The seniors have a weekend off for a change and in their stead it’s the county’s Junior side that takes centre-stage. It’s been a while – two months, to be exact – since Seán McLoughlin’s charges won the Connacht JFC title but tomorrow they’re back in action, playing for a place in the All-Ireland final.
Tomorrow’s All-Ireland JFC semi-final sees them up against Wexford at O’Connor Park, Tullamore, where throw-in has been fixed for 2pm. The bookies have priced this one as a toss-up, with Paddy Power offering both teams at evens to prevail.
We named our team and short while ago this evening and full details on the starting fifteen and subs are here. It’s good to see that, with a number of lads who played in the provincial campaign no longer available, several of the victorious U21 All-Ireland team have been drafted in to bolster the Juniors’ ranks.
Best of luck to the lads as they aim to seal the county’s second All-Ireland final appearance in a row at this level.
Good to get another look at Reape and other u21 to see how he steps up against older opponents. It’s taking Adam Gallagher a while to get back to the level before his injury. Youthful back line all U21 except for freeman
All the best tomorrow to the juniors. Looks like a young fast team, and with the seven under 21s they should have that winning mentality. By the way six of the starting players plus Cormac Reape are under 21 again next year.
Best of luck to the junior lads tomorrow. Fantastic to see the U-21s transitioning onwards. Will be watching this performance with great interest.
This is the way to bring the u21’s on, not by throwing them into the senior team as some posters suggest. Best of luck to the lads tomorrow.
Ya, this is a safer and more sensible way to transition players to the senior ranks. Best of luck to the team and all involved. Looking like another rattle at the kingdom……….
Best of luck to our junior team today!
It’s great to see some joined up thinking this year between the different team managements. It’ll be great experience for the lads who won an All-Ireland title with this year’s U21 team, playing in this match. Also it’s a good idea to allow Eoin O’Donoghue and Brian Reape, who are in the senior panel, to play in this game.
Between the senior and junior Mayo championship games played so far this year, I make it that 30 players of the senior panel will have got game time. I reckon that Chris Barrett, Michael Hall and Caolan Crowe are the only panel members who have not seen some action.
Best of luck to the team today and it would seem to me Mayo should win comfortably so why short odds. I agree it’s a great opportunity to develop players but I have a bit of a philosophical question. Is the junior competition not designed to allow less talented players an opportunity but instead seems to be used as a reserve team to the
Seniors? Is there know criteria for eligibility to play at junior level?
Good luck to Roscommon today also. I think they will get a morale boasting win…
It bars players who have played senior championship football from the year before. Freeman plays for a senior club in aughmore but didn’t play in last years championship. It brings the best of junior and intermediate clubs together and if one looks at the minors and u21 the last few years this isn’t a bad thing. It will be good to compare Reape against Coen Farrell Gallagher and the like as these are not inferior footballers. Finally best of luck to John Gilmore an absolute legend in underage football with Moy Davits good to him get recognitions in the this setup
Another All Ireland final for these players great experience. Won 2-10 to 0-10 goals from Keane and Gaughan both subs.
SUPER. We`ll take anything that comes. Maybe for once our stars are in line.!
Once again Ross gone before August
Short turnaround did Roscommon no favours as they looked out on their feet in the 1st half. Clare probably didn’t expect to be in such a strong position going into the 2nd half and looked like letting it slip at one stage. Roscommon with some sloppy tackles self-imploded. They will be disappointed not to have made a quarter but by maintaining their div 1 status they will have plenty to build on for next year.
So does this prove us right in not taking on the Mc super show as our management team last year? Looks like it to me especially with the brother in law not being able to stop shooting his mouth off on the mejia
Since ye’re talking bout it here, may aswell post from the other thread
Wow what a miserable end to a season that promised so much for Ros.
They lost by 6 but to be honest Clare were 10-15 points the better team. The likes of ourselves, Kerry and Dublin would have won that by north of 20 potentially!!!
Very hard to know where they go from here. Clearly they need a lot of time off, and plenty of soul searching. They’ve put way too much into the league the last two years and it’s all been for nowt in terms of championship.
