Our All-Ireland SFC preliminary quarter-final match against Galway has now been fixed for Pearse Stadium on Sunday at 3pm. The game will be televised by RTÉ.
The most recent time we played them there in the Championship was behind closed doors during the Covid pandemic when we beat them by a point in the Connacht final of 2020. For what it’s worth, that too was a knockout fixture.
At last we can plan ahead. Up Mayo.
Willlie joe, as i forecasted earlier,Galway got their way so their footballers and hurlers would not be playing on the same day at different venues. I feel sorry now for the Mayo ladies who are due to play Armagh on Sunday . As they say , money talks!
Whichever county wins will have one day less to prepare for their QF a week later than all the teams playing on the Saturday. Huge disadvantage.
Good to have clarity on the fixtures. This will cause controversy as the Tailteann Cup semis will no longer get centre stage on Sunday, and I can understand why the four competing counties in that competition will be unimpressed. But with Galway hurlers playing knockout on Saturday, something had to give.
Exactly @RosTown . At least we can plan ahead now,. Should be a great crowd .
I got a text from a mate lambasting McStsy and Co after the match .
I had to laugh as same buck sent a text praising management as the best brains in football after the Kerry match !!! LOL .
I’m actually looking forward to it big time already, proper knockout football in Galways back yard .Obviously there needs to be some hard calls on team selection and picking the 26 but I won’t die of shock if we beat Galway on Sunday. Both teams will be gunning for each other . Bring it on !!
Mayo should have refused to play on Sunday. Suits Galway injuries and the winner will have a day less to prepare for QF.
It’s all about the money. Keep those at the top happy.
Is it set in stone that the winner of this will be out again on the Saturday? Or are those games not just scheduled for the weekend of the 1st/2nd? I would have thought it would be 2 double headers played over both days in Croke Park. The winner of next weekends game will surely play on the Sunday?
Our bench with exception of Conroy very poor yesterday.Contributed to melt down.We lost our shape and I feel both Callinan and McHugh should have played yesterday.
Feel sorry for Conor…refusal to shoot and slow for peno.Reape also gave away vital point.
I think too many changes wont help and bringing in Cillian who is not fit and who did not score 2.6 on Saturday would play imto Galways hand.
Time for management to manage and leaders to stand up.
When we wanted a game moved earlier in the year that would have involved a 6 day turnaround Galway and the GAA refused to budge and we were told to to go whistle , yet now that Galway want a favour so to not clash with they’re Hurling match the GAA are only too willing to assist them , when will our county board grow a pair and refuse to bend so willingly every time Croke park tells them to
We messed it up yesterday by not ruthlessly closing out the 6 point advantage. We were 5 up against louth and we should never have conceeded a goal in the manner we did. The attack should have got fouled out near th3 middle straight after conroys goal and instead we let them tear down the middle.
Diarmuid, Hession, Conroy and Carr are all struggling to be 100% .. I’d expect Garway to win by a few points as they are due to beat us in a knockout game. We did it in limerick, salthill and croker but I think our luck will run out on Sunday. Going without experience of keegan and Mullins athletism was always going to tell at some point this season. Hopefully our younger lads do well Sunday. I’d take a win and a QF/Semi defeat right now 🙂
Can anyone explain is there a draw after the pre qualifiers??
Saturday would have been much better for Mayo. Joyce will certainly be happy with the extra day.
I’d assume the winner of Sunday will play the following Sunday in CP and not on the Saturday.
Great weekend in store Three matches to watch on Saturday, then onto Pearse Stadium on Sunday or for those who can’t travel the match is being shown live on RTE 1 Couldn’t be better.
@Joe2
There will be a draw after pre-lim knock out games.
Repeat of Provioncial finals and repeat of group game meetings to be avoided.
So if Mayo win we will play either Armagh/Dublin or Derry
If Galway win they will play either Kerry/Dublin or Derry
Unusually for me I’m still annoyed..Not at the loss but at the sheer needlessness of it..Just watched clips of Jordan Flynn from yesterday..The man looked like he would run through a wall..That was so scarce with Mayo team and I cannot see how a week is going to galvanise things.Still I’ve been wrong many a time so may this be one of them..
