That old cliché about thin margins between winning and losing was certainly borne out at a cold, wet and windy Páirc Uí Chaoimh this afternoon. For much of today’s final round league game against Cork we were behind and so, with Kerry and Donegal both winning for most of their respective matches, we seemed to be heading for Division Two. But in a tense and tight final quarter, our lads chiselled out a gutsy one-point win and with Kerry edging out Tyrone by a point it was a late equalising Dublin free that sent Donegal through the trapdoor instead. And our win was enough not just to avoid the drop but to send us through, once again, to the NFL semi-finals. A Croke Park semi-final against Dublin next Sunday – what’s not to like about that?
The weather forecast last night cautioned about wind and rain in the south of the country but it was only as we were clearing the toll on the M8 at Fermoy that the first spits of rain hit the windscreen. The rain fell steadily from then on, however, and the conditions at Pairc Ui Chaoimh were anything but ideal for football, with a strong, swirling wind blowing diagonally down towards the city end goalposts, while the incessant rain and biting cold combined to make it a day for the real hard-core fraternity.
We were taking our seats in the stand as the teams were being read out and Ed McGreal’s prediction the other night proved correct as we made two switches prior to throw-in. Kevin Keane – who many felt was a bit hard done by not to be named in the team in the first place – started in the corner instead of Chris Barrett while Donal Vaughan lined out at centre-back, replacing Tom Cunniffe.
We played into the wind in the opening half and although we ended up struggling for much of that half we actually started fairly brightly. Jason Gibbons tore into the game from the throw-in and we took an early lead with a nice, crisply taken point from play by Kevin McLoughlin. We failed to build on this, though, because, despite winning plenty of ball in the middle, we weren’t able to turn this possession into scores and we soon found ourselves very much on the defensive.
Photo: Mayo Mick
Cork used the breeze intelligently and a succession of fast-moving attacks yielded a steady return of scores. Seven points went over David Clarke’s crossbar without any response from us as we went through a barren and quite dispiriting 25 minutes. Failing to score was one thing but the succession of unforced errors we made – on at least five separate occasions during this period misdirected passes went straight to the opposition – was even more depressing. Little wonder, then, that the large Mayo following were keeping fairly quiet at that stage.
The Cork guy sitting beside me reckoned that they’d need a cushion of at least six or seven at the break to hold on (how right he was) and his team were well on the way to doing this with ten minutes to go to the break. We enjoyed a productive spell from then to the short whistle, though, with a pointed free by Kevin McLoughlin followed up by three from play – a peach of a score from Michael Conroy, one from close-in by Alan Freeman (after a blatant push in the back by the Aghamore man when the ball was in flight that Maurice Deegan somehow managed to miss) and the third coming from Aidan O’Shea who emerged from a ruck with the ball and bashed it over the bar.
Three down at the break was a good return after that underwhelming first half display and with the wind now with us for the second period we knew we were far from out of it. But with Kerry seemingly skating to victory in Omagh and Donegal leading the Dubs in Ballybofey we also knew that as things stood then, we were heading for Division Two.
Donie got us going in spectacular fashion soon after the restart by smashing over a glorious wind-assisted point from way out as we took the battle to the home team. For the first ten minutes of the second half we were dominant all over the field but failed to add to this score and when Goold pointed from play for them we found ourselves back at square one. Soon afterwards, though, a stupid foul on Colm Boyle as he released a long-range ball inside resulted in a free well within range and Cillian duly obliged to cut the gap to two.
Photo: Mayo Mick
Then came the incident which I really felt was pivotal to the outcome. Fintan Goold was sent clear – from a fisted Kerrigan pass, I think – and one-on-one with David Clarke a goal looked certain but the country’s best shot-stopper once more did the business, superbly batting Goold’s shot away to keep us in the contest.
Kevin McLoughlin – who was nothing short of magnificent today – then notched the next two points, the first from a free and the second from play, to haul us level. But could we now close it out on a day when something more than a moral victory was required?
Cork were making it clear that they wanted it too at this stage. A bout of handbags broke out around the middle of the field – with Deegan flapping around like an ould wan as the digs and the dunts were being handed out – and it was noticeable that we were happy to give as good as we got in this particular schemozzle. The cards that Alan Freeman and Richie Feeney – who’d come on a bit earlier for Cathal Carolan – got were a price worth paying for the clear message conveyed to the Corkmen.
