Well it’s hardly the surprise outcome of the century but now it’s official – Cork’s easy win over Sligo in their Round 4A qualifier tie a bit earlier on this evening earns them a date against our lads in the All-Ireland SFC quarter-final at Croke Park tomorrow week (throw-in 4pm). It’ll be our first championship clash with the Rebels since that memorable win we recorded over them at the same stage of the championship three years ago.
We were complete outsiders going into that 2011 match against the then defending All-Ireland champions but the bookies have already installed us as 1/2 favourites to prevail the next day. Prevail we should but on their day Cork are capable of putting it up to anyone and they represent a dangerous threat to us so needless to say it’s a match we cannot take for granted. And, of course, now that we have a specific game to focus on there’s no point at all at all thinking about how we might fare out against other hypothetical opponents further down the line. Cork, and the very considerable challenge they’re likely to present tomorrow week, are all that matters for us now.
I dont see cork being any challenge forget about them useless
Galway will be a lot harder than cork
Up whest two teams from connaught in the last eight so football in the west not so bad
Corrick Brigade – that was the same prevailing attitude among Cork supporters when they played us 3 years ago.
Cork are a serious threat. A little nonsensical to say otherwise. Any team that can field the likes of Colm O’Neill is dangerous.
We’re a seasoned outfit and should come through if we perform but it will take a solid 70 mins to get the result. Any talk of a cake walk is complete bull sh’t.
Not sure why everyone is writing Cork off so easily. I’m expecting an almighty battle.
Sligo were admittedly worse than shite today, but Cork did what they had to do.
Sure didn’t we do the same against Roscommon?
The Cork forwards can destroy any team on their day, so we need a return to form for our back line.
I’d expect us to dominate the middle though and Cork do have a suspect full back line.
Cork are waiting for us and will love being written off.
As JPM rightly points out, this is very similar to the position we were in against them 3 years ago.
That was the game that really signalled the return of us as a force, lets hope that this time it doesn’t signal the end of this journey we’ve been on the past few years.
You think so rock, cork are rubbish, no point going to croke park if we fear them, they are miles off an all Ireland, we have more to fear from Galway, up the west
Watched the two games tonight with interest.
Galway were good and were far better than Tipperary in reality. They went to sleep in the last few minutes (along with a ridiculous penalty decision, reminiscent of the penalty decision against the Mayo minors in 2012) but were streets ahead of them really. Shows how good the Mayo midfield and backs were the last day.
Cork were far superior to Sligo. They are on a revenge mission and will be trying to get back to play Kerry. Ominous to see O’Neill back in form and they looked a lot sharper when they played quick ball into the forwards. They will not be easily beaten and Mayo will do well to get the win. Their full forward line of O’Neill, Hurley and possibly Goulding are no jokes. People expecting a thrashing would do well to dampen their expectations. As JPM wisely says – Cork went into the quarter final in 2011 expecting it to happen and look what happened that day.
I do think that Mayo are better than them, particularly when you compare the two half back lines and the two half forward lines. However, I will be expecting a dogfight and I’ll be happy enough to win by any amount without any injuries.
I agree with previous contributions. Cork is the only thing that should be on our mind. They did what they had to do today. Sligo set up all wrong , i dont know if they would have ever won it but they didnt give themselves any chance. Galway will give kerry a good game. can’t wait for next sunday, roll on
Cork are in much the same position we were in back in 2011. Taking them for granted could very well be fatal.
Sligo were terribly poor in the first half with fumbles, turn overs, bad wides, slow buildup and no idea of building an attack.
I did not see the Galway game but while they may give Kerry a game I would not expect them to be close at the end.
One game at a time rubbish, cork are useless, galway and kerry? I expect galway we have already beaten them, mayo are a serious team, maybe not as good as Dublin but not far off, the team that beat mayo will win the all Ireland
Corick bridge – I think you’ve made your point loud and clear about Cork by now, one that’s bordering on trash-talking at this stage. Leave it at that or else you’ll fall foul of the house rules.
Just back from the games. Cork improved with each substitution they made,Their forwards do not work hard enough in defense. I would not take them for granted. They as us are suspect to high balls in on full back line.