Can I bottle what Seàn Burke is drinking??
He is buzzing already..
@Mayonaze
Yes agreed, surely if player welfare is in anyways respected then the mayo or Galway QF game should be on the following Sunday.
Padraig ONeill – McHugh did play yesterday, do you mean start?
Huge game Sunday, dare I say it could be the defining game of the McStay era? If we lose on Sunday does Aidan and Cillian call time on it? Say what you like about them but they are still vitally important to a young team. We have to be more defensive. Can’t allow easy ball into Walsh whether he is off form or not. And none of this soft passing the ball around the 45 and not going at teams. Rochford seemed to do it a lot in Donegal to no success. Waste of time. Need to be direct and ask questions of teams
Green&Red – Very OTT assuming Sunday will be the defining game of the McStay era not even after one season.
I doubt even Aidan and Cillian expected an all-Ireland under the new management first year, if they weren’t in it for the long run, they would have retired this year like Lee did. Regardless of the result next Sunday both will line out for Mayo in 2024 as will 95% of the panel baring injuries
I didn’t say it would be I said it could be. Only time will tell but The last 3 teams to win the AI were in managers first years.
Will management be bold enough to make the hard decisions?
Will they go on form and leave Durcan,Ruane and Loftus on the subs bench.
Knock out football leaves no room for sentiment.
Seize the day.
When will Paul Towey get a run only proper out and out scoring forward in Mayo panel with Cillian and ROD.If any of our management team have proper knowledge of our players and oppostion they will know that Towey roasted Caherlistranes Johnny McGrath in the 2020 kicking 9 points off him 6 from play.https://www.the42.ie/galway-mayo-u20-championship-football-4998426-Feb2020/
I would start him at 15 Sunday
Clutching at straws here:
It’s not likely that I’m correct but I’m just trying to understand why “Mayo are sooo Mayo”
In summary I wonder if we may not be managing individual player’s energy correctly. Especially our big guys.
But it’s only a theory.
*Unless there is a collective “physical reason “for yesterday’s collapse by Mayo then I think we are done.If that was purely”psychological”then we have big problems and likely won’t progress.The good news is I don’t think it is purely psychological.
There are team structural /positional situations that were influential yesterday,if not decisive.
Also our energy management might be questioned.E.G.someone mentioned we may have “pre gamed” too intensely yesterday.You don’t see this on the TV so I don’t know. But I’ve wondered about this “late game fade out” by Mayo for a long time.It’s not new.It’s been the rule rather than the exception.Yesterday’s was at least the fourth time this year alone that we have faded badly at the end and coughed up big leads. What underlies this ? Surely it’s not all psychological ?
Also ,take all the All Ireland’s for example.Late game energy ,composure and decision making have been suspect.
But (to be fair)we also did not have potent forwards and relied too much on chaos and running and contact ( which also are energy sappers)
Is there something to this ?
Hypoglycemia affects decision making in a major way.This in turn is aggravated by dehydration.Could greater half time supplementation with water,electrolytes,and carbs ( adjusted for size/body weight )be worth looking at?)
I might be clutching at straws here but the erratic nature of the performances by Mayo and seeing how well honed they are as athletes,and how we play the game, makes them highly vulnerable to incorrect nutritional advice.Even marginally incorrect.Of course it applies differently to different players.
For example a big man might be far more susceptible to these effects.A big man who is horsing all day long(and to be fair -being horsed)if he is not correctly pre hydrated and nutritionally well supplied with (super)adequate glucose(glycogen)reserves and he is running all over the pitch in his spare time,then what do you expect.
Aido has extremely low body fat (and ergo “reserves”)for a big man.And ,to wit,he is by far the most aerobically active big man in the game.I stood next to him about 45 minutes after a game once and he was still sweating profusely.To my medical mind he was probably (almost certainly)borderline or actually hypoglycemic.
Another big Mayo player who used to turn the ball over a lot late in games was also I believe in the same boat.
I think attention to hydration,salt water and electrolyte replacement as well as carbohydrate (glucose)stores might be fruitful.I think attention to individual players (hint :it’s the big lads)might be even more rewarding.All our big men lacked energy in the closing stages yesterday.
