The votes are in and counted on our MOTM poll from yesterday’s razor-thin victory over Louth in the summer sun at Castlebar. For the second match in a row and for the fourth time this year, the player who has come out on top of the poll is Aidan O’Shea. The Breaffy player wins the MOTM award with 27% of the vote.
Unusually, it was Aidan’s excellence from placed balls that was the most noteworthy part of his display yesterday. Those tricky left-footed frees have been a problem for us for some time but in recent weeks Aidan has taken on responsibility for them and has made that particular job his own. In a match won by just a solitary point, scoring four from frees obviously counted as a major contribution to the victory.
That wasn’t all Aidan did, of course, as he roamed far and wide in the scorching conditions at Hastings Insurance MacHale Park. We didn’t use him as an outlet inside as much as in recent games – Louth’s ultra-defensive tactics largely negated such an approach – but Aidan still made a telling contribution to the win.
Others to feature prominently in the poll were Padraig O’Hora, who put in a real barnstorming display yesterday, driving forward at every opportunity. It was his best performance in ages and he garnered 17% of the vote. Stephen Coen also did very well, with his 12% of the vote a reflection of this.
Below them there’s a fairly even spread in the voting, which was reflective of the kind of game it was and the conditions it was played in. Well done to all the lads and in particular to Aidan O’Shea, our MOTM from yesterday’s game.
O’Shea, O’Hora and the full back line were excellent. Fair play to them.
O’Shea making a habit of this. Good man and keep it up.
The heat and Louth’s tactics kind of killed the game. I’ve been following Mayo since the 80s and that’s the championship game I’ve ever been at that I could hear what the players were telling each other on the field. That’s how quiet it was. Still, a win is a win and thank god we won’t be playing in McHale Park again this year. I think it needs an exorcism, we only seem to play badly when we’re there.
– Aido led by example in a team where the majority of players were stuck in second gear.
– Most supporters expected a dour borefest yesterday which is exactly how it turned out.
– The crowd was very quiet all the way through the game and the mood was very muted as people left the ground.
– Dissapointing that it seemed that the gameplan was NOT to shoot from any distance. Instead it was like watching 10 Ciaran Kilkennys passing the ball over and back.
– The aberration that is Gaelic Football currently will likely last for another two years before the hole in the GAA’s pocket gets too big as plummeting gate receipts looks like the only thing that will force change.
– The great Heffo’s tactic of playing John Mc Carthy as a 3rd mid fielder caused a sensation in the early 1980’s. How times change…
Aos very good. . Midfield destroyed yesterday. Coen did well. Ruane not a midfielder. He s a half forward. Seriously missed diarmuid o Connor. O hora to 6. He s more direct and strong. Plenty to ponder
Comhghairdeas Aodan. What a great servant go foireann Mhuigeo!
Poor team performance yesterday but the temperature was not helpful.
We missed Diarmuid in midfield, the engine/fulcrum of the team!
Could not understand why management did not make changes earlier as a few of our forwards were not performing probably due to the conditions! Surely, Towey should be given a chance as he can shoot from outside the D!
Any update on Diarmuid?
I thought the fans were extremely subdued! The team needs more support from the terraces!
We got the 2 points. Onwards and upwards
Mhuigeo Abú!
On the subject of the Mayo fans being quiet. There is now so much football played at this level that games just come and go. It’s not a direct reflection on any supporters but you can’t get fully charged for each game. Matches are all now a tactical process and very little spontaneity. Louth set out to not lose but trying to hold on and then perhaps try win.
From the 1/4 final on, when it’s knock out the attention will go up several levels from the supporters.
The issue we have at present is converting the high volume of goals opportunities we are creating. Those chances come from the hard work tactics, we must become more clinical.
The 15 plus the “finishers” are the difference we have now. No one wants to draw Mayo, especially when we move to Croke Park.
Aidan is humming very well. Great to see.
4pts from 4 on offer. On to Cork.
Craggy boglands – our midfield wasn’t destroyed at all. I thought Ruane had a good game.
Well done Aido. I remember him missing a simple mark from just to the right of the posts, can’t remember what game exactly. Maybe the All Ireland final 21. Such an improvement and solves a longstanding issue. So fair play to him, he must have worked hard on it.
