So, the long wait is over. Today’s the day when our Championship campaign starts all over again. It’s Monaghan we’re up against in this afternoon’s Round 1 qualifier tie at MacHale Park where the ball is set to be thrown in at 4p. Derry’s Barry Cassidy is the ref and the match will be shown live on Sky Sports, with live radio commentary on Midwest too.
I know I’ve said that today is when we start over in this summer campaign but this Championship is now at the knockout stage and so every day, starting with today, could be our final one for the year. We’re back up on the high wire, where we’ve been so often before and where, more often than not, we’ve tended to thrive.
The first round of the qualifiers is always a bit of an unknown. Two teams coming into a do-or-die tie off the back of a dispiriting provincial defeat. Are they up for it? Are we up for it? This is the essential question facing every team facing into their first qualifier test.
As ever, we won’t know the answer until the contest gets underway. But this year, with a shorter and far sharper two-round qualifier schedule, this isn’t a question that can be answered in stages. If we’re not fully up for this one right from the outset, then it’s next stop FBD 2023.
I think it’s fair to say that supporters are heading into this game in the most downbeat mood they’ve been in for years. Anne-Marie Flynn nailed it in her Mayo News piece this week, when she observed that, much as we might want to deny it, “the aftershocks of last September still ripple.” It was a factor against Galway and it’s sure to provide some of the background colour to today’s game too.
While last September remains on everyone’s minds, the injury crisis that has blighted our year right from the off is surely a greater cause for concern. As the old saying goes, if we hadn’t bad luck we’d have no luck at all and, with Ryan O’Donoghue, our standout player so far this year, not set to feature today, the bad luck we’re suffering on that front shows precious little sign of abating.
That said, the return of a few key players for this one could prove crucial. Rory has performed excellently for us between the sticks of late but having Robbie back, with his more varied restarts and his ability to land long-range frees, is a big plus. Having Paddy back is an enormous boost. And having a fully fit Oisín in the team greatly helps too.
As well as that, Diarmuid has had six weeks more to get tuned up properly and Cillian should have plenty more in the tank too. Bryan Walsh returns, too, after a long lay-off and Jordan Flynn is reportedly on the bench so maybe this injury crisis is finally beginning to ease.
Even with all our problems on the injury front, we’re still deserved favourites to win today. While Castlebar is anything but a fortress for us, we’ve never lost a qualifier game there and these are the kind of games in which we give it all in pursuit of victory.
It would need a good team to beat us today. Monaghan are no slouches and they’ll know how to hurt us. Galway gave them the template and it’s not one that’s difficult to implement, though our often low energy approach when faced by the shawl the last day certainly didn’t help our cause.
Because of this, a good start is important, both to put them on the back foot but also to get less experienced players like Aiden Orme and Jack Carney into the game. Punish them early, get them ask them some hard questions and then – as Kevin McStay noted on the podcast about how qualifier matches can play out – a cagey contest could quickly open up.
And if it does then the supporters have to play their part. There has been an understandable disjoint at times this year between the team and management (especially the latter) on one side and the supporters on the other. But, you know, a house divided cannot stand – this is Championship, we’re all on the same side and if we all act in that fashion today then getting the required result, on home turf, becomes a less challenging proposition.
So, are you all ready for the high wire later on? You can be sure that James and his team are and what’s sure to be a big Mayo crowd need to demonstrate that they are too.
This is, after all, Championship football. This is kill or be killed. This is win today and live another day. As ever it’s great to be alive, great to still have a dog in the fight.
And this dog’s not done yet either. Here’s hoping we see plenty of proof of that today. Let’s get this one done and get back into the bowl on Monday morning. The talking’s over, now it’s time for action. Up Mayo.
A good start from the lads can get the place rocking. Let’s do this! Up Mayo!!
Mayo by 4-6 points
That’s a strong team and bench
Our summer of football begins now
Looking like a tough game ahead, but I’d be a bit more positive than what I’ve read on here the last few days. Have to go for it from throw in, get on the front foot and dig in to stay there. It won’t be pretty to watch but it’s knockout and we are better in that environment. Need the leaders to show the way today – Lee, O Connors, Paddy Durcan and Oisin to stay on the field for the full game and need a bigger effort from Ruane than of late. Mayo to sneak it…..
