yet one is going to be lifting sam
But man it’d be very disappointing to lose this. first time odds-on in my lifetime to win the decider, this isn’t the Dublin juggernaut or kerry of the noughties. Its a really, really good opportunity here. and bring it on!
Interesting comment above on the Mayo press and what Morgan will be able to do if his kickout is harried. You could see a scenario where Mayo clean them out if he goes long but of course Tyrone will be well aware of that risk. Composure in the first 20 minutes will be vital a bit like Tyrone yesterday where they didnt concede the early goal and grew in confidence with Kerry persisting in going for goals but perhaps confidence wasnt there to kick a point unless it was Clifford on the ball. We might see a very cagey first half. Tyrone as I said yesterday conceded a lot of soft frees that’s where ye will miss COC It will be vital for them to limit those chances and dare I say it Mayo also give away a lot of soft frees too . Similar teams with attacking backs as pointed out above. It should be a great final for the neutral but a nerve wracking one for Mayo and Tyrone fans. Gavin White attacks remind me a lot of Mayo attacks but did ye notice how he just took too much on with Tyrone defenders a step up from what he was used to facing. I think there is a lesson there for Mayo to lay the ball off quickly for a point chance before Tyrone position to turnover those attacks. Kerry were not able to do this though which shows how difficult it is to kick, quick points against Tyrone.
Aidan O’rourke’s comments (below) very relevent to us I think. 65% of tyrones scores direct from turnovers
‘It is impossible to create championship intensity in training ……but if Kerry played any practice games without double sweepers or if the first team played against any less than 18 men then they had no concept of how to get ready.’
‘Kerry persisted with carrying the ball out of defence and through the middle third for the duration and so the template of slow ball and limited space for Clifford, Geaney and O’Shea largely remained for the whole game.
When you reflect on the full game, it is puzzling that Kerry were manipulated into not looking to their longer kick-out options. They ignored the aerial advantage they have and – most importantly – the dangerous attacking platform it could give them to instead accept “safe” possession.’
I feel that discipline will be very important in this game… I can see ROD getting a lot of verbals as he can can be a bit volatile at times. Hopefully they will all unleash their inner James Carr and just smile as he did when Philly pinched him in the semi!
On a side note, there are a few players on this Mayo team that beat Tyrone in the Minor final in 2013.. A day when Tommy Conroy scored 1-3 and Conor Loftus 0-3!! I’d take that again the next day 🙂
These stats may have been posted already but do show the naievity of taking the ball into the tackle with Tyrone, when 2 or 3 defenders are ready to swarm.
Source: E Fitzmaurice in Examiner.
“Turnovers were the chief source of scores for both teams but Tyrone’s incredible workrate is borne out in the numbers. They scored a staggering 2-9 of their 3-14 total from turnovers. They turned Kerry over 35 times in the course of the contest. 30 of those turnovers came in Kerry’s attacking third.”
Six years ago today we were playing Dublin in a semi final and standing for Darragh Doherty in the 13th minute.He along with Conroy, Ruane, O Connor and Lofus played a big part in the minor win in 2013…Remember it being mentioned at the time of the bright future he had ahead of him..
Gamechanger..Hope ye are as hoarse as the semi and as happy for us come final whistle!??
It’s been referenced here a few times today that Tommy Conroy played in the 2013 minor final. That was the other Tommy Conroy, i.e. Tommy ‘Goals’ from Kiltane and not Tommy from The Neale. To add to the confusion, RTÉ keep calling Tommy The Neale Tommy Goals – as do some of our own supporters – but he’s a different player altogether.
Amc ur referring to the tommy conroy from kiltane. He is the real tommy goals. It’s not the tommy conroy that ran riot against Dublin and hopefully will do the same against Tyrone.
That was Tommy Conroy from Kiltane guys, not Tommy Conroy from the Neale. But when you look at that 2013 team, there were a large number of lads that day who are key in our team now. Loftus, Diarmud, Coen, Ruane, Plunkett & Brian Walsh were there if I remember correctly too.
Regina I remember that also, it was a poignant tribute at the time to Darragh.
Thanks Willie Joe… I was thinking at the time that Tommy must have been awful young to play on that Minor team! hard to believe it was 8 years ago!
Willle Joe : another guest to ponder with Mayo News podcast team is Stephen Rochford. He has plenty experience of Tyrone recently in Ulster from a Donegal perspective and earlier as Mayo manager.
