With dizzying speed, here we are again: once more it’s game day, all-or-nothing day, this time the day where we get the chance to claim a place in this year’s All-Ireland semi-finals.
Although we lost our safety net in this year’s championship the evening we fell unexpectedly to Galway in the Connacht semi-final back in June, it’s only now that it feels like we’re stepping out on the high-wire for real. And we are, make no mistake about it.
Tyrone come into this match as narrow, but deserved, favourites. They’re once more Ulster champions and in Mickey Harte they’ve one of the game’s canniest managers. If we’re to beat them today we’ll have to be at our very best.
It’s a tough proposition, for sure, but this team have faced – and faced down – plenty of such challenges in the past. We can have every hope and expectation that they’ll do the same again later on today.
The prize on offer today is great – all we have to do now is get out there and grasp it. Players, management, supporters: we’ve all a part to play today, so let’s go do it and that includes our Juniors in the day’s curtain-raiser too.
Here’s to a memorable Croke Park day for us. Here’s to victory on the double at HQ. Up Mayo!
The Juniors in an All Ireland Final. Not a curtain raiser!!! Get in there at 2 pm to show them every Mayo team Matters
Best of luck and safe travels for all. For anyone needing a bit of further motivation for today, may I recommend Martin Breheny’s piece in today’s Indo. A more disparaging hatchet job I’ve rarely read. I hope it’s read aloud to the team on the bus journey into Croker…
Little more can be said now but once more into the breach, dear friends.
Hon Maigh Eo!!
Mental recovery is key today.
Every passage of play, whether the outcome is good, bad or indifferent…lift ourselves to do our best in every moment.
If we can be ahead at the final whistle, everything will open up for us.
Today is a massive opportunity for the lads.
Safe travels to all, try and enjoy, team
an management know what’s required,
We can an will do this!
Maigheo Abu
Come on mayo One big performance
Hardly a surprise from Breheney instead read Clerkin in the Irish Times or Cinnede in the Examiner more positive. The boys have the ability & record to do it today hon Mayo!
“Galway’s meltdown against Tipperary last Sunday would have sent icy shivers down Mayo spines…”
Are you having a laugh Martin, the nicest thing that we can say about Galway’s collapse is that we’re disappointed we won’t have a chance to turn them over in the semi!
There’s a big game in Mayo and I get the feeling the championship is about to blown wide-open today. Mayo by two points.
Safe travels to all and let’s get behind the team, big shtyle
Just read the Brehany piece.
Just remember that this is the same writer who was tipping Galway for the Double this time last week!
I was talking to a Kerryman who really knows his football during the week and he said that Brehany’s articles are read in Kerry so that they can remind themselves that many of the national media GAA writers/pundits are absolutely clueless about the modern game. He also said that Spillane is watched in Kerry the same way that Mrs Brown’s Boys is watched in Dublin – purely for amusement!
I have a good feeling about the senior match today and I would love to see the Juniors do the business in the early match.
C’mon Mayo
Sadly, I cannot be there today. I haven’t missed a Mayo game in many years and I’m feeling the pain right now as everyone gets on the road for Dublin. It’s at times like this I realise just what football means to people and particularly Mayo supporters. Im now reduced to depending on Sky which we don’t have! And I bitterly resent it.
I was looking forward to a huge display from Mayo today. Despite the general consensus, I reckon we will see stuff today to gladden the heart.
Safe journey to everyone and enjoy a great day and a big win for Mayo.
I believe we’ll see a really big performance from the lads today. It’s all been leading to this day.
Let’s go for it, both in the stands and on the field! Nothing to be afraid of, Tyrone are a good outfit nothing more than we are ourselves, experience to win it, Mayo by 2
Would expect to see an exhibition of “dark arts” on display today with 2 or 3 of our fellas in for specific attention.
Just hope that the ref clamps down on
spitting,
pinching,
pulling hair,
knee into the back,
elbows to face,
biting,
“accidental” finger into the eye,
sledging,
time wasting,
diving,
faking injury,
delaying the taking of a penalty by crowding around the penalty taker for 6 minutes,
and any other of the fine attributes that we might be treated to.
Some great posts all week. The Pessimistic view and the optimistic view.
O: we’re ticking along nicely
P; we’re living on borrowed time
O; it’s great to be underdogs
P: we’re more like stray dogs at the moment
O: the 3qualifiers are momentum builders
P: are Tyrone not on a 17 game run?
