Photo: MichaelMaye.com
Last year Aidan OShea missed virtually all of our League campaign, only appearing for the first time in 2017 off the bench in our Round 7 match against Donegal. This year, by contrast, he’s been ever present and his contribution to the cause has often been telling.
Yesterday against Kildare he was at his rampaging best. Kildare simply didn’t know what to do when he was charging forward, ball in hand, and his repeated forays into their danger zone caused utter panic in their ranks.
Aidan’s 1-1 contribution to our final tally was significant, the goal especially so as it effectively put the game to bed just before half-time, but his defensive work was equally important. Time after time he went into contact, forcing the opposition to spill the ball and enabling us to force a turnover.
His performance for us yesterday was a standout one and the voting in the poll reflects this. With 35% of all votes cast in the poll, Aidan O’Shea is our Man of the Match from yesterday’s game against Kildare.
Others to feature strongly in the voting are Kevin McLoughlin – whom TG4 chose as their MOTM in yesterday’s game – and Andy Moran, who’s on the shortlist for the GAA’s latest Footballer of the Week poll on social media.
Well done to Aidan, who was now been voted our MOTM by you lot for the third League game in a row. Here’s hoping this rich vein of form for the big man continues.
Details of the main vote-getters in this week’s poll are set out below.
Fully deserved, he was excellent. The heartbeat of our team. Great to see him get a few scores too. If he can get a couple of points per game the difference it would make. Plus when he attacks he invariably get pulled down and then Cillian can pop it over. If Aidan is humming Mayo win.
Delighted for Aidan, consistent performances, fitness way ahead of this time last year, clearly readying for May 13th
Massive shift put in by all the lads yesterday great team performance. Aidan was immense for every minute as was the majority of team. I’ve no doubt we will beat Tyrone on Sunday. There is too many fellas in this team that wear the jersey with pride and can raise their game and pull out a performance when its needed.
Ya know, there was a time when people thought we’d be better off if the Big Fella sat out a few games to help focus himself a bit.
The amount of games this man has won us over the years and yet he still get abuse at home and abroad.
I think Aidan had a fine game. Showed a bit of “cuteness” and tracked back well too. He let the ball go at the right times drawing plenty of Kildare men in with him. At the same time I think Kevin Mcloughlin was head and shoulders above anybody else on show. Covered every blade of grass in Newbridge and linked defence and attack. His tackling as well for a man of his stature is outstanding.
What do people think of the Hennelly/Clarke battle? Although I think Clarke is a more rounded keeper and certainly less likely to make a blunder, there is a lot to be said for the low trajectory of Hennellys kickouts.
Club51. Agree Aiden had a good game but after watching it again , Kevin was superb ! On to the,red hands – nothing easy there but at least positives to be taken from Kildare game
If Aidan plays well we tend to go well. He sets a certain tone, gets us on the ball and going forward. He also brings the guys around him into the game and that’s invaluable.
Takes a lot of stick – most of it absolute bullshit – so fair play to the lad.
Agree club51.
K mac rarely has a bad game but his performance was up there with the semi 2012.
Best passer of the ball in the game and covers serious ground.
The unsung hero of this team.
Another mighty performance from Aido! Honoured to follow him around the country.
I voted for Kevin but Aidan had a massive game again for us … playing like a captain …
Superb performance yet again from the big man. One of the best footballers in the country when he’s on his game and is fit.
Cannot wait to see him power into Conroy, Sean Andy and Kyne on May 13.
On form he’s unstoppable.
Christ, voting AOS as man of the match will put the Twitter freaks and haters into mouth foaming overdrive, can’t be giving big Aido any form of credit when it comes to those lamps.
That’s only the start of it, FDB – Andy Moran has just been voted the Player of the Week in the GAA’s poll.
Well done again AOS. While I did not go for him I am happy to acknowledge the massive game he had last Sunday. His defensive work was first class and I was delighted to see WJ acknowledge this in his piece. He is playing with his head up over the last while and it is helping his game no end. It was nice to see 2 new newbies on your short list of magnificent performers.
Have to give hat tip to Cillian after all of the criticism both internally and nationally. He still has the cojones to take on shots and that monster point he got on Sunday was terrific.
Andy’s first point was absolutely outrageous!
Kevin and Aidan both top class
My Team for Tyrone Sunday
1.Robbie Hennelly
2.Eoin O’Donoghue
3.Stephen Coen/Chris Barrett
4.Caolan Crowe
5.Lee Keegan
6.Colm Boyle
7.Paddy Durcan
8.Tom Parsons
9.Aidan O’Shea
10.Kevin McLoughlin
11.Adam Gallagher/Shane Nally
12.Diarmuid O’Connor
13.Jason Doherty
14.Andy Moran
15.Cillian O’Connor
Subs
David Clarke
Conor Lofus
Shane Nally
Ciaran Treacy
Cian Hanley
Neil Douglas
Seamus O’Shea
Ger McDonagh
Chris Barrett
Aos got my vote. Some of the little flicks and tricks he does are best seen on the tv. I imagine that the rugby crowd are looking on and wondering what if? Keegan and Boyler are 2 more that would have made an impact in the rugby id say. I was one that said aos should sit out the dubs game, not because he was going badly or anything like that, just because he looked like he was going to walk off the pitch after a serious error by the referee in the kerry game. Work yourself to a standstill and then meet a referee that’s too afraid to do the job properly lest he annoy the kerry lads, no wonder Aido looked like he did. My bet is Mayo will stay in division 1.