Half time is interesting because last year we were extremely sluggish after half time in almost every game. The year before 2021 (during mandated water breaks -we progressed to the final,most notably with a late surge against Dublin in the semi final -after Aidan went off)
Of course the way we approach blanket defenses makes this worse (mentally and physically draining)and allows us to be counter attacked effectively.
We set ourselves up for “rope a dope” with this prolonged possession based game in the face of blanket defences.Essentially,teams are conserving their energy(massed defense)allowing us to self destruct.
One thing is for sure ,this “late game fade out is a thing “and has been for a long time.Other teams have figured us out though it’s clearly worse this year.And it seems almost unique to us among the top teams.
One further point.Games that come hot and heavy like in prior back door All Ireland efforts resulted in struggling against lesser opposition. So,if we were to beat Galway,a big if,it’s most important to focus on energy Re supply and mental stuff rather than anything else to give us a fighting chance the following week.
Last point. Is there no one on the sideline with the wit and bottle to run onto the pitch during stoppages with the water bottle? I realize the Maor Uisce is done but I still see other counties doing it.
I expect to be panned for my stupidity so have at it ! But to reiterate, I don’t think this is the only issue we have.
Funny how good a healer time is.. feeling much better this evening.. in all fairness if a knockout tie between our biggest rivals doesn’t get the juices flowing I don’t know what will. Its what championship is all about
Its mad in a way however to think this time next week one of galway and Mayo will be gone – but it certainly livens up these preliminaries. Beginning to get the feel the match could be completely dependent on the extent of Galway’s injuries. In all fairness if they’re down Silke, Kelly, McHugh, Molloy, and Comer from the all Ireland final last year its some blow for them… I believe all were nominated for an all star? Having either of Kelly and Comer alone would be massive for them
@John factually I don’t believe we were asked by the GAA to move on the league final date and time. All PJ said was he would turn up at the designated time. Like it or not they were the facts. The test would have been if the GAA had formally approached us for a change in date based on a Mayo request would we have acceded to same. I honestly don’t know. That request did not come to Galway as I understand it so your angst should be with the GAA fixtures committee.
I think are problems really started when we got the goal, we allowed them short kickouts and didn’t press them up the pitch, that allowed them to get foothold on the game, if we didn’t score the goal I think we would have won.
Still poor by us to allow them back into ut
Thats interesting food for thought and its also noteworthy that our nutrionist was away on holidays in Portugal until Saturday afternoon. Did our management team not take Cork seriously enough? Seems odd that members of our backroom team would be away in Portugal the week leading up to a big game
Unreal that Galway got their wishes and game changed and we asked for more time back I’m league flat no .
As others have said feel bad for mayo ladies. Also talteann cup teams are bound to be a bit annoyed to don’t blame them .
Management must make a big statement Sunday and drop a few players who were not up to the standard in the last 2 games
Paul Towey is well suited to Johnny McGrath as hes Galways smallest and lightest player, this will suit Towey as ball winning and beating his man has been his weakness ,he will score if hes gets the chance.
Sam Callinan to pick up Shane Walsh did very well on him in League Final, Jack Coyne on Ian Burke or Rob Finnerty, David McBrien on Damien Comer and Paddy Durcan on Peter Cooke.Hession on Johnny Heaney.
Bring Aido out to CHF his more natural position on a provincial ground to target the aerial threat of McDaid/Conroy/Maher/Cooke.Aido would suit Conroy as he has the legs for him.Put Carr in at FF close to Goal.
Give Flynn or DOC the job to pick up McDaid , hes the engine room of Galway.
Team for Galway
1.Reape
2.Coyne
3.McBrien
4.Callinan
5.Durcan
6.Hession
7.McLaughlin
8.Flynn
9.DOC
10.ROD
11.Aido
12.Ruane
13.Conroy
14.Carr
15.Towey
Food 4 Thought – Just on your point about fatigue/ intensity, the team warm up was directly in my field of view and I noticed that they were doing fast sprinting and a/b mini matches with intensive tackling and this went on for about 20 mins.
In the Kerry game, the entire Mayo warm revolved around practicing points and frees from distance. They didn’t do that yesterday.