Don’t know how you can’t say ruanne is not a midfielder he destroyed kerry’s midfield along with DOC in killarney yes he wasnt 100% yesterday but was anyone that heat .. ruanne iis one of the best midfielders in the country on his day we are lucky to have him in my opinion …
Wide ball. Yes he did have a good game but my point is. It wasn’t in midfield. He s a top top half forward. . For me ..we definitely lost the midfield battle. That’s my readnon what I saw. And definitely too slow with the subs and maybe towey could have been tryed . When did we last see ruane go in for the throw in. Clearly management don’t see him as a fielder either
Great to see Aidan in good form. I wasn’t expecting to see this from him at this stage. I would prefer to see him stay up front except for the odd long kick out. That’s where he is most effective in my opinion.
As regards the game itself I think enough has been said about it. It’s over and we won without playing well. At this stage I think it is safe to say that our performance against Kerry wasn’t as impressive as initial reports and indeed our performance against Louth wasn’t as bad as it is being portrayed.
We really cannot afford to lose to Cork. That would put 3 teams on 4 points (assuming Kerry beat Louth). Scoring difference comes into play then. I know we’re in fairly healthy shape on that front but if Kerry were to hammer Louth they could end up winning the group. Apart from that it wouldn’t do much for confidence. So they really do need to go all out against Cork. Any lack of intensity or energy could be very costly. I expect a big step up in our performance
From a tactical point of view, the Louth game is best forgotten. We fell into the Louth trap, been ultra defensive ourselves, fifteen men behind the ball, when what he really needed was to take a chance, leave two maybe three forward all the time and counter attack at pace.
A very average Louth team were good enough to create goal chances from limited possession.
Shambolic is the only word I can use to describe it. I’m not blaming Loftus, it’s a system, the management have hung their hat on. When he is in position, he Marshalls the defence with abit of authority. But he goes forward, lays the ball off, and continues his run forward. If we’re turned over, he is totally out of position, we have a defence without it’s organiser. It’s nothing short of wreckless. And the book stops with the management, they replay the games see patterns and have responsibility for correction.
We have an outstanding panel of players, but a defensive system that will catch us out.
Hopefully Cork will expose our weakness and we might finally come to our senses.
The conversion rate of goal chances is a big concern. The game followed a very familiar pattern for many Mayo fans against inferior opposition
– start off like a house on fire in the first few plays and get a couple of points up within 2 min
– supporters thinking “this is going to be easy there’s a big gulf in class here”
– miss a couple of handy goal chances in the first 10 min. No stress, there will be plenty more – after all Louth are rubbish and Mayo are class, right?
– opposition settles into an extreme defensive pattern and the scores suddenly dry up for us
– they tag on a few scores on their occasional forays into our half against the run of play but it’s suddenly a 2 point game.
– they visibly grow in belief as we appear clueless to break them down
– we go long spells without scoring
– they suddenly look like creating a goal chance every time they run at the heart of our defence in the last 10 min
– they score a goal by cutting us apart in a barely believable manner. Anyones game now.
– we are saved by the clock, this time.
I’m going to be really harsh here but 3 clear goal chances were either butchered or not taken in this game by Mayo, any one of which would have broken louths resistance.
Chance 1 was RODs that he took the point in. This was probably understandable but if it was Clifford or Con that would have been in the net.
Chance 2 was the one McBrien didn’t square across to Carr
Chance 3 was the sloppy handpass by carr to AOS in the second half that we messed up.
The same thing happened against Kerry – we scored one of about 5 goal chances. If we reach an AI final we might get one goal chance all game. Can you trust this attack to take it? We won’t be getting 5 chances, that’s for sure.
4 MOTM awards for Aidan this season out of what 11 games? That’s means he’s nailed on our best player. Who’d have said that at the start of the season. Who’d have said he’d be our free taker from the right come championship and do well? He’s savagely underrated on the national stage but he’s a credit to his family. His attitude is absolutely spot on.
Our biggest challenge now is figuring out how to get the ball into him. Coen can’t kick pass, Paddy wants to run, Loftus doesn’t kick enough. Ruane won’t kick it. The whole half forward line are runners. If Mayo had John Daly feeding Aidan he’d average another point per game.
