It was no real surprise when earlier on today it was confirmed that the LGFA SFC All-Ireland semi-final between ourselves and Dublin will feature as the curtain-raiser to the men’s All-Ireland semi-final featuring the same two counties at Croke Park on Saturday week.
The women’s semi-final has been fixed for 3.45pm that afternoon and the men’s game throws in at 6pm. The ladies’ match will be broadcast live on TG4 and the men’s semi-final will be shown live on RTÉ as well as on Sky Sports.
Those of you attached to clubs in Mayo, as well as in Dublin (as I am myself), should by now have received some sort of notification about ticket allocations and methods of distribution. For all of us, though, it’s a case of pot luck – they’d have filled the place to capacity for this game so it doesn’t take an advanced qualification in economics to conclude that the demand for tickets will far exceed supply for this one.
Hopefully two all Ireland champions dethroned on one night.
Good luck to all in the search for tickets. Is there any possibility for mayo people exiled from the homeland to other counties to get a couple of tickets. We are GAA club members. We go to all matches fbd, league and championship that we can (and that’s nearly all of them) – but seems we might be frozen out of this magical GAA ticket distribution process.
Makes sense to play the ladies game as curtain raiser. Men’s game will be the first GAA game to be shown live with a non Irish/English commentary. Spanish TV . As regards tickets I think only club members in the participating counties should get them. I ,(who has attended so many games in Croke Park over the past 50 years,) accept that a club member in our home county is much more deserving of a ticket . I don’t think any tickets should be sold by Ticketmaster.I might change my attitude if we reach the final!!!
I find it a tad strange that season ticket holders are excluded from this off to apply for semi final tickets, the county board were quick enough to fire out the emails looking for us to buy a tile for the wall in McHale Park but not so quick now…
Players on the panel I didn’t think were still there (according to the CF programme):
* David McBrien
* Ben Doyle
* Jack Coyne
* Mark Moran
* Luke Doherty
And of course Harry, and Jason Doc.
Important statement from the CB, In order to be considered for an a ticket patrons must meet at least 5 of the following criteria.
1. Be able to point out the bacon factory end of mchale Park from a map of the stadium.
2. Know the difference between the old Tommy goals and the new one.
3. Demonstrate that your Irish has improved from watching games on tg4. Maith an fear.
4. Have boycotted Brady ham since the Newbridge game.
5. Know that it was Rochford and not Rockford that previously managed Mayo.
6. Demonstrate that you’ve been consistently competitive when looking for tickets especially for All Irelands. Phone records clearly showing how you hounded fans from hurling counties in the lead up to a final will suffice.
7. Train an underage team in your club where your kids are NOT involved.
8. Still proudly wear your Genfitt Jersey in public.
9. Know your 301’s from your 336’s and your 701’s from your 736’s. But more importantly be damn glad to get any ticket.
10. Always fill up the night before, because we all know the price of petrol and diesel up the country is criminal.
11. Make your sandwiches with O Haras bread only. As old Mr Brennan would say, if it isn’t Mayo bread then it’s probably shite.
12. Never pay tolls, always take the scenic route. Never mind everyone saying you’re tight.
13. Never pay for parking in Dublin, it might mean a 2 mile walk for you and your gang, but remember it’s not because you’re tight.
14. Never buy anything in stadium. The smells are great but remember you don’t know what’s in them hotdogs and anyway sure haven’t you extra sandwiches melting back in the car for the way home.
15. Provide a blog that generates serious debate and sometimes some not so serious posts.
Good luck to everyone with the ticket hunt.
Good one Ah Now!
Catcol jack Coyne played against Leitrim.
Brilliant Ah now lol. I think an alarming amount of people struggle with no.2.
@ Ah now , I enjoyed that one .
@Ah now.
That got me smiling. Very funny. Maith an fear.
I think I have sandwiches in the car since the last match so I’m covered there.
If we go with that 15 we have a great chance.
Ah Now.
Ah Now is right, CB totally biased towards Mayo residents. As bad as the Dubs now.
1 Bacon factory is not there
2 Never saw the 2 lads together
3 Can hardly understand English
4 She who must be obeyed and does the shopping, is a Lilywhite.
5 I know now.
6 Don’t know anyone in Kilkenny
7 Won’t train the opposition
8 Not out in public for 18 months
9 Don’t wear jeans
10 Would have to go to Mayo for that
11 Would have to go to Mayo again
12 No scenic route here, off to Mayo again
13 Bad idea, got clamped at every final since 89 bar 20
14 Been buying Guinness since 85
15. Can hardly answer the phone.
So looking like TV for me. Unless it clashes with love island.
