The Mayo/Galway rivalry is one in which all the momentum has been in Galway’s favour in recent years but on Saturday night at the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick the tide at last began to turn. Mayo’s win over the neighbours dumps Galway out of the championship and sends James Horan’s team through to the Super 8s.
The Mayo News football podcast was there at the Gaelic Grounds to savour the atmosphere on a night to remember for Mayo supporters. Rob Murphy and I get the show going by describing the game’s key moments as we watch the action unfold from the North Stand.
Over in the Mackay Stand after the game, Rob gets Seán Rice’s assessment of the win while ex-Galway player and Galway Bay FM pundit Barry Cullinane speaks with Rob about how and why the Tribesmen’s run of wins against Mayo came to an end. Billy Joe Padden then joins Rob to give his thoughts about Mayo’s win and how it leaves the team as they face into the three upcoming matches in the Super 8s.
Next we hear the post-match reaction from Mayo manager James Horan, while back over on the North Stand I chat with friend of the podcast, Jim Zoldy from Connecticut, who flew in specially for the game to shout for the Green and Red.
Rob and I then catch up with Edwin McGreal and Ger Flanagan of the Mayo News for further assessment on the win and we also hear from Darren Coen, who picked up the Man of the Match award on Sky Sports for his performance in the game.
This latest episode of the Mayo News football podcast is now online and is available to listen to on iTunes, SoundCloud, Podomatic and Spotify. You can also listen to it directly on the Mayo News website as well as and on the blog using the SoundCloud player below or the one on the panel on the right.
The Mayo News football podcast’s championship coverage this summer is proudly sponsored by J Streicher. “When it absolutely, positively has to be financed on Wall St.” Visit our website at www.jstreicher.eu.
At this stage the best advice for Mayo is forget about the “Carr” rear view mirror and start looking towards Killarney.
My young lad was telling me last night he knows Fionn McDonagh as he also attends UL. It’s amazing how quickly time marches on.. Enjoy the rollercoaster..
there`s something wrong with me. I feel as proud today as if we had won the all-ireland.
Your some man Willie Joe you have the podcast up already do you ever sleep at all? Things are buzzing in the Junction In Ballina they are very proud of James Carr and rightly so. Even though we have all seen him play before methinks a star is born
Aiden O’Shea is without a doubt the most important player we’ve had in the last 2 years, he is literally irreplaceable. New York, Newry, Limerick, Killarney, I’d follow these lads to the gates of hell. A lot of pressure on Kerry and watch the yerra talk in the press this week with talk of cynicism by Mayo etc.. The Kerry ex players WhatsApp group will be hopping as they orchestrate the attacks on us.
Backdoorsam – those plaudits rightly go to Rob Murphy for all the hours of editing he did on the podcast from early this morning.
The biggest aspect now going down to Kerry is that we have multiple threats, not just in FF line but also with the likes of Fionn, Jason and Kev going well, Aido bossing midfield and our half backs still posing a real running threat.
Kerry will no doubt target certain players but at least they’ll have to do a bit of head scratching around who to prioritise. Different players are stepping up for us on different days so that adds a layer of much needed unpredictability so there will be an element of guess-work on Kerry’s part. It will test Peter Keane as a manager. They have no Peter crowley either now which is a huge loss for them.
I’d back our backs to maybe just about break even on their forwards. The obvious exception is Clifford who is literally an exceptional talent.
To deal with him, perhaps we have a template from yesterday: I’d put Harry on him with Boyler sweeping in front. Comer is no Clifford obviously but it’s the best we can do. He will make inroads so lets try to minimise the damage. Barrett again on Tommy Walsh (if he plays) with a repeat prescription from the League Final. Keep on the old weights during the week Chrissy, load up a few extra kg, every last bit of your strength will be needed.