Photo: Mayo Mick
They had the next say on the scoreboard, though, with a Goulding free edging them back in front. But we weren’t done yet either and a magnificent sideline from way out on the stand side by Cillian O’Connor restored parity. A few minutes later, the same player then landed a second monstrous sideline kick from the other side to put us in front for the second and decisive time:
Cork now came in search of the equalising score and in those frantic final moments wave after wave of Rebel attacks crashed into our rearguard. They had their chances to level it, perhaps even to win it, but none of these attacks yielded a score and instead our lads hung on for the gutsiest of wins. It may not have been pretty but it was great to see the lads hang in there and dig out a result on a day when the result was really required.
In terms of performances, many of the lads had good and bad patches but it’s hard to look beyond the collective effort in securing the result when assessing how each of them did. For what it’s worth, here goes:
David Clarke was great, his second-half stop from Goold unquestionably kept us in the match at a stage where a goal would have finished us. In the full-back line Kevin Keane put in a steady shift, Ger Cafferkey was calm and assured and Shane McHale did plenty to show that he has what it takes to challenge for a first fifteen place come summer.
The half-back line was strong and aggressive – well, with Lee Keegan and Colm Boyle there, it’d hardly be anything else now would it? – and the returning Donal Vaughan put in his best showing for the county for quite some time. In Barry Moran’s absence, Jason Gibbons did well at midfield and Seamus O’Shea worked hard there too.
Kevin McLoughlin gave further evidence today that he’s returning to the scintillating form of last year. Kevin was the beating heart of the team today – Man of the Match by some considerable distance – and he was in the midst of everything positive we did today, repeatedly knifing through the Cork defence, and bagging two crucial scores from play as well as the two he got from placed balls. In contrast to the Knockmore man’s rapier thrusts, Aidan O’Shea was the team’s battering ram and his tussle with Noel O’Leary wasn’t one for the faint-hearted. Cathal Carolan did loads of unselfish work out the field until he was replaced near the end.
Cillian O’Connor had a productive day too, and not just because of those match-winning frees either. Playing in a more withdrawn central role, he worked hard and hit hard all day and he showed huge composure to land the frees that ultimately secured our Division One status and the day out in Croke Park next weekend.
Alan Freeman battled hard – harder than he’s done for a long while – and was a bit unlucky not to see this effort translated into more tangible reward on the scoreboard. Michael Conroy was always a good outlet for the ball but he too wasn’t able to turn this into scores, apart from the cracker he landed in the first half. Richie Feeney and Enda Varley both made valuable contributions from the bench.
So, after a bit of a rollercoaster league campaign, we’re back into the unexpected but still rather familiar territory of a league semi-final. Match practice at HQ in April isn’t to be sniffed at and having flirted with relegation for so long in this campaign, there’s more than a little irony that we now find ourself in the shake-up for league honours. Whether or not we progress any further is one for another day but the lads deserve great credit for how they did this afternoon, and the appetite for hard work they showed today could, perhaps, augur well for the summer action that lies ahead.
Mayo: David Clarke; Kevin Keane, Ger Cafferkey, Shane McHale; Lee Keegan, Donal Vaughan (0-1), Colm Boyle; Jason Gibbons, Seamus O’Shea; Kevin McLoughlin (0-4, two frees), Aidan O’Shea (0-1), Cathal Carolan; Cillian O’Connor (0-3, 1 free and 2 sidelines), Alan Freeman (0-1), Michael Conroy (0-1). Subs: Richie Feeney for Carolan, Enda Varley for Conroy, Chris Barrett for McHale, Jason Doherty for Freeman, Evan Regan for O’Connor, Darren Coen (blood) for Varley.
Well done
Great aggression shown by all. Gibbons was very good I thought
I have being saying it for a while now. Today i was well impressed with the work rate and tackling of the Mayo Forwards in the Cork back line. Made it very difficult for Cork to work the ball out. You could that Cork was very uncomfortable with this. So all in all very happy. First half very disappointed with the amount of wasted ball . In second half when we took the lead i felt we would hold out. Good day out for the lads .
still lukin for a few forwards !