Another big game and another big challenge for Mayo next Sunday. As I’ve said previously Cork are a serious outfit with some of the best forwards in the game and, while they’ve struggled to find their best form in recent weeks, if they come good next Sunday we could find ourselves on the wrong end of a severe trashing like in the league finals of ’10 and ’12. I do believe, however, that if we have been able to make progress in improving some aspects of our play on the training ground over the past few weeks and are intent on playing this game with a ferocious intensity then we should have enough scrape through with a bit of luck.
Willie Joe – enjoyed reading back your original post on the 2011 Cork match you linked to above. Hard to believe it was written by the voice of reason moderator of today:)
Also brought back to me how great a day it was. Having gone to Croke Park with little in the way of expectation (or even hope), it’s probably second in my memory of days out after the win over Galway in ’81. (Showin me age there)
The sweetest ones are those you least expect to win.
Mayo are improving but it’s still difficult to gauge anything tangible from what we seen sofar… Roscommon had the beating of us only for that heroic and inspirational come back, we would be done and busted. One point win was enough at the end. One poiint win for Dublin 10 months ago was enough also.
Look we are still well in the running and if we actually do have a hand to play we have not shown it at this stage.
We have slightly better form this year than Cork so on paper we should win but form this year does not count for alot, Dubs excluded because they are playing to form and beyond.
Look no matter what occurs, I am a proud Mayo man and have and always will, a deep admiration for my teams indominatable spirit.
With all the retirements Cork suffered last year a bad start isn’t a surprise so maybe they might put it together next week. The main advantage we have though is if they do go toe to toe with us, the fact that they have had some terrible 2nd halves this year (Dublin in league, Kerry and today even) should work in our favour, when the pressure comes on we should pull away. Hope Galway give Kerry a game but too much cuteness from 10-15 for the kerrymen.
Cork will have gained some momentum and confidence after tonight’s easy win. They may well deploy a sweeper against us and take a very physical approach. But they have the ability to get a big score too and May’s defence is pour us at times. Galway got 16 scores against mayo missed a penalty hit the woodwork and had some very bad wides. So that is well over 20 good scoring chances we conceded. Improvement is needed as other teams won’t be as wasteful as Galway were. Expect a real dogfight and a big test of may o’s psychological and emotional recovery from the last two years.
Coas bana a very valid comment on how sweet wins are against expectations. Got a great thrill out of Mayo defeating Cork in 2011 and beating league champions Galway in 1981. Got an even bigger thrill out of defeating AI Champs Galway in 1999. However the reverse side also kicks in. Apart from losing AI Finals my biggest disappointments is losing games where I was sure we would win. 1986 V Ros 1987 V Galway 1990 v Galway 1999 and 2009 v Cork. As a Mayo man I ve learned to take nothing for granted. If we perform v Cork we should win but if we are off the pace they will make us pay. O Neill and Kerrigan are top class and though Hurley was quiet today he has enormous potential. Biggest problem in cork is that they don’t know their best 15 but if they click they are a serious team. I also note they have gone more defensive and we know how Mayo did or didn’t perform against a defensive Roscommon.
Yeah, Cosa Bana, I’ve mellowed a bit in the meantime alright but I recall being well hacked off about the way we were so dismissed by everyone before the game (Brolly was particularly ignorant in how he did so) and felt the urge to let fly at all and sundry after we’d won against the odds.
I too recall that 1981 win (and have written in some length about it here) and would agree that it was a sweet one. I’d put the ’96 semi-final win over Kerry – another one we weren’t expected to win – on that list too.
Really looking forward to the Cork game now. Would expect to see three big guys around the middle again the next day with Aidan in a roving centre half role and hopefully Gibbons back with big Barry to come off the bench. Will be very interesting to see what forward combination is used, whether Freeman will be back or will Dillon get more game time.. we will also be looking at improved performances from our defence and the continued recently improved performances of others such as Jason Doherty. In the mix will be the managements reading of the game, how Cork line out, whether they’ll go man to man and how quick substitutions are made. Will there be black cards, will the game be over at half time or go to the wire. What a great game we have.. so many possibilities.. the best of which would be to beat them by one or two.. bring it on
I agree Cosa bana. Wasn’t there in 2011 but it was a sweet one.
Great wins – Cork in 2011, Tyrone 2004, Galway 1999 but Kerry in 1996 ranks as the sweetest of all still and the one that brings back the best memories!
Worst – Galway 1998, Galway 2005 and in particular Cork 1999.