O: this team has a serious kick left in them
P: they’re in for a kicking alright. Donegal 13
O; we won our last 5 QF why not this one
P: we won our last 5connachts! 6th???
O: I’m sure Rochford has a few cards up his sleeve
P: micky harte deals from the bottom of the deck
O: what about Rochfords win % with mayo in croke Park?
P: OK I’ll give you that one!!!
O: more stats then. Over 70% of people on this blog say we’ll win and we know our football
P: this site will crash when we loose. I’ve got my 10 page rant already done out!
O: OK prediction time. If we play like we can then mayo by 7. If we don’t then we’ll win by just 1 or 2.
P: if we play like we have been then we’ll lose by 10. If we put in a good performance then anything could happen and we might only lose by 5. Look we’re plugging holes all year what can you do?
O: take a detour via knock for Holy water?
UP MAYO
Best of luck to the team today.
Looking back I think it wasn’t as bad last week as everyone saw it. We had a few frees and other chances that normally would be converted and if those had been taken the scoreboard would not have been as close as it was. it shows how important it is to take your chances when on offer.
Also i expect a big game from AOS today. He seemed really up for it at the end. Kinda pissed off after that nonsense yellow card. It seemed to really rile him and he decided to put down a marker scoring a goal as a result. I think he will have a major impact today as well.
Unfortunately can’t be in Croker today. Feeling mixed emotions today, hoping for a win but we’ll need to play at our best.
Will watch it in a pub in Sunny Beach Bulgaria. Just realised that I’ve watched the quarter finals in the same pub for the past 4 years.
Feeling luckier now. Up Mayo.
Good to hear from Diehard and Forever Mayo who I’m sure will be there in spirit.
On the basis of the amount of actual football we have played – 60 minutes at the most I reckon – we should be the freshest of the four teams there today.
Love the idea of 3 O’Shea’s bearing down on opposition; just when you think it’s safe…
A shout out to Mayos very own Olympian, Nicholas Quinn, taking to the water at about half six this evening.
Good luck to the team today! And safe traveling for all! Up Mayo.
Best of luck to our Juniors and Seniors today. A watershed day for our Senior team whatever way it goes. Hopefully lady luck will shine down on us today against this excellent up and coming Tyrone team.
I think our advantage today is that we have not been consistent. From our perspective, it’s frustrating, from Tyrones perspective it’s hard to have a game plan for that. But, we’ll see…
Up Mayo
Die dog know or shite the licence!!!! Come on Mayo
Junior match over as a contest after 25 mins. We can hardly even get a hold of the ball. Very disappointing
…and sitting on Hill 16, there’s very few Mayo support in here for the junior game. That’s disappointing too!
Reminder to everyone way h out for campers!!!
Jesus. Maybe I was wrong!!! Cmon lads!!
A spirited 2nd half from our boys. Hard luck to the juniors but best team won. Akram lively in 2nd half as was Holian from the Neale.
Well, by any account the successor to Clarke/Hennelly issue is a closed book. Vote Mattie Flanaghan 1,2,3……
Watching the sky coverage. Someone should get a message into the dressing room, start up the bus boys, no point coming out according to these bucks!
Please God Paul Early isn’t commentating!
J doc in for Kevin Keane! Alan Dillon in for Evan regan! WTF????
Fourgoal McGee, Breheny did NOT tip Galway for the double. He said that neither Galway nor Tipp is likely to do the double this year. That prediction is likely to be correct as cant see Tipp winning the football. Breheny is usually hardest on his own county, Galway. Don’t see anti-Mayo prejudice where it doesn’t exist…
Finely poised. Match of the year so far. Dillon for Regan has been completely vindicated
We were bailing water a bit at end of first half but still playing some great stuff. The pace of the tyrone counter attack is a worry while mccarron, sludden and Donnelly are causing us plenty of trouble
Diarmuid doesn’t look fit though which is a major worry. It’s as you were before throw in- impossible to call
Tyrone were in a worse position in the Ulster final so no way they’ll panic.
I hope ye have the legs for them in the second half, Mayo are getting good turnovers and they will keep focused. Silly yellow cards to pick up. It you are going to get a yellow some fella should be sore on the other team !!.
Good luck and I hope and pray ye dump them out of the 2017 championship,,,
OMG, what date is Semi?