You might be on to something about why the team fades consistently in the last 15-20 mins of games. I did think myself that yesterday’s warm up was very intense.
Lads and selectors shouting at each other to make runs and receive passes.
There is a major assumption being made that the centre half back will be changed.I actually don’t believe that will happen.when mcstay was questioned about the positioning early on in league he replied that was all just noise and in the earlier league games it appeared as if Jason Doherty was being lined up as the replacement centre back
The championship starts Sunday. All or nothing like the old days. Exciting times.
@1985 who would you suggest for CHB ? Diarmuid o Connor maybe? Doubt it’ll be changed to.
I don’t know if Jason Doherty would be the right fit for that position could be wrong though..
All just noise , he cost us a penalty in the Ross game and the goal yesterday.Leeroy has cautioned his ability to defend before Ross game.
Well first of all I would play a defender at centre back
Ha @1985 it was mentioned before that some people thought diarmuid o Connor would be a good fit for that position. Even though he’s not a defender obviously.
One of the problems I saw yesterday is we don’t have enough ‘dawgs’ in the current team. No nasty snarly defenders who know how to see a game out and be cynical. I’m talking the Boyle, Keegan, Vaughan types. Even Chris Barrett had a great edge to him. You could argue O’Hora has it in him but thats about it. Jordan, Ryan and 2 O’Connors have it, but no one else in the back line. Every successfull sports team needs a few dawgs, we dont have enough and are therefore soft.
Diarmaid o Connor would have defensive instincts though.anyway don’t want it to turn into some sort of witch hunt on Conor Loftus.i will always remember that brilliant goal against Derry in 2017 and those two great goals in 2016 under 21 all Ireland final.I think he has been hung out to dry to a degree by an attempt to turn him into something that isn’t what suits his skillsets
Sean Hurson the man with the whistle for Sunday. At least he’s experienced !
@1985 yeah Conor loftus as I said yesterday has gotten a ridiculous amount of abuse that he doesn’t deserve . Yes for sure I think he’s been hung out to dry to CHB is a tough position I still think he’s a great player though just need to find his best position look at how aido has gone this year sure in the right position..
People with proposed teams with Durcan, Ruane and just dropping Loftus did not watch the same game as me yesterday.
I agree with Clare that a scapegoat is being made of Loftus, I am sure his role in the centre of defense depends on his colleagues stepping up to the mark.
Probably too late to change the system now.
Margie,don’t you remember two soft own goals from those defenders?
@1985 DoC has a terrible habit of running into cul de sacs in the corners instead of going straight, having said that he leaves it all on the field,a great heart by
I think the reality is that we aren’t going to see much changes next weekend. I personally would be all up for a few but now that it’s knockout it’s a huge risk. Let’s face it if there are big changes made and we lose then the management will be slaughtered. Players need to really up it. What I would expect from management is more shape and structure
What’s all this bullsh*t about Galway getting their wishes for a change in schedule. The GAA central council made the decision on the schedule. And do remember it gives us (and Galway) an extra day from our last game. As much and all as I’d like to get every advantage over them, I don’t think denying their supporters to watch both their teams over the weekend is one. And I guarantee you I will be glued to the TV roaring their hurlers on on Saturday evening. Get a bit of cop on people !
Gleeson
Sean Kelly/Sean Fitzgerald
Aidan O’Shea
Johnny McGrath.
Paul Towey
Jack Glynn
Tommy Conroy
Dylan McHugh/Cathal Sweeney.