Hi All,
Once again I hope you dont mind a Dub making a comment but very very well done today, a great win and we will see you in Croker on Sunday. I, as many of my mates, always enjoy the craic with the Mayo gang. Lets hope for a good match but enjoy today for now as it was a great second half performance. Good luck with your care Willie Joe who will be shouting for the Dubs…….cheers
Fantastic stuff from the lads today. Even when they were on the ropes from the 4th minute to the 22nd they never panicked and kept plugging away. They showed huge courage and determination to force the play in the second half and the last 2 points at the end of the first halk made a huge difference.
Cillian O’Connor is maturing at an enormous rate and is becoming a crucial player for us, he is our Gooch. For such a young lad he is brave and authoritive and prepared to take the game by the scruff of the neck. As for his winning point! Bernard Brogan did something similar to us in Croker earlier in the league and the whole country was creaming itself about that point, I assume the media will give Cillian likewise coverage.
Freeman did well in against a very physical and agressive fullback line and he gives us options, McHale was solid and it was good to see Keane back on the pitch.
We have real options in midfield and defense (not to mention 2 good keepers) and if Dillion and Moran can come back for Salthill we could have a memorable summer.
Brillant stuff lads and great vocal support to cheer them on. Well done to all that travelled.
Cillian O’Connor was scoring points that Maurice Fitz would have being proud off 🙂
Grt win lads. Jesus christ Cillian o Connor. What two fantastic scores to win it. Cork Cudnt live with us in second half. It’s been a tuf league but think we are getting there. A very gritty team performance. Well done everyone..
Cillian O’ Connor’s point will be remembered as one of the “greats”. Man of the match? Kevin Mc Loughlin. He is tireless and inspirational.
A truly gutsy performance by the lads and some fine scores to boot but with the wind on our backs and the force with us, we still made heavy work of getting over the line. Failure to win our own kick outs, wasteful high balls into our full-forward line and some very poor foot passing meant we were holding on at the end, and were it not for some very poor shooting by the Cork forwards, could have been a very different outcome.
That said it must be a great boost for all concerned to come through a very tough League campaign and make it to the semi-finals, an outcome that didn’t look likely a few weeks ago. So much for the knockers of the League system – call it what you like, it sure made for a very exciting Sunday and for Mayo, could have a huge bearing on the rest of 2013…..
Well done lads, but ye do make it hard on yourselfs, the most important thing is we have stayed in div 1. and the semi. now is a bonus and hopefully few the injured lads will be back for next sunday against our ole friends the jackeens… i,m still dont understand jam. horan selections and what did cunniffe an barrett do to be dropped, were very lucky to be still in div. and i can only hope james has learned something from his selections and players over the league campaign for the chapionship ahead . Look,n foward ‘martin the dub ‘ to goin up to play ye again in croker and another good tussel, always enjoy the banter an the craic with the jackeen,s…..roll on sunday …..the coillti,s are coming… up mayo.
Great performance and a show of character today, Cork used to have the indian sign over us, JH has changed that. The league campaign has been sucessful and there is no pressure on us for the semi. Hopefully we can get back one or two of the injured for next weekend.
Delighted with the result today! Thought Kevin McLoughlin was brilliant. A dynamo!
Great stuff today. Tackling and hunger was great to see, lost count of how many times Boyler got his hand in at the vital time.
Great to have another shot at the Dubs,
Brilliant win, fierce proud of the guts we showed.
Cillian O’Connor – those last two points were unbelievable. Maurice Fitz hit that one against the Dubs that people still rave about now, well COC managed two of the same from either side of the pitch!
Well said ‘pebblesmeller’, I think Cillian will go on to be a Mayo great. He claearly has the skill and footballing ability, but it’s his courage and willingness to take responsibility that sets him apart. I’d give him 2-3 years until he’s Mayo captain – a real leader on the pitch (and off it from what I hear about him).
Crazy league. We were 1 Cork score away from being relegated, Kerry were then going down and then a point from the Dubs sent Donegal down instead.
Exciting stuff alright, but can we really call this a league anymore??
Looking forward to meeting the Dubs. Not a position I expected us to be in, but lets give it a rattle anyway now we’re there.
But still, all eyes should be on Galway on the 19th May.