Kerry are under way more pressure than us next week. They haven’t beaten us in a game of any significance since 2014. Its their only home game all year, Kerry crowd will be baying for blood and wont accept another loss to mayo. They could turn on the players very quickly. If they lose they are going into a game against donegal and cud be out after 2nd round. We on the other hand even if we lose, will beat meath/Clare and have a winner takes all against donegal. That weight of expectation could weight very heavily on young Kerry lads. A loss for them is far more detrimental that us. Our young lads are coming on leaps and bounds every week. Kerry are there for the taking ladies and gents.
Ah lads amazing this is up so quick. You could spend the day on here lapping it up. What a great win and the second in a row on the national stage against the auld enemy after 2001. You could never get tired of it. I said the same to a few lads who did not wait for the Connaught final presentation in 2014. It won’t last forever. It didn’t. Now it’s our turn again.
As an aside I, and I am sure a few others on here would not have minded having the Richie Feeney effect on our Gaelic football careers. Richie was a fine servant for Mayo and although I understand why this term is being used, if there is a clamour for someone to be in the team online, it must be annoying for him if he reads this.
Richie scored one of the winning points against Kerry in the national league semifinal In 2012, had an outstanding game against Dublin in the all Ireland semifinal including scoring the point which steadied the ship after an onslaught, and also scored against Donegal as we attempted to comeback In the final.
I think we have kerrys number. I would be very confident going down there. Obviously their forward talent is immense but that defence is a shambles. Clifford is the real deal but they aren’t getting enough ball into him.
We suddenly have a full forward line to reckon with, for years there all you had to do was shut down cillian and Andy and we were beat.
Now you probably have to plan for a ff line of coen/carr/coc with Kevin back at his better position in wingforward. Our weakest line on the pitch for years is now our best.
The group is going to be very tasty. Everyone will beat meath but it wouldn’t surprise me at all if donegal kerry and mayo all took points off each other and all finished on four points.
Does anyone know if point difference would be used to decide placings at that stage?
2014 is a long time ago now but a lot of the grizzled dogs who dragged kerry through that, ie donncha Walsh, aidan o mahony, Donaghey etc are no more.
They are really only in year 1 of their rebuild. Loads of attacking talent but no warriors. Mayo will take them no doubt
Kerry will beat us handy , we are not that handy at all but we did very well to get to last eight .
Well done on the result last night. As a Kerry man I was hoping Mayo would come through. Not for any great love of Mayo or wish to play ye or anything (no offence). I just cant stand the style of football Galway play and the match in Killarney against Galway would be a borefest. Hopefully your win last night means that the ultra defensive football is confined to the bin by most counties.
Think the game miight be closer than many would expect and give us a good chance especially by virtue of playing at home. Playing Cork in the Munster final with their running style was a good dress rehearsal for Mayo. Think Kerry will spring a surprise or two in terms selection as well.
Sunday in Killarney is knock out really for Kerry. If Kerry beat Mayo we will end up on 4 points as I expect everyone to beat Meath and I dont think Kerry will beat Donegal in Croke Park.
Every the optimist Sean
Great podcast, WJ. Interesting to hear Barry Cullinane being critical of COC. Couldn’t make it to the match so watched it in a Galway City pub and the dog’s abuse roared at Cillian, by Galway supporters, went way beyond banter and marred what was a sporting atmosphere. There wasn’t too much roaring out of them at the final whistle, though.
I think midfield will be absolutely key the next day against Kerry, more so than usual. Aido has been unreal this year, but I feel he was a little below 100% in the last two games, his may well be carrying some sort of injury. Coen really stepped up last night, a repeat performance needed again next weekend, to take some of the pressure off Aido.
– Tuned in from the start and much sharper than Galway for the first half thanks to Down and Armagh.
– Aido was like Skippy the kangaroo when he skipped onto the field before the match. Cooke though had his measure in the first half. He will be okay if David Moran starts the next day as they are alike but if Kerry start anyone else then Aido is going to have to mark and track.
– Plenty players MOM mine is Paddy D as he was back to his best yesterday and kept Walsh under control.
– Mc Loughlin back to his best position and it showed, both Coens very good, Boyler is like a rubber ball just keeps bouncing back. Carr’s goals what more can be said.
– JH fine on the line, one questionable sub though.
