Well, that wasn’t much fun. There was always a danger that tonight’s match against Dublin was going to provide us with a reality check and it sure proved to be that. We were flat, bereft of ideas and utterly lacking in conviction. We ended up well beaten by a Dublin team who never left second gear, for the simple reason that they never had to.
Two years ago we suffered a similar League thumping at Croke Park but the one thing I expected to see from us tonight was a fully committed performance, one that should have seen us make this contest a competitive one. That simply didn’t happen.
From the off, we invited Dublin onto us. They got the night’s two opening scores and 14 minutes were on the clock before we got the scoreboard moving, thanks to a 60-yard free converted by Robbie Hennelly after a foul on Aidan O’Shea.
A few minutes later Fionn McDonagh – whose performance tonight was a rare positive for us – took possession at pace and fired confidently over to level it up.
It looked then like we were settling nicely into this contest but almost immediately any such thoughts were blown out of the water. Cormac Costello gave Keith Higgins the slip out on the wing, from where he quickly bore down on goal and lashed the ball to the net.
Ger Cafferkey got injured in the lead-up to that score and that was the end of Ger’s involvement in proceedings. The unfortunate Ballina man was replaced by Chris Barrett.
We suffered another blow soon after, this one self-inflicted. Lee Keegan committed a third man tackle right in front of the ref’s nose and he was off into the sin bin for his troubles.
By the time Lee came back on just before half-time Dublin were six to the good and our night had gone from bad to worse as Jason Doherty’s penalty – following a foul in the square on the same player – was saved by Evan Comerford. Robbie’s point from the resultant ’45 was welcome but the penalty miss meant we’d passed up on a great chance to get back into the game.
Further injuries blighted our cause. Ciaran Treacy hobbled off before the break, with Kevin McLoughlin coming on for him and Paddy Durcan also failed to appear for the second half due to a knock he’d picked up. Seamus O’Shea came on for Paddy, with Donal Vaughan shifting to wing-back.
Dublin should, in truth, have been out of sight by half-time. Robbie had by then saved our bacon in one-on-one situations no fewer than four times, and he’d go on pull off two further saves to deny Dublin goals in the second half. Only for Robbie’s repeated interventions we could have conceded a hatful of goals tonight.
As it was, Dublin didn’t need goals to beat us at their leisure. With all those enforced changes, we had no shape at all in the second half and it was evident from a long way out that this wasn’t going to end well for us.
Mattie Ruane’s nice point on the resumption was, then, a false dawn for us and we failed to score again for nearly another 15 minutes. That one – stabbed over by Kevin McLoughlin – was, however, followed soon after by another stupid black card offence, this time a daft hand trip by Seamus O’Shea on Fenton as he tried to wriggle clear.
Dublin failed to add to their total during Sheamie’s absence, but neither did we, as we hacked pot shot after wild pot shot wide. We had a total of 14 wides tonight, a good number of which bordered on horrific.
A collective groan went up amongst the 35,213 attendance when it was announced that 7 minutes of additional time would be played. Dublin added two further scores during this period – both from Dean Rock, who was named to start but didn’t, as Ciaran Kilkenny lined out at full-forward instead – we added nothing and we ended up losing by eight points.
There’s little point dwelling much more on tonight’s disappointing performance. We were second-best in every facet of the play tonight and, if anything, the scoreline flattered us. It was a rubbish display, pure and simple.
Best for us on the night were Robbie Hennelly, whose excelleet shot-stopping helped keep the losing margin down, and Fionn McDonagh, who worked hard, ran all evening and got a nice point from play. Mattie Ruane didn’t do bad on his debut either, in a sector where we badly missed the injured Diarmuid O’Connor.
That injury, combined with all the other personnel losses we suffered in the course of tonight’s game, helps, at least in part, to explain our disjointed effort tonight. It doesn’t, though, provide a sufficient reason as to why, yet again, we turned up half-cooked for a League contest against the top team in the country.
So, it’s back to earth with a bump for us. No longer top of the table and with two further tough assignments coming rapidly down the tracks at us. The first of these occurs this night week, back at MacHale Park, where Galway provide the opposition.
After tonight’s loss at Croke Park, this is now a match we need to get something out of. If we’re to do this, however, it’ll take a performance several notches up from the flat and very disappointing display the lads put in at HQ this evening.
Mayo; Robbie Hennelly (0-2, a free and a ’45); Brendan Harrison, Ger Cafferkey, Keith Higgins; Lee Keegan, Colm Boyle, Paddy Durcan; Matthew Ruane (0-1), Donal Vaughan; Fionn McDonagh (0-1), Aidan O’Shea, Ciaran Treacy; Andy Moran, Brian Reape, Jason Doherty (0-2, frees). Subs: Chris Barrett for Cafferkey, Kevin McLoughlin (0-1) for Treacy, Seamus O’Shea for Durcan, Fergal Boland for Moran, Stephen Coen for Reape.
I’ve no audio report, I’m afraid, for this match – I recorded it as normal after the game but the app I use for it malfunctioned so I’ve no end product to display. Appropriate, you might say, in light of tonight’s performance.
Dublin’s Cormac Costello was deservedly given the MOTM award for his performance tonight but, on a very disappointing night for us, who was our best performer? You can vote on that here.
Who was our Man of the Match against Dublin? Pick your top three performers.
- Robbie Hennelly (73%, 577 Votes)
- Fionn McDonagh (9%, 72 Votes)
- Matthew Ruane (5%, 37 Votes)
- Aidan O'Shea (3%, 22 Votes)
- Keith Higgins (2%, 19 Votes)
- Andy Moran (1%, 10 Votes)
- Stephen Coen (1%, 9 Votes)
- Fergal Boland (1%, 8 Votes)
- Ger Cafferkey (1%, 5 Votes)
- Lee Keegan (1%, 4 Votes)
- Brendan Harrison (1%, 4 Votes)
- Donal Vaughan (0%, 3 Votes)
- Ciaran Treacy (0%, 3 Votes)
- Jason Doherty (0%, 3 Votes)
- Chris Barrett (0%, 3 Votes)
- Brian Reape (0%, 2 Votes)
- Kevin McLoughlin (0%, 2 Votes)
- Paddy Durcan (0%, 1 Votes)
- Colm Boyle (0%, 1 Votes)
- Seamus O'Shea (0%, 1 Votes)
Total Voters: 786
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A quick mention for the ladies who went down fighting in this evening’s curtain-raiser. They lost to Dublin by two points, on a scoreline of 1-17 to 3-9.