Jordan Flynn
John Daly
Ryan O’Donoghue
Cian Hernan
Matthew Ruane
Paul Conroy
Jack Carney
Cillian McDaid
Paddy Durcan
Matthew Tierney
Padraig O’Hora
Johnny Heaney
Diarmuid O’Connor
Peter Cooke
Stephen Coen
Ian Burke
Jack Coyne
Damien Comer/ Rob Finnerty
David McBrien
Shane Walsh
Sam Callinan
Subs:
Cillian O’Connor, Enda Hession, Eoghan Mcgloughlin, James Carr, Bob Tuohy, Conor Loftus, Donnacha McHugh, Rory Byrne, Jason Doherty, Darren McHale, Fionn McDonagh,
Kevin Mcgloughlin,Brendan Harrison, Michael Plunkett, Rob Hennelly, James McCormack, Aidan Orme, Frank Irwin, Conor McStay, Ruairi Keane, Rory Brickendon
Sam Callinan to mark Shane Walsh like League final. Coen to mark Cooke would be a good match up. Diarmuid on Heaney and to hold the center. O’Hora to rough up Tierney. Move Carney to his natural position in Midfield. Paddy marking McDaid would be a serious battle. Try Mattie at wing forward. Himself and Flynn offering height for kickouts and scoring options . Move ROD to CHF to torture John Daly. Tommy has to start now. Try Towey on McGrath especially if he has had the upper hand on him before. Aido to stay in at full forward. Push up on Gleeson and try long ball in on him as there is mistakes in him.
@JR totally the whole game is a team effort.
On another note one good thing whiat a super save reape made? ..! Yes he missed the penalty but hes a top class goalie my number 1 choice anyday …
It suits Mayo that Galway have a full squad available. We don’t need a soft passage to a QF game. Test us to the limit and if we are good enough we will advance to the greater challenges.
Who is actually managing the team. McStay needs to stamp his authority and make some tough decisions.
Jordan Flynn was excellent in picking long range points. Galway will give him special attention.
We need two more scorers from 40 in our hf line.
Cooke Heaney Tierney can all score from distance. Heaney will enjoy the challenge of breezing past Loftus, another area Galway will be targeting, coming through the heart of our defence.
Hard to see positives because I’m not convinced management will make the changes needed.
Well said SeaninGalway
I wonder could we spring something from left field that could surprise the opposition.Kerry after losing to cork in 2006 turned an average midfielder in to “the star “ who of course completely surprised us in the all Ireland final with his ball winning ability.8 years later the same lad came on in midfield in a Kerry team being beaten out the gate.made no impact in midfield but switched to full forward and completely shocked us again as he ran riot on an injured full back.a week later we rocked up in limerick and were yet again taken completely by surprise that this big strapping 6 foot 5 inch lad was able to catch high balls in around the square.his name eludes me but I am probably ranting now but we do seem to take our time learning lessons
1985, on basis management have tried very little experimentation I’d say the chances are slim.
1985
Kieran Donaghy
Yea nephin I kinda knew it was donaghy but like the 2021 all Ireland final he who shall not be named
1985,
Can I ask a question,
Why do Mayo appear to put no preparation into playing against defensive teams ?
Yesterday on numerous occasions they carried the ball into traffic instead of using the width of the pitch.
In Killarney Mayo played Kerry football by kickifast direct smart ball.
I just find in bewildering that Mayo find themselves in this position given the win in Kerry.
Well we don’t know if they don’t put preparation into it .it certainly appears they don’t but as pointed out earlier by Willie joe we had actually got ourselves into a very commanding position yesterday and then shot ourselves completely in the foot
Great question west Kerry.
In the Kerry game on reflection, Kerry weren’t really defending much, it was nearly man to man, we were not being pressed and were allowed kick the ball into open space, and move at speed from deep (the way we like to play), Kerry had a lot going on off the pitch around then as well.
Were we to meet next week I doubt we’d have the same space.
@west kerry mayo have always found blanket defences hard to beat. Kerry had a total open game against us which we always play our best and no matter what kerry didn’t make us look good that day we were good.
We knew cork would bring the blanket and I’d say Galway will to as they know it frustrates us stops our running game .
But then again as others said we were in the lead yesterday and lost our reason it seemed when the penalty went in (not a penalty ) but sure done and dusted time to move on focus on Galway..
True on reflection I haven’t seen Kerry as bad since Meath in 2001.
I still thought it would be the shot in the arm to propell Mayo on to winning the group.
Mayo just looked hungry and fit and raring for road in Killarney.
But Willie Joe is right Mayo were comfortably ahead as they were against Louth and let both back into the game.
I don’t mean any disrespect with this but being a Mayo fan should carry a health warning.
Clare,
Mayo were excellent against Kerry but it is true that Kerry were abysmal with the exception of a certain David Clifford.
@west kerry you need a strong bill of heakth for mayo football that’s for sure ..