WOOOOHOOO !!!! FOOTBALL BEATS THE SYSTEM
I’m litterly shaking here from adrenaline and absolute delight, bloody well done !!! The wife is telling me to calm down ha. Ha great win now we will have football in the final regardless if it’s Kerry or Dublin,, hoping the clingons will down next
Well done all the pundits. Who is finished now. Get in absolutely buzzing. Head down now for 3 weeks and beat tipp. One game at a time is working. Well done rochford.
Very hard on the nerves but all the sweeter for that. Could only drink from a half full glass now.
Up mayo still in two see Donegal beet Dublin
Dont worry Bill i will half empty a lot of glasses tonight.
Rochford deserves alot of credit today, he may not have got any thus far but he put a perfect gameplan together that nobody seen coming. Brilliant!
Gives Diarmuid a couple of weeks to regain fitness wasnt himself today. Aidan rose to the occasion hell of a man for taking the venom that was split at him. Roll on Tipp.
You can shove your connacht championship up your … 😀 😀
That’s all for now!
Brilliant, dogged. Showed courage. The last few mins were hell… Plenty to work on ahead of Tipp.
Tipp destroyed Galway. We need to take the game to them. You don’t get to a semi final unless you’re a serious team. They are very strong on the middle and have an excellent full forward like. In fact they are better than Tyrone in both sectors.
We’ll need well more than 13 points the next time
Well done today
My hands will probably stop shaking soon..Oh my word that one pt win makes it all the sweeter..Keegan point was sublime..And hats off to Rochford…We really are a dangerous animal when we’re written off..
Well done to mayo. that was a steely a performance as I’ve seen in years. tight, tight margins. a great performance on both sides of the sideline. roll on Tipperary. we’ll have a plan for them too.
Our form is creeping back. Honestly, I thought Tyrone were a bit off today. They kicked more wifed than points.
Today was our best overall performance in that we were relatively consistent throughtout but never scored more than two on the trot and did we even create a goal scoring opportunity??
Statistically I’d like to see which team had more shots. Anyone know?
We are all happy today because we saw a bit of fork back but as a lad said to me afterwards, if this was a year ago, we’d have been disappointed with many aspects of the performance.
Recovery is very important now. Diarmuid was out on his feet at the end. We need our lads as right as they can be. Tip showed against Galway how fit they are and how they go for the jugular.
Form!!;)
Man of the match is Stephen Rochford, i had a mini stroke seeing Dillon on for Keane but it was inspired, a tactical masterstroke. Changed it perfectly at half time with Parsons. Special mention for Harrison, held the line well, ONeill marked out of it, he may as well have stayed on the team bus. I have been waiting a long time for a Mayo team to put in a performance like that. It isnt pretty but you need to be able to it to win it out.
Well done lads, a steely performance combined with a bit of luck! Up Mayo!
Gwan Mayo. Delighted. Sledging was in full swing today.
So proud of them all esp beating all the shit and the ref thrown in according to J Casey. They did what we thought they could ….and they have more!!! Hup Hup Hup Mayo Mayo Mayo!!!!!’n
tyrone 14 wides I think they said at the end or near the end. same as ulster final.
You have to give the credit to Mayo’s defensive gameplan for Tyrone wides, Tyrone got beat with their own system. They were force to kick from further out the field. Harrison was great, some great interceptions, Dillon and Andy Moran also stood out. Thought Andy ran them ragged with his movement. Management also made good changes today at the right time. I felt Diarmuid could have have been taken off earlier as he wasnt himself not sure what injury he was carrying but I doubt it was just a dead leg.
Ah Lads – am away at the mo so listened to it on MWR – super stuff from Casey & Co. Our neighbours in the hotel must think they are beside some serious Yobbos with the roars coming from the room! What a result. What a performance. Who would you give motm to? So many to chose from. Clarke, Seamie, Lee,Aido, Cillian, Boyler, Harrison and the subs had a super impact – Roll on Tipp . Hon & Thank you MAYO.
Marybeu, that’s not what Breheny said he said that of the two teams still in contention for the double, Galway were the likely to do it. Still has the mayo chip on the shoulder.
Castlebarred, marybeau ,breheny et al is best ignored as just bitter begrudgers and though nouns, do not warrant capitals, will save them for Rochford and his Warriors.