Stephen Coen on Gary Mohan and Oisín out to 6 hopefully. Really looking forward to it. Only the league but Monaghan created plenty of chances in February, their conversion rate was poor. Our defence will be well tested. We kicked a bit more that day. Would be great to see us kicking more but winning any which way will do. Hopefully Walsh, Orme and Carney repay the faith JH has placed in them. Safe travelling everyone including Monaghan supporters.
Maigh Eo Abú!
Well said WJ. I think our lads are up for it so let’s give the support they deserve this evening at McHale Park. Le cunadh De beidh an bua ag foireann Mhuigeo. Bigi linn i Caislean A’Bharra agus bigi ag glaoich/beiceal go h-ard!
Mhuigeo Abu!
I dont know about this one and I’ve been
sick with nerves since yesterday evening with anticipation of what will happen. I’m hoping and praying the lads can pull it out of the bag. Listened to the podcast with Colm Boyle which definitely got me excited with his enthusiasm and belief in the squad as he rightly pointed out the talent we have. I guess with the last few defeats its hard not to wonder are we going to get more of the same lack lustre performance. We will know soon enough and hopefully it wont be. Wishing all the lads the best of luck. Even without one of star players they absolutely can get the win if they are fired up, rearing to go and fully fit. Come on Mayo
We’re back up on the high wire
It’s all or nothing
Do or die tie
Kill or be killed
Jesus WJ, you’re up for it anyway. Maybe you’d roar that into the dressing room just before they head out. You’ve certainly got me going.
Km79. Agree with you. I’m off to P P s 6/5 Mayo -3. Now lads , no more negativity. we’ll win and win we’ll!
Facinating contest ahead. I expect to see Mayo win by about 4 points.i would like to see us cut out the lateral passing and an improved performance from our half forwards. Enjoy the occasion and the Sun. Safe travlelling
The likes of Lee and Aidan know they don’t have too many opportunities like this left. I think they’ll set the tempo today and bring the younger lads with them.
Up Mayo.
Best of luck to the lads today, no second chances now.
Agreed Rock. And Paddy too, though he’s a little younger, he’s one of our biggest leaders. It will be incredibly encouraging seeing him running on togged out
Just wondering, what is Horan’s record like in qualifier games ?
I think we are going to cut loose and it’s going to be a cracker
We will of course give them a chance and leave them in it for most of the game as we always do 😀
I can’t see us losing .
No point in complaining about our injuries, fellows are pissed off when they don’t make the match day 26,today is their big chance.
I would be expecting a huge Mayo performance Today after the worrying displays against Kerry and Galway. We have had 6 weeks to prepare for this one so there can’t be any more excuses. The 15 named is a strong fast paced Team which needs to drive hard at Monaghan and not give them time to settle into their blanket system. If Mayo are forced to slow down the game as we have seen v Kerry and Galway then we will be in trouble. It will be interesting to see if JH has learned from the previous matches and if there is a change of tactics. Mayo used to use the foot pass as a killer option in setting up scores into our mobile forward line but this seems to have been shelved lately. We have a potent forward line even without Tommy and Ryan. Cillian is still one of the best forwards in the Country, James Carr has an eye for goal, Orme has huge potential (even if he still has not shown it at county level yet) Today could be his day. Jack Carney and Bryan Walsh are strong mobile players. Diarmuid o Connor is a point getter and can sore goals. Move the ball into these lads fast there in lies the key to beat Monaghan. Our back lines are strong ,full of pace and strength, strengthened by the return of Paddy and Rob. Oisin should play at 6. Steven Coen I think will play as a sweeper to protect the back line and to stop any soft goals . Finally Mattie needs a big game Today. So far this year he looks off form. I hope he plays well Today and will score. A lot has been written about Aidan O Shea. What a servant he has been to Mayo football.sure he makes mistakes but name me a player who has not. . His best position is in Midfield, field the ball and quickly lay it off. He is a brilliant passer of a ball and a great tacler. Fair dos to Aidan to keep coming back from a lot of negativity to keep going and giving his All to Mayo.