– Fionn and Carr were working well up the right hand side in the first half but too close to the sideline need to be in another yard to take pressure off.
-Keith never ever play the ball across your own goal again dropping it in the square for Clark and then somehow winning it back and clearing it eventually.
– Nice gesture from SOS who give his gloves to a kid as he left the pitch.
– Motivation 2004, 2006
Have to agree with previous posters. Galway are so gracious in defeat. You have to feel so sorry for them.
Mayo need to very quickly forget about yesterday. Its over. We won. Question id be asking lads is can ye increase performance. No trophies for ‘making the super 8s’.
Kerry are delighted its us. They cant wait to have another crack at Mayo.
Sean Burke is only saying what most of the country think. I dont live in Mayo. Very few today here are giving us much chance. We go there nextwknd…dogged and determined. Kerry might think they ‘owe us’. ByGod we owe them tonnes more!! And while im at …meath too!
This Mayo team shouldnt be lacking in motivation against any of our opponents.
Calm measured focus now please.
Yeah AOS has been poor the last few games
Cooke gave him an awful roasting yday too.
Wouldn’t be too worried though he generally plays well v kerry
Observations on Mayo v Galway.
1. Mayo went ahead early and never seriously looked like losing. I like this habit .
2. Every player played full blooded the entire match. Amazing focus , tenacity , tight defending. Sharp. Complete team performance. Significant Errors are in low single digits .
3. “Old “ boys rolling back the years. Cillian , Boyle , Higgins , Barrett , playing some of their best football. This might be only one of an amazing series of things to happen since Horan’s return. The boys of summer are back . This time they brought the kids.
4. In hindsight ( imo )something was going on inside the camp that affected our performance against Roscommon. Whatever it was is now seemingly resolved.
5. We have the best shot stopper in the country
6. We have the ( joint )best full back line in the country when they are properly protected
7. We have the ( joint )best half back line in the country
8. We have a great and functioning midfield and half forward line. Top three.
9. Very strong inside forward line now. Top three .
10. There are no weaknesses in the first 15 . However I think Andy deserved his chance.
11. There is great balance between youth and experience.
12. There is real unity in this team.
13. There is real hunger
14. There is real confidence
15. There is real belief .
16. Ruthless in terms of game management.Tick .
17. Ruthless in terms of shot efficiency . Tick
18. Ruthless in terms of killing the game , going for the jugular when it’s completely exposed . Not so much .
19. Favorite moments were many including extremely special goals but Donnie’s face after scoring a point was just priceless.
20. Composure improving.
21. Best supporters in the country . Tick.
22. Most loved team . Tick.
23. Best Blog.
24. Best podcast .
25. Best podcast music.
26. Best podcast frequency.
27. Best Medical team in the country. These guys are simply amazing !!! It’s important to recognize they are a huge part of our current success. Believe me they are amazing !
28. Horan’s team are starting to really change him for the better in terms of making timely substitutions.
29. We have the right stuff emerging here in Mayo at all levels for long term success.
30. James HORAN is the right man for Mayo .
if 3 teams finish on 2 wins in the group every score will count to get through.
Playing a weakened team in any match not an option
@Mayonaze, We owe Kerry, we owe Meath, we owe Donegal, we owe Cork and by fuck we owe the Dubs.
My man of the match yesterday was James Horan, he has done very well in guiding the guys through the qualifiers, seems to be able to unite all on board. I think nearly everybody will agree that there was a sense of relief at his appointment last year.
Horan has already surpassed his previous term as manager, won a league title, lost 2 league titles in his first term as manager.
I think Mayo are on the best side of the Super 8’s, away from the Dubs.
The Dubs will find the going tough when they go to play Tyrone away, also they have two home games in Croker.
Cork with a young team could make it hard for them next Saturday evening, the Rossies gave them a fright in their league meeting in Hyde Park.
I haven’t seen the Dubs play since our league game with them on February.
For me the championship is just about to start.
