Seeing as it’s Tuesday we’re officially no longer allowed to mope any more about Sunday’s result but are compelled instead to look ahead to the matches that are down for decision this coming weekend. And sure why shouldn’t we be looking to the future? It’s Hallowe’en so it must be a Championship weekend.
There’s Championship action on in both hurling and football this coming weekend and both matches will be available to view. The footballers’ Connacht SFC opener against Leitrim is being broadcast on TV while the hurlers’ Rackard Cup tie against Tyrone is being streamed online.
The hurlers take the field first this coming weekend, with their Rackard Cup Round 2A clash against Tyrone at Healy Park in Omagh taking place on Saturday (throw-in 2pm). Reading through this week’s Mayo News, by the way, I finally found out what appears to be the structure of this competition, as manager Derek Walsh is quoted as saying that a win on Saturday would guarantee us a home semi-final. There you have it.
The match is being streamed live on Saturday by Tyrone GAA TV, which you’ll find here.
On Sunday, our Connacht Championship quarter-final against Leitrim is being broadcast live on the RTÉ News Now channel. If you’re on Virgin Media the channel number is 200, while on Sky it’s 521. The News Now channel is also available on Saorview.
The LGFA Championship also gets going this coming weekend. We’re not in action then, however, as we have a bye in our three-team group for the first round. Our opening game is against Tyrone – yes, them again! – the weekend after.
Paul Faloon (Down) is referee for Leitrim game. Has he done a Mayo game before, I cant place him.
I never heard of him before referring a game
LA Dodgers win the World Series after 32 years of heartbreak.
They win it in the year of the Covid.
That’s the beauty of sport.
This might also be our year
Keep the faith
Hi willie joe and Co
Just an alternative look to last weekends action and a look ahead to what team we think mayo will select. Available to download from all good retail stores.
https://anchor.fm/ah-ref/episodes/Tricky-Tyrone-and-Lovely-Leitrim-ellhgk
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6cLDGoOf7SxiMvIRZ1FieY?si=60qyCrVnQce6nY-SNmir2g
Carraig dubh…I think there is very little chance of that. We are going backwards
We will need full focus for Carrick-On-Shannon on Sunday and best way possible to move onwards and upwards. Hopefully Cillian back, he is key to keep scoreboard ticking over!
That’s what Cillian is saying too, in an excellent RTE interview: https://www.rte.ie/sport/gaa/2020/1027/1174282-oconnor-futile-to-daydream-about-all-ireland-medals/
Pat, as in rugby, sometimes you have to take a step back to move forward. It is not all doom and gloom. While we did deserve to be relegated for our performances over the entirety of the league, our two most recent performances do give grounds for hope. There is a real chance for a Connaught title as neither Roscommon or Galway are unbeatable. Galway are not as bad as they were in Tuam v us, but neither are they the second coming either. Dublin beat them very comfortably, without really breaking sweat or hitting top form/intensity, last weekend and Comer is a huge loss.
We have to rebuild and the days of relying on Barrett, Higgins, Boyle, Seamie O’Shea, Parsons et al are gone. I have no doubt at all in the quality of player we produce in Mayo, they just need fine tuning, patience and we go again.
For me, we need two keepers and a full back. Build a new young, fresh, speedy team around Keegan, Aidan O’Shea and Cillian and we won’t be far off. A Connaught title should be our aim for now, build during next seasons league and develop defensive structures/attacking patterns etc out of the limelight of Division 1. Win promotion staright back up, and then we go again for next years championship.
Keep the faith.
I hope you are right Pebblesmeller and I agree that we night win Connaught. My concern though is that I can see us go all the way over the next 2 years to another final and then just blow it from the line again. That’s my concern I feel that’s what happened in 12, 13, 14…..I dont see anything to prove otherwise
Faith will be kept though…..