That very ‘average ‘Louth team have had one bad result all year v Dublin in Leinster final when they tried to go toe to toe with them. Other than that they had a very solid league just finishing behind Derry and Dublin. They have a much smaller selection of players than we have and a very experienced and tactically astute manager who has taken them up from Div 4. After 2 games v Cork and Mayo they have a minus 3 score difference which shows just how competitive they are. They knew there was no point playing an attacking game v Mayo, so they played to their strengths and hung in the game. For Louth to be competing against the Mayos Kerrys and Corks of this world is a solid achievement and worthy of praise whether we like their style or not. The same is true about Roscommon and their approach to the Mayo and Dublin games where they were unbeaten. It’s up to the supposedly ‘better’ teams to overcome these systems. By the way congrats to Aidan. Brilliant servant to Mayo. Always stands up to be counted even when not playing well, but fortunately playing well this year.
That’s a great point, to win just once, about the style of play and weaker teams. I’m not saying the game can’t improve but there’s such a snobbery amongst GAA people about how the games should be played that if someone new comes along and dares to be different they are castigated. Louth are an example. Roscommon another. Donegal under McGuinness. Louth and Roscommon put together haven’t much more of a population than Mayo. It’s up to the better to teams to figure out a way to break them down. Dublin failed miserably v Ross, Mayo just got it done v Louth.
Congrats to Aidan on yet another MOTM performance. Tipping along very nicely. Keep it up!
Louth have a population greater than Mayo. Roscommon have a population about half of Mayo. They have won about half as many Connaught titles so per population are very much on a par with Mayo. We have been in All- Irelands for the last 10 years so we think we are taking pity on so called lesser counties? We have 3 All- Ireland titles. We won none and I repeat no Connaught titles in the 1980s. I’d love to think we could look down our noses at other counties like Kerry do but Kerry have earned the right. We have not. Dublin won 6 in a row playing possession football and everyone in the media loved it. Roscommon did a job on them at their own game and the media plus ex players want a rule change. There is a few on here falling into the same trap. The media and pundits have an agenda to push and jobs to keep. Don’t be so naive
Mayo madness we won connacht titles in 81 85 88 and 89 and an all Ireland minor title in 85
Reading the RTE websites live feed of the weekend games just gone and seeing Dublin’s possession based play being described as “doing a Roscommon” is comical if wasn’t so inaccurate. Are journalists even aware of how naive they sound sometimes when they ignore this type of football which Dublin practically invented. It makes the blanket look positively amazing in comparison!
@Glorydays of course I meant the 1970s. I’m older than I think. The point still stands. I’m now depressingly 10 years older than I thought ??
@Mayoadness, 1980s well apart from 1981, 1985, 1988, and 1989 we won no Connacht finals, in the 80s we were often a very good team, thats when the original Willie Joe literally leapt into the national conciseness, and Liam Mc,Hale . Im sure you meant the 1970s. Even as a very young child in the early 70s the adults, I can remember the older men, with a cigrarettes drooping from their lips, informing the women and children just how good Mayo were back then in the 60s, with nicotine stained thumbs and fingers, they were still living on the memory of Mayo being the only team that could give the great Galway 3 in a row team a proper game. Outside the church after Mass, it was a quick Mass if Galway were in the Connacht Final, because the Priest was a Galway man ., All types of opinions on football in Kerry, and they dont look down their noses by and large at other counties, and they have a most particular fondness for Tyrone especially, so the good people Kerry people tell me. And they would love Mayo to win one in a row, if the bubonic plague hit the Kingdom and kept them away from Croke Park for a year.
Good man Aido.
How has he managed to stay nearly injury free all these years?
We let a late goal in yesterday and one against Roscommon in the league making for a jittery last few minutes. I think we done the same in Armagh too?
Fair play to mayo for the 2 points and for trying to play football,but my god what tactics louth were using were terrible .Unless something is donw to stop this rot i woyld say R,I,P gaelic football
That’s not correct re population, GBXI. Preliminary census data for 2022 show that Louth’s population is now slightly higher than ours: 139k to 137k. Population of Roscommon is just under 70k.
I will be in Claremorris on Saturday afternoon for the Ger Brady game so cannot make it to Carrick for the Mayo/Monaghan minor game. Does anyone know if it’s to be on tv?
I’m nearly sure it’s on TG4, Joe G, but can’t find definitive confirmation on that at the minute.