There should be a health warning with this Mayo team – DANGER, Heart attack, forced to curse and swear, terrible tension and head holding frustration. After the game, utterly drained and unable to talk. At least we won! Why oh why were so many high balls kicked in to one of the tallest defences in the country??? Not one of them succeeded. I hope at least we give the Dubs one hell of a game, after which they will say, “Jaysus we don’t want to meet them too often!” But please Mayo, learn from your mistakes!!!
No worries, Martin – no need to be shy, you’re welcome to comment any time. Next Sunday should be good fun alright, my young lad was shouting (and, boy, can he shout) for us down in Cork today but we only had the lend of him and he’ll be back roaring for the Dubs against us next Sunday. He should have learned by now!
Was a great way to finish up after a long drive down and just before a long drive back! For anyone who belittles the national league and who says its only the warm up to the championship and doesn’t matter either way, take a look at the passion each mayo supporter had today! It truly ment something. We held our division status which can’t be undermined how important that is. Now for the clichés, plenty positives, some negatives, a wins a win, great to get a game in croker before the championship, an extra game will bring us on. In all despite the cold, wet, and bitch of a wind we survived, were out again next week and on a better pitch and hopefully better weather we can rise it another bit!!
Happy with that we are lucky to have the likes of Kevin Mc and Cillian O’C both match winners for us on a regular basis. Also Clarke has saved us more than once.
Thought Gibbons and Freeman did enough to be given another look. Our defence held out well at the end. Looking foreward to the Dubs next Sunday. We can’t complain too much about the lads two days in Croker and it’s still early April. Here comes the summer…!
Good win, glass half empty stuff, we have little penetration inside, really need Andy and Alan back, dont know the stats but would think we probably broke even on possession but Cork had way more clear cut chances than us. That they didn’t take them is not our problem but this was really more of a game that they lost than they we won being honest.
Glass half full stuff, great work rate and determination, Cork are one of the biggest teams in the country, and we beat them up physically I think. Aidoxi batted off Canty for one throw ball like Canty was a minor player, not mean feat and we seemed a very comfortable when the banging started. We never looked rattled at any stage despite the pressure.
This Mayo team really is a great bunch of lads. Another week closer to championship and another bit of practice in the pitch that really matters. And more Division 1 action to keep the standard up into next year. We are in a pretty good place.
Brilliant stuff, delighted with the win. Just back and only now, have i discovered we are through. Phone went dead and nobody in hte bus station was GAA enthusiast.
Cillian you’re a genius lad.
Was the match telly anyone know or will it be on tg 4 tomorrow hope mayo beat the dune it will hard but they will win
match show on TG4 deferred and will be available on its iPlayer where they do a very good job of breaking it up into pre match analysis, first half, analysis and second half.
Great win today, O’Connor’s two points will be talked about for a long time and his free taking was the difference. This has been one of the little noticed but very important things that have helped since he returned. Not that Jason’s wasn’t good, and not that Cork’s was bad today either, but the percentages are what count at the end. Match itself won’t make it to GAA Gold but who cares, we have survived. Division 1 proves to be a quality competition, with both individual matches in a lot of cases and final tables down to the wire.
Great battling win today, but we got a little luck with Cork kicking so many wides. We had some bad luck ourselves in the earlier games so I suppose it all evens out.
It has been a funny oul league for us:
v Kerry: won easily and deservedly (helped we got them in Feb not Apr).
v Tyrone: game I thought we were most outplayed in but nearly stole it then lost it again.
v Dublin: leading with 20 to go and they down to 14 men but still wilted and let it slip.
v Down: only game I didn’t see, one we could have won but lost
v Kildare: should have won by at least 5 but kicked so many wides.
v Donegal: played well, got the crucial goal, huge psychological boost
v Cork: slow start but battled to win
The extra game is no harm at all, especially in Croker. Should be another good game v Dublin, no pressure on us at all.
Galway have shown very little in the league and with a couple of wins under our belt and some of the injured guys to come back, I really do think we will win handily enough against them.
Well, this bunch of lads are a serious team. The Kildare debacle all laid to rest now. There was a whole lot of “Hooting and a Hollering” on this site after that game. Heads and plates that were called for are now being returned to the pantry “On the quiet”. Good to see the aul calm waters return after the most important win of the league. It’d make ya wonder, if I was a wondering man.