Ones you’re not expected to win are sweet alright – but when you’re expected to beat a good team and you do convincingly (Donegal and Tyrone 2013, Offaly 1997), it’s imminently satisfying!
Cork are a team that on their day can outcllass ant team.. They gave the Dubs a serious mailing for 35 mind in Crime Park. Unfortunately I think we are still looking like a team that are at the end of a great run. Cork will be a serious test next Sunday.
We should beat Cork, the chat about them being a “serious outfit” is founded on 3 things:
1. Their all ireland win of 2010 which makes people automatically think they are one of the top teams
2. Their good forwards
3. Their U -21 successes
Those 3 points arent that relevant to this years championship. The reality from what we have seen so far is that their manager is struggeling at this level and their backs and midfield aren’t up to the same level as the top teams of the 2014 championship I.e Mayo, Dublin, Donegal and maybe Kerry, still not sure about then.
We should beat Cork unless we have a very off day. Forwards are only good if they get consistent ball in large quantities
Oops, need the glasses
Cork did what they needed to do, they did not go for goals as they were content to keep the scoreboard ticking over. Are they good enough to beat us? Of course they have ability, I would still question their motivation, and they would need to up their work rate. Gould really impressed when he came on, lovely fielder, if Cork come with the right attitude, then game on, otherwise we should win.
Disappointed with Tipp, remember they ran Cork to the wire and were dead and buried two minutes into the second half, no real intensity in this game, just proved that Galway have good players when given a chance, hope they can beat Kerry but too open so unlikely to win out,
Was in Perth three years ago when we overcame the then All-Ireland champions. Looking forward to being in Croke Park next Sunday.
Excitement is building now that we know our opponents and the route to late September
Cork will be tough opposition.
In fairness man for man their forwards are better quality barring Cillian.
If they get momentum I can see us being up against it.
Boyler will have to go on Kerrigan to keep him quiet.
Keegan should have a “free role” with Collins and O driscoll dropping deep.
We need to give Caff and Cunniffe extra protection so for that I would play
____________Cunniffe___Caff
_________________Barrett
_Keegan__________Boyle___Higgins
I know Vaughan hasnt done anything to be dropped but there is more protection with Barrett sweeping p as Hurley and O Neill are top class forwards, physical monsters and real quality kicking instantly on the turn so the only thing to do is try crowd them out.
They can win high ball and ball on front as easy as any ball
I do think we should have too much for them but need to be on top of our game and tuned in .
As regards midfield Barry and Seami deserve the start but Gibbons would be an asset in terms of sticking with Aidan walsh.
This game should suit KMc and AOS as their half back line aren’t up too much and if Shields goes on AOS will probably suit him.
Cillian will be crowded out inside with the former Antrim player Loughery probably taking him up and O Drisscoll and Collins in close quarters sweeping up.
They will plan to subdue Andy Cillian and Dillion and see our lack of pace as an area which will help them close out our fullforward line.
Bearing that in mind Mikey Sweeney and or Freeman could be the options in Fullforward line. Sweeney would terrorize Cattiagan and pull him out of position hopefully freeing up Andy and or Cillian for goal chances.
I think goals will win this game and frees as I expect quiet a dower game with Cork slowing down the tempo, being defensively strong and hitting full forward line time and time again.
If it comes down to a slug out we will win via frees and goals but if Cork get a good start and O Neill and Hurley get space Cork could well do us.
It’s great to know for sure at last who our opponents will be this day week. If we bring our ‘A’ game to proceedings that should see us safely through. No room for complacency though. There can’t be many better day outs than one in Croke Park on a August Bank Holiday weekend (when we win of course!)
@ Outside of boot
The only thing that would keep Vaughan out of the starting 15 under Horan’s tenure is injury so its unlikely your half back line will materialise – although it is an interesting one. I would prefer to see Gibbons start if back to form and agree that he could do a good job on Walsh. As for Mikey – would love to see him in the corner from the start in Croker next Sunday where the wide open spaces could really suit his style of play.
Having thought about it again 45 I think Higgins would be the better option for Kerrigan as Boylers strenght will be needed to shore up the middle.
Cork are a big physical team with a new game plan but if we can pick off the score s we should beat them as you say Mikeys cuteness and speed would prosper in the open spaces from the end line to the 21 in a direct race.