Joe and Willie Joe Yes it’s on TG4 at 17:15.
https://www.gaa.ie/football/gaa-football-all-ireland-minor-championship/mayo-monaghan/2531493/
I lived up on the Meath/Louth border for five years, and although our populations may be the same, I don’t think it’s a great comparison otherwise with our situation. Gaelic football is indisputably the biggest sport in Co. Mayo, although at times the media like to make out that it’s the only sport here, which it isn’t. Up in the North East it’s different, I’m afraid. In Drogheda for instance, for GAA clubs they have only St. Nicholas’s, Newtown Blues and Wolfe Tones, in and around the town area. If memory serves, Drogheda is the biggest town in Ireland, with a population of some 41,000.
A lot of the hinterland clubs are lost to them because they’re in Co. Meath. And if you compare it with soccer, back when I was there there were probably about 20 clubs locally playing in the Meath and District League or the Leinster Senior League, as well as having a big town league in the summer. Go into any pub up there and you’ll struggle to get them to put a championship game on over the Premier League.
Rugby has also gotten big, with the Kearneys having played for Ireland, as well as Shane Horgan (albeit he’s just over the Meath border in Bellewstown).
With soccer being huge in Dundalk too, their GAA hinterland is pretty small, with a belt around Ardee and the Cooley mountains being the stronghold.
Although Sunday wasn’t pretty viewing from our perspective it’s good to see them becoming more competitive in a general sense. Dan of the Louth and Proud podcast came across as a gentleman and is typical of the majority of folk up there, in my experience anyway.
Thanks for that, Islander, I just couldn’t locate the link.
It Means Nothing To Me, you’re absolutely correct re: Dan – I had the pleasure of working with him and indeed quite a few people from his part of the world a few years back when I lived in Dublin and he was indeed a gent, and always a football fanatic. It was really lovely to hear him on the pod.
To win just once – great comment. All the sense.
I had the honour of finally meeting Dan myself at the game on Sunday and agree fully with what’s already been said. Total gent and he really added to the pod over the past week in the lead up to and after the match.
Aido is playing some football this year, he is like a new player under this management.
In regards to the result the last day i feel if we didn’t concede the goal and point in the last 2 minutes of extra time the narrative around this game would be different. There was no stage until the last attack of the game i felt like we were going to lose it or louth were getting the better of us.
The main concern is if we do concede a goal or two early on in a game against teams like louth / roscommon we cant break down the blanket to make up the deficit.
We got the win and hopefully will do enough against cork to secure top spot.
Conceding late goals is a long held frailty of this and the previous Mayo team. So much so that the opposition, no matter their level, never feel beaten and play to the final whistle while we switch off. It’s unforgivable not to learn from these late goals time and time again.
Forwards also need to be more ruthless and clinical with goal opportunities.
Until these two things change Sam ain’t coming home.
Change doesn’t just happen, tactics and personnel need tweaking by management, there can be no sentiment in sport.
Congrats on the win over the weekend, Louth are a difficult nut to crack under Micky Heart as he has really got a huge bye in from all in Louth football. I am not looking forward to meeting them as it’s difficult to break them down and if it’s a wet day they become more of a problem as the turnovers trying to get through them will go up in the percentage rate. Delighted for Aidan O Shea as he has really embraced his new roll and he is playing it to great effect, clearly the confidence that the management have shown him is reflective in his attitude and play and it’s great to see him shine.
Kerry and cork is always a difficult game to make a call on with the history and rivalry that exists between the two teams. Cork came into this game as complete underdogs even though they had home advantage and both of those factors was in my opinion worth a two or three point advantage to them. Kerry were coming of a defeat to a Mayo team that had torn us apart from nine to two and nullified some of our best attackers in the process, if Mayo had taken a few of those goal chances it would be a score line that would have lasted for decades as a championship loss in Killarney. Against cork we clearly showed that we headed some of those lessons and were much tighter in our defence and played better football in the first half but the rebels tore into us in the second half and forced several turnovers that cost us dearly as instead of registering a score we were punished on the other side. As the half wore on it started to become a game that we can’t lose as opposed to a game we can and should win. We got the penalty and I believe Gough got it right as it was a real goal scoring opportunity and pouter pulled him down with no defender between geaney and the keeper so good call for me and I wouldn’t argue if it was called against us as I think it’s a good rule (but the consistency greatly need to be improved).