So enough negativity. This Mayo Team have been kicked.put down.written off by fans and pundits alike. They come back stronger every time. They are Mayo Men with a thirst and a pride to win so let’s All get behind this Team Today and roar the rafters off the stand in Mc Hale Park.
Mayo to do it by 5 points.
Support these Mayo Lads Today and Roar them onto a win.
Safe travelling to All.
Mhuigheo a Bu.
I think Mayo will win comfortably enough. Carr can get scores we are told. Lets see him bag 1-2 or so today.. Carney also a chance to see if he can score. Although he could switch to Midfield with AOS going ff . Also Diarmaid could go Midfield. Hard to see AOS lasting pace there. Its a stronger team then started against Galway. With the return of Durcan Mulllen and Hennelly. Loss of Ryan huge as is Plunkett but Durcan is our best player so its balanced out in a way.
Lot of talk about subs but i haven’t seen them yet. KMCL will have a super sub role to play.
Changes before start??
With Jordan injured, O’Shea must be played in midfield. It’s an easy decision in my mind. Jordan on the bench must mean he’s close enough back to full health. This is a massive boost. Get past today and the injury situation will only continue to improve. Up Mayo
@mayo88. I think Horan’s qualifiers rate is 100%. The only year Horan was in the qualifiers was 2019. We list the semi so his record is good.
Does anyone have the subs list?
Byrne, O Hora, Brickenden, McHugh, Flynn, O’Shea, Mcloughlin, McHale, Loftus, Doherty, Boland
We need to get of to a fast start and build up a five or six point lead so the pressure is on them. A slow start especially giving up an early goal and we could be in real trouble. Best of luck to the lads.
Best of luck to the team today. A lot more doubts and unknowns amongst supporters than usual this week. But one good performance today can put us back on track and put us back in contention.
I think we will win this one by about 4 or 5 points. I’d say Doherty will start to be honest as I think a bit more experience in the forward line is needed. Big day for aido as he will want to silence the doubters.
Up mayo!
It’s high summer,the sun is shining,lads are funnelling back from injuries,backs are against the wall and it’s do or die championship.
These are the days we live for,let’s roar these lads over the line.
Mayo by 5,a big game from Cillian.
Im hearing from a good source that Mayo are starting with two at midfield for the throw-in.
The area where I feel Monaghan are weak is their manager, didn’t do anything last time when he was the boss and I think he doesn’t have it at this level.
I have always let my heart rule my head when it comes to predicting results for games involving Mayo, but having suffered so many disappointments I’m going to let my head rule from now on. We haven’t put in a complete performance for a few years, there have been many reasons for this: retirements and injuries, but also James Horan’s failure to base his gameplan on the type of player currently available to him, a one-size fits all approach doesn’t work in gaelic football. I have seen nothing to suggest we can challenge the big boys, but quite often in the past, when things were at a low ebb like today, Mayo surprised us and put in a good performance. Let’s hope today is one of those days. Best of luck to our minor hurlers and footballers also. As always WJ, many thanks for providing us with this brilliant blog.
Championship knockout football! I certainly wouldn’t bet against us. In modern times as much as it’s true we can’t win an All-Ireland, it’s also true very few have put us to the sword prior when knockout. Fairly sure we watched this movie before over the last couple of years when we were told ROD could never replace COC etc. Hopeful that Horan has developed another superstar we’ll be raving about this time next year and into the future. Mayo by 5 plus, anything less than a win would be an anomaly.
Lets hope there’s no cynical targeting of Cillian, the only other forwards that concern me are on the Monaghan team.
There’s a lot of scorers in that Monaghan team, in all lines and any team with Niall Kearns in it needs to be watched.
Tight enough call on the day, I’d go Mayo by 2 or 3 points.