I didn’t make it into Croke Park in time myself to see this game and, by the sounds of it, I missed a cracking contest. Mayo led by six points at one stage in the first half and they went in at half-time four points in front. Dublin gradually reeled them back in, however, and two late points sealed the win for the reigning League and All-Ireland champions.
Thank god we have 6 points it’s good to see were we really are it’s only February it was a off day don’t panic it’s only February safe home every one
Abject surrender
NOTE TO MAYO TEAM
You are allowed to tackle the Dublin players hard
Over and out
And please let’s have none of this it’s only February shite. We need to man up
one of the worst displays by Mayo in a long time , lucky they didnt concede four or five more goals. only plus from game was Hennelly in goals , Ruane in midfield did ok and also McDonagh best of forwards. Could be last starting game for Andy , the forwards never looked like scoring . Will be interesting to see team for next week against Galway and how they perform
Agreed the performance was worse than the defeat. The full back line was toasted and the dubs contributed to a poor game.
Speedy recovery to the umpire!
I would love to see Mayo with a player like Cormac Costello in the FF line. Pure pace to go with the intelligence of Moran/COC. There was a serious lack of pace in that Mayo FF line tonight. Ball going in and coming straight back out.
Well beaten all over the field. Only for a MOTM performance from Rob what would the margin of defeat be? only 0-7 scored and 0-14 kicked wide dreadful stuff, big improvement needed for Galway next.
Biggest problem was lack of pace in FB line- second to every ball in 1st half. Not sure how that can change for ship- that’s our biggest worry.
Dublin defended well but I felt very let down by forward performance- shocking.
It’s just one league match but there’s no sign of pacy new full backs – that will be our chip undoing I fear.
Hennelly excellent.
Outclassed from 1 to 15. Only for a good goalkeeping display by hennelly. It could have been an awful lot worse. A reality check. Some people were geting carried away after playing the worst 3 teams in the league
Tonight was always a big ask. Dublin were under pressure and the fact they brought Kilkenny and O’Sullivan back in demonstrated that in full.
Poor performance from us, no doubt about that. But I’d back James to learn from that and use the chastening experience to school the lads.
Biggest worry for me was the lethargy from Keegan. Deserved black card and could have received another. Offered nothing with the ball either.
The early injuries to Paddy and Ger didn’t help either.
Would ye relax, it’s dublin in Croker. Anyone who thinks that anyone will come near them is fooling themselves. It’s February, we have a chance at Connacht and hopefully will be competitive in the super 8’s but unless there’s a major shift in thinking in the GAA the years Dublin don’t win the all Ireland will be the exception .hennelly and Ruane the only plus’s from tonight, I expect a bounce back against Galway
We were worse in 2016 in league and came back in the Summer.
That was shocking no intensity Dublin just ran over us
Oh well. Plenty a heroes on here all week saying we should go for the dubs, we’ll beat them, etc etc etc. bit of a reality check for ye. we were never gunna get close to them. Should a started more young lads, its not fair sendin certain seasoned players out there, lambs to the slaughter stuff. Disappointed plunkett and diskin never came on, poor subs policy by james.
Need a target man to win the ball up front.. all too predictable.. andy is a marked man. one starting forward scored from play.. very important to win next wk!!
Reape really needs to up his work rate off at the ball and aggression when going for the ball if he is going to make it. Unfortunately he hasn’t got real pace.
Would like to see more of Eoin o Donoghue.
Why isn’t he getting more game time.
2 black cards, 20 mins against dublin with 14 men cant be done.
Fionn mcdonagh done well.
Higgins will be blamed for the goal but what was colm boyle doing.
Could be worse
Poor performance. Can’t kick ball at the target. Too many missed passes leading to turnovers. Missed near free and penalty. Our defenders were 2/3 metres of their man compared to the Dubs. In truth we are not near the level of the Dubs. Should have been beaten by more.
Hi All,
Hard night for Mayo tonight and as all Mayo people will know I always and will in the future always wish Mayo the very best. This evening I met some amount of sound Mayo people. However I hope I don’t offend this poster but Mayo88 I have looked back at your comments which I acknowledge you are completely entitled to post but please look back at them and hopefully you see how apparent it is how much you hate us Dubs. I always find everyone on this site respectful and very sound but some of Mayo88s comments lately are frustrating.
Kind Regards
Martin the Dub
– it’s difficult enough to compete with the Dubs without missing two men for 20 mins. I did not see the Keegan black card but SOS was a black as was Cooper but of course he did not get one
– Then add 14 wides 10 of which were attrocious, some crazy missed passes, a penalty hit with the power of a 7 year old and the regulation missed 20 yard free and boy did we make it easy for them.
– Robbie our MOM as he prevented at least three more goals going in. Fionn and Ruane stood up well and Treacy was doing fine until injured.
– Higgins prevented a few scores in open play but Costello won every ball that went in which was a smart move by Gavin.
– Galway match is a must win match for so many reasons. Start the same 15 again, surely they cannot be as bad two weekends in a row.
Keegan deserved his black card was a stupid body check off the ball and is a black. A Dublin player got one for less for shoulder on Cillian in final a few years ago. Coppers wasnt a black was a clear pull back not a pull dowm a ref was right. Seamie was unlucky was no intention in it but can understand why ref gave black it was a hand trip which is a black but very unlucky as there was no intent.
Reape not up to it yet. Scored a dodgy goal against Roscommon after overcarring the ball hasnt done much since. Hennelly and Ruane the only players you could say played well. Couod have been a lot worse only for Hennelly
Cooper should have got black but I thought we got lucky with Harrison. He pulled Mannion down just outside the small square. Keegan definitely a black but seamie harsh for a hand trip. No ref decisions decided this match however.
Never expected us to win the game being honest but the performance was much worse than I imagined. Hennelly was excellent while Ruane and McDonagh can be happy with their outings but there was nothing apart from that.
Some of the established players were way off the pace. Hopefully we’re in the middle of a heavy training period. If not, i feel a few players might have seen their day at this level.
Dublin dominance will kill the GAA
Years from now it will be a club game with inter county a distraction
From a neutral viewpoint I was very disappointed with mayos transition from their defense to attack. People are giving out about the mayo forwards (with justification) but in their defense Mayo were running the ball and the initial Dublin defense which is set up to slow them did their job and by the time the ball reached the Dublin defensive area the dubs were well in full lock down. The inside forwards had little option but to run out of the danger area before they had any chance of getting the ball. They themselves then became part of pass the parcel untill someone took a potshot and registered another demoralizing wide or dropped ball.