Ah the sandwiches. I’ll always remember ’96 semi final…bought my first car that year and we went to semi parking somewhere around cross guns bridge. After game we headed to pub there Smiths I think meeting up with a gang which included an older friend, a great Mayo son and a hurling great. We decided to head to Westmanstown as we heard the team bus was heading there for meal before going west. Anyway we did and my companion who had brought his lunchbox for his day out on hill16 jumped into the car and popped it in under the passenger seat unbeknown to me. Anyway long story short and after a great night, and for the following week I keep hearing a bad rattle underneath the car and a bit of a smell too. After about 10 days I was convinced it was the middle silencer box, and so off with me to the garage to get it sorted. Needless to say the boys had some laugh at me when the lunchbox was eventually located. Jez we had some fun even back then. As if so often the case, its hard to remember any ordinary day but the minute details of a day following the county team is fully locked and loaded in the memory bank
@catcol I asked what the story was with Jason doc was yesterday so thanks for clearing up that he’s on the panel. The other question I have is he fit for selection? Because if he is it seems strange of Horan to leave him out of team/matchday squad.
Ed McGreal said on one of the recent podcasts that Jason Doherty had another setback in his recovery. He didn’t say how bad a setback or how long he’d be out for, but given he hasn’t played in so long, it’s hard to see him making an appearance this year.
I fucked at no.3
FhiftyShixty, Mike Finnerty in the Mayo News (27th July) gave a bit of news about Jason’s recovery. He wrote it in the piece called “3 big game talking points” after the Connacht Final. He mentioned Aidan recognising the broader group of 41 players who played a part in the win. Mike wrote:
“…Unfortunately, it seems that Jason has had another setback in his rehabilitation from a second torn ACL and that will delay his return to action even longer…”
I’ve had a season ticket for the last nine years and like another poster, don’t live in Mayo. It’s very unfair that croke park are happy to take €200 every year and then when you want to try get a ticket for the semifinal, you’re at the back of the queue. I have friends who are members of a Gaa club and haven’t any interest in going to matches until the semi finals and don’t do anything to help the club in any way.
I can see where people coming from but its a thankless task trying figure it out how to distribute tickets. I think they doing best can in circumstances. With allocation clubs got most will not even have enough to cover coaches, executive etc. so those getting through clubs should at least be involved in running of club
Thanks @Swallow Swoops for clearing that up for me. It’s terrible that Jason doc has had another setback. He is such a good player. Hopefully he can come back from this.
Interestingly enough the Ticketmaster website appears to have tickets becoming available for next Sundays hurling semi as they are returned from the clubs today. Obviously there will be more demand for our game but I’m still quietly confident a good number will come back to Ticketmaster if one has the time, patience or inclination to check up on it on a regular basis this time next week. I live in hope!
FhiftyShixty, I completely agree about how good of a player Jason is. He’s fast, agile, brave and has worked so hard for Mayo. I’m sure all of us are sending him our best wishes and encouragement as he comes try his recovery – can’t wait to see him fit and well again. Thanks also to Tubberman above, who was super fast with his reply – we’ll throw you into the half back line the next day ; )
No tickets for us in club draw 🙁
Same for us KM79. less than 30 winners for over 100 tickets would suggest people who are not members will be sitting in some of the “pods” that the clubs are handing out! I could be wrong though!
People will be pretty pissed off in Chairde if tickets go back from clubs for general sale on Ticketmaster.
I think a lot of spare pod spaces might appear with people getting pods of four and five but one member of pod being hypothetical that can’t commit once checked.
Fifty Shixty and Ah Now.
Thanks for the Jack Coyne spot AN.
On Jason & Harry while they are listed on the panel (per CF programme), so too is Cillian.
Think it’s interesting that Luke Doherty is there – don’t think he has got game or panel time.
The pods rule will cause a problem for clubs. For example if your name comes out of the draw and you get a pod of three tickets. You will get an email directly from Ticketmaster to purchase these three tickets.That’s three of the club tickets gone to one member – unless the member is willing to share the other two tickets with other club members
Exact same for us ItsTooHot. Should have been limited to pods of 2 per member drawn out. That would have ensured maximum amount of members got tickets instead of people how know the members drawn out.
Really dissapointed to miss out on this one as I have a feeling we are going to do something special.
Anyone thinking tickets will go on general sale needs sectioning ,
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/celtic-go-ahead-pack-parkhead-24694603
Celtic park full to the rafters next week . I’d love to understand the difference between here and Scotland .Even something like that electric picnic which was supposed to be in september and HSE advised laois cc to cancel . I mean seriously will someone please explain at what point in Ireland are we going to get on with it , cause you’re never going to gave 100% vaccination , so are we never returning to normal ?