Have a good feeling going into this one, just like the Galway game – maybe it was having that video of the Roscommon lad shared a few days back – the sun’s shining, the ice cream’s melting, hopefully McHale Park will be rocking!
Couple of our forwards are absolute passengers and lack any penetration. If we had a top class forward line this game would be over. Up Mayo
You’d never think mayo were at home. Crowd very quiet. So much for ‘fortress’.
We should be a lot more ahead given possession but once again the backs are having to do the scoring. McCarron running the show
We are missing Rod (and Conroy) for sure
But what team wouldn’t
Orme struggling. Carr in and out as he is prone to do
Carney immense
We have options may as well use them early
Forwards not scoring again. So predictable
Was it a penalty? Couldn’t rightly tell at the game.
We need a couple of changes. No marking, Monaghan getting loads of space.
Ah it was No doubt. Foot block from where I’m sitting in the stand.
Moose Monaghan have had more possession
That surprised me… But ya know what I mean
Orme is well off what’s required physically unfortunately. He’s getting tossed off the ball.
This third quarter has been a shambles from Mayo. Ffs its knockout football lads!
Same issues resurfacing ie can’t beat the blanket
That was puke
Absolutely pathetic 2nd half. I’ve seen them penalties given. Monaghan a poor team too but we ain’t going much further.
Very poor stuff indeed. Still think ye could beat provincial finalists but after that I cant see where the scores would come from to go any further but if yer not in. Roll on the small ball!!!
Very lucky with the penalty call as they are more often given. Our half forward line were nowhere to be seen again.
Not brilliant but after the last two games I’d take a win over a Division 1 team all day, especially with the injuries. Carney did well, Aiden very strong. Hession brought a spark in the second half, and good to see Coen having a decent game. I was a lot happier before some of the clowning around in injury time though!
That performance was as bad as the Galway one. The main difference was the opposition.
The behaviour in extra time was mortifying.
I thought the ref was very nice to Mayo today. He gave us everything.
We are still in it, but we were poor and got a big helping hand from the ref.
Can people understand now where the negativity was coming from during the week ?
It would have been a pity if AOS ended up the scapegoat again after a huge performance
What the hell were we at
So lucky
Great win in a nervous second half, Mayo were very fortunate not to have been penalised for that penalty decision in the dying minutes. Well done and I hope ye get a good draw in the draw
Time to put DoC back in 11, felt that Orme should have been hooked as soon as that wide was hit. The goal chance could have completely changed the game and the kick passing leading up to it was what a lot of people were asking for. Monaghan and ref definitely helped us, but great to still be alive. A soft draw would be no bad thing, if Flynn was ready he’d be on given his ability to take a long range score. Rory did perform very well, but Robbie’s kicks looked very solid on the TV.
Jasus you’d need a doctor beside you watching Mayo.
You never said a truer word, Nephin!
MOTM poll now up, report to follow a bit later.
Calling a spade a spade, that was shocking second half by both teams. While I think it would have been a very soft penalty, could easily been given. Then we would have been in world of problems. We just seem to be playing large portions of games, very passively. That against everyone we meeting Kerry, Galway, Monaghan. I not talking about playing badly for 10mins, I talking about 25mins. On positive side, I imagine that Mayo improve, the longer stay in championship. Looking back on previous qualifier campaign, we traditionally poor in early rounds. Hope I not grasping for a silver lining. But think ideally Limerick or Kildare next round of draw. But must improve
Heading out of Castlebar having watched some Awful Awful stuff from Mayo
Would Mayo consider getting a Trainer, Coach or perhaps even a Manager to help out with the Team..
Genuinely heartbroken by our incredibly dire play.
That Muck Style of play is turning life long Mayo supporter’s away.
Hession my MOTM
A half forward line that had one scoring attempt
Between the 3 of them and a midfielder
Playing at full forward.
And we wonder why we can’t get scores against
The blanket. Why not give scoring forwards like
Boland and D Coen a chance ?
Baffling.
Not going to name them but one or two of them players are seriously below standard .
Please please please play Diarmuid at 11!!!
We were very average. Monaghan were terrible.
A poor game.