We will see will be interesting but Cork have an awesome bench. Awesome isn’t a favorite word of mine but what else can you call it when Daniel Goulding, fintan Gould, Calliahan and O’rourke pop off the bench without ever playing Paddy Kelly.
God,I had a tear in my eye reading your post from 11,what a game to be able to say,I was there.I’ll never forger the shoulder aiden put on the thug o’leary who had to go off shortly after and aiden got a yellow.
Just checked there, only four of the starting XV for Cork’s All-Ireland win (and also our 2011 victory remarkably) started against Sligo:
E Cadogan, M Shields, A Walsh, P Kerrigan. They all have quality, although 2 of them have been dual players this year. Add in Colm O’Neill and Brian Hurley and you have 6 class players. That’s more than enough to trouble any team. I expect Mayo to win, but it’s not certain by any stretch of the imagination.
Whereas the last time we played them in 2011, I was unbelievably certain we would beat them. I’ve only ever placed 2 bets in my life – Mayo to beat Cork in 2011 and Mayo to beat Dublin in 2012 semi. Bookies aren’t right all the time! What days they were.
But we can’t live on the recent past, we need to focus on the Cork of here and now.
Dont think Cork are good at all, Tipp should of beaten them, well beaten by an ordinary enough Kerry team , they let James o Donoghue run at them all day without putting a glove on him, Declan o Sullivan was given a free ticket to just roam the pitch doing as he pleased.
Yesterday although convincing and deserving winners over Sligo , they failed to impress , middle third very ordinary , Kerrigan had a great game but again Mayo will not give him that space or anywhere near it.
My only concern is the traditional tactic of high ball into their ff line which they will opt for a llot of the time imo and this is where we have a slight weakness at times but apart from that its more about how many sandwiches to make for the three games.
I will be lending my support to Galway too.
Brian Cuthbert said after Sligo game “No one will give us a chance against Mayo” I sincerely hope the Mayo team and management do not fall for this statement. Cork topped Division One of the League this year. I believe they underestimated Kerry and paid the price. Cork will burst a gut to have another crack at Kerry. Mayo will need to bring their A game on Sunday. Remember most shocks in the football championship occur at Quarter Final stage.
‘cork will burst a gut to have another go at Kerry’
Maybe so but why didnt they have a go at least in the munster final, they have supporters at a munster final v Kerry, its all to play for , its where the pride is down there. A q/f against Mayo in croke park through the backdoor means nothing to them as a county and this will be proven with their four mini buses of supporters that travel only.
Mayo are 1/2 and rightly so , if Mayo play to their max we will win comfortably enough .
If we really have AI credentials we have to go out and make a statement next week and put them away without fuss
Cork have been brutal all championship reckon we’ll hammer them to be honest
“Most shocks occur at quarter final stage”
do they? Last one I remember was Kerry/Down and that was 4 years ago.
All in all I agree with what Sean is saying
Cork here we come. Mind games staring already with Cuthbert so. Getting vey exciting now. Make no mistake about it, this is going to be a dogfight.
Interesting to see what the match-ups are going to be. I’d say Caff will be paired with Hurley. He did very well on him in the league after he appeared to take the decision to switch himself with Harrison early. I thought it showed good leadership and this quickness of thought will be needed by players and management on Sunday.
Ciaran – mayo beating Cork in 2011 was a big shock.
Donegal beating Kerry in 2012 was a shock. Kerry were in the final (and threw it away) in 2011. They were expected to make amends in 2012. The bookies and those ‘in the know’ in the kingdom prior to that game had them as favourites.
Have a rotten feeling that we are going to lose this one, cork have forwards who can destroy anybody on they’re day, I hope to God im wrong but I jus feel we are going to be beat.
I can see the Cork lads playing defensive and making midfield and half back line an utter dog fight. If we show up on the day and perform and be patient and break their system down we will beat them .if we don’t show up we are in big trouble we need to command the midfield area.If they get too much easy ball to their forwards we are fucked.
Maybe they have forwards but the won’t beat dubs as dublin will hammer them
cait is that Cork or us that the dubs will hammer. Hopefully Dubs wont be playing Cork and hopefully they wont hammer us if we get there. As I said previously dubs or Kerry or anyone else doesn’t matter til 4 August by which time we will hopefully have beaten cork. If we don’t beat cork I couldn’t care less who wins AI.