Excuse my rant I just find it so frustrating after all we’ve been through abiding by restrictions getting vaccinated , I mean it’s just a nonsense to prevent outdoor events been packed out .
I agree Sean. There is no reason why it cant be a capacity crowd on the basis that you show a covid vaccination cert. What is going to be the difference in 12 months
Jeff…that comment made me smile…. I’ll check myself into the looney-bin tomorrow ?
Tell that to the horse racing people. 500 allowed at meetings. Oh and a special exception for Galway 1000 a day
Cheers Jeff, I’ll take section 708. Row A.
Croke park has approx 60k seats which can be assigned to individuals
Ballybrit doesnt
They are not comparable .
It’s crazy that so few of the seats will be occupied . Crazy .
Ah Now,
That’s a good line to follow but an essential is to be able to prove that you never, ever complained about the ticket you got,
I queried with the gaa about the possibility of season ticket holders being given a chance to buy ticket for semi final (knowing full well the answer would be no)……..
Response as follows:
“We will not be a position to issue tickets through Season Ticket accounts for this weekend or for the remainder of this year’s championship including All Ireland Finals . Due to the uncertain nature of attendance numbers and the constantly changing guidelines regarding pilot events and outdoor gatherings it is not possible to allocate tickets through Season Ticket accounts. Tickets will primarily be distributed through the clubs and competing counties. The Season Ticket website is currently offline. We will relaunch the Season Ticket website when we offer Season Ticket renewals.
We hope to return to the full use of Season Tickets for the 2022 Season. Once we know more regarding this and renewals, we will be in touch with all Season Ticket holders.”
Thanks for that Trevor. I think what the GAA are saying is that “because we have reduced our workforce since covid we now don’t have the staff or willpower to develop a system to cater for our loyal season ticket holders”. A bigger problem for me would be pods of 2,3,4,5 tickets being handed out to one club member. A system should have been developed to ensure that only members receive the tickets that the clubs got i.e. one ticket per member. Going by the way it was done by our club, a member could have got a pod of 5 tickets in the draw and bring 4 non members with them to the game. Once again its the people who are doing the work at club level that are getting shafted, but don’t worry all the important people above will be looked after!!!
In relation to season tickets there were 5 games before lock down last year, ticket prices for those games was €15 in advance or €20 on the day. There was a €40 refund last summer. Nobody was out of pocket. It would be unreasonable to allocate half of mayos allocation to 2020 season ticket holders for a 2021 championship game and clubs would not accept it.
It would be a nice gesture however if they were to raffle some tickets for the final among 2020 season ticket holders in competing counties.
Just a thought, many season ticket holders are also club members …
No one has paid for season tickets this year therefore no one has a 2021 season ticket. With reduced attendance no way should a minority group of people get priority access to tickets. Many many people who didnt have a season ticket attend most if not all Mayo games and are just as entitled to a chance of securing a ticket as anyone else. There is not perfect way for distributing tickets, people will always miss out but going through the clubs is the correct option. It is the clubs after all that struggle to pay high levies every year to MayoGAA. it’s only right that thickets go to the clubs to be distributed.
Anne-Marie – I know that, I would say the majority are. I don’t get the relevance of your point. I am only saying 2020 season ticket holders got full value for their tickets last year and have no right to any more.
To be fair, the distribution of tickets with reduced capacity & having to sell them in pods must be an absolute nightmare for those in charge. It’s bad enough when you have huge demand and small supply. But add in these conditions & it must be nigh on impossible.
Let’s hope we have as many Mayo fans at the game as possible
Disappointing to see the Dubs back in the hill again for this one. I thought it might even things up a bit if they weren’t there.
I suppose selling them in pods serves a purpose for segregation but selling them in complete pods doesn’t to me. A club member can buy a pod of 5 and bring 4 friends from 4 different counties if he wants. If sold individually within the club at least everyone is from the same area. It would also mean more club members get tickets.
That’s true Nephin. When you look at it that way the pods make no sense.
I’ll be on the hill so dont be worrying about the dubs on the hill ,you wont even notice them when I land in there .
Did you get a ticket Seán ?
Exactly right Nephin. Club members should have been told that tickets would be in pods of 2,3,4,5 and that you can apply for one if you were willing to take the covid risk of sitting beside someone from your parish while wearing your mask. If you did not want that risk then dont apply for a ticket. Handing out multiple tickets to individual members is ridiculous given the shortage of tickets. A workaround could have been found for the payment method for the pods, no problem! Basically family’s won pods of tickets, not club members!
I was a season ticket holder and current club member. Look the situation is far from ideal but it is what is.
I think distribution through the clubs was the best way to go. Remember without club volunteers, players, coaches, even those who buy lotto tickets through direct debt…without those people there is no county team.