Cork will be no walk in the park for Mayo but three thinks could come against them and that is they will lack the local Darby ingredient (that’s a nice way of saying they hate Kerry with a passion), they don’t have home advantage and they would have expended a huge amount of passion and effort to take us down and are I’m sure crestfallen having failed so for those reasons along with the speed and power of Mayo I think ye will have too much for them.
Keep the flags flying and good luck against them as Mayo are deserved winners of the group and I hope ye confirm your position the next day out. After that it’s all out war and as a Kerry man I pray that we learn big time from our mistakes thus far and get our house in order and get a few of out top warriors fit and back in contention for our run to the Coliseum.
Cíarraí Abú
It’s now almost midday…less than 2 weeks to go to the Cork game and the incompetent bunch in croke Park still haven’t told the gaa supporters around the country where and when their next game is on…what a effin joke. Do they not realise people have plans to arrange etc to attend the matches. Do they really not give a f*ck about the supporters who pay their bloated salaries. It’s a sh*t show that’s what it is.
Delighted for O’Shea. We finally have a plan as to how to play to his strengths, and both he and Mayo are bearing fruit. I thought he showed real leadership on Sunday, he demanded ball inside and also came out the field when needed to get on ball and settle things a little. The standout performer on a day where it was difficult to shine.
As for our performance? It was never going to be the shoot-out that we had in Killarney and I thought we did the right thing by getting out in front early in the game. We learned from our recent tussles with Roscommon and Galway that when playing teams who employ heavy numbers in defense but then break fast on the counter attack, it is vital that we get ahead on the scoreboard so they then have to come out and play ball. To be fair to Louth, they were excellent from a tactical defense point of view. They got their numbers (all 15!) back inside their 45m line, they crowded space inside, they had a double sweeper in front of the scoring zone and they were fully committed to it. It’s all good and well roaring from the stands about the pace of the game, or complaining on-line about blanket defenses, but, in reality they are very primative but difficult to break down. All you can do is retain possession, swing the play from side to side, get decoy runners making runs through their cover and wait for the space to open up. Had we taken any of the three very good goal chances we created then the game would have been done and dusted with 10 minutes to go.
That for me is the biggest worry. We have created 7 excellent goal chances in the last two games but have only taken one of them. That is nowhere near ruthless enough to win games from here on out. From the quarter final stages onwards if we create 3 goal chances per game we will be doing very well, because defenses tighten up, hits come in harder and space disappears as the championship heats up. Our goal effort efficiency of 15% will mean our opponents will be keeping clean sheets and we will have to score 20+ points per game to beat the better teams. That will prove very difficult to near impossible.
But, each game and opponent brings different challenges and whereas Louth knew they defo needed something from Sundays game to have a chance of getting out of the group, Cork know they are getting out. They just don’t know where exactly. A draw in Tullamore will do us to top the group but against a more open opponent I would fancy us to take the win, the points and the group.
Tullamore, 2pm, Sunday 18th.
Has that been announced anywhere pebble??
Not yet, Moyside, but there’s meant to be an official announcement today.
Tullamore would be an odd venue for Mayo v Cork. Limerick or Ennis more convenient.
Is that three in a row for Aido? Ballybofey, Castlebar? Killarney. Great stuff, but it worries me a little. It suggests that he is carrying the show. What happens if he is marked out of it in a QF in the Croker heat?
It could be argued of course that anyone of three or four could have got MOTM in Killarney, and last Sunday’s overall performance was so dire, MOTM is a bit irrelevant.
Saturday 17th
Omagh Monaghan v Donegal
Cavan Tyrone v Westmeath
Croke Park Derry v Clare, followed by Armagh v Galway
Sunday 18th
Cork v Mayo followed by Dublin v Sligo in Tullamore
Kerry v Louth, followed by Kildare v Roscommon in Portlaoise
I’ve just signed up to the GAA digital calendar, which fires the fixtures into individual calendars, whichever one you are using.
Soon as I did, the Monaghan game appeared – Saturday next at 18:15 in Carrick btw.
Nifty.
Just to remind everyone – those fixture details just posted by Pebbles have NOT yet been confirmed by the GAA as yet. They’re as set out in a leaked list that did the rounds yesterday, which many, myself included, saw, but the GAA has yet to make an official announcement … which eventually they might see their way to doing.