Sure my dubs mate go to me today bet ye will still make a semi final and when have mayo ever made it easy on themselves to get through? Said that what makes mayo so entertaining. Never a truer word.
@west kerry Clifford is what makes you today .
But west Kerry I am sure you are aware that Kerry played very open against us for some reason.I have to say that still confuses me as to their thinking.as pointed on here though every team struggles against blanket defences .I think we in particular overthink it but seriously everyone there must be something innovative that we can come up with for Sunday.we will get tuamstar to sign a disclosure order to prevent from passing any information on to the Galway management
I don’t know why a few people are saying that it’s too late to change the System, ie the halfback line. There is no System in place.
This is a fact, our halfbacks look great passing the ball laterally and backwards when the opposition is in an All out blanket defensive system inside their own 50 yard line.
Our halfbacks don’t win enough of breaking ball from kickouts, don’t get enough tackles in, cannot defend when the opposition is running at them. A shortage of pace in the fastest line in Gaelic football add to this that Durcan not yet back to his best
Things got to change for the Galway game, personnel etc or it will be a long barren Summer.
@1985 – “I am sure you are aware that Kerry played very open against us for some reason.I have to say that still confuses me as to their thinking.”
That would be showing us way too much respect in their own backyard. They obviously thought they could beat us pulling up in a shootout.
Clare you can say that about all top players that they make the team.
The supporting act found a bit of form yesterday particularly Seanie with 1.8
1985,
Its 2001 since I saw such a meek performance from a Kerry side.
Even if its common knowledge that Mayo dont like playing defensive teams I don’t think Kerry could play like that at home ot would be unacceptable.
I think most of the team just didn’t perform and frankly that was reflective of the year upto that point.
@west kerry its just the facts like it or not Clifford is a top A class athlete if he wasn’t with you guys wouldn’t be near as top class don’t mean offence just facts .ye played louth yes we struggled against louthbig time we always do against blankets but in fairness your a division 1 team what are louth? In saying that mayo should have beaten louth by way more no disrespect to them of course.
Find it a bit disrespectful saying kerry where abysmal when we beat ye maybe so but you hardly wanted to loose your home record etc.
We are division 1 to Clare when we played Louth and Cork….
@gizmobobs did you read my comment? : p ha I said we shod have beaten louth by way more but we always struggle against blanket defences and cork brought up blanket and what happened?
We need to come up with an answer for blanket defences ASAP or else every county will be doing what louth and cork did to us yes we had the leads in both but I still think blankets stopped us .
That’s true Clare, but the truth is despite our struggles v blankets it is our total lack of a defensive system and good game management that has cost us v Cork and Roscommon and nearly cost us v Louth and Armagh.
I believe our players are good enough, as must Management as they’ve only introduced 1 new player.
We’ve received alot of lessons highlighting what does not work, it does not look like we are taking the lessons on board. Hopefully they have been and they are working away on them….
It’s not fact Clare it’s opinion.
Fact is something you can prove… Its a sporting opinion.
Held by the likes of you and Joe Brolly.
Dublin wouldnt win Sam without Con
Galway wouldn’t win Sam without Kelly
Donegal wouldn’t have won it without Murphy.
Absolutely we will only know we’re Kerry are after the next round but to beat any team by 28 points is positive.
@Gizmobobs yeah your right there for sure . ..louth & cork have been really dissapoibting especially cork we had it in the bag then literally secobds later oh lord. Never q dull moment being a mayo supporter :p you are totally right though and agree on your points!
@west kerry its facts and opinions to and not just on me and Joe brolly ad you say I know loads not just mayo people who think the same . What do you mean the likes of me and Joe brolly anyway? Ha just an opinion that alot have not just Joe brolly ….
Dubs still would have beaten kerry in semis last year if thdy had con stand by my point .
West Kerry I believe ye have had yer own problems with defensive teams.when Tyrone originally adapted this mass defence in 2003 it completely stumped ye for a few years.i wonder who came up with the term blanket defence as it doesn’t really make any sense and I certainly will be having nightmares about blankets tonight.we also now have back door cuts and players cheating if they stay in position
1985, tis warm enough these days ya can sleep without the blanket 😉
@gizmobobs I laughed at that one haha!