The county team is in effect an amalgamation of all our clubs.
@Everhopeful Mayo are getting hill tickets too and will have a sizeable presence on their aswel,don’t worry.
Would love to see us set out at a very high tempo 1st quarter and open up a few points gap – then a few mins keep ball to frustrate the “boys in blue” followed by another manic 3rd quarter – as Stephen Rochford said “To beat Dublin you have to win the 3rd quarter”. We have the speed to follow this plan in Croker’s open spaces – but skill and experience another matter, esp without Cillian?
Folks, what is the morale of the story here? Be a member of your club! Membership is not that much, and clubs need your membership to keep afloat. I am a season ticket holder, have always paid my club membership even when i lived in the states. Quite simply, on the chance we made the big day, i had a shout to get one! Season tickets are great, but rarely have i been found wanting from my club when my need was dyer!!
I’m a club member and a long time season ticket holder .
It looks like I haven’t a hope of a ticket but some/many of the clubs tickets will be going to non members
Not sure what the morale of that story is 😀
I’m hoping against hope tickets will turn up but I doubt it being honest
I got a ticket alright pure fluke , Dublin lad i work with , hes all about the hurling so he kindly gave me the option of having his .
Fair play . You will prob get a stand swap from a Dub handy enough. But you will have to sit in a Dublin pod then as opposed to standing in a very large Dublin pod 😀
Fear an Chomortais, just one additional comment, some of us are club members in our adopted counties as well as season tickets holders last year, are you suggesting that we also remain members in our home clubs?
I do agree that the best option was to distribute to clubs in both counties although that does not suit me but it was not possible to suit everyone this time. If given a choice, I would much prefer not to go and win rather than go and lose.
I’m a club member and a season ticket holder and I will not be getting a ticket for the semi and to be honest in the year that’s in it I’m totally fine with that, there’s worse that can happen. I don’t feel I’m any more deserving than any other mayo fan. Any talk of such is a bit pathetic in my view.
Sean, am I right in remembering, you got an all Ireland ticket from someone on the blog a few years back. You’re a lucky man. Hope it rubs off on the team.
Mikey I am in the exact same boat as you.. I even help coach an underage team an I’m on the committee of the club. Look it’s just one if those things, good luck to anybody that gets one. I won’t begrudge anybody. I’m not giving up hope though, I’ll keep hunting until lunch time Saturday….. when it’ll be too late to leave even if I got one!!!
Ahoy there now , nowt lucky about me . Tickets for big games are a pain in the hole but ive yet to meet a Mayo supporter who was deserving that didnt get one for a final and ive been at them since canal end 1989 . Now obviously this year is different with reduced capacity but ill tell you this much rumours are rife that some clubs sent some back .
I hope that’s true Sean
Ticketmaster will me absolute mayhem whatever morning it is then though
Hope it’s before Thursday as I’ve 48 hour cancellation on the hotel !
I got my tickets from the club,so delighted. Hate the search for tickets, the season tickets are a great job.
Oh by the way my email went into spam. Anyone that requested tickets, check your spam mail.
Email from Croker, tickets there to be paid for, delighted.
The same PM, email had went into spam. Great to get them. Great win for the Sligo Minors this evening. Some scoring in horrible conditions.
Sean burke, I find that very, very hard to believe , , that some clubs sent some tickets back.
Plus, I’ve being that soldier who didn’t get a ticket for a final, and I hate to say this word, but felt I was ‘deserving’ of one.
The word ‘deserving ‘ is nearly taboo the last few days., For every person that hasn’t missed a game in 10 years, there’s 5 more who couldn’t go because they hard to bring an u12 training when the matches were on etc.
Where is the line drawn, the proverbial one, not the one around a pitch.
Looking at a potential Dublin forward line of scully, kilkenny, howard, costelloe, con and rock. Its hard to see how we are going to hold them enough considering our lack of scoring threat up top without cillian. We are getting more scores from midfield than ever before but it won’t outweigh the loss of scores from cillian . The Dublin bench is not as strong as previous years, however its obvious our starting team is not what it was in the 2014-2017 period. Unfortunately we haven’t played against any quality opposition all year. I hope I’m wrong but I think it will take an absolutely monumental performance for us to be leading going into the last 10 minutes, and some well overdue luck to get us over the line!! We will still travel in hope, ticket or no ticket!
@it’s too hot, I’ve been thinking about this, especially after the very interesting Colm Nally interview on the Ah Ref podcast.
I think our strategy should be to give ourselves a 40% shot of winning the game and then seeing if it comes up on the day.