If we keep Kerrigan down, Cork wont perform. The trouble is that while I admire Vaughan he is not a man marker so keeping Kerrigan down wont be easy (said earlier I know but still a concern).
Corks strengths are
1. Kerrigan, Walshe and Collins (their strong counter attacks funnel through these guys). Kerrigan is our big threat here.
2. Blanket defence (excellent against Sligo, but is that a fair test?)
3. They are underdogs.
4. Strong bench.
Cork have lots of weaknesses such as,
1. Sligo won more kick outs, but Galway showed that Sligo are not great under kick outs.
2. Leek frees at 45 which Cillian will punish them for this.
3. Poor in second half.
Nothing new here but worth summarising, We should manage them and win this one well.
I just don’t want mayo to get another beating like they did last year. I am still tipping a galway mayo semi final though
Cork will be well up for this and are going in with the so called ‘nothing to lose’. This is a massive test for Mayo. It will tell a lot. If we can’t get over Cork then we deserve to go further. Simple as that.
If our hunger and drive is there we might scrape a narrow dogged win. Just.
Cait , what beating did Mayo get last year ?. They lost a all Ireland by 1 point to the best team in Ireland .
I think in fairness to Cuthbert he couldnt say anything else as the abuse he would have got the last few weeks bwould have being untold to be hammered by Kerry in your back yard.
He was in a no win situation they had to hammer Sligo but yet had to try a new system for the Big Gun’s.
He tried his sytem it worked he rested Goulding, O Neill and Hurley scored what 16 points between them so ya all went well but he couldnt praise his team as the loss to Kerry is still raw.
I would be afraid of Cork and would be wary of vaughan getting stuck in too much as last time he went close to the line and fighting with Canty .
Kerrigan Goulding and O Neill are top clas Walsh Shields, Loughery and Caddigan are there or there abouts in terms of top class too so its not Sligo were playing I expect a battle.
Looking forward to Galway Kerry should be open expansive game
Looking at all of the above, it’s very interesting that there are two distinct camps on the Mayo V Cork prospects.
I’m firmly with the cautious side……….Cork have the potential to beat us if we don’t cover all bases from the throw in. We need to play 70 mins of top tier Championship level stuff from now on. Any team that can spring Daniel Goulding from the bench has the resources to get results……Nothing should be taken for granted, and there should be no ‘lulls’ allowed to develop in this game, or in any subsequent game. Everybody needs to play their part, and the strategic input from the sideline needs to be spot-on this year……..No dodgy head-scratcher substitutions………..everything needs to be spot-on.
Cork are going to play very defensive (which we all know by now) and I see us struggling to over come them, if our half backline is over committed to winning breaking balls around the middleand attacking, then we will be well beaten as Cork (unlike roscommon) have the power runners and top notch forwards to punish the gaping holes we leave in defence. Its a high risk strategy we employ and I think we will be caught out next sunday. We have got the hardest quarter final draw by a mile again this year.I think freeman has to start at the expense of Dillon if we are to have any chance, and our shooting from distance has to be top notch. Ultimately I think James Horans great reign is going to end where it more or less began. Cork by 2.
Sorry for offence caused am just very cautious about Sunday.
I really think that the Cork game in the league this year was a game that James Horan targeted as he felt that we would be meeting them in the summer. It was probably our best display in the league. Colm Boyle did really well on Paul Kerrigan as did Caff on Hurley. If we play to our best, it is a game that we should win. But all we have to do is remember back a few months ago when we were playing Derry in the league semi-final, that was a game that we all thought that we would win but it didn’t turn out that way in the end. So I reckon that we should be confident that we can win, if we do our stuff on the day but not be over confident that we will get anything easy, they are not called the Rebel County for nothing.
Consensus is that Mayo are aiming to peak from Aug bank holiday weekend onwards. On the assumption that we have a full panel of fully match fit players aside from Cunniffe we should win. I believe we have the better “team” as we have roughly the same panel of players for last 3 years who are familiar with the Mayo system.
However there have been few draws in this years football so would not be surprised with a draw.
I would like to see a team with about 5 “AN Others” named in order to keep Cork guessing, Loughnane used this regularly and it often had the desired effect.