1985,
We absolutely had our difficulties and still do.
Clare,
I’m sorry now but if you don’t know the difference between a fact an a opinion then it’s a pointless debate.
Kerry scored 5.24 yesterday,
Clifford scored 2.4 so where did the other 3.20 come from ?
Eitherway I’m not derailing a thread that’s not about Kerry.
@West Kerry Mayo should have been warned about Cork after the scare they gave ye.
Ye put Louth to the sword just as Mayo should have done if they really went for it.
My only hope for Mayo is that the sight of maroon jerseys should set their blood boiling and Galway’s aura of invincibility is now truly gone
They had their chance in the last 8 to 10 minutes of last year’s finan but we’re programmed to defend and failed to go all out for the win.
Kerry did not leave the opportunity behind them.
@west kerry ha I’ll stick by my own opinion ( not facts so) prob misused the word facts there more opinions that Clifford is what makes kerry what they are today .
I stand by my point Clifford’s make what kerry are today and its just my opinion if you like it or not .
I still think Derry could be dark horsees and go and win Sam this year would not be shocked at all also Armagh to when they get their main Star back will be hard to beat they beat Galway without him to could be a dubs v derry/ Armagh final even …
@west kerry I certainly know the difference between facts & opinions ha.
I have to say I find this debate about the Clifford’s very amusing.It could be turned into some sort of musical comedy
I think judgement on the team and management should be set aside until after next weekends game.
Everyone deserves a chance now, to see how they can perform under ” Must win ” conditions.
I wouldn’t rule us out, at all, of showing up next Sunday and beating Galway. It will take big improvements, but we have seen already this year that we are well able to fire on our day.
Keep the Faith. We’re still in it.
Of course David Clifford is on a different level to the other Kerry players – but Kerry have plenty of more top class players who we would love to have in Mayo – lads like White, Tom O Sullican, Paudie, Sean o Shea etc
Dispite the reservations some people here have about the current Kerry team – they are favourites now to win two in a row. Reality is Kerry know how to win All Irelands and sadly we seem to find every way possible to lose finals.
If I’d put money on any team to win Sam this year it would be the dubs & Derry…
@Gizmobobs, as you and other posters have quite rightly pointed out, our problem at the moment is not overcoming blanket defences as such but more to do with a lack of a clear defensive structure ourselves. We had done all the heavy lifting against Louth and Cork but allowed them to take back control, mostly through really poor defending. Letting a six point lead slip against Cork yesterday is unforgivable at this level. We are not ruthless enough in big games and we have paid a heavy price for it over the years. Yes, we might get past Galway because it’s one of those games where form and everything else goes out the window, but management and players have a serious amount of work to do if we want to be genuine All Ireland contenders.
Normally you don’t get to recover from that last 15 mins yesterday.
We’ve recovered well from our previous defeats so far this year.
The thing I’ve pencilled down ahead of the podcast is “leadership group”.
Was Cillian there yesterday?
The question we are all trying to answer is how good are we actually? Beating Kerry in Killarney and almost losing to Louth doesn’t really add up. Going six up against Cork and then conceding 1-6 to 0-0 doesn’t add up either. We have proven we can beat top teams then why struggle with lesser teams?
My only answer has to do with energy management . For some reason we seem to lack energy and when we get into winning positions we slacken off. It may have to do with an intense pre-season plus a full-on league campaign. After losing to Roscommon we had a long break and a decent rest and hey presto a superb display against Kerry. I wonder have we been training hard? Or have we peaked too soon and cannot restart the engine?
The answer to the question ‘how good are we really ‘ ? Well we will find out at the weekend and don’t be surprised by anything. If we can regain our energy levels we can win. If not we could get well beaten.