I do think they’re potentially going places though and there’s zero doubt in my mind they’ll be far better equipped next summer. I do feel a bit of sympathy for them as quite clearly the players are massively burnt out, and it’s a shame to see any team with such potential crash and burn so badly. To be honest it’s what I’ve feared for a while could quite conceivably happen to ourselves after so many years on the road, but thankfully it hasn’t just yet- pending next Saturday!!!
Anyhow delighted for Clare, they’ve probably been the story of a very dull Championship to date. No reason they’d be scared of Galway but I’d fear a thumping v Kerry. Mentally they’d be beaten before they even take the pitch v the latter, while a match vs a talked-up galway team who haven’t won a match in Croker in yonks and will be massive odds on favourites could be quite interesting. Gary Brennan is probably the best midfielder in Ireland, and the two Collins’, Cleary and Tubridy are a threat to any team. They actually have a nice looking bench too, which is unusual for a small county with a relative tiny playing pool, and limited footballing tradition
Funnily enough east Cork exile if the unlikely happens next week, we could end up having a worse season than Ross, so in that case i don’t see anyone “proven right” with anything
Even a quarter loss and you could argue given prior expectations we’ve done relatively just as bad, if not worse, on paper than them this season
That’s year two down out of three to Roscommon winning All Irelands as so boisterously declared by their manager last year. With their summer ending yet again in July the whole country will be waiting with bated breath to witness the greatest transformation in sporting history within the next 12 months !!
Ciaran, how could we end up having a worse season than Ross? We would both have exited at the same stage if God forbid we lost next Saturday. We would also have gotten to Croke Park!! 🙂
Well done Mayo Juniors, another AI final, hope we go one step further than last year.
A Mayo team gets to an All Ireland final and most people are more interested in Roscommon or what RTE are saying about us. Priorities!
Well done to the Mayo Juniors.. yee are a credit to ye’re clubs and County. I wonder who are they likely to play in the final?
Well said. The boys deserve it. Just read Colm Gannon match report in the advertiser. Darren Coen 6 points and with both goals stands out.
Toe to hand, its Kerry I think
Well done to the juniors.
Gwan the banner.
As they made a league semi ahead of us, Cork Exile (not directed at you but generally- judging by all the meltdowns on this site in February lets not get all high and mighty now and pretend we don’t care about the league 🙂 ), , and lets be honest they would have been far bigger outsiders coming into the year. They haven’t made an AI quarter in 6 years, we won every single provincial title since then and never failed to make it to a semi. So it’d be a far bigger disaster of a year for us tbh, when you weigh up previous form
If we do go out next week, I’d actually much prefer to be in Ross’s position heading into next year. Even a quarter loss and I’ll be very disappointed- even if it was Dublin. Because it would all be as a result of losing to a Division 2 side in our back yard in June. Technically they’ve still gone a round further than last year
You’d wonder what it will take to sort out Roscommon football Kevin Mc Stay must be scratching his head.
I presume the superlatives written about the Galways will be reexamined given today’s result. Joe Brolly isn’t always correct but I think he hit the nail on the head regarding the neighbours.
True Liam, Clare cut them open with just as much ease, but they aren’t nearly as media friendly to write about so I’d imagine they won’t get near the same adulation.
There’ll be a fair few superlative Galway fawning articles from last week going on Tipp/Clare’s training centre/dressing room wall you’d imagine.
It’s a funny old game, to think Ross were possibly a bit of balls in the last play away from having a rest this weekend and awaiting Tipp next week. Funny old game
Hard to know Backdoor Sam, they haven’t had any sort of decent champ run in recent memory really. 2001 they won Connacht alright, but came up very short in the quarter. In 2010 all they had to do was beat a wounded Sligo
dare I say, they remind me a bit of the English football team- but without the “superstars”
So much hope and expectation every year, but can’t get it right in Championship. In theory with all their recent underage success and league showings they should be a top 8 team. Sides like Tipp and Clare – with the greatest due respect – should have no business going further in champ than them
You’d honestly not bat an eyelid if pretty much every team in Ireland down to about the Carlow’s and London’s standard beat them in a champ match. And saying that they nearly feckin lost to NY this year!