The big question is who else is there in 2018 that can make a difference that wasn t there in 2017 ? I don’t mean in defense, who else is looking like they can kick a score when it’s needed in the 65th minute? Will Adam Gallagher add a new dimension? Will young Hanley get a shot at it?
99% these past few years, is that final 1 % our there waiting?
Finally, I think rob h should get one of these last 2 games, Clarke the other and put Barry Moran at ff to give Tyrone something else to deal with. He looks like he’s well fit to draw a few defenders under a high ball. I’d put him in there for 20 minutes and lob the ball in at every opportunity.
It is fantastic to have so many players in the hat for MOTM performances. I thought K mac was winner by a whisker but you cannot really argue against the big man. Both players covered every blade of grass and got involved in no nonsense. Kildare in fairness mostly played the ball and not the man but had no alternative but to pull down AOS to stop him. Kildare shooting in the first half was poor and when Mayo tightened things up at the back their goose was cooked. Tyrone will be a much bigger challenge so will be a very interesting game. Was impressed with the pitch in Newbridge considering all the snow they got. I think Robbie deserves a lot of credit also and will be seriously challenging for the number one jersey come championship. All in all a very enjoyable day out.
God help me, but I think Bernard Flynn is on the money (quoted on RTE website, but can’t seem to find the audio it’s obviously taken from).
Flynn heaped praise (maybe too much) on Mayo’s performance and performers, but went into overdrive on Andy: “Andy Moran destroyed the full-back line. They put every one of them on him. Thirty-five years young and he bounced around like a Duracell bunny. He was amazing”.
Flynn also focused on Robbie H and noted his all round excellence including kick outs and frees. I think this is one of the important aspects of the game last Sunday. Why?
Well, why did we lose last September? Because our free taking from distances over 40 yards is suspect. Dean Rock’s is not. Remember when Clucko was the long distance man? Seems a while now. But we have struggled (16 and 17) at these distances. Hennelly offers us a real option here. Strike rate was 66% last day, and he can up this. It’s a dilemma of course because Clarke is so good.
Not forgetting Aido of course. But I want to see him fitter and fitter.
Fair play.Aidan O’shea. A mighty performance and a great inspiration and motivation to all the other lads on the team.
Other teams must think oh shit ! when Aidan is playing. Like trying to shoot an elephant with a water pistol.
Maybe If Rochy isn’t happy with Cillians distance kicking anymore he should try Neil Douglas he was flawless against Monaghan with his 45s.
Hennelly did well the last day but he can have his off days too at kicking and your leaving off Clarkie the best shotstopper in the country who would give David de Gea a run for his money.
Adam Gallagher would be good from distance too I can remember him been really good from dead balls for Colmans Claremorris,Mayo Gaels and Mayo Minors.
The big man has been playing great stuff for the past 18 months or more, amazing some of the criticism he gets at times. In particular he has the patience of a saint, and he could have been forgiven for taking someone’s block off before now (though that was not an issue on Sunday). COC played quite well too even if he missed a couple of scoreable frees.
Thought Andy was superb as well, lovely opening point in particular from a tight angle.
Full-back is still a worry though, Caff got roasted in the first half and Flynn travelled a long way before goaling for Kildare.
Also, we need to start upping our goal conversion rate, because Tyrone in particular aren’t likely to give up four or five chances to us.
I voted for Aidan Kevin and Diarmuid in that order the three of them were immense I had to keep rubbing my eyes I wasn’t seeing double cos Diarmuid seemed to be everywhere
Fair play to aidan, savage game . Andy was excellent too, crikey he has to be the most intelligent footballer we have ever produced in recent times, his football brain is so switched on. kev mc put in some shift too. Thought Caff done grand but kildare dont get enough ball into flynn. Gallagher seemed a little nervous at the start but did good after, just proves these lads need game time. Loftus is for me the key to team improvement , he really has the class . Winning Primary possession and holding onto it needs to improve .
All that said Kildare were really poor at times and id not be putting any weight on to what flynn said . Hes too impulsive with his reaction to a one off game where the opposition were very poor at times.
Galway are flying and could very well win the league final despite everyone’s thinking its in the bag for the jacks. If they win the league , id say their confidence will be well up going into the summer.