As for managers using comments in the media to motivate their players that went out of vogue years ago. Babs keating with his “donkeys don’t win Derbys” was probably one of the last times such a comment provoked the opposition. Go for it Mayo.
Last year we were greater than the sum of our parts. This year we have not hit the same level. We can only speculate whether it will all come together and we are peaking at the right time.
On the bright side last year Cillian was the walking wounded, there was no Jason Gibbons, and Kevin Mc was out of form, this year they are playing unbelievable football.
I just hope when things go wrong and some stage things will go wrong, that we see leadership like Chris Barett and Lee Keegan against Tyrone on the pitch, good decisions from the sideline and strong support from the fans.
When is JH trying to peak. If it’s for the SF then I think it might be too late. Cork are going to test us but if we are any where near full pelt we will get over cork but only by a whisker.
Looking forward to a long day in HQ, minors, Galway and the main event.
Don’t usually agree with Colm O Rourke but in his piece in today’s Sunday Indo says Mayo need Pierce Hanley. Margins at this level so fine this team is good enough to make it back to final again. Pierce could help get it done like Tadgh Kennelly for Kerry
I saw that by O’ Rourke alright. I couldn’t help being a little surprised that he ended his column by showing such concern for Mayo, when it might have been more in his line to consider where his own county are going after their performance against Dublin.
Agree with one comment that Mayo need to peak (or close to it) now. All this step by step is rubbish(and in many ways a nice theory to allow us fans be ‘content’ with flawed performances). If we aren’t at full tilt Sunday it could be the end of the line for this particular bunch and that would be a shame.
No reason now why we cannot reach this top tier performance level and hold it for 6/7 weeks. These lads are so well experienced at this stage.
Look at the dubs. They’ve been at full peak all year and still flying it.
Finally, as supporters, we MUST get very vocal on Sunday…!
Forget about Hanley lads. He’s committed to Brisbane for the next few seasons. Focus on the players that are available to us
I also agree that we need to be at our highest peak for sunday, anything else is just pointless. I don’t get this “end of the road” talk about this team for when they are beating etc. Its nit like they’re all going to become bad footballers over night. The likes of moran and dillon might retire but they’re at the age anyway. There’s alot of perks to being an intercounty footballer these days so its not as if the current squad are just going to suddenly stop playing, one or two might take a year out to travel etc but thats natural. It will be the end of James horans tenure, but he has instilled a new belief and proffesionalism to mayo that should see us at the top table for years to come, just like kerry have been over the last 14 to 17 years. We have a core of young players who are going to be around for a while so if we don’t win sam this year its not the end of the road for the team, just maybe 2 or 3 players.
10 teams left at this point.
After next weekend only 6. The culling season is now well underway.
The secret now is to do the culling and avoid being culled.
A maximum of 3 games left. Will we get to compete in just one, in two or in all three ?
Yes .. the pressure is rising & there is no safety net and nowhere to hide.
Will we be satisfied with 4 Connacht Titles in a row or do we want more ?
As Sean Rice indicated in the Mayo News I do believe that this is ‘end of cycle’ time for management & some players. We could go on to All Ireland glory or we could be out & looking for a new manager on Sunday evening. So no pressure then !
Cork are like a wounded animal right now, itching to get past us so that they can then redeem themselves in what they would see as the real Munster Final against Kerry.
They have very serious forwards in the shape of Hurley, Goulding & particularly O’Neill & Kerrigan. We need to put the shackles on these guys early on & show we mean business. We need to minimise the number of goal chances we concede & we need clear,decisive & timely interventions from the sideline when necessary.
I believe we’ll still be standing come Sunday evening.
Did we not peak last year in the quarter final too? From now on you gotta be at your best or your gone and you can’t turn it on and off like a tap.
Some people are getting carried away looking towards a semi final. Lets hope this time next week we are not all in disappointed.
All this talk about Hanley is, if you’ll pardon my French, utter bullshit. It surfaces around this time every year – and why? The man has a career on the other side of the world – a career in which he is excelling, I might add and where he is actually paid for his talent. He has expressed absolutely no interest in returning home to play to Mayo as far as I can see, which is absolutely fair enough, and even if he did, what would that guarantee us? Nothing!
As Mac’s Left Boot says above, why not focus on the team we have and get behind them, rather than indulging in what are unfortunately, ultimately pointless fantasies?