That was a cracking finish to Tipp Derry. Tipp did extraordinarily well to dig it out. Behind at half time after playing with wind advantage.
I’d imagine Kerry will sadly blow Clare away, but Tipp and Galway could be interesting. galway will probably do enough but I have a real bad feeling that they’re being set up for a real fall with all this hyper talk about them. Tipp will relish this so much, nothing at all for them to lose and they gained some real momentum and belief today
Well done to the juniors , another crack at Kerry in store ,, also well done to Clare …. Great result !!!!!!
Well done to the juniors!
As for Roscommon what can you expect when you peak in Feb/Mar!
Tipperary will give Galway a series run for it don’t forget Galway haven’t won a game in Croke Park since 2001!
The Mayo GAA Banter page is an embarrassment to decent Mayo fans. I commented on their inappropriate rejoicing in Roscommon’s defeat today to gently suggest that they remove “Mayo GAA” and “Banter” from the name of their page as they do not appear to understand the meaning of either. I was promptly blocked and had my comments deleted! Surely the use of “Mayo GAA” requires certain standards of behaviour as is always the case here thanks to WJ’s watchful eye. Mayo County Board please copy.
I told a roscommon supporter before we played them in the league that their next 3 league games would determine their season. We beat them dublin beat them. Kerry hockied them. They had few answers when questioned by the top teams and that’s what ur measured by. That supporter dud not believe what I was saying. Lol I think he was a band wagon supporter lol
Well done juniors – useful workout too for our U21 guys who might yet play a part…
As for the Rossies, serious questions about McStay there. Their body language said it all. He should have been on the sideline playing the 16th man. This ‘objective guy in the stand’ ploy, is useless when it comes to crunch time. Match was there for them even though playing badly; got it back to 2, Clare missed a stack, and still they couldn’t bring real pressure to bear.
But, as others have pointed out, we have nothing to smile about as yet. Westmeath will take a lot of heart from the two results today. We will need to be up for it, and well up for it.
Ciaran,
I for one don’t give a fiddlers about the league, never have…no pretending about it. The league is all about survival and nothing else.
Its almost as if your a Rossie trying to find a silver lining after todays annual embarassment. They’re season is a bigger disaster than last year, the usual Rossie all talk about league and underage (no national title in 10 years) did’nt amount to much for them again today. Joke of a team. If we lose to Westmeath next week, then so be it. Least we have a crop of under 21’s with two AI medals in they’re back pocket, who we can introduce next year. So totally disagree with your comment of “Id rather be in Roscommons position, going into next year”.
Well done to the Juniors, absolute brilliant way of blooding U-21’s. This time next week we’ll either be sizing up a quarter final, or looking for a bottle of brandy…..or maybe both.
Well done to the juniors. Best of luck to them in the final against Kerry.
Also, congratulations to the Mayo masters, starting their 2016 season with a win over Sligo in Ballymote earlier today, winning by 1-12 to 0-11.
Well done everyone who did well today….a great credit to all! I’ll include myself TKU….! coming up nicely from behind in the league..
But these commentators doing these matches!!! I ll say nowt! One good man or woman is enough so long as they can describe what’s happening! I resorted to the gaeilge channel somewhere even though I was nt with him all the time but talk about excitement!
I’d say John Evans is having a good laugh at Roscommon County Board tonight. …His face did not fit, where to now for McStay and O’Donnell..
Delighted to see juniors win, wonder when is the final scheduled? Kerry will be a great test but no reason why we should not go on to claim another All Ireland.
I feared for the Rossies having seen Clare beat Sligo last weekend, they are a big team with plenty of runners. They will compete against Kerry but playing for a 4th week in a row plus history will militate against them.
Tipp actually showed great composure to beat Derry, a talented squad, some of them would certainly make the Mayo team. Good test for Galway, but would expect that they will pull through in the end.