I dunno about that Sean. Dublin are playing well within themselves and beating everyone, I’ll eat my hat if Galway beat dublin in the league round or the league final if they get there. Dublin want that trophy back and in my opinion they will take it in 3rd gear. They’re not going to win every league round and lose a final 2 years running, that much we can count on.
I was looking at a betting website recently, how can it be that galway are 3rd favorites to win the Connaught title?
Agree with you Sean Burke re Flynn – but I thought he nailed it with comments on Andy.
Not sure how you thought Caff did well though. Have looked back at it and for Flynn’s goal Caff won’t have that clip in his scrap book
Well done to the big man. He’s started this year in fine form, as fit as I’ve seen him. And that’s some achievement for a lad his size and build, it must be harder to stay in that kind of shape all year long.
Originally watched the game in a ‘slightly inebriated’ state and voted for MOM accordingly.
Having seen the game over again, I would have voted for McLoughlin. He was immense, seemed to pop up everywhere.
But a well done to them all, a much needed win on Sunday. Another win this Sunday and we should be grand.
Then it’s all about the 13th May.
Well done Aidan – great performance. My choice was Kevin McLaughlin, who for me, was a class apart. He must be one of the best ball artists around at present and that allied to his pace, stamina and workrate renders Kevin an absolute joy to behold.
Did anyone hear Joe Brolly on the Gaa podcast, just listened to the full 17 minutes, he is convinced the Dubs will do the 4 in a row and also the 5.
I am delighted that Robbie is getting some game time, and he did do quite well on Sunday. Ya he adds an option from long range, but even Colin Corkery didn’t nail all the long range frees. Clarke all day for me, he is a safer pair of hands. Though I will support Robbie of course, if Rochy chooses to put him between the sticks.
Catcol what about Dean Rock missing the early free & the subsequent 45 after in last year’s All Ireland? The free was very difficult & perhaps he shouldn’t have attempted it but the 45 was a gimme by his standards. Cillian is a tremendous freetaker, the best we’ve had in my lifetime. He just needs to get back to his best from long range, but that is not the sole reason we lost the All Ireland. Vaughan getting sent off didn’t help, nor did the fact we conceded 12 points in the 2nd half (despite a trojan effort from our backs). We missed a few absolute sitters too. That is why we lost unfortunately
Does anybody know if Ciaran Treacy, Conor O’Shea, Peter Naughton, Sharoize Akram,Jason Gibbons,James Stretton,Donie Newcombe and Fionn McDonagh are still in the Mayo panel??
TH – as you should know by now, spreading unconfirmed stories about players or asking information from others in that vein isn’t allowed here. If the papers name players as having joined or left the panel then it’s fine to say so here but this isn’t the place to be eliciting unconfirmed information from others on that topic.
Well done AO’S, looks fit for this time of year, delighted that Adam Gallagher played well Sunday, both he and Conor Loftus need to play remaining 2 games to get confidence at this level
It’s strange that Conor O’Shea hasn’t seen a minute of action since the FBD. It’s not injury related as he played for Breaffy at the weekend. Does Rochford consider Gallagher and Boland ahead of him? I always thought Conor should have been tried in midfield, he just doesn’t have the quality as a forward. Midfield could potentially get the best out of his size and fielding ability.
Delighted Adam scored 2 .. hope we can keep him slotting them over …one less score than Andy, 3 from play.. what can we say he’s unreal as the young people would say !!
Jason has fairly bulked up throwing lads out of the way there a couple of times.
Hope they can rattle tyrone on Sunday.. might be snow though !
Is it worth noting that Aiden’s best football has seen him playing at miidfield, not centre forward? Also last year when he came on at midfield in the leaguue v Donegal he fairly put the kibosh on Gallagher who was dictating until then.
Billy Joe Padden a lot of good things to say about Adam Gallagher in his MNews article. Should be a good confidence booster. Hope he is given the centre half forward role, he is well good enough for it. AOS place is midfield in my opinion. Have we a captain for 2018 yet, surely it has to be Aiden. But we need to appoint a captain and give him time to grow into the position before May 13. Or is this another tactical ploy.
I’m not surprised expers are having difficulty working out Rochfords rotational system. Two subs introduced on 69 mins and a third on 72 mins versus Kildare? Does it make any sense. From ten mins into second half onwards we need to be firing on game changing subs to up the tempo, it’s the only way to win imo…
Cillian is captain-why change?.
1.Natural leader
2.Huge respect from team mates.
3.Never shirks responsibility.
4.Massive role model.
5.Knows how to get the best from the players around him.
Everyone has an opinion,but for me, Cillian is captain and will remain so because he is the right man for the role.
Cillian has been very fortunate not to see red on several occasions. He also needs to fully focus on his own performances. Corner forward is not the ideal position to be influential around the field, though Cillian does tend to wander all over the place in his games. A rest from captaincy would be beneficial imo. In any case, we need to appoint a captain, and have a leader on the field who calls the shots …