We cannot contain Dublin, by the meaning of keeping them to 20 pts and under. Andy Moran says to beat Dublin you have to score 20 pts, I think to beat Dublin in decent conditions you have to score 23pts. In wet conditions 19 or 20 pts might do it. There is rain forecast for next week and the temperatures are on the lower, trimming the scoring rate and kickable distance down a few % from the high scoring hot summer.
I had a look back at last year’s final tonight, I’ve had several looks back. A few points, and some will repeat if we don’t address them.
1. Aidan OShea roving role completely on the overall did not work. On occasion it lead to some turnovers and possessions from kickouts. It was far far outweighed by the negatives. This only worsened throughout the four quarters culminating in the 4th quarter with six foot John Small beating Aidan to the ball on a medium kickout. Aidan ends up fouling Niall Scully, Paul Mannion scores the free and we were buried at that point. Granted Aidan is a bit fitter this year, but, Aidan roving also did not work against Galway. We have lost Cillian. There’s a lot of comfort talk about “Aidan inside for a few minutes, move out for a few minutes.” There’s little thought given to it. Dublin are an athletic and organised team, they are going to keep the play clean and polished and Aidan will end up between the play if he roves around.
He has to stay at 14 for the entire game as a target man. If a run doesn’t work out, get back inside in a dangerous position.
Without Cillian, Ryan and Tommy need the help of Aidan as a target man.
2. We did not maximise our legs in the middle third across the 80mins, not nowhere near. This should be different thus year. We are fitter and we have more bench options with pace.
3. Our forwards lost shape as the game went on. Cillian back in his own full backline, Aidan back in defence a lot.
To beat Dublin we mainly need to get our full forward line to outscore their full forward line and that will need Aidan OShea at 14 for 80 mins.
Tommy Conroy 1-3
Aidan 3 pts
Ryan ODonoghue 6 pts (4 frees)
Midfield/half forwards 5 pts
Defenders 3 pts.
There is 1-20, 23 pts.
So I’ve removed my right kidney and I’m wondering where do I donate it to specifically to get a ticket for Saturday week. Its on ice but I’ve very healthy lungs if I need to go there also. As well as that I genuinely did buy a tile some weeks back so surely all these considered it is reasonable I feel to expect at least a level 7 in the hogan? I remember back in the 2017 final an American couple were in front of me and the lady of said couple knitted whatever the hell throughout the entire game and barely raised her head to enjoy the action…I was genuinely astounded how they managed to take two tickets above those who really wanted them
The ladies are bigger outsiders than the men. Would be great to see an upset there.
The men can keep Dubs score down by good match ups. Kilkenny still their best player, would put Paddy on him. Con of course dangerous but not more so than Shane Walsh who is faster and bigger, would put Oisin on him. Diarmaid on Fenton just like AIF. Fenton did influence more near the end that day but he certainly wasn’t all dominant throughout. A good match up for Costello too would be wise but take our chances against Rock, Small / Howard and Scully tends to play deeper but that could bring someone like Eoghan Mc further into attack. After that play our own game. Other Dublin forwards talented but Kilkenny and Fenton are the most ones who make them tick. Matthew can put McCarthy on the back foot with his athleticism. Con OC always a threat but target Fenton & Kilkenny and you reduce his influence. Kildare did this, they just didn’t back themselves in attack. 2 of our subs Carr and Coen need to play better percentages on shots, both talented and Coen has a laser boot. The unknown is how Darren McHale does in a big game. He’s very direct and tends to stay central so shots are high percentage. Do we start Bryan Walsh or Kevin Mc? I would prefer experience, Kevin combines workrate with very clever distribution. Is there a bolter in training we don’t know about from the subs e.g someone like Mark Moran who’s pacy with a great strike. Fergal Boland has seldom let us down and has experience, surprised he’s not closer to starting 15. Eoghan MacL or Plunkett in the backs? maybe Plunkett starting with solid positioning and Eoghan coming on for pace in 2nd half. Alternatively Eoghan who has 70+ in him from start encouraged to run hard at them and open things up, putting Dublin forwards on back foot but lay off to a pure natural forward when he gets nearer the posts. Croker suits a runner like him. Would prefer Conor OS coming on to Flynn, more mobile I think and quite experienced. Oisin a success at 6 but Con needs marking as does Costello and Oisin’s the obvious choice for one of those.
Shuffly deck con o callaghan is no more dangerous than shane walshe? He is twice as dangerous. I’m not sure how mayo are gonna stop all there quality.
Shane Walsh is a player who seems to get better with every day that passes when he isn’t playing !
I have no idea what he has done to merit some di the accolades he gets. He has certainly done none of it at Croke Park anyways……..