Munster will have the most representation in the quarters, and hopefully Leinster will only have the 1, makes it interesting when different teams come through. If we beat Westmeath, I would like to play the Dubs, as I think they could be vulnerable from a defensive perspective. It would also suit the Gaa as they would expect a bumper crowd!
All – I’d appreciate it if you could ease up a bit on the Rossie bashing. It’s the easiest thing in the world to lay into a county when they’re on the floor and, God knows, we know ourselves what that feels like. They crashed and burned for sure today – and the seeds of today’s chastening defeat were surely sown back in the spring with their Kildare-esque decision to be fitter than everyone else in February and March – but it’s commiserations they deserve tonight, not contempt. This isn’t that awful Mayo GAA Banter page so can everyone please bear this in mind in commenting on the neighbours’ demise? Thanks.
Get your point wj…mine was only meant as a joke!!! Being honest im half rossie anyhow!!! But the mind n heart all mayo….still no need to delete my post!!! I dont mind the rossies…but i do find their over confidence amusing considering they have achieved very little to warrant it…and they certainly have stuck the boot into us over the years…
Great win by juniors
Shows the talent is there
Don’t kick Rossies when they are down
Remember Galway in Castlebar
Keep the faith, but let’s not get carried away
here , here W,J .Football is a sport that we all should enjoy to watch or play . Its not about abusing a team when they loose . So i delighted W J is pulling up some posters on the rossies abuse .
That’s fair enough, Fat Larry, I just thought there was no need for the sentiments expressed in your earlier comment. Their over-confidence is, I agree, hard to understand but tonight’s not the night to be sticking it to them.
Fully agree Willie Joe, they’re amateur guys doing their best for their county at the end of the day and don’t deserve any sort of derision or abuse imho
Sometimes things don’t go your way, but shit happens and all that. Petty abuse and childish point scoring should be left to Twitter and facebook
Far from a ross supporter Juan but disappointed from a GAA perspective to see them not fulfil their potential. If it makes me look like a sensitive Sally and Ross apologist then so be it.
Anyhow since they actually have no sort of relevance to us all in this year’s championship il bow out of discussing them myself as constant mention of them only really encourages post like WJ aludes to.
Dead right WJ Some here were awfully upset when we got slagged by other counties supporters after losing to galway and the AOS incident so kicking a team and its people when theyre down is poor form. I didn’t expect Ros to win today. Very few provincial runners up have succeeded in the past after a 6 day turnaround. As for McSays position being in doubt, for God sake he is only in his first year, similar to Rochford whose position shouldn’t be in doubt regardless of what happens this year. Very well done to Clare and Tipp, a fantastic achievement for both of them bearing in mind they are counties where football is frowned upon by some who would have you believe that hurling is a way more superior sport. Todays Tipp Derry game was as good as anything I saw this year in either football or hurling, with no blanket defences or tactics gone mad. Having said that I reckon its handy QFwins for Kerry and Galway. Imagine Kerry arriving at AI Semi having beaten Clare twice and Tipp once. Yerra Tomas Se will be bemoaning their lack of good competitive games.
WJ, I am with you fully. I have dipped into the Reservoir Dubs site this last week and although not quite scurrilous it’s still full of plenty of over inflated confidence and no small contempt for supposedly “inferior” teams. The definition of true champions is a team that wins and still has some form of humility or groundedness. Kerry do it in a kind of cute hoor way.
We certainly don’t have any right to be adding any further to Roscommon’s pain tonight. As you say we’ve been there plenty of times ourselves. Humility and empathy in others misfortune (as long as we aren’t facing them) are the key.
And after all they are a Connacht team…..
Hard luck to the Rossies. They were a breath of fresh air in the early rounds of the league and put on some superb performances.
Automatic promotions 2 years in a row was impressive but they are still a long way behind the big boys albeit making progress.
I know their fans got carried away but what fans don’t. The vast majority of roscommon supporters are decent and will prob be shouting on mayo up in croke park. I would have liked to seen them there too but they just weren’t good enough this year.
They are hurting tonight so cut them some slack ..
Well done to the juniors !!!