Team I would like to see for Sunday
1.David Clarke
2.Padraig O’Hora
3.Chris Barrett
4.Oisin Mullin
5.Paddy Durcan
6.Lee Keegan
7.Owen McLaughlin
8.Diarmuid O’Connor
9.Matthew Ruane
10.Kevin McLoughlin
11.Aidan O’Shea
12.Ryan O’Donoghue
13.Darren Coen
14.Cillian O’Connor
15.Tommy Conroy
@Mayoabu
You have pretty much nailed man for man exactly the team i would be going with for championship, although thats more like the lineup i would be thinking of for Roscommon game
With all due respect we should be comfortably dispatching Leitrim with any 15 we put out so i would be looking at resting a few lads who we know all about (AOS, Keegan, Cillian etc) and giving gametime to lads we need to see more of (Mark Moran, Fionn McDonagh, McBrien etc)
It will be interesting to see the team selected and especially the bench. Will James rest some players, will he bring back more of the older players,at least on the bench. More importantly who will the panel be for Roscommon if we win.
James wanted to blood new players throughout the league and when it came to the final decisive game he had the courage to stick with youth. The question is now , has the end of the road already come for a great group of older players? Our defensive play and system has to be better for championship football. Kevin one on one with a big powerful athletic McKenna was never going to work.
I would have Aiden, Cillian, Lee play limited minutes if possible, probably start with them on the bench.Maybe some others have minor knocks and need to be rested and some who need game time. Its championship and you can not be looking too far ahead so a lot for management to consider.
My team for Leitrim
1. David Clarke
2. Oisin Mullin
3. David McBrien
4. Chris Barrett/Lee Keegan
5. Paddy Durcan
6. Stephen Coen
7. Owen McLaughlin
8. Conor Loftus
9. Matthew Ruane
10. Diarmuid O’Connor
11. Mark Moran
12. Fionn McDonagh
13. Cillian O’Connor
14. Aidan O’Shea
15. Tommy Conroy
I doubt all the backs are fit to play but hope 6 of them are. Barrett needs a game, and one of the rest could be rested for roscommon. Loftus midfield to deliver ball into Aidan. Moran starting for Leitrim, Kevin mc for roscommon. Coen for me at 6 for the season. Ryan O’Donoghue for his impact off the bench
I wouldnt be given any minutes to Cillian, AOS, Keegan or Kevin Mc this weekend. Nothing to be gained from playing them only injury, we know all we need to know about them and need them right for following weekend
Cillian needs game time. He’s played 55 minutes of football for the county in the last 14 or 15 months. The only way to get his fitness and durability back to the required level is by easing him back with some game time every week.
Horan also needs to decide where Kevin McLoughlin is going to play. Not sure if he has the engine for 10 or 12 anymore. Maybe corner forward or centre half forward.
When we beat Armagh a huge reason was due to Kevin McLoughlin finishing the game fresh from the bench. When he outpaced the defence for his goal on a 25 yard run he avoided the defenders tackle by a bare 4 inches. He managed to get his shot away as the tackle came in. If Kevin had started the game in a similar scenario he wouldn’t avoid the tackle.There is something to having a pacy scorer like Kevin fresh from the bench when his pace will be a bigger differential to the starting opposition defenders.
For the Leitrim game id drop David Clarke and bring in Rory Byrne and have a look at his kick outs and give him game time.
I think Horan has a decision to make with Clarkey
For many years there has been a debate on here as two which of the two goalkeepers should be selected and also the positioning of Aidan O’shea.
Why has a new goalkeeper not been brought in on a long term basis, I mean for two Seasons at least. The two current guys are there for a long time, are there no other goalies in Mayo ?.
The positioning of Aidan O Shea has given cause for much debate here also, not an out and out scoring full forward, not a scoring Centre forward, a good fielder, a great tackler and physically Mayo’s strongest player.
I am all for looking for new ideas, no point trying something that had not worked in the past.
I must admit the football is a great positive diversion from the current Covid19 straight jacket resteictions that are forced upon us.
Yes I agree that the Leitrim game is an opportunity to give Rory Beirne a chance in goals. We know what David Clarke and Robert Hennelly can do and Rory Beirne deserves his chance.
Great to see us putting up big scores , now all we have to do is defend better.
Weather forecast for Sunday is very poor – heavy rain and strong wind. Horan has to play a mix of young and more experienced players.
We didn’t have enough strong physical players last Sunday especially in mid field and half forward line. This is winter football and it has to be considered when picking the team.