Swallow Swoops – James Carr scored both goals vs Galway in Limerick
We’re onto it, My Left Foot!
I can also confirm now the return of Declan Bogue – he’ll be on the first episode to appear this week, which, I think, should be online tomorrow at some point.
The dream fixture of Dublin v Kerry at Croke Park that RTE fawn over all year will have to be hosted on your favorite game console for yet another year. Life is so cruel sometimes. Due out in time for Christmas. Order your copy today to avoid anymore disappointment in this very disappointing year.
Good on you, Dooniver Swifts! I had forgotten that James scored both goals that day (wow). If I had been in the venue, I’m sure the images would be scorched onto my mind, but was listening on Mid West that day. That was a proud moment and a pleasant surprise where we could breathe a bit while the game unfolded. Thanks again.
The eel from the Neale.
Suspected that might be the case WJ, thanks. We will be spoilt.
Dooniver swifts if james Carr scores 1 goal he usually gets another. I hope he starts the next day . He will deliver
I’m sure WJ if Tommy Conroy from the Neale can bang in a goal or 2 on 11/09, we’d all be happy for him to take on the mantle of ‘Tommy Goals’ for as long as he wants. It’s his time now and in the form and shape of his life to rewrite history.
Anyone who doesn’t know the difference between the 2 Tommy Conroys at this stage doesn’t deserve a ticket to the final if you ask me! 🙂
We’re never going to get a better chance than this – so there’s no more tomorrows for Mayo! James Horan’s teams are always competitive and we’ve been really poor in the 1st halves in both the Galway games. We’ve some inexperienced players at this level so important but we don’t concede an early lead. Time to shake off the “runners up” tag – it’s now or never. Maigh Eo Abú.
A rare interview and good photo from 2016 of Kiltane’s Tommy “Goals” Conroy, before the U21 final, a Mike Finnerty article.
Already at that young age of 20, he had a double hip operation.
“I just turned awkwardly on my hip and knocked it out again. I had the operation done in February and they told me I was looking at about ten weeks on the sidelines from there. “The problem with my hip is down to the way I walked really since I was young. I kind of walked with one leg turned in a little and that meant my hip was clicking quite a bit. It had to be fixed.”
He was bullish about the U-21s potentially winning the All-Ireland. His statement:
“Cork have good forwards but I think we’ve more leaders than them,” was spot on.
https://www.mayonews.ie/sports/27719-conroy-backs-mayo-comrades-to-reach-their-all-ireland-goals
It would have been something to have two Tommy Conroys on the Mayo full forward line. We have to call the current one “Points”.
If I recall correctly it was his (minor?) teammates who labelled him “goals”.
I knew Tommy Goals late father personally he was an absolute gentleman and as decent as the day long if life had been a bit kinder to Tommy he might be still playing for Mayo but he and his family can be forever proud of his all Ireland minor medal and the goal he scored in the
Final. We were blessed to see the minors lift the cup
That day and the U 21’s lift in in Ennis a few years later I
Think if we lift Sam Saturday week we will be very emotional and it will give the county a huge boost in general. Tommy Conroy from the Neale has huge potential he seems like a decent guy too would love
To see him take this final by the scruff of the neck
Anyone know when clubs are getting tickets!
Just a heads up if anyone is waiting for an email from the season ticket office to check your junk mail. I had emailed them a few days ago to check my details are correct and the response went to junk for some reason.
Increased capacity at outdoor sporting events to be announced from Sept 6th according to reports on Twitter.
If we perform in the first half like Galway and Dublin games then we’ll be in massive bother. CANNOT let Tyrone build a lead. I can see them starting McShane and trying to do a Michael Murphy 2012 on us inside the first few mins. Its imperative we start with a sweeper, protect the D at all times for 1st quarter. Our long range shooting will need to be spot on, Tommy operating on the half forward line now and again could help in this regard.
I’ve absolutely nothing against James Carr, but how people think he should start is beyond me. Butcherd 2 scores at critical times against Dublin, and not hitting the net against Galway when one on one was criminal. That wonder goal was 2 years ago now, I do feel he can add something of the bench but he’s not good enough to start currently. Darren Coen has performed better than him this year. If it were me id keep both Coen and Carr as impact subs, but if one had to be started it would be Coen all day long.