He is 28 now . 29 for next year championship. So just a couple of years younger than Cillian for example . The same Cillian who is the all time top scorer in the championship but still has his doubters . But Shane Walsh “comes alive” at Croke Park I suppose 😉
Rant over . Just something that annoys me . And in cranky as I’ve no ticket
Shuffy Deck I think comparing two players from different team is always fraught with danger. You are well wide of the mark on that comparison in my opinion. Both fine players but Con would be on my 15 first. I am not bad mouthing any player and Shane along with Paul are Galway ‘s best, just unfortunate you picked Con as your matchup. Maybe your glasses have a maroon tint.
@Shuffley deck, you see if Mayo management are wrecking their heads as to the “best matchups” then we are beaten already.
Your version of keeping the score down just won’t work.
Mayo need scores and a big 1st half lead, this can only be achieved by attack after attack, the Dubs may sit back and allow Mayo to have the ball, if this happens we can only hope the long range shots go over the bar. A few goals will be needed also.
Hopefully Mayo play into the Hill in 1st half.
It’s what Mayo can do themselves that will win out on the day.
Man for man. 2017 is the template. Go out and play like ur life depends on it. Fight like dogs for every ball. Score more than dublin and we will win!!
This is simple, if too many players are sent out to do a man marking job then we won’t win.
Let the ball carriers run amok and put the Dubs on the backfoot.
If a goal is on, go for it, no handy taking the mark st close in positions.
I’ve rarely seen a player like Con. He has goal on his mind as soon as he gets possession. Once he has found his stride, he is pretty much impossible to stop. Quite a task to stop that. Lee did an excellent job on him in first half of 2019 semi, but in the 2nd half Con just caught fire for 10 mins and game over.
Those 12 minutes at the start of the 2nd half in 2019, Dublin destroyed us. Believe it or not, we actually won a fair share of our own kickouts. What killed us was our shooting and turnovers. I think first goal came directly from a shot from Paddy Durcan that dropped just short. We need to try and starve them of possession, like we did to Kerry in 2nd half of 2019 league final. Cliffford was immense in that 1st half, but he was quiet in 2nd half.
We have to focus on what we are good at too. All of our defenders are going to have their hands full, but we will need them bombing forward too as much as possible. That’s when we are at our best. But to get the balance right will be tricky.
KM79 you’re not wrong on most of that except there is only 12 months between Cillian and Shane Walsh. Cillian turned 29 in may and Walsh turned 28 in June of this year. Only the one year between them, yet as you say Cillian still has doubters despite holding the record for most scores in the championship, most Goals in the championship, highest scores in a single game in the championship, highest average scores per game in the championship and others I’m sure.
I’d say we will need to score at least 2 goals . 1 will not be enough. And 20 points to go with the 2 goals . We can’t concede ourselves. All of the above we know . I was listening to Colm Nally on the Ahh Ref podcast . He mentioned 3 things we need in order to beat the Dubs. 1. We have to be in the top of our game . 2. The Dubs have to be a little off and 3 The ref has to be on the top of his game and not give soft frees to them . Colm referenced the Meath and Dublin game on how I think it was Fenton who fouled the Meath player and no penalty . Dublin then went up the field they then get a penalty and bang game is destroyed . I think it was Conor Lane who was the man in the middle . Yes the match ups are important but we have to go out do our stuff and impose ourselves on them play our game and keep fucking running at them . I do believe that the Galway game will stand to us . It’s the best chance we have had in a long time . If we do win and don’t get me wrong it will be an unbelievable achievement we can’t act as if we have won an All Ireland because you will have Kerry or Tyrone waiting to beat us .
Its time to believe because you can be sure as shite Horan will have the lads believing and rearing for a crack at them .
Definitely Eoghan from the start to run hard at them – hope Darren Coen gets a run in 2nd half – our most accurate score taker. Maigh Eo Abú.
Darren Coen came on late against them last year and got clearly ran by Davey Byrne. The bench that comes on has to have legs. My bench impact would be:
– Conor OShea
– Jordan Flynn
– Paul Towey
– Enda Hession
– Colm Boyle
I am undecided on both McLoughlins starting or impact subs.
I think Stephen Coen would do a smarter job on Niall Scully.
Big Covid outbreak in Tyrone. There’s talk the other semi final could be postponed for a week.
James Carr and Darren Coen came on in final last year and both spent too much time out around the middle of field chasing players and trying to win ball.
That is not their game- they are both inside forwards and finishers.
If you want runners and lads winning ball around midfield – you dont bring these lads on.
Rock wont spend much time chasing lads around midfield the next day. He will be inside on the end of moves
@South Mayo Exile. Looking back at that game last night we really lost our shape. I think it was a lack of legs.