Great win yesterday but move on to the Kerry group now & they will be hard to beat, no doubt about that but Mayo can beat them if they are as tuned in next weekend as they were fired up for the galway match yesterday + a bit more. James Horan is shrewd operator, he will work out a plan for Kerry & hope it pays off big time. Some of the Mayo players seem a little tired, so management & coaches medical team will work on them now & get them back into good shape.
It’s amazing how some posters who enjoy wallowing in defeats for weeks don’t seem to allow 24hrs of happiness after hammering our biggest provisional rivals. Job is done and the rot is stopped.
There was a sea change in the manner of Mayo’s performance last evening, and it was our forward line, 5 forwards scored from play, McDonagh being the exception. Didn’t rely on our HB’s to score. Up to this match S.Coen didn’t impress me because of his slowness but last night he was much improved and scored a good point in the process. Donie made wonderful runs and was unlucky not to have scored more. All positions were won except one P.Cooke who scored 4 points marked by A.O’Shea. Aidan had his poorest games so far this year, main reason being he held the ball up too much. Don’t except a repeat next weekend. I named the six forwards last week and as it transpired it was the six that started, these players pose a scoring treat, all six can score and cause damage to the opposition. Moreover the opposition can’t focus on one/two players now; that on top of the treat from our HB next time out will give Kerry something to think about.
Another plus is that no player responded to Galway tactics of pulling & dragging and trying to get a reaction but at the same time standing up for ourselves – it was great to see!!
Decision now is who do you drop for L.Keegan, its a great problem to have and D.O’Connor return is getting closer all the while.
Major downside is our ability to let the opposition back into the game, running down blind alleys, getting turned over, not using the width of the pitch. We need to be more ruthless, much more ruthless.
This is the Final as far as I’m concerned with Kerry, win it and we are in pole position to top the group and avoid Dublin and get to the ** dare I say it!!!
A great one and overdue really. But time to move on to the next thing. This is a very tricky group. Think the game in Killarney will be tight and there might even be a bit of bite to it. Kerry will feel like they owe us one. Their record against us of late is something that bothers them to be sure. Deep down I think some of them still feel like it’s totally unacceptable to be losing to Mayo. Whatever about losing to Dublin, they think they’re a cut above us.
It’s a must win for both teams really given Donegal are down the road, should have a knock out atmosphere.
Cillian gets some abuse how does he stick it. All day long being hit and constant verbals. And somehow he got a yellow. So frustrating. I have to stop watching James goal!! Non stop watching it all day! it was amazing in real time. Anyways it has been a great Sunday – basking in yesterday’s win!
I think Kerry are waiting in the long grass for us. No doubt they do look down their noses at us. I think the reason so many of them are crying about cynicism is because they are getting too much of their own medicine and they don’t like it. They have had a nice break since the Munster final and will be well fired up. Nothing like going into the lion’s den
I think that more than some of them feel like that dreamysleepy! Mayo were grand when they had a nice team who made a final every once in a while and duly took their hammering with good grace. I think a lot of Kerry people take it as a major insult losing to Mayo. To think we would have the actual gall to beat the aristocrats of Gaelic football!
I think next weekend is tough to call, I definitely would not be writing off Mayo the way some posters are. That Kerry backline us very vulnerable to runners from deep and I actually think Mayo could cause them a lot of problems. On the flip side Kerry have forwards who can also do a lot of damage. Should make for a great game of football.
I also think the group could be very tight..no disrespect to Meath but Mayo Kerry and Donegal will all be pretty heavy favourites to beat them and it wouldn’t surprise me to see 3 teams on 4 points as Kerry Mayo and Donegal are all capable of beating each other.
If we did come out of our group I would rather play Dublin in a semi…I really couldn’t stomach losing another final to them so if we were to fall at their hands I would rather it wasn’t on another AI final Sunday!!
Kerry next Sunday should be a big step up on any game we’ve played so far this year even with 3 weeks off.
They’ll be better than any of their league displays. I’m confident we’ll be ready but my opinion is it’ll be 50:50.
Does anyone if groups go to scoring difference lads?