Could we not kick a 30 yard ball into space in front of full forwards in 2nd half?! Stop. Good reason why these teams were in qualifiers
Not bad from Mayo. Watched it on TV.
Extremely nerve-racking.
I have great time for Monaghan but Mayo as a whole outfoxed them and this is why we won (not that it was all pretty, I agree).
Excellent performances from Aidan O’Shea, Oisín Mullin, Eoghan McLaughlin, Lee Keegan.
Monaghan were up for that game and will feel hard done by to have lost.
Our collective experience paid off today.
This feels different from the Galway game and I feel this game will have brought us on. Up Mayo!!
Honest to god , we are still n the next round though , I’m all for constructive criticism but we succeeded today . We will be raging hot favs to progress to qf
A win is a win. Onwards and upwards. Got a bit of luck with the ref for once. Frustrating watch but if you’d offered me that result before the match I’d have been very happy.
There’s a kick in mayo yet and I really hope ta fook it’s against Galway in semi final , long road ahead yet I know .be some outfit with Tommy and Ryan inside , damn but it would be something else
Desperate altogether We beat a Div1 team but obviously we re too good for all of that. Talk about having an opinion of ourselves We are minus two of our best forwards, are lacking confidence, are in major transition but still people are unhappy with beating Monaghan. Wake up folks.We are miles behind Dublin and Kerry but still managed to grind out a win. A bit of credit wouldn’t go astray. We are in the next round That’s what matters.Some on here would suggest we are top team in the country We haven’t won AI in over 70 years have been beaten in Connacht QF so to be Still in Championship is an achievement We will improve but won’t trouble top teams because our players are not good enough So well done today Good draw Monday and we might hang in for another while
I also thought Diarmuid O’Connor played well today as did Enda Hessian as a poster mentioned above. Mattie tried hard but had no real impact for some reason.
I saw some evidence that we had worked on beating the blanket (though certainly we can always do better).
It’s interesting to remember that not all teams will use the blanket approach so perhaps we don’t need to go all-out in that direction.
Not bad, all in all. Let’s keep getting better and keep the right attitude.
Say what you want about tactics, but the quality simply isn’t there in the forward line and there isn’t much Horan can do about that. You can’t coach cleverness into players.
To win just one: ? %
To win just one: One hundred percent agree
P.S. To Win Just Once, I will still dream!
Forwards were dire apart from Cillian. We only won as Monaghan were very poor!
If Keegan was MOTM what does that say for the others ! , one scoring play doesn’t deserve to win you the MOTM award , neither do you win all Ireland finals on a 35 minute first half performance.
Games are played over 70 plus minutes , yet we seemed to think that the game was over at half time and all we had to do was go through the motions in the 2nd half.
The amount of possession we had and wasted while trying to walk the ball into the large square instead of shooting from 35 / 40 metres out was criminal, we got away with it today but only because Monaghan let us , other sides wont be so generous
Jesus I don’t understand half of ye there.
And those commentating while the game is going on, glad I didn’t read yer negativity live..down with that stuff I say. Willie Joe, a few black cards there I think!
The reality is ayo won a tough qualifier game where we had many enforced changes and lads coming back from long layoffs injury etc
We played a dogged side who fouled frequently and put the entire team behind the ball when we attacked.
I enjoyed the game up close incl a cagey error strewn second half. Great to see Aido prove alot of ‘supporters’ wrong again, and yet again the big man got no help from the ref. Delighted we suffered no new injuries, delighted for our younger players, delighted for JH and all, onwards an upwards..UP MAYO!!
A win but a poor performance, backs keeper and midfield did well, thought Aiden O Shea should have got man of match, he gave it everything. Only the two O Connors should be in the forward line next day , For once Mayo can have no complaints about the Ref, very lucky to get a Derry Ref , Dublin Joe, Deegan or more of them would have given 2 penalties against Mayo.