Next Week, Dublin in Croke Park, sure we haven’t a hope. I’ll go for the craic anyway and get the aul long face ready for the journey home. For now he’s just about all right but next week I’ll want Horan’s Head on the aul platter.
Mortimer, McStay and Kung foo Mchale, they’ll be the boys to bring Mayo football to the next level.
In the meantime I’ll stick with James And the Boys. This is a serious Mayo team and they’re here, Right now.
Well Done the Mayo Team
Come On Mayo!
such a strange situation, win and we into semi, lose and we relegated, great all round effort but colm boyle is some man, love to see his stats every single game, he’s there causing trouble and hassling, keep it up colm, we all know Kevin Mac outstanding footballer, aido gives his all and indeed everyone worked hard , We need Cillian fit to take those vital frees etc, so bring on the dubs we are def in bonus territory now, see ye in croker. Maigheo abú
I always thought Mayo were going to win this game and reach another semi final. Too much worry some need more belief in side. Still need Dillon,Moran back for the championship as the average of 0-13 in the league won’t be enough to win many championship games.
Great win -James has instilled alot of heart and spirit in this team,they just won’t give up! Well done lads-bring on da Dubs! Keep the faith.
The win today after going6 points down is a great boost to confidence of the panel. I thought gibbons was very good in the middle. Kevin mc too, his kick passes are nice to watch. A lot of others stood up today too,Boyle, o se x 2 , Keegan, caff and conroy who really is growing into a class tough act.
If mayo get Andy Moran, Alan dillon, keith higgins and Barry Moran back and stay healthy for the summer I think they will be in the final shakeout where anything can happen.
Finally I don’t know of any player that can kick sideline balls over from both sides , it’s a unique skill. Well done young o Connor.
Lets not forget, cork were shorthanded up front. Dublin won’t be.
I am more impressed by the way this team is going about its business with every game.
OK, there may be issues about the quality of play at times – as the first twenty minutes to day but the spirit makes up for any lack of quality. It’s just that it seems to take that early starting period to get geared up. At 6 – 1 today I thought it was going to be over by half time and with the mistakes we were making it would not have been surprising if heads dropped. But then we quarried out three points to make the task more manageable in the second period. The hunger in the second half was magnificent.
I had suggested that the players coming into the team needed to make an impression and they all did that. Gibbons had what I consider his best day to date and Freeman was more impressive than any day since his debut year. We now seem to have a panel of 20 plus players we can depend on and it is very difficult to say which is the best fifteen.
One fault I found is the difficulty our forwards seemed to have in beat their marker and make a clear scoring chance.
A second was the ease with which Cork could take short kickouts, especially early on. This I consider comes from a clear lack of concentration on our part.
Cant agree with you WJ on Vaughan. His hail mary score aside he had another poor day. Doesnt offer anything defensively and is the clear weak link in our team.
I know some might say that it is easy to criticise him, but the reality of it is that consistently it has been shown that Donie is nowhere near good enough for the number 6 shirt. It looks pretty certain that he will hold on to it though for Salthill which is pretty remarkable (yet unsurprising) when one of the key things to come out of September was that we needed a new 6.
No Andyd you are wrong. Both of these are tactical decisions. The style of play we adopt is dropping half Kevin and Carolan back to Half back/ midfield. We then break the kickouts and hope our lads win the ball. We have excellent strenghts in this area with Boyle, Keegan, Mc loughlin etc.
We then break forward on mass. Our ff line are isolated in this situation, so they are usaually double marked and forced to make runs away from goal/ towards side lines. They are then required to take on the backs or shoot from difficult angles or recycle balls to on running backs or Midfielders.
Our ff line need to be fast, brave and strong, and in fairness Conroy, Doherty, Varley, and Freeman yesterday tick these boxes.
Also we drop one player from the ff line to the half forwrd line so we have a formation of 2 + 2 in forwards.
If we had a big target man in ff as some suggest he can be easily marked as his mobility can be restricted by placing a man in front and stopping is run. This is more difficult to do when marking a smaller more mobile man.
These are tactical decisions, adopted by the management to best utalise the strengths in our squad.
For me the encouraging thing was how we coped with such an extensive injury list. Yesterday we were missing Higgins, Andy, Dillon, Barry, Doherty, also changing Cunniffe and Barrett. Look at the way Donegal have struggled without Lacey.