The good thing about Saturdays game is that we got a right good look at Tyrone’s capabilities.
We know an awful lot from that game.
We saw their strengths and everything they went to, to win that game.
We saw from Kerry, what not to do.
I think we saw Tyrone at their peak on Saturday. They may be as dogged again in two weeks, but I doubt they can raise it much more than what we saw.
From our own perspective and a major plus is that we have continued to improve throughout the championship. We saw several contenders for man of the match in the Dublin game.
I think we are going to improve again for the final. I’m sure we will.
I’m sure James and co will have rewatched Saturdays game again a few times already.
It’s always a great time to be a Mayo fan, but this time feels really special for some reason.
I don’t know how the nerves are going to survive the build up.
Well the first and most obvious lesson learned from Saturday that Horan will be hammering into players is not to take too much out of the ball or go on solo runs, the amount of times Kerry forwards tried to do this against tyrone and got turned over was unbelievable and yet they persisted with it, we have to move the ball fast and always have runners off the shoulder. If you try run past them with the ball they will just take it off you, their tackling is incredible
We’re never going to get a better chance than this but we’ve been really poor in the 1st halves in both the Galway and Dublin games. The referee will play a big part – the ref in the Kerry Tyrone let a lot go with persistent dirty fouls by Meyler and Co. We’ve some inexperienced players at this level so important but they don’t get intimidated by the guaranteed niggling. Time to shake off the “perennial losers” tag – it’s now or never. Maigh Eo Abú.
Swallow Swoops and Spectre; I’d start Carr alongside Aido and ROD and move Tommy C to the 40 to put them on the back foot as most of Tyrone’s turnovers and consequent scores started from their half back line.
Outdoor sporting events can have up to 50% capacity from next week it seems. Does that increase the final capacity from 40,000 to 41,150? An extra 1,150 seats for loyal season ticket holders im sure!!!!
A genuine question to anyone who knows James Carr maybe from club football. How good is he really? I have only seen his few appearances with mayo and would love to see him get more time to see what he can do. He looks very natural on the ball but I’m wondering why he gets so little time
It would be nice to see the attendance increased for this one. I wonder if there’s any chance of that happening at all?
Dooniver I see where ur coming from. These days scores come from every where so every man has a job to do. We need to be patient in possession. No point running into the lions mouth !!
James carr is better from the start than as sub. He is confidence player who is big fast and can score. If he starts the next day just watch him turn the screw !!!
Where are we getting the ticket / tickets from this time around ?
Can anyone tell me if the final will be shown on a big screen in say the Mall, Castlebar or other venues in towns such as Claremorris, Westport, etc.
James Carr is big, strong athletic, accurate and has a eye for goals. He’s a natural 14. In my view if he didn’t have so many injury problems over the last few years he’d be a nailed on starter at this stage. As pointed if he gets going he can catch fire very quickly and Tyrone wouldn’t know much about him. He’s better starting than coming off the bench. I know he missed two scorable chances against Dublin but his movement and ball winning ability was excellent to create the chance. He did similar in the league final a few years ago and and scored off right and left, not to mention his two goals against Galway and to a lesser extent Leitrim earlier this year. Horan picks on form in training though so if he’s doing it in training, he’ll be in.
Awh lads Kerry were woeful . They had moments of brilliance but that’s all they were moments . The number of turnovers were shocking time after time looking to walk the ball into the net only to get turned over . It was very naive . Their defending was poor very loose marking . Kerry played their best football around the middle third but it all broke down after that . And yet all the being said and being 5 points down they still brought it to extra time and so very nearly bringing it to penalties.
I don’t know if Kerry believed all the hype about themselves or what it was but they could not match Tyrone’s intensity.
Being written off by all was put to good affect by Tyrone and they used all that anger and put it into they’re play .
I can’t see any other surprises from them. We know they if we get turned over in the tackle we will get punished . We have a better defence than Kerry and hopefully won’t concede goals . We have work to do up front . We have to be patient and clinical. Like Kerry today we have to lord around the middle third . These will be the ingredients needed to land Sam .
I can’t recall feeling we have as good a chance of winning as I do this one . I have only once put a bet on a GAA match and I can’t remember the year but it was against Tyrone I backed us at 5/4 and I recall the lady behind the counter looking the slip and she said to me you know Tyrone are favourites to win ? She must have felt sorry for me. We won anyway so I think a visit to pp might be in order.