Are people still waiting on emails regarding tickets?
Big covid outbreak in Tyrone could banjax this whole championship.
Would be a big asterix on any victory acheived in a competition where one of the contenders was hampered with covid absentees imo
I still havent got a ticket for next saturday, which is particulalry frustrating as a mayo man who plays his club football in dublin 🙁
Delivered in the door yesterday by ‘An Post, The results of my ‘Notradamus’ exams again with a PS written on the bottom of the page,.. PS, don’t go predicting what’s going to happen between Dublin and Mayo, .. The results weren’t great, but they said there was hope for me.. You need a crash 6 day course in Hogwarts, just to get the fine tuning.. This prediction Lark, is a very delicate matter of balance and knowledge, and pure luck if I was to get it right.. It helps to know someone on the inside track, or someone who knows someone and is usually right.. Now that the indoor wet Pubs are open again, you never know what bit of valuable information a person might get, between now and next Saturday.. Despite my Notradamus results not being what I had hoped, I have done my homework, even went too far with my homework..but that didn’t go to plan at all.. In my eagerness to find out more about the finer points of Gaelic Football, didn’t I head to the Kingdom of Kerry, the place that was home for Sam Maguire even more often than Dublin.. Killgarven was the spot, never having been to Killgarven before, I didn’t know what to do, and what Wet Pub would be my fountain of knowledge for to get the extra points I needed for my Notradamus exams.. Anyhow was it Providence or not?. But didn’t I hear a loud voice roaring, ‘Come clean, what have ye Dubs have agin the publicans in Kerry?’..more roaring, ‘God is in charge of the weather’..I was wondering for a moment if Ian Paisley had come back to life, but no, this booming voice had a soft southern lilt, as musical as it was nonsensical.. More biblical stuff, ‘I firmly believe that, the Kingdom of Kerry will win the All Ireland and dusent matter a dam what happens between Mayo and Dublin, to Hell with Global warming, or the country freezing for that matter, tis all a hoaz, we were elected by people of Kerry, to make Kerry great agin’..I must have had a few too many pints, because even though I know well that this can’t have happened, but not being used to pints for the last 9 months,.it took an awful effect on me, I think I might have been hallucinating in broad daylight, and I didn’t have any mushrooms or anything, there was no food being served in this Kerry wet pub… The Kerry Polkas were soon in full swing, but not the Kerry Polka you might see on TG4, or even in the Merchant the Saturday night before an All Ireland final when Kerry are playing..Twas more like a mixture of Love Island and a Rave I was at once in Amsterdam, when I got lost (again)… But definitely not the place to go to enhance your knowledge of the finer points of Gaelic Football..I came to my sences and decided it’s time to head for County Mayo, a nice sensible County, where we would never have Kerry Polkas like they have in Killgarven, the worst we might get up to would be painting a few sheep…I couldn’t wait to get back to the safety of County Mayo, and our painted sheep,.I put on the TV to get the news, a big good news story was afoot… Ireland was to have a special envoy at the UN for freedom of speech, what possibly could go wrong… Sure it’s a great little country after all!.. And I predict, nothing like this will ever happen again, Not.
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Just rewatched the 2020 AIF. It was closer than I remember. We were well capable of winning that game and we had opportunities. But there is zero question in my mind that the period around the 49 th-52 nd minute was pivotal. Long ball in to the edge of the square caught by Aido who was turning to take a shot on goal. Clearly mauled by Jonny Cooper and a clear black card. Coldrick right there but no black card. Two minutes later Fitzsimmons commits an utterly dangerous full frontal attack on Lee Keegan which was a clear red card for dangerous play( it is not hyperbole to suggest that this kind of utterly dangerous tackle should come with a three month ban-especially when it can be reviewed after the fact )Coldrick was standing within 3 meters of that foul. Fitzsimmons escapes ( no red card )
So we not only have to beat Dublin but we have to deal with this kind of “ incompetence “ by the referees. Only it’s not incompetence IMO. It can’t be. But there is little doubt that the two decisions taken together deprived us of a very different scenario. Now whether mentally we could have done it will always be debatable. But when you look back at all the games v Dublin since 2016 there are numerous examples of this kind of thing. The only ref I can think of who you can trust to be scrupulously fair is David Gough. It is such a different feeling playing with him refereeing. He is sharp, he is fair,transparent and there is never any mendacity with him. In no way am I saying that Mayo are saints but there is a clear difference in the way the decisions are administered favoring Dublin.
Jonny Cooper is an egregious culprit all around and it’s no fluke that the one who sent him off ( after warnings and cards )in an All Ireland Final was Gough. That game was IMO Dublins best ever game and proved to me that they were the greatest team of all time without a shadow of a doubt. And they proved it with David Gough refereeing.