Team i would go with:
Clarke
Barrett, McBrien, Mullin
DOC
K Mclaughlin, Keegan, OMcLaughlin
Ruane, AOS, Durcan
COC, O’Donoghue
Coen,Conroy
In fairness Pat if we go all the way to another All Ireland final the lads on the line will be doing something right. Have never bought into this narrative that we have lost all these All Ireland’s on the line Maughan Horan And Rochford did great things for Mayo as did Johnno and Mickey Moran. If we want to be critical of managers I would suggest look from 51 through the 60s 70s and early 80s Getting to the last two in the country is some achievement. Winning it out is something we have been unable to achieve for a long long time. At least the above named managers have given us a bit of pride and confidence and allowed us to dream even if unfortunately those dreams have been dashed. Connacht this year is anyone’s to win with Mayo Galway and Roscommon each capable of winning it.Then only two more games to win it out.
Interesting team Centerfield. Wouldn’t mind seeing Paddy Durcan starting again in half forwards as you suggest, adding bite and really taking the game to any opponent (we should get past Leitrim). Could even switch Diarmuid with Aido there, Aido playing a defensive central role which he’s ace at, but obviously we’ll inevitably miss him elsewhere. And does he still have the pace and agility to play this role at intercounty? He possibly does. We need to shore up the center back position one way or the other. These more experienced players must still make up the spine of our team. There’s no other way, they must lead it. They’re still plenty young.
Let’s face it, James will likely continue to play kamikaze football, all out attack, and it could still work. Personally I love it, but it does leave holes, massive holes, and we can’t again be expecting young Conroy to be plugging full-back again on the hoof, mid-match!! Madness. There has to be a plan when the attack breaks down and when perilous gaps are left. This must be James’ numero uno priority. As another poster mentioned, its 10 years now since he first trialled it. He has to have learned. Where has this decade gone?
I think the forward play will work itself out (ably aided by Ciaran Mac, and indeed James himself) and likely this will settle far sooner than the defence side of things.
Perhaps the bench for DoC
He has had 2 bad games in a row, what’s the reason
Doc played well against Tyrone.
I wish him well in the future. More worried about CHB. We need a stopper there
Chris Barrett at 6 if fit tighten things up
For a start he was one of the better players v Tyrone..
Secondly lots of other players have had plenty of bad games in a row and I didn’t hear anything about dropping them
One rule for some but not for all
Haven’t seen James Carr for a long time… but unless he’s gone back an awful long way.. he’d be on my team.. also Fionn McDonagh..We have loads of options upfront, concentrate on Leitrim, if we are going very very well, we probably should take some players who are playing really well to give very nessary championship playing time to other’s,… even Cillian or Aido (I can’t recall either ever been substituted, uninjured in a championship match) but for the greater good of the team, might be the right thing to do…
I think it’s time to start focusing on the team and players that are most likely to feature in the championship. Championship really is different gravy, where errors and mistakes can get cruelly punished and as this seasons championship is a knock-out, every mistake has the potential to end your season. In Winter weather and Winter pitches it will be the side that makes the least amount of mistakes that will win out, and generally, that’s where experience comes to play. ‘Auld dogs for the long road will be needed in the Hyde (assuming we get there) so we need to arrive there in good shape with the older lads having competitive minutes in their legs. With games, hopefully, coming thick and fast the time for blooding new players is running out and in my opinion any further experimentation or trialing of players will have to wait. For now I think Horan must focus on selecting a team to beat Leitrim while also giving game time to lads he knows he will need v Roscommon. We can’t look any further than that.
Clarke
Mullin, Barrett, O’Hora
Durcan, Keegan, E McLaughlin
Coen, Ruane
Loftus O’Shea, McDonagh
K. McLoughlin, C. O’Connor, Conroy
Get Higgins, Flynn and D. O’Connor in off the bench too.
Some of those teams picked earlier look like a selection for taking on Dublin or Kerry. But not Letrim. If i see AOS anywhere near the pitch on Sunday, I think i will give up.
Also, not sure what game some people were looking at last Sunday but just to say Diarmond o connor was one of our better players. May not have got on the score sheet but did a lot of the donkey work Jason Doherty would do. Was very pleased with him, Hoping not to see him either on Sunday.