If Mayo half forwards take on their men and our midfielders and attacking half backs play long, early direct high ball into O Se and both corner forward men both who can win ball. They will beat Galway. O Shea has to stay in there at full or at centre forward. This is where he is most dangerous. I don’t think he has the legs to go a full 70 mins out the field and was out of the games gassed in the last 15mins of the Cork and Louth games. This lateral recycling of the play turning back, reverse passing back and forth across the half forward line or back into Midfield, lads too afraid to shoot or miss has to stop! Take on your man hunt in packs, and give the pass into space or take on the shot themselves. Go for it. All the possession and nothing to show for it. What is the point of being a forward if you don’t try and score, all I saw was players kicking it back out to the 45 and repeat the process again. There was times there where you felt the shot was on, and they stop the run and turn back and pass it back out. Shoot if you miss so what!!! When Conroy and Flynn drove directly against Cork half backs the last day it resulted in 3 points and a goal. O Shea dummies his man great save by the cork keeper it was all due to playing the game in a positive manner. Hell; kick it in sky high from Midfield into O Se, who if he can’t win it might be able to break it. Run at them directly and at pace. The current style of play is so exhausting to watch and even more exhausting on the players who where all gassed the last 10 mins of the game. Play the game as it’s meant to be played. The objective is to outscore your opponent not to play keep ball. Absolutely horrible to watch. If they play like that against Galway they’ll get hammered out the gate. If they take off the shackles with this current style of play and go for it we could be looking at a victory similar to the Kerry game. Whatever happens this is last chance for O Se and Cillian O Connor. Age is a bitch, Cillian is up there with Canavan as one of the finest forwards of his generation. I don’t care, if there is only 20 mins in him he knows where the posts are ,and he knows how to beat his man. He needs to be put in. He has the experience and know all to do it. And if anything is something else for full back line to worry about. I’m not sure what happened the last two games or against Rosscoman but that style of play is nothing but negative and energy sapping. Something seems off in this camp. Maybe too many opinions. I’d rather see them play Horan ball than that muck!!! Either way they have to dust themselves down and just drive on.
Obviously McStay and his enormous back room team don’t seem to rate our greatest forward,and the championship top scorer….
Otherwise he would have been included in the 26 man squad….
That’s a weird assessment of the situation, Tomthumb, and I’ve no doubt but that they do rate Cillian very highly. The decision to let him play for Ballintubber gets a good airing on the latest pod, where its impact, including the signal it sent to Cork – that we’d be okay without him – is discussed. To my mind, it was a huge miscalculation but I guess it’s easy for me to say that.
I presume management felt based on what they were seeing in training that Cillian wasn’t at a sufficient level of fitness to tog against Cork and would benefit more from a full club game. While he did score 2-6 against Ballinrobe only one score – a tap in goal came from play.
I am sure he will make an appearance next Sunday and we will see then how fit he is.
I’m sure he might have scored the last free in Limerick…(if he was allowed take it)and at least would have finished second in the group
He’d most likely have done that and more, Tomthumb, but there’s little that can be done about that now. The key thing is that he’s involved the next day, to my mind he has to be. Failing to finish second in the group isn’t really an issue – would it really be an advantage to us to be playing the likes of Tyrone in Castlebar? I’m not sure it would.
You’re right WJ , I’d prefer Galway in Salthill than any of the three ( Tyrone, Roscommon or Monaghan) in Castlebar. If for no other reason than the sight of the maroon jersey. Would be great to have Boyler in the dressing room to rile up the players, but it shouldn’t be necessary when we’re playing Galway.
Loved his answer on the podcast to what he thought of Mickey Harte’s comments about Mayo.
Boyler’s riposte on the podcast about Mickey Harte was a classic alright, Nephin!
I certainly would question the decision on Cillian. A guy like this even if there is only 10 minutes in him you have him togged, he proved this against Roscommon and it’s not as if we are blessed with these calibre of forwards. Teams are still killing us down the middle and the no 6 position has been a problem since Nallen hung up the boots. No matter how great our half back line was going forward over the last 12 years we still had gaps at 6. I can understand why management are trying Loftus at 6 as he is reliable footpasser and it’s for distribution but he’s not a defender, he’s a converted wing forward who is not going to make a difference against a blanket defense. That kind of ball is not on against this rejime, it worked against Kerry because they took us on man to man but everyone knows our weakness is playing against the blanket so Loftus sitting at 6 just doesn’t work. Callinan is our best option here flanked by paddy Durcan and Hession. Conroy needs to play at 11 as he is best running towards goal with space and not stuck in the corner. I would have Hession in for McHugh the next day.