Apologies WJ, of course you’re correct. I was more referring to the playing populations of both counties given Louth’s ties to soccer.
The point still stands that we have a problem with weaker teams doing something different or anything that’s not considered “traditional” to make themselves competitive. Just watch a game from 20 years or before and look how much faster the game is now. I’d argue the players are technically better too. By all means improve the game, but stop the doom mongering. The game has never been better.
@pebblesmeller.cork are not guaranteed to get out of the group as it stands. A win for them could see them top the group but a win for both mayo and louth could see cork dumped on score difference.
I can’t agree that the game has never been better.there are long periods in games now where nothing happens .constant back and forth across the field is not entertainment.someone may eventually get dispossessed or get a shot away and immediately turn and race back inside their 45.the dwindling attendances are showing that people are not interested in watching this sort of slow tedious no risk football
Congrats to Aiden on another motm performance. I suppose it’s only natural & normal that he would take on more of a leadership role after all the recent retirees.
One small quibble would be in the lead up to James Carr’s goal chance I think he should have let James carry on till he saw the whites of the keeper’s eyes and then rolled it under him…the keeper is a big unit and wasn’t getting down anytime soon. Aiden’s positioning wasn’t great, neither was the pass. Chance gone. Small margins but we got away with it this time.
The minor game is not on TG4 regular channel, its on TG4 Sport which is its youtube channel i think
Thought O Hora was MOTM on Sunday, Aiden had a good game but was back to his old habits of playing everywhere and nowhere, keep him inside the opposations 45 mt line at least and if his marker moves up the field he will soon come back with a few long kick passes into Aiden and his quick lay off to Conroy or hession in full flight .
That hit & flick up by O’Hora under the stand was a thing of beauty. I’d like to see that again.
I find it hard to believe that the GAA are so stupid that they would include Mayo and Dublin in a doubleheader in Tullamore. Reminds me of Newbridge. As for the Cork supporters who regularly travel by train….. well, train departs Cork on Sundays at 8.25 am and gets you to Tullamore at 12.43pm!! Enough said.
@ No doubt, fair point. It’s highly unlikely that Louth will beat Kerry but it’s still a mathematical possibility so is in the mix.
@ michaelincork, since when did GAA HQ give a damn about supporters when it comes to fixtures? A consideration is that the final games in each group must be starting at the same time, whether that’s 2pm, 3 or whenever. Also, how best to fill Croke Park because they’re not going to leave it empty if the Dubs are at a neutral venue.
Limerick would have suited ourselves and Cork, but when you add in another game to fill the ground, then the venue might move. I was told that HQ does not want to see empty grounds for the final round of games and so are trying to get as many double headers in as they can.
I actually think double headers are a misnomer for attendance. Sure the official attendance looks high but the only time the ground is near full is the 2nd half of the first game. It then takes the energy out of the 2nd game when half the crowd leaves. Better to have a smaller venue packed to the rafters IMO.
20k capacity at tullamore , risky enough if the dubs decide to go in big numbers , I know there was only 8k in Nolan park but tullamore is a handy spot for the train from Dublin . We have a hardcore of 6-7k that will travel , be tight call and some factors might not of been considered as in we have a fair whack based in Dublin who will go to this one
Fair play to Aiden keep it going ! I was initially sceptical of the group phase as I thought there would be a high number of dead rubbers but that isnt the case. The final round looks very interesting for all groups to be fair. Mayo will have to be at full pelt for Cork as they will go for it, I think Louth could rattle Kerry to.
Stephen Coen got in the GAA team of the week. Very solid again at the weekend. Does not get much credit among Mayo fans.
@Yew_tree totally agree with you thought he was one of the leaders at the weekend as you said he doesn’t get much credit.
Fair ay to aido for doing so well lately delighted for him he gets a ridiculous amount of abuse that he doesn’t deserve !