Kerry got the better of the dubs because of our fast transition and incessant tackling and harrying of the dubs as they came forward. Of course the dubs were playing at home tonight and they have an extra two weeks of hard training done since we pipped them. Dublin could and indeed should have won that game by a far more handsome margin so Gavin knows he has much to do. Horan will also learn much from the encounter and I hope he will instruct and train his team to move the ball at pace with the foot to break or at least disrupt the organization of the Dublin defense. The dubs are beatable but only if you make them shoot from the hip, if they dictate or control the pace they will take the opposing team apart, brick by brick. Gavin May have one fault in that his team operate so regularly under controlled conditions with set plays and pre practiced moves that if an opposing team can rattle them and disorganize them with pace and lightning transition even if it is pushing the envelope or even risky. In saying that the dubs have some absolute stand out instinctive forwards who can do something sublime in the blink of an eye. I think that they will be hard to stop but I do believe it can be done. Perhaps I dream !!!
That was not good from Mayo and there is no way to gloss over the result. Dublin had to perform tonight and they did there job with aplomb. Fair play and no excuses . Better team hammered us out the gate. We must do better and we can do better. That is the only positive I can take from tonight. Back to the Guinness. Our players don’t have that luxury. I’m fucked off for the men who represent us and hope that they can do themselves justice next time. Good man Robbie Heneely he saved us from an unmerciful bating. Onward
When u play the dubs in Croker there is no place to hide and weaknesses are quickly exposed. The nonsense down the years about Keith being a man marker has to stop, he never was, since Sheridan of Meath roasted him in Croker in 2009/10 to O’Donoghue in 2014 to Rock scoring 3 points off him in both 16 & 17. He’s brilliant at being the extra man in defence who can carry the ball. Also Horan really has got to stop playing Andy Moran, whether he plays well or badly he won’t last the game so why start him? The only positives were Ruane and McDonagh, and Reape will have learned a lot. It’s now time to give Plunkett, McCormack, Ruane, McDonagh, boland, Reape, Diskin the next 3 league games, and I would add drake and Crowe in the fb line too. Nothing to lose.
After sitting through that I wonder how many or if any of the Mayo guys actually believed they could win, the heads seemed to drop a bit after the Dublin goal. Brought me back to the bad old days, the belief just was’nt there, the penalty miss was terrible.
Agree with much of Olives take above but we have to take positives out of it. Ruane and McDonagh covered a lot of ground and never gave up heart. McDonagh needs to tidy his tackling. Treacy was shaping up well. Horan has a problem with Keegan. It’s a card in almost every game and last two for off the ball stuff. Someone off the pitch is man marking Keegan and he needs to find away to play within the rules very quickly.
Worryingly we did not create goal chance and on the evidence of tonight, Reape not up for the big occasion. Looked frustrated and quite tempremental as the game wore on,ballooning the ball or misplacing passes. I would continue to persever with him at this stage but much improved performance required.
Hope we have Diskin back for Galway match and also I would like to see McCormack
Not all doom and gloom…..
Negatives.. Too many established players way off the pace, maybe the early return in late Oct has something to do with it..
Poor shooting, 14 wides.
Positives. Matt Ruane i thought was way ahead of Vaughan.. Mc Donagh is a real find.. Hennelly saves stopped it been a rout.
I’d expect a massive improvement next Sat and i think ye still will beat Galway, however James needs to give more newbies a run.
Very poor, not in same league as Dubs, they had 2 to 3 players free all night. Poor on pitch. Poor on line. This was a reality check. The only positives were Hennelly and Ruane. Let’s hope we can bounce back next Sat might.
A reality check for those who were getting a little ahead of themselves in recent weeks. Forward play was putrid – some unforgivable shooting. 6 pts is all we’re going to have on the table at the conclusion of this league – let’s just hope it will be enough to retain our Div 1 status.
I thought Dublin were very good again. Focusing on their 5 in a row they may even be improving and were worthy easy winners this evening.
We were mediocre until we got to about 50 yards out and then too many 4 foot hand passes. Passes that were not moving the ball away from the dublin tacklers.
Dublin going forward had open men, wide open men whereas we didn’t seem to have an open man for most of the night.
Tonight was our 1st big test of the year and there can be very little positives taken from it.
I think Ruane will make a fine player and did okay in patches.
I felt Dublin were only in 3rd gear and bossed us from start to finish.
It’s tough on the team and don’t think they can have learned anything from this game to give them any confidence for a big year ahead.
Gavins persistence with their young goalie looks like it’s begining to pay off. He was good tonight. Costello was very good and the only team that can stop Dublin from their 5 in a row I feel is themselves.
We have to persist with finding new blood. I think Ruane Plunkett and McDonagh will be fine players for us in the future but all we can do is readjust for the remainder of the league.
Dissapointed of course, but I always felt it was going to be a tough night.
There will be better days ahead.
Puckout,
I have to say I disagree with you on Higgins, he has pace and more importantly instinct and pointing out what individual players scored against him without acknowledging the circumstances or overall game exchanges are a little unfair. Tonight he was expertly rounded by a series of excellent dummies which resulted in him slipping and a very fortunate bounce for a Dublin player that finished a cracker of a goal. To me there is no shame in that, he also mopped up several vital balls in high tempo goalmouth situations,, I think he’s a class act
Dublin are a better team than Mayo. My heart goes out to our legends but time has passed now .
Pathetic performance and I feel sorry for the Mayo fans who made the king journey uo today.
We are a million miles behind Dublin.
Gamechanger, I’ve watched Keith play most of 150 games, he’s a fabulous player but doesn’t mark tightly and doesn’t have the upper body strength to hold forwards out. Horan had him at 11 in the 13 final and he was causing Dublin awful problems until cunniffe got injured. I would have him and Andy as impact subs, imagine the damage he would do around the middle of the field in the last 25 mins!
Having a few pints before taking the road home (as a passenger)..raging…what a poor performance. Boland shooting for a point when 8 points down. Coen only coming on with 10 left. Andy behind his man all day. O’Shea trapped by the Dubs at 11 all day. Anyone else spot that James Horan spent most of the match with his hands in his pockets? I think that sends the wrong message to the players. The odd thing is he doesn’t seem to give any instructions to players during the match. Young McDonagh was in front of him for the second half and he didn’t give him any instructions/coaching. What good is spending the next week analysing the match when ya don’t bother trying to change it during the match??? Mayo had 16 in the backroom team during the warm up. Why??? That’s more than one per player. God knows how many more were in the stand doing stats…whats the point? Surely there comes a point when ya have enough people in the backroom team.