It’s very conceivable that donegal kerry and mayo all end up with 4 points
No doubt about it Kerry will be a tough proposition on Sunday a huge step up again from Roscommon Armagh Down And Galway But I give us a fighting chance if we can keep it tight at the back and not concede any silly goals which is a tall order against some of the best forwards in the country. I’m slightly concerned about Clarke’s kick outs and the way we defended towards the end yesterday but he deserves to start and be our number one keeper but it’s definetly something we need to keep working on. You can be sure James and the team have already switched focus to Kerry and will have a plan for them as they will for us it’s a hard one to call but to beat them down there would seriously set us up for a great Summer but one game at a time hopefully we’ll get a huge crowd to Killarney and turn it into a virtual home game
I’m concerned about the marking of Clifford the next day. Thought Brendan Harrison struggled on him in the league final and we only just got away with it. He is a match winner for them and could single handedly give us nightmares.
Any update on tickets. All 3 other games on sale. Will it be season ticket and club distribution first and returns on general sale later in week
It’s not about been purposely defeatist , I even ran on the bloody pitch last night such was my delight at ending our bad run v Galway . I always fear Kerry even with our decent run of late v them , it’s our back line v their forward line that scares the bejaysis out of me . We are improving but you’d imagine we would need to improve a lot more to keep that very potent forward unit to less scores than us . We are capable of beating all three teams in our group , that’s what makes ya want the best , we are 100% capable but not on present form imo
So how many minutes will Tomas get tonight on the Sunday game to point out all the things that the ref will need to look out for next week?
If teams finish level its scoring difference. If that’s the same its head to head. If thats the same its amount scored. Could happen that every one beats Meath. Kerry beat Mayo in Killarney. Lose in Croke park and Mayo beat Donegal at home. All within the bounds of possibility.
Calculators at the ready!
The form book says that we have 3 wins in a row and with every game we have improved markedly from the last – against the Rossies we had too many wides but we’ve since rectified that. Against Down and Armagh we were too open at the back but yesterday we were much tighter than before. Subs are made quicker and smarter and now we have to address game management – expect to see some evidence of that at the weekend. Where are Kerry? They got a right scare against division 3 Cork (everybody’s talking them up but they only beat Laois) and won Munster feeling like as if they lost. They have no real momentum and can only go on the Cork performance. Mayo on the other hand have been seriously road tested. I fully expect to win next Sunday and If we don’t we’ll go mighty close – Clifford or otherwise.
we’re averaging 1.5 goals conceded per game so far. That’s the main issue that needs to be looked at going into super 8s
I think if ye start against Kerry like ye did against us they will be in big trouble. Run straight at them and they will concede simple frees or a goal. Leave them in it like the league final and they might pip ye at the end. Their aim will be a score fest where they will expect Clifford and O Shea to do the damage. Look at the kenmare bay that opened when Corks big lad Rory Deane? ran straight down the middle. Oh amd they dont rate ye at all and its shocking that ye have their number recently. I dont hear the auld yerra thank god for Mayo anymore. If ye start well they will turn on their own team.
F**K these comments about Kerry being a big step up from what we have play thus far, yes they are but we a major step up to what they have played to date. That’s why its called the super 8’S
We just need to be ready for a huge performance from Kerry. They will be massively fired up for this, have no doubt about.
I hope we are mentally prepared and absolutely tuned in and play the game with intelligence because we’ve 3 hard games and coming into this altogether different to Kerry. Play clever, on the pitch and on the line and we have a chance.
Tickets up now!
Tickets.ie a shambles. Keeps crashing. Amateur hour
Just back home in the States after an awesome weekend.
A special thanks to Rob and John who let me tag along and hear the magic unfold next to them in the stands. Unfortunately, as excellent as the content that’s included, the stuff that’s left out due to time constraints is equally insightful — the podcast could literally be two hours long!
On Sunday I went to Westport and climbed Crough Patrick (offered a prayer of thanksgiving for Saturday) and made my way to Achill. The display of Mayo flags hammered home why Mayo supporters are the most die hard, passionate around. Looking forward to a pint with John in Dublin later this summer!