Tullamore? Dublin playing away, versus Sligo a team that played in Division 4 of the NFL in 2023 possibly has more to do with keeping the rumblings of objection turned down as to Dublin back home in Carbon Neutral Croke Park for the Quater finals more than anything else. The rumblings of disquiet have gotten a little louder at defacto virtual perpetual home advantage for virtually all of this Century conferred on the Dubs by apparently God or at least the Gods of GAA, in a similar way that God conferred the Right to Rule to King Charles for those who believe in the Divine Rights of Kings. So we will be told of Dublin’s travel’s in Championship 2023, that will pacify the peasants . All Hail our Humble Kings, who have traveled in 2023 , but the King’s will be conferred with Home advantage when the Big Guns aim their sights on the Capital… Having taught about the game in Castlebar on Sunday last. It’s a win.. and a win in one of the two best ways possible for our longer term objective. The first best way to win was to absolutely hammer Louth and by virtue of scoring difference be virtually conferred with the right to top the group..The real best thing for Mayo was actually what happened. Sure it’s frustrating watching it, sure there were flaws but it’s good to have flaw’s to be seen, so as they can be worked on. Watching the Match from the shade of the stand, I was thinking about Dublin’s mercurial forward and one of the best players ever to play for Dublin and comparing him to James Carr in particular. James Carr like Diarmuid Connelly is at his best playing on instinct, for a milisecond something is on , he sees it, he goes for it. Recycle, Recycle, Recycle was the order of the day on Sunday, when you think about it, all our full forward line got from play was one solidarity point,. that a fished effort from Ryan McHugh in the first half. So I believe that Mayo played on instructions, Recycle, Recycle Recycle everyone on the same Hymn Sheet, their inner Ciaran Kilkenny was their for all to see. I think that Ciaran Kilkenny is the reason Croke Park claims to be Neutral (Carbon Neutral) because of all the Recycling he does there. Not sure about how it’s ever the other type Neutral when Dublin are playing there. Ciaran Kilkenny was a dream for Jim Gavin as Dublin constantly recycled to get the ball to the edge of the D, nothing less than a 95% chance was ever attempted..But when the stakes were highest, Jim Gavin and Dublin needed the talent’s of Diarmuid Connelly, all the Ciaran Kilkenny ‘s in the world not have brought Dublin those one point victories over Mayo. Now coming up.next is Cork . We’re in poll position, we’re on 4 points, we want to top the Group.. What does Cork want, they want to top the Group as well.. But to do that they would probably need to hammer Mayo probably,. Kerry will be playing Louth at the exact same time, I expect Louth will set up very similar to the way they set up in Castlebar versus Kerry, keep the score down, keep themselves in the game until late and then go for it, it’s their best and only chance long shot as it is of staying in the race for Sam. Cork’s need to come at Mayo is much greater than Mayos need to come at Cork..I’d expect a first half of very cagey football.. Hopefully we will see Cillian getting some game time. I expect more of the inner Ciaran Kilkenny version of Mayo than the inner Diarmuid Connelly version in Tullamore!
Thanks Willie Joe and The Islander for that.
Glad to see that yew_tree – Coen has been a true servant of Mayo GAA down the years & rated highly by both opponents & collegues – so must be doing something right? Was one of our best in the accursed 2021 final.
Coen first man on the team sheet for all our managers.
Worth noting that although there has been a number of draws, only one game had a lower ranked team beat a higher ranked team, as per the rankings the GAA gave us after the league.
That was Cork against Louth, a difference of one league place.
If this trend continues, we will win the All Ireland if we avoid Galway.
Not fully correct, FrosTHammer – we were the top ranked team due to our league win so it must be written in the stars that this is our year, even if we have to beat Galway in the final! Where’s the party on?
Gibbons bar in Shrule would be as good a place as any to start.
@ Leantimes, that’s one hell of a post 🙂
“Jr says:
June 6, 2023 at 4:11 pm
Coen first man on the team sheet for all our managers.”
Did anyone of the folks who have been lauding S Coen (not faulting him for effort, thats for sure)
take the time to go back and look at the Louth Goal, he was initially caught for speed, then ball watching, then the non effort to block the kick that scored the goal was pathetic.
If that was a two point game, I wonder what the comments would be.
@joemamas that’s a little harsh on coen tbh entitled to your opinion but that was harsh it was sweltering heat on Sunday and also you can’t just pinpoint the goal on coen its a team effort that stops goals going in.
joemamas – Coen wasn’t caught for speed at all in the build up?! The goal scorer came from midfield as well untracked, so wasn’t even Coen’s man.
He’s a guy that certainly gets a lot of stick from Mayo supporters.
Wouldnt pay too much attention to Gaa team of the week , its like a lucky dip of the most well known players.Would love to know who picks it.