I’d worry about Mayo and injuries this year. 2 players were getting messages and sprays before throw in, paddy and ger went off by half time. That adds to Diarmuid??? and Cillian
@martin the Dub,
I don’t hate the Dublin County footballers, but I do HATE the club scene here in Dublin and probably the cause of my dislike in seeing the Dubs always winning, this has started since my kids got involved with playing Gaa, let this be for the record, my kids do not get a fair deal in their club, my Son has left Gaa altogether ( 13 years old ) and it was a struggle to get him to come to tonight’s game, he is getting a better deal from playing the Rugby in his School and his Rugby club, all the guys get a fair chance at the different levels, light years away from the backward thinking so called Gaa coaches in the club.
These so called coaches kids and their kids friends are nearly always picked for the A teams ( irrespective of their ability ), they are usually left there and the B and C players very seldom get promoted.
Even soccer is much fairer and all players get a chance, so maybe you are right, but funny enough this so called hatred appears to be getting stronger as I see the kids getting a raw deal in the club ( by the way, many other of the Dublin clubs are the same )
We were here in 2016 after a worse beating in Croke Park. Horan has to develop players and is trying to do that. They need time.
Dublin won has informed opinion suggested. But the inept performance is the real worry. I was surprised team started and set up as selected as it was oblivious the FB was going to be roasted with that format and it was… FF seriously weak and we were outclassed in every position. Interesting to hear what James Got an will have to say…the boards of Mayo fans who travelled deserve better and an explanation….
That might be your experience in terms of what you say happens up here at juvenile level, Mayo88, but it certainly doesn’t mirror mine with my club, in any respect.
Yes the Dub dominance thing coming more into the fore now. Worrying. Next Sat no real indicator as Galway will be missing a load of players and being honest the chasing pack of Kerry, Mayo, Galway, Tyrone, Monaghan and probably Donegal facing a tough ask.
@Puckout.
I thought the o’donoghue game you refer to that keith Higgins was brilliant.
So was o’donoghue.
It was maybe the best man on man match up I ever saw. Both players that day were brilliant.
O’donoghue did end up with a big tally but not because keith was poor.
Sometimes what a forward ends up scoring does tell the full tale of the tape.
I thought that was one of Keiths best ever games for mayo.
Does not tell the full tale of the tape. I meant.
People need get a grip and look at the game in reality. Horan and Mayo still working on things and how they are going to play, Dublin had virtually a full strength AI winning team on the field. We had a very inexperienced forward unit playing and it showed but they will improve. Add Cillian to that team and the score line would look a lot different. Dublin scored 1:12 which is hardly stellar. Saying players are finished after one game is rubbish, winning 3 games didn’t make us contenders and losing tonight doesn’t make us poor.
A badly needed reality check Some people on here during the week suggesting we could go toe to toe with Dublin No chance of that. In late summer when we have some momentum and our best 15 on the field to be replenished with a few good subs there might be the possibility of having a right go at Dublin. We did it in 2012 2013,2015 x 2 2016 x2 and 2017. Unfortunately we didn’t beat them in any of those games except 2012 before Gavin came along. Meanwhile in the league in those years with the exception of 2012 they beat us relatively easily. So why should tonight be any different Dublin beat us with ease despite playing way below their high standards. Some of our new boys looked out of their depth with the exception of McDonagh who was OK, no more. Robbie was excellent but just watch the 2013 AI final where he also made brilliant saves yet some Mayo people only remember Brogans goal that day where his indecisiveness on the high ball cost us Yet he made 3 brilliant saves which seem to have been lost to our selective memories. Tonight was poor but in honesty did we really expect to beat the Dubs. We need to be absolutely at full tilt to compete with them and we can’t reach that level in February. Of far more importance is the game v Galway next week. Once again tonight our best players were the ones who didn’t play. We can convince ourselves that they would have made the difference. I am pleased JH gave the young lads a chance and left a number of them on for a long stint. Hopefully it will show them and us just how far they have to go to compete against the best. There were guys here raving about Reape and Diskin and Moran and Treacy etc. Some of those guys will be much better for tonights experience (some didn’t get the chance tonight) but tonight was a learning experience and they realise now what they must aspire to. By the way Dublin were very average this evening.
Yes Sean Burke time has passed for some of our legends. The young kids must be allowed to develop. No point in pushing things this year.. Sam is going to Dublin. Delighted for Hennely by far the best keeper in the county,
Jesus Mayo88. You got the short straw with gaa clubs if you think the soccer clubs up here treat their young lad’s better. My young lad is on the autism spectrum. Would trip over his own feet and couldn’t catch a cold but is welcomed every time to training and matches, and giving great encouragement and care by his mentors and every single other team we play… He is so special, and made feel special by the great people in club football in Dublin (many who are country folk) it’s what makes me love the gaa so much. My other son involved in gaa and soccer..there is no comparison.. TRIALS in soccer for u10s.. Its all about winning.. Think your hatred has twisted you a bit… Poor fair tonight but still, early day’s. My kids were bit bored, but at least I could bring them, and plenty of chat with Mayo people around us.. Wouldn’t dream of bringing them to my beloved Bohs v Rovers next week, and the rugby gang.. The most uninclusive crowd you will ever come across…
Well said Mayomad. Nobody died except nearly the umpire. In fairness when I saw Boyle taking him out in front my eyes I just thought it was in keeping with Mayo’s night – bad to worse. I’m ashamed to say I laughed at the craziness of it until I thought he might be dead. That and news spreading of the Wales win was the most excitement in Croke Park tonight to be honest. 3rd woefully boring Mayo/Dublin league match in a row – similar performance last year and the year before. Injuries would be my biggest worry going forward. It’s only February but the past few weeks were beginning to feel like June/July. Back to our normal league ways and that February feeling.
Remind me again Norris who the 2017 all star goalie was ?
Maybe it was 2016.
A few things that I took from tonight’s performance
1.The Main thing I noticed was that Our Strength and Conditioning looks to be gone well behind Dublin since the 2015 16 and 17 games.
With Barry Solan gone from the setup Horan needs to appoint a top S and C coach quickly , our I fear for us in August in the Super 8s.
2.Where was Conor Diskin tonite , we badly needed some pace in that full forward line.He would have been a huge addition. Andy and Brian lacked pace in our full forward line tonite.
3.Left footed free taker, Why wasn’t Fionn McDonagh allowed take them frees Doc missed on the right hand side which were suited to a left footed free taker.Also , can’t understand how Charlestowns Jack Reilly didn’t get brought into the Mayo panel after trials,one of the best scoring forwards and best left footed free taker in the County.