We have serious competition for places in all lines of the pitch. The panel are familar with our style of play and I believe we are not dependant on any one or two lads to win the games for us.
I am really looking forward to next weekend and the positives another day in croker will have on the lads. Horan will want to win this game and win the final as well, talk of the league interfeering with championship prep is rubbish. What better preparation than hard games in Croker in front of large crowds.
I have to agree with you Johnboy re Donal Vaughan, I thought he looked like the weakest link of the team yesterday, though you can never fault his effort and commitment. I think Cunniffe gives a bit more solidity at number 6.
The other thing that worries me a little is the re-introduction of Andy Moran and Alan Dillon into the team for the championship. I think its a bit presumptuous to think that they will simply walk back on to the team, given that the rest of the panel must be miles ahead of them by now in terms of both physical and match fitness. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to see them back, but I wonder if we are looking at the world through rose tinted glasses by not questioning whether it would be a good idea to bring them back at this stage of the year? We have seen in the past that missing the crucial early months of training can hamper even the brightest stars on the team. I’m sure this is in James Horan’s thoughts, I just think that us supporters should also brace ourselves for the possibility that championship 2013 may not be the stage for Andy and Alan.
I think your tactical analysis, Ceideboy, is very interesting and accurate. But I think we missed a few tricks yesterday. I was surprised that we did not take short kick outs against the wind in the first half when the Cork midfield were on top. Also, Cork’s apparent pre-planned repeated fouling on our 45 metre line stopped us going forward. We then struggled to move the ball into the ff line as the stoppage let them get up to 3 extra players back to defend. (Will the black card stop that – I don’t think so). Their no 12 shielded their fullback very well and made it v hard for Freeman & co to either score or distribute. I agree that a big immobile target man is not the answer but would love if we had a slightly bigger and harder class of player there. Converting possession from midfield into scores remains the challenge, particularly against mass defences. And… keeping Brogan quiet!
The team showed great character yesterday in Cork! I thought O Connor was brilliant! He has even improved since last year with his overall contribution to the team! He’s a real leader and still only 20years old! It was well worth the trip to Cork to witness those points from him yesterday! Glad I travelled! I do however think that we’re lacking a forward or 2. Carolan is working hard and I like him but we need players that can score too. He’s capable of that as he has shown already but he seems to be sacrificing his own game now and while that’s good, we need scores. The only threat we have up front is O Connor and McLoughlin. Dillion is badly needed around there. Anyway onwards and upwards. Serious character shown yesterday and we have another trip to Croker to look forward to. We’re in a position that every team in Ireland wants to be in so let’s get behind the team and hope that win or lose, we put in a good performance next weekend. I’d be happy with that. MaighEo Abu!
Very happy with the win yesterday…and about retaining our status in Div 1. However, we shouldn’t get carried away with this win. As WJ said in his match report, it wasn’t pretty. Nevertheless, it was nice to see us win a close, gritty, tough match like that. There are a couple of things we still to work on though….I agree for the most part with ceideboy, I thought Donnie’s point was excellent, and given that his ppl are rebels, I’m sure it was a great moment for him. BUT! he was caught out for pace several times yesterday and while he’s off gallivanting up to the HF line, the whole central defense is wide open. A better team would have exploited that gap and punished us. We can’t live like that in the championship. I don’t like saying that as he cannot be faulted for effort, ever! Was pleased with KK getting the start and thought he did a great job.
I’m still very concerned about our forwards and lack of scoring, particularly goals. Freeman had a great chance yesterday and went for glory instead of just dribbling it on the wet ground….ah well (maybe a bit hardsh, I’ll admit but those are real chances). BTW, Clark did an excellent job on an excellent shot by Goulding.
Looking forward to another weekend of football against the dubs. Somehow, matches between Mayo and Dublin are always entertaining, dramatic and exciting…hopefully this will be the same. Mayo to win this time.
I almost forgot…and a word to the traveling support who made the trip to Cork….fair play!..what great ambassadors you are for the county.
Tremendous win yesterday, I am also worried about centre hal back, Donal Vaughan is an good honest footballer, but not good enough at a very high level, i remember last year V Dublin, he looked like he was going to turn the ball over everytime he got possession.
Tom Cuniffe is very poor under a dropping ball, that is an understatement. decent wing back maybe