Good analysis FoodforThought – David Gough is an outstanding referee & an sets the standard for what a GAA ref should be. Up Mayo
No doubt about it, David Gough is the best Ref,…. Our women will need a very good Ref as well, if the Donegal/Dublin semifinal was anything to go by.. Fouling definitely paid for the Dubs in that game,.
Does anyone on here really believe that The Dubs will get a ref that will not be helpful to them after all the past history with refs ?
Never mind the refs. We all know the story . But the 2 goals we gave away in last years final cannot be blamed on a referee. Or in any other finals either. We can concede goals next week in the same fashion or it will be up hill battle. Concentration is the big thing and as u get older its harder to maintain fir full game. Keegan is a bit of a worry for me
Hope Paul Faloon is the ref for our game. The Down man is a top ref. Dublin a point down 5 minutes into injury time in last year’s U20 final v Galway.A Dublin forward falls to the ground approx 6 metres from goal. Faloon didn’t bow to pressure as 99 out of 100 refs would have. No he stuck to his guns and Galway come out with ball. Can’t say that about many refs when playing Dublin.
Even if they look a teeny bit vulnerable , Dublin are still the most composed, most ruthless team out there. There is no way they are going to be beaten without a very special performance. The fact that that performance needs ( in our case ) to come at semi-final time means that(were we to win )we could be very vulnerable in the final. I suppose that ( being from Mayo)we should be careful what we wish for.
Having said that, our run in to the semi final seems well timed. I think we are getting very good at peaking at the right time. Kudos to the coaching staff. We are without a doubt a Croke Park team. But so are they.
What I hope for in this semi final is the following. In general it’s a template for how we might eventually get to their level. I think our ( new)team are still too young to beat these guys. I hope of course I’m wrong. Very wrong. Certainly this is a great opportunity.
1. Play composed ,patient ,ruthless football for 80 minutes.
2. Try for shot efficiency of 90%+
3. Avoid the avoidable turnovers.
4. Forwards need to do more Andy Moran style runs off the ball as soon as the ball breaks our way.
5. Stay calm. Don’t get sent off.
6. Try to avoid early goals. Or goals.
7. Manage our first half energy. Don’t leave everything on the field with a half still to play. Dublin could claw back most deficits so getting a runaway score in the first half would be no guarantee against them.
8. Accept that almost everything has to go right for us while they could play at <90% and win.
9. I believe that direct kicking football has a big place in trying to beat them. Kicking ball down along the sidelines and running at them directly from there. They crowd the middle of the field so going over the top with an Aido Arrow has to be an option. I think that running down the center might not be too effective if they’ve had time to get defense in place.
10. Our players need to go into the contest both relaxed and able to take in what’s happening. Or relaxed and able to be hyper vigilant if you will. That’s where composure comes in.
11. We have to have a realistic plan to actually win ( not like Kildare who seemed to just want to keep the score down )
12. We need to be super aggressive in attack.
13. We have to be switched on for all frees, score taking opportunities ,penalties etc and assume that the ball will come back into play off the crossbar or post.
14. We can not drop any ball short to the keeper.
15. If we are a man up ( black card or other) then the first thing to do is put Aidan on the edge of the square and have him stay there. This will draw two defenders to mind him. We now will have a two player outfield advantage. We then have to show we mean to use that outlet by pumping ball into him. I say this because we didn’t do it last year and Dublin have consistently given us this advantage. We have never taken advantage of it.
16. In fact if we do all of these things I’ll go as far as saying we will win the game. Make that most games.
*Covid remains a wild variable that could help or hinder any team.
Are people still waiting on email regarding tickets?
Tonights semi final had a capacity of 24k with no one in the hill. Next weeks game also has the same capacity but with people in the hill. Is that a bit strange? There will obviously be less people in the stands next saturday in comparison to tonight. Does anyone know if the hill is open for the kerry game?
Yes Aidan
How can the 3 stands take 24k socially distanced this week but not next week? And 40k in the stadium the week after. Madness
I don’t know why I am doing it to myself but I am still holding out hope that the attendance will be upped to 24k plus whatever Hill tickets have been released.
I can not accept that I will not be in attendance 🙁
You seem confident something special is gonna happen next Saturday km79? I think a lot of people will cry such happy tears if it happens
Yeah it just has that feeling about it
Rightly or wrongly the aura of invincibility around the Dubs has weakened
There is just a few things going on around them that are unusual.
They are there for the taking despite all our retirements and Cillians injury
Ultimately we may still fall short (and this may well come down to Cillians injury !) but I can’t shake the feeling we will do it and I’ll be sick not to be there