4.We have to try the option of Aidan O’Shea in full forward v Dublin, he does not serm to play well out the field against a very speedy
Dublin team.
This was exactly what we didn’t want. Yes it was a severe reality check and sadly the reality seems to be that Dublin are in a different class to ourselves. They have great players all over the field. For our more seasoned players , whose only motivation at this stage has to be the hope of winning an All Ireland medal, this has to be utterly demoralising. I have to wonder how much appetite for training they will have from now on. For the newer lads it will have done absolutely nothing for their confidence. Don’t tell me it’s only February or that we have suffered similar defeats in the past and bounced back. Yes that is true and I fervently hope we can bounce back, but I feel this could be different. Time has moved on and may have taken its toll.
The Galway game will tell a tale.
Disappointing result but if I was Horan I’d keep
Developing new young players and give them a chance. Even at our best we weren’t able to beat Dublin since 2012 so tonight doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things nothing has changed. Not one person here mentioned Jason’s penalty if he had put that away it would have been a totally different game we never seem to get the breaks in Croke Park. We should beat Galway next Saturday there should be no excuse we ate playing at home, Comer is out and our lads should be hurting and want to give a performance. After that we have Kerry and Monaghan I’d use them 2 games to give game time to the likes of Cian Hanley and James Durcan if they are fit and continue with the newbies. If I was a betting man I’d say Kerry will win Sam this year their new forwards look the real deal.
Ahh bless us and save us , is there one mayo man who is familiar with forward play ?
It is only February, we need patience
The tone was set for the evening very early on with a ball in to Andy which he waited for. His marker didn’t wait but came like a high speed train and cleared it. As I said, that set the tone for the evening. Great performance from Hennelly which should clear any lingering doubts he has from the 2016 final. Also good showings from McDonagh and Ruane. I hope some of those injuries clear up before next weekend.
Sinead 37…. been scrolling through the comments, looking for something to book end a disappointing night in Dublin’s home venue ( paid for by all) …or is it Neutral venue (paid for by all) but definitely not paid for by Dublin. Great stuff that Wales won, I really am delighted, I will watch it tomorrow when I come back from Tuam, some spying on Galway and Kerry to be done… and Wales are Red and Green, Celts like ourselves. .. Not sure about the 64% of GAA delagates traitor’s, who sold out to the God of slithering up the greasy Pole to renumerated positions of power in the once reasonably fair Gaelic Athletic Association, who’s founder’s could only vomit at the sell out!
No need to panic but last night was the perfect opportunity to end the winless run against the dubs, They just seemed to have extra men all the time
This is not the first time we’ve got a trimming in the league against Dublin. It didn’t signal the end of the season then and it need not now. Horan is smart enough to take what he needs from a game like that, and use the reality check as a reminder of the standards required – from young and old alike.
To be honest the rank panick setting in from some posters is slightly ridiculous. It was a really poor performance but there’s no need to capitulate in February!
Dublin have us mentally 100%….not nice to watch.
“not one person here mentioned Jason’s penalty if he had put that away it would have been a totally different game we never seem to get the breaks in Croke Park”
As it would if Dublin had taken any of their about 6 clear goal chances…
We were completely outclassed and the scoreline flattered us greatly. We can’t be going down the road of attributing these defeats to bad luck, realism is very much required.
With the easy games out of the way, now is when we will really learn what we’re like. No gimmes from here
MayoMad (the one who posted a comment at 3:32) – please use a different handle as that one is already in use. I’ve added a 2 to it for now to distinguish you from the original.
@rock. Maybe there is no need for serious panic. But this was a game for a statement of intent for Mayo and it was a very poor performance. The fact is that although we can say that we have been bad in the league before and still ran Dublin close in September. We are still relying on the same players that we have been since Horan first took over in 2011. They cant keep doing it forever im afraid. Judging by Dublin last night. They look very strong without some regular starters. Theyre going to be very hard to stop for 5 in a row.
And I was called a troll after the Roscommon game when I said this team is finished at the top level, time has passed for the old timers. How many mayo players would make the Dublin team?
We have to find AoS best position. K Higgins as a sweeper or forward ? Andy a sub??Reape a bit timid. Must persist with Ruane
Like others, of course it is disappointing and we would be that bit more confident for the championship if we had been closer last night to Dublin. But for me, last night was far from a rubbish exercise. The first thing that bears mentioning is that when people talk about being only 6 weeks back training after a break such as is the case for Dublin, you are talking about collective training not individual fitness and conditioning. Apart from the fact that most of the Dublin lads are superb athletes, 19 of the 21 players used by them last night have been training collectively for years and it really shows. On the other hand 5 of our starting 15 knew nothing of the senior Mayo squad training before last November. Shock horror guys but it takes time. Secondly it was telling that we opted not to at least lay down any type of sweeper last night to counteract what we knew all too well was coming from the 4 in a row all-ireland team desperate for points and you have to ask yourself why – for me I think it is precisely for the reason so many here sought prior to the game which is to fully expose our new lads to how the very best in the business play and remind the older lads that this is going to be a tough journey again in 2019. The main concern I think as mentioned by another poster earlier is that we need a couple of players with real speed most especially one on the full back line and one on the full forward line. Will we find that, I believe so. It’s a big job but we have loads of options and we haven’t seen the full measure of this year’s squad yet by any means. Could Paddy D play corner back, will C Horan burst into that half back line yet, can Moran gradually add the physique to great speed and skill for corner forward, might the trio of Vaughan Seamie and Mattie provide enough of cover in the middle to allow Diarmuid back onto wing forward and produce that up and down football necessary to threaten the really top teams. How about bringing back a sublime finisher aka COC. And there are at least 7 other lads waiting in the wings some of whom have already proved their worth…..Its only Feb 24th, cheer up!!
Comments after a defeat outweigh comments after a victory by 3 to 1, it must be something in our psyche after all these years of heartbreak. You can nearly see the spittle and venom on the screen as some people type “I told ye so”, the anger that they feel towards the team for giving them hope and then to see it taken away again.
Last nights performance was poor, very poor and a worrying number of players went absent during the game. The fact that we pushed up on their kickouts and never managed to win one of them is a big concern. Only the most optimistic of supporters expected a win last night. On a positive I thought Ruane did well, McDonagh did okay as well. Next week is a big game and I’m hoping last nights performance provides a big bounce back against the herron chokers.