Great to win, ..Mayo certainly can’t complain about the Ref. In real time at the Match,I taught we were lucky enough to get the penalty, and lucky enough to avoid conceding a penalty late on as well.. And Monaghan given a very soft black card early on from my view of it on the McHale Road side of the stadium.. But a few very good performances ,AOS, Paddy Durcan,Eoghan McLoughlin and Lee Keegan the stand out performer’s… Taught we needed a few subscription earlier…
“We are miles behind Dublin “ how can you become so far behind a team you knocked out of the championship less than a year ago ? People have such short memories , we were brought to extra time by cork and Derry a few yrs ago when they were pure shite , yet we still went on to within a whisker of winning Sam . Not saying we will make the final this year but I’m sure as hell not saying it definitely won’t happen either.
Let’s say for arguments sake we avid the other side of the draw , who is going to beat us , Derry , Donegal , ros , Galway ? Give me odds on mayo making a final and I’ll consider backing them .
Can’t argue with the result, very passive performance for a lot of the game, you wouldn’t think it was knockout, kept the scoreboard ticking over just about at the critical stage of the game but in the 6 mins additional we gave up a hatful of chances, a bit of deja vu with Robbie trying to punch clear a few high balls,
Aido class today.
Very poor second half. Appaling from Mayo for lots of it, and with the peno shout at the end, Monaghan can count themselves unlucky. I’d like to watch it again.
Cillian o Conner sure is back,Aidan showed us today why he is a key memeber of this team,Keegan well deserved MOTM a leader as always.We can only play what we are against,the Monaghan team today wasn’t as good as it usually is but it was one of the hardest draws we could of got and we pulled through.
Will Round two be in neutral venues?
Delighted with the result but by jaysus we got away we that one. Mayo were very average but monaghan were rank altogether. We can have no complaints about the ref this time either, we got all the big calls. McManus had a shocker thankfully.
Few massive performances from leeroy, durcan and eoghan mcl the pick of the bunch. Another bad day for half forward line
Cillian o Conner sure is back,Aidan showed us today why he is a key memeber of this team,Keegan well deserved MOTM a leader as always.We can only play what we are against,the Monaghan team today wasn’t as good as it usually is but it was one of the hardest draws we could of got and we pulled through.
Will Round two be in neutral venues?
Not a vintage performance but after a 6 week break and a host of injuries surely the result is all that matters. The whole team needed that runout and players back from injury today needed it even more. Got home 20 minutes ago and checked out the big calls. Whether or not other refs might have given calls the other way means they they would have made massive errors. The ref today got the black card and all penalty calls correct. I for one view this as a positive outcome and hopefully will bring the team on a bundle.
Will Round two be in neutral venues?
Lets face it if the monaghan penalty call happened up the other end we would have been raging, the mon lad was playing for it but it was still a foul as leeroy had 2 hands around his waist
Win is a win, flaws yes, injuries yes, performance underwhelming, yes, dreams quenched, no, but can all the miserable experts on this blog just enjoy been into the next round, will we win the all Ireland no, but maybe just maybe we could potentially knock galway out with a hammer blow, believe, enjoy and stop been bloody miserable.
Lads we are into the draw Monday that’s all that matters.
Can’t understand the negativity on here. I’m convinced some supporters want us knocked out of the championship early.
We were coming off a 6 week break. Some players got their first minutes since middle of the league. Still missing 2 of our best forwards. Monaghan are a good side. Far better than Fermanagh, Derry, Down, Clare and other teams from previous qualifier runs. It was a fully deserved win from the moment Mohan got his second point. Yes there was some messing about in injury time which could have given them an undeserved draw.
Bizarre tactics from Monaghan going full blanket defense despite being behind for the whole game.
Can’t see why everyone is so negative. We were pacy, got some good scores, had a few bad wides, but didn’t panic. I wasn’t biting my fingernails. Orme? His shot selection was a bit off, but that catch in midfield (he had no right to win it), and the quick ball in to Carney, & lay off to Eoin was terrific, and Beggan had to bring offf a fantastic save to deny us.
We were fitter too, which told in the end. However, I wasn’t impressed by the kamikaze defending in the last few minutes, when we had the game won..