I had selected Stephen Coen as MOTM. When others were taking it easy, he was straining every muscle. He even got a mark and scored from it. Delighted for him.
On another note entirely, I was dismayed to see that none of the men around me removed their headgear for the playing of Amhrán na bhFiann. Maybe there is a subsection in the Constitution which excludes sun hats from your obligation to honour our National Anthem?? Anyway, why weren’t the Castlebar band there to play the anthem?
End of grumpy rant
@joemamas – Plenty of players stopped tracking their men and left Coen and Loftus defending a 4 on 2. The louth players made the right choice with who the ball was played to and it resulted in the goal.
Did you go back and watch the Louth goal.
As I said the guys tries hard, but that type of defending will be be caught out bu better teams than louth.
joemamas – I did ya and either i need a new pair of glasses or you do.
I’m delighted to see Aidan pick up another M’oM award. I often find myself defending him to my non Mayo friends and all these awards are helping with that! Apart from his football form, which seems to have gone to new levels this year, he deserves enormous credit for his self control on the football field. Over the years, he has been the recipient of lots of rough treatment, including verbal, from opponents, but rarely retaliates. And he doesn’t always get fair play from referees either. He also gets a fair bit of abuse from fans, particularly dubs, but from other counties as well, including from Mayo. One Sunday newspaper journalist writing about this a few weeks ago, wondered if it was his good looks that was making the fans jealous! Despite all of this he has ploughed on, and is now playing some of the best football off his career.
I see there is now talk of the Galway game being vin Cavan due to poor attendance at games so far.
Limerick
Limerick for our game (John fogarty )
As usual, looks like the WhatsApp message that was going around with ‘leaked’ fixtures was rubbish.
Cork v Mayo, TUS Gaelic Grounds, 2pm on the Sunday.
Full list here.
https://www.gaa.ie/news/upcoming-championship-fixtures/
Looks like the Gaelic grounds Limerick
Big pitch,will suit us.
I told ye folks. Listen to me and ya won’t be far wrong. Tullamore never a runner. 🙂
https://twitter.com/MayoGAA/status/1666131688630386688?t=tY3zg8I5xEaErB3qArd91w&s=19
Unfortunately exact same size as McHale park I think! Pity not Tullamore!! Kevin Walsh will throw the galway/cork shawl over it!!
joemamas
You’re miles out regarding Coen. Mckeever ran through and played a one two with the man Coen was marking. Coens man made the handpass and nobody had followed the runner Mckeever. Three of our players stopped. Coen was the only one who tried to get back.
That goal doesn’t happen if we had tracked Mckeever running through. There was another runner free besides McKeever as well.
Good one Willie Joe – yes we’ll beat Galway in the final! Wish I had your faith – I first saw a Connacht Championship game in Charlestown, 61 years ago – it ended in a draw (Fr O’Hara Park, Charlestown, 10/6/1962). Sligo won the replay – Sligo 1-7 Mayo 1-6 (Markievicz Park, 24/6/). So many crushed dreams in the intervening 61 years that I ended up believing in the curse. But shushhh – is that now gone?
Carrick for Galway Armagh..
I’m glad I don’t pay much heed to people with rumours etc..
I think you’re right there, Inisbofin, both on pitch dimensions and Kevin Walsh’s likely coaching tactics. Time for another James Carr rocket, which blew an almighty hole in the last shawl Walsh unfurled for us at the venue!
The crowd in Limerick will be less than 10K, Ennis would have been my choice from atmosphere perspective. Not too worry, we have tended to perform well in Limerick in the past, am I right in saying that we have not lost there in normal time which would be good enough this time?
Tuamstar – agree on the rumours, must be bookies spreading them…
You’re absolutely right there, Mikey – super stat!
Those bookies Mikey !! Can’t be trusted…
Willie Joe, yes!!! Definitely time for another James Carr rocket against Galway in the Gaelic Grounds.
That’s one of the proven ways to raise the shawl to the rafters and set the dust flying.
Sorry. was getting very carried away there… à James Carr rocket would be just the thing versus our Cork opposition!
Stephen Coen has four or five All-Ireland medals in his back pocket, all or almost all of them as captain, so he must be doing something right. Lapses of concentration happen, even Lee got burned for a couple of goals once in Croke Park.