***for the people asking about Diskin and other players not contributing, if they’re not listed in the subs chances are they’re injured***
Disappointing to see that last night 2 careless sin bins. Too many hand passes going astray. Bad wides. Full forward line totally inept. But now for the positives. Rob was outstanding Ruane and mcdonagh whom I’d never seen before were very promising. Cillian will make a huge difference when he returns And of course the dubs are still very good
We all get carried away in defeat and victory. It’s only the league but I think last night shows we are a million miles away from winning Sam…yes we are good enough to beat the vast majority of counties but it’s that level Dublin are at and can get too that we have to get too if we are to have any chance.
I fear the Dublin dominance will be swapped eventually with Kerry dominance or maybe the 2 will start trading All Ireland’s…the GAA will live that but boring for true rest of us.
Horan has a dilemma now…press on and try to win it one more time or stick with and blood the young lads knowing it’s a 3/4 year plan.
He did say mayo were “surprised@ by Dublin’s intensity and physicality….really? I wasant
People just love being the one’s calling the end of this team. Look at me with my amazing foresight. You’ve been wrong numerous times before, one day you will be right ..
Mayo are a team in transition. Hence Horan giving all these young lads a go.
They were out of their depth tonight. Dublin had to win tonight.
Mayo were excellent in omagh. People got carried away. They were poor tonight. People will write their epitaph.
We need to play the 7 league matches. Take stock and see where we are at.
McDonagh & Ruane give hope. Reape was disappointing but hes never faced anything like that before and will learn.
Lets all calm down. Mayo are in the chasing pack. Dublin are on a different level but any team can be beaten in a one off match ..
No need to panic just yet. It’s a long season (hopefully!) and alot of the lads have ridiculous mileage on the clock so I expected a “there in body but not in soul” type performance. Some people would say we should have given more young lads a chance but you have to trust Horan that they might not be ready to be thrown in the deep end against Dublin where such a hiding would only set them back. Only the Mayo management team know where we are really at (and where we were supposed to be at) at this stage. Avoiding relegation and coasting through the league was probably our only target at the start. I wouldn’t be surprised (or bothered) if we were only marginally better against Galway next week. We could do with one more point to make sure of division 1 status, avoid any more serious injuries and practice on our sharpness for the championship. It might take a couple of years for a truly competitive team to emerge on the AI stage but I’d be looking to get our Connacht title back this year.
it would nearly have been better if we had shipped 4 or 5 goals in the first half so there is no papering over the cracks. in other years Horan setup the team man to go man at the back against the top teams. it didn’t work then and it’s not going to work this year either
It was all set up. Fantastic night (in February!!) for football, about 8 degrees and no wind or rain. Nearly 36,000 in the stadium. This is what it’s all about. That was as good as it got.
Still, I seem to have been at a different game from most. I felt we could have been well in it at the end of the first half, if:
– Andy had got that goal. Haven’t seen that mentioned but we took Dublin apart and Andy had a great chance but blasted it wide.
– Jason had goaded from the penalty. Took them apart again, but terrible kick from Jason, to add to the free already missed. Why no second free kicker lined up to replace Evan on the right?
– a string of chances had been pointed.
The critical thing though, and Gamechanger pointed it out, was our transitioning. Good as Robbie played, we couldn’t get over Dublin congesting the middle and by the time we hit the forwards, Dublin had everybody back. Contrast that with some turnovers Dublin won in their (really excellent) full back line. Within seconds Dublin were exerting huge pressure in the scoring zone and making it easy for themselves to score. By the way Comerford was second to Robbie for my man of the match. I thought he was excellent – a worrying thought for every county.
No doubt about it we were very flat after half time. Three injuries to the starting 15 didn’t help, but our ‘strong’ bench proved to be weak, because Kevin, Seamie, and Chrissie have had so little game time. They have to get game time so this was as good as any.
But, all in all, our shooting was terrible. 14 wides is a positive in that we created chances; however Brian Reape had at least 3 bad ones under my nose, and not under a helluva lot of pressure. He will need to bounce back from this and should be allowed to do so against Galway – a team by the way that are pretty good at transitioning quickly.
Good performances from Fionn, Matty and of course Robbie. What a performance and what a tribute to the guy. This was the man who was practically court-martialled after his last appearance in Croker – Sept 17. How about that for persistence and rising above it all. Other players please note.
Mayo88 On reflection your problem with Dublin clubs is not your 13 year old, or the club he plays with. If you take a step back you might find the answer closer to home. Being a dad is not always easy.
Think Father Time has caught up with some of our players , no need to name them here, as I said before 20 year old legs will always out run and out last 30 year old legs. Give the young players their chance remember they were the best in Ireland in 2016 so they cant be that far away now in their early twenties. Mayo did not look up to the required standard of fitness last night either and there Is no excuses for that there is a lot of money spent on this team so fitness and S & C should not be a problem
A great result for the doomsayers, I see one or two are back posting after saying nothing for the last 2 games.
Love seeing these new posters who arrive to foretell our demise in January and February. Lads if ye have the balls, PaddyPower will offer you 33/1 on Mayo to be relegated. Seems like a decent price for a team that’s “finished”.
Aside from that, bad night, bad result, a few players will want to forget last night and move on quickly.
Robbie answered his many critics and despite being left terribly exposed on too many occcasions performed admirably. Without him last night, the score line would have been far worse. Ruane, Barrett and McDonagh are probably the only others who got game time last night that I can say performed well last night. If you have 14 wides and 4 balls dropped into the keepers hands you’ll not win any game.
We need the 2 O’Connor boys back soon, that’s certainly evident from last night.
We need may need a point to guarantee Division 1 next year, but we probably won’t have to rely on that. 33/1 is there for the negative nellies that want to put their money where their mouths are.
I hope all the people who were on here last year rejoicing in Rochfords departure and Horan’s cannonisation don’t go running for cover if the goods aren’t delivered.
I hope yea are as vocal now in your support for James as yea were for his reappointment.
Some of the same people who were screaming for Rochford to be replaced are quick enough to offer all and any excuse for why Mayo might not be at the business end of things.
If yea were screaming for Rochford to be replaced (your comments are in the threads) then I hope to see you all on here giving your in depth analysis week on week on how well James is doing and indicating how and where he has improved the team.
Does anyone know how the mayo delegates voted in congress yesterday?
jesus christ! Some tripe by some posters on here.Higgins as an impact sub? hes one of the best players in the country.Mayo had an off day and lost to the best team of the last decade.No need to lose the plot. Take the learnings and move on.
All – I’ve a quick favour: can everyone commenting please resist the temptation to have a cut at everyone else when doing so? If you’ve a point to make, then please stick to it and leave it at that.