We are in transition.That is obvious but is not offered by anyone as an excuse. With all our players available we could ( COULD)trouble the top teams.The reality though is that we are not a top two team with a deep bench like Kerry or Dublin and could only SERIOUSLY trouble them with everyone available and having the rub of the green like today.
Our ball handling ,cohesion , understanding between players was lacking or woeful. Some of this is because of how we set up and also not having a settled team.
However, we created good goal chances today and there were some fine individual performances. We played with experience ( the experienced players)and naïveté ( the new guys) I thought our full back line did very well as did our half backs. The game should’ve been over as a contest when Eoghan had that gilded goal opportunity ( brilliantly worked by Hennelly and Cillian ) That was a learning from last year’s All Ireland. A brilliant set piece that should’ve come off.
Some of Oisin and Enda Hession’s runs were mesmerizing.
On another day those would pay off.
I thought we were street smart all day long but we are still not the dog- fighting middle eight that we were until recently.
Whatever way we play our half forward line does not work as it should. This has been consistent for a long time.
Aidan was playing in his best position and I think he played well but I get very nervous every single time he starts solo runs. He gets surrounded easily and dispossessed or forced into an error. A minor thing I notice about him is the navel gazing after he’s done something good.This speaks to a lack of concentration or confidence or both. I also don’t like him calling so much to be the playmaker and I think he should share that responsibility a little more. But please stop these heart stopping solo runs.
We have the makings of a very strong defense but unless we find a better way to include the half forward line we will perform below par. I agree that Diarmuid should be number eleven.
I think Carney is a great prospect .
With Conroy and O Donoghue and Flynn then I think we would have the makings of a very good settled team. Even just the latter two being available would be enormously impactful.
The win today was key. The next win is the next key. The longer we play the better we get ( usually)
I’ve said I expect us to get to the semi final but only with us playing to our full potential.
Won’t go down as a vintage performance but we came out of it with the right result. Monaghan might well be upset at some of the calls they felt didn’t go their way but my view (admittedly biased) is that the ref got them right. The Coen footblock wasn’t a footblock, there was too much distance between the shooter and the block. Their Peno call where Keegan was involved was a case of the Monaghan lad trying to sell the dive to the ref and getting nothing for it. We probably couldn’t complain if it had been given but it would have been awful soft if it had.
Lots to work on for the next outing and if we don’t improve then there won’t be many outings this summer.
Totally agree with you on the above, Sean Burke!
By the way, everyone, have a great Sat evening We came out the right side of the result and the sun is shining. We’re still in the Championship. We got to see some of our heroes playing (and with the help of God a few more in the making). We’re lucky pups altogether!
Mayo ground out a win while having a bad day at the office. Still in the pot come Monday and people are still moaning. Cheer the fuck up folks. Glorious day here in Achill, and better promised tomorrow.
Dunno what Aido was thinking with that back pass. Lee lucky to avoid a peno.
Hession best of the bunch today.
Aido just had a Breaffy moment with that dodgy pass late on,apart from that he was very good I thought . Like others I don’t get the moanfest. Did we not say a 1 point win would do. Of course it wasn’t perfect and the long layoff probably didn’t help but there were plenty of positives as mentioned. I think young Hession is going to be massive for us and Oisin looking back to near his best. Coen looking better and Mattie will be better next time. Diarmuid at 11 flanked by Fergal and Darren Mc is the way to go next day out and Flynn coming in to play at least some part. Eoghan Mc may be a doubt after taking that bang to the knee but hopefully a clean bill of health…so keep the faith folks.
Lea times
Don’t know how you can say soft black card?
He stuck out his leg and tripped him.
Nearly identical to the card given to La Rochelle last week in the rugby.
Thank God I have been present throughout the Lee Keegan career extravaganza. When I hear a out other legends of the past in different sports I think they’re exaggerated…..Not this fellow!
@Anyup, from my vantage view it looked a soft black card, I didn’t see a trip…. called it as I seen it in person or as have pointed out, missed it. Haven’t seen it on TV but I take your word for it!
McManus deserved a black for the trip and a red for stupidity!