A reality check for sure but not the end of the world – we’ve been here before, and the important thing is we see a reaction against Galway. We must not let this set back undo the hard won momentum from our first 3 games. Dublin’s defensive structure held us at bay very easily and Galway will really fancy their chances of doing the same to us next week. There’s a lot to ponder for James & the backroom team but not a whole lot of time
Just can’t go one on one at the back against Dublin. Crazy tactics. No protection against goals whatsoever. Dubs could have scored 6.
We need to be far smarter defensively. Dubs forwards always going to win the race to the ball and then it is 1 on 1.
Scary stuff
Niall – Mayo delegates were planning to support the Donegal motion according to the Mayo News earlier in the week.
I have to agree with Catcol, there was alot of positives and learning points for both teams to take from the game last night. I’ve just watched it back, and, in no particular order:
* Both Keepers had great games. Hennelly stopped it being a rout, and highlights of his stopping display would make a training manual on how to do it. Comerford’s kickouts were almost all excellent, and a huge improvement on previous outings.
* Mayo had, by my count, 18 failed point chances (14 wides and 4 dropped short). Converting only half of these would have added a completely different complexion to the game. Some of the shot selection was piss poor, Leeroys attempt late in the second half was a glaring example of distance shooting borne of frustration. Again, this is something that can be worked on.
* Costello is hitting form this year, his goal was unstoppable.
* There were several “route one” plays where the Mayo attack carved Dublin’s defence open, right down the middle of the park. Andy’s goal chance is a good example.
* Ruane looks like the real deal, huge work rate. His point just after the start of the second half was a thing to behold.
* Higgins demise is greatly exaggerated. How many times was he the last line of defence last night?
* Nice to see Kilkenny back, he really is the heartbeat of the team.
* There is no replacing Rock when it comes to deadball accuracy. We missed 3 or 4 frees last night, that Deano would more than likely have mopped up.
Game was played in a good spirit, even if the tempo wasn’t the highest. You would expect alot more from both sides when the weather gets warmer.
Credit to all the people who went to Croke Park yesterday. Mighty supporters.
It would be great to get another win or 2 in this year’s league.
We will undoubtedly be a different team with the 2 O’connor lads back in action and I believe Ruane Plunkett and McDonagh will lay down a serious claim for a jersey.
Things will improve on last night. No doubt about that.
Things are always darkest before the dawn.
I hope we can enjoy the remainder of the league and then swing the lead in the championship.
@Jaden
Spot on about Ruane. He looks like he has buckets of talent.
Gamechanger 10 is spot on. going into hq last night I was thinking the 2 week break was going to be very evident in terms of the dubs putting a system into place. We have a lot of work to do and limited time to do it in
We were here before many times since 2011 we need to be ready for summer
The pitch was coming up very easily last night. Keith slipped 4 times from his studs getting caught in the loose turf. Other players were finding it tough too. No wonder we picked up injuries.
All in all I think it could have been a lot worse. It as said previously if we converted some of those easy chances, Andy’s one on one, the peno the game woukd have turned out differently. The first 15 Mins was very unlike both teams. There was an eery silence in croke park too for 35000 fans. No support for mayo and everyone sitting hoping to see something to cheer for.
Hello all, didn’t comment in a long while. It was hard to sit through the game last night with the stomach in knots and watch us destroyed aka league 2 years ago. I thought that as then we should have put out every young gun, rested the older lads and in losing more than likely keep cards close etc. The dubs are always up for it when green and red is in front of them and they tactically outclassed us by a mile. They pressed us with a blanket high up the pitch and we reverted to type..over and back and over …ball to Andy under serious pressure in a nomansland. and sin é. We on the other hand invited them onto us, allowed them to settle and enact well practised moves to carve defence open. Henelly -well fair play to the man, and one or two more gave their all. It’s no all doom summer is a different animal but the Dublin Duck is getting bigger on our backs.
I think we will be in the Super 8s ( which is a bullshit competition) and will be in the top 4. BUT the future for GAA in this country is BLUE. Some years ago to be involved in GAA in the capitol was for die-hards and “culcie-boggers ” and their offspring. Now it is the in thing for all even Totes-amaze-ball offspring. Which is actually a great thing for Irish culture. I moved home a few years ago after long stints in the “big citas” down south and east. In the past few years I have witnessed the vast gulf appear and it’s uncatchable. Have seen the Na Fianna machine in action underage and the rest of the country cannot match it. Between the money the get from the GAA and the money they amass from the hoards of members, wealthy benefactors the machine is oiled to the tits. Dublin has a “housing crisis” …well Mayo and many others have a Job and People crisis. 4500 jobs announced for the capitol since Jan – 150 for Mayo over 5 years…… The tipping point has been reached and even the mighty Kerry will do well in the next 5 to 10 years to stay with the elite blues for 15 mins in the first half.
We have one or 2 more shots left. I know James Horan will bust himself to make it this year. Please let the footballing Gods be in a green and red mood.
Second best all over the pitch. Moran was unusually poor but he did not have much help. Would not take too much from it, we did have a lot of Croker debutants in the starting 15.Need to be more agressive in the tackle.Indiscipline now a factor in all our games. Who will get sent off against Galway? Hard to win when shooting ourselves in the foot repeatedly.
Another awful display in Croker Park and you have to ask yourself why you spend 6 hours in your car to sit through it. Not to mention the cost. I didn’t expect Mayo to win but expected us to put in a performance on our return after not getting to Croker last year. Hennelly saved us from probably what could have been our worst ever defeat in headquarters. 2017 was atrocious but that was worse.
Galway next and I expect a huge improvement. We have to start by beating our neighbours before we can even dream of taking on the Dubs. Let’s see what happens next
Saturday night and move on from there.
Very little comment on new rules. Lee is going to have to cop on or we will be down to 14 a lot. Don’t know why we didn’t try forward marks – throw AoS into FF. I’m hoping we are saving them for Championship. Disagree about penalty it was a good strike Comerford was well off line. Cooper should have had a black card too.
What was wrong with my comment Willie Joe that it wasn’t allowed to be posted just there?
Well said Jaden and Gamechanger10.
I tried shouting last night but mostly dubs where I was in the davin behind the goal and quiet Mayo fans. A lot of neutrals in there too. Many younger people spent large parts of the match out smoking and drinking. That’s how much there was to shout for. Dubs around me left early. Actually met some great Dublin supporters and one lovely lad on the train who entertained my girls for me. The atmosphere was exactly like the two teams last 3 league meetings. Acceptance and boring but in the stands and on the pitch. Although I did hear some of Ye over in the Cusack as usual but no one would join me with Ye only my 4 year old daughter who shouted even at the end. My girls had a ball and I met my brother who I haven’t seen in months so another side to it all. Found a lovely photo of myself and my dad together at same match last year – you wouldn’t think we were trounced that day by the photo. Also it is only feb and the league. I just find it hard to get depressed at this stage of the process. I think we are all just so invested in our Mayo players and been through a lot that we are very ‘up’ or ‘down’ in our reactions. Keep the faith.
I will say though that like others I thought we would be competitive last night and that’s why people are disappointed. We got lured into feeling it’s summer with 3 league wins on the trot for first time in an age. Mayo are like a drug – extreme highs and extreme lows! Then we all meet somewhere in the middle after a day or two of getting it out of the system ?I actually thought Higgins played quite good last night except for the few dummies that led to slips. He helped save our bacon a few times. We pick up and move on to Galway and get behind the lads, esp people at home in Mayo who will see the lads about the place. Positivity. Best drug ever. For everyone.
Nice posts, Sinead37 and Catcol. I must admit I was really disappointed last night and wasn’t in the mood for any excuses. But as Gamechanger pointed out above I think the key element in a very bad showing last night was Dublin’s defensive dominance or lockdown at the back. They really let very little through. I think the inexperience of our forward newbies showed. And maybe that’s OK and necessary so learning happens. It’s not pretty sitting through it though and our forwards need to start purring.
I agree with Sinead37 – Keith Higgins stood out for me last night in covering ground, getting stuck in and making interceptions. He was a leader on a night when few others apart from Robbie showed that quality (for whatever reason). There was a bit of shell shock there last night, which I’m surprised about.
I miss Tom Parsons around the centre of the park but I know we have to look forward rather than back. I didn’t notice Mattie Ruane’s game last night but feel heartened to see other posters say he had a good game.
I also wish Aido could or would practise accurate point-taking. I know he has so many roles and responsibilities but he does get into scoring space and it’d give me immense personal satisfaction to see him get these over.
I thought Seamie looked fresh and like a solid pair of hands when he came on last night. I breathed a sigh of relief at this.
Lee was off the pace – he can only get better.
As Sinead37 suggests, onwards and upwards from here.
For Costello’s goal Boyler really took up a poor position. If Costelloe beat Keith (he did) he had a clear path to goal. Boyler needed to drop 5 yards back to be able to get over to Costello whilst still being able to cover a ball to a runner if Costello turns back out. Sorry but I have to say as brave and as combative as Boyler is Michael Plunkett plays with a lot more positional intelligence.
We really missed badly Michael Plunketts passing and linkup play coming out of defence.
From what I can see, Noel, it was only because it’s the first time you’ve posted a comment under that name. First comments automatically go into moderation. It’s up now.
Jaysus that was one of the worst performances I have seen from us in a long time.Dubs missed a lot as well . We are serious lacking pace in the back line .Higgins has lot a lot of pace but why then on at least 2 occasions was his man well in behind him? Fucking sickening!!!!
As great a player as he’s been, Boyler hasn’t played really well in a long time. Possibly not since 2017. Keegan’s form is also a worry since the shoulder op. Also, both of them are constantly in trouble with the ref these days. If one doesn’t get a card, more than likely the other will.
Apart from the goal, I thought Higgins had a reasonable game. He intercepted a lot of Dublin attacks. People are quick to write him off due to his age, but he still looks in great condition.
There is nothing like Mayo supporters for focusing on a player, picking specific plays and making an argument for attacking him. Keith Higgins has been and still is one of Mayos greatest players. He is vital for us, there simply is no one that can replace him.
I agree re. Keith, Mayomad.
Aidan O’Shea needs to be managed better, I watched him closely last night and I feel against Dublin he struggles with the pace of the game.James has to make a decision into trying at full forward to get any use out of him against them, when he gets the ball out the field he slows down the game too much giving time for Dublins runners to retreat around the 45 forming a wall around the D that we could never seem to penetrate last night.
Also when Mayo get any frees or 45s ,Aidan is standing out at centre forward instead of being in or around the square to get contact with a kick that might drop short.
Last night you could really notice that Donie Buckley ,Tony McEntee and Barry Solan had left the setup, our tackling was gone way back, and our Strength and Conditioning seemed way off Dublin the thing I think kept us so competitive against Dublin for the last 6 years and were supposed to be back training 2 months before Dublin.The attacking Crossmaglen template that McEntee had put in place in the All Ireland final in 2017 was nowhere to be seen last night.
We have 3 selectors now with little or no experience of County football never mind the top tier of Gaelic football.You look at Kerry now who have swiped Donie Buckley of us, Maurice Fitz as there forwards and kicking coach and have Jason McGahon from Armagh the most highly rated S and C coaches in Ireland with Bryan Cullen and they now look like the real challengers to this Dublin outfit while we seemed to have dropped of a level or 2.
Nail on the head jp you cant defend with your back to the ball.
But it is time to forget about that game and focus on the last 3.
2 out of 3 aint bad please god.
Ah I don’t know about that TH, we’ve been badly beaten all over the pitch by Dublin in every league match since 2014 & that’s not all down to being late back to training . I think 5/6 years with any one coach without winning is plenty enough .
Th
I’m afraid you have the wrong end of the stick there, Buckley left the green fields of Kerry for mayo and we lamented his decision. Jack o Connor and himself parted ( !!! ) company and it was the singly worst loss to Kerry in recent years. He is a fantastic defensive coach and it is my belief that if we hadn’t lost him we would have won at least one extra championship over the past six years, we have had fantastic forwards but we have been outscored as a result of our lack of a modern defensive structure or strategy.
What do you say, the Dubs were head & shoulders above us.
– They secured the majority of possession in the middle third
– This supplied the dynamic, pacey Dublin forward line who took on their man at every opportunity. Their forward line with Costello looks better than it has in the last few years, if he is consistant with frees he could dislodge Rock
– Our defence couldn’t withstand the incessant attacks and crumbled in the 1st half. The fullback line got very little cover from halfbacks or midfielders (hallmark of 1st Horan era) who should have provided goal side cover when the likes of Higgins was trying to slow Costello et al.
– We couldn’t attack fast enough to stop the Dublin defence setting and, hence, our attacks were limp and easily foiled.
To beat Dublin, Mayo’s middle third needs to dominate with break winning, turnovers and pressure on every Dublin move, we didn’t do that last night.
McLoughlin, DO’C & SOS will improve the middle third and now our young guns know the standard that’s required.
Thanks Wille Joe. The cookies autofilled the name section of the form…i didn’t even notice that. Cheers.