Photo: GAA
The draw for Round 3 of the qualifiers has just been made and we’ve been paired with Kildare, the Lilywhites having home advantage.
The Round 3 matches will be played this coming weekend and the GAA will confirm the finer details later on today. I’ll be back later as well with some more background information on our Round 3 opponents.
Support the team as they continue their campaign through the qualifiers. Play the Mayo GAA Lotto here.
Decent draw…..it could be worse!
Very small ground. Should be a sell out.
Not too bad at all. Not easy but we are very capable of winning this. Saturday evening in Newbridge I suppose.
In fairness lads we can’t complain well within our ability to come through handy enough.
could have been far worse although would have liked a home draw
Think there will be a bit of a scramble for tickets for this one. The capacity at Newbridge is only about 8,000 with a small amount of seats. KIldare have a decent following also. Other than that, a good draw, tricky, but it could be an awful lot worse.
This is even trickier than last weekend. Sos out, we’ll be coming up against a big tall team.
Yeah we avoided mon and tyr but I have to say i’m a little bit worried about this one
Delighted with that
No tricky Ulster clash away and a team who lost to Carlow a few weeks back. Should get through with little fuss, and next week also
Not too bad
Decent draw, tipp were a better side for sure,
away is tricky but players have experience playing there over the years.
This really helps our path to super 8’s now, as we have avoided both monaghan and tyrone now.
Could be kildare and then Laiose/Rossies/Cork or Fermanagh
Mayo blessed to be making their way through the Qualifiers against second and third rate teams…Hardly ideal preparation for the stern tests ahead in the Super 8
Capacity of newbridge is 6,200 according to wikipedia. Hard to see how they can host it there. Maybe will be moved to Portlaoise?
There are games at 5pm and 7pm on sky so we will be playing at one of those times.
Think it’s a tricky one without our big men around the middle. Kevin Feely will be a danger to us if he is fit to play. he didn’t start last week but came off the bench
Monaghan and Tyrone avoided equals success! Kildare who Carlow beat by 7 points. So only have to beat Kildare and one of Roscommon,Laois,Fermanagh or Cork to reach the super 8 safe to say Mayo will be odds on to do that now.
Not bad at all!!!!! If we were offered Kildare at 8am we’d a bitten the hand off. Glad we’re not at home either…on we go again.
Ground only hold 6200 according to Wikipedia. Was there for the league tiny stand. Mayo support would easily fill it by themselves.
[Deleted].
Could be a capacity issue with new bridge?
What’s the craic then , no way newbridge will hold all that wants to go ?
Thanks for that summation Observer..You must have missed the parts along the way where we lost out first choice midfield pairing so you can take that word blessed and..
That’s not a bad draw at all, the only worry for Mayo now is injuries or tiredness, kildare have Neal Flynn back after missing the league and he is there free taker and a good forward, but having said that it looks like another Mayo win..
Its grand. Should be ok in this. Just be careful, and please no more injuries.
Best wishes to all, especially the injured heroes.
Safe travelling to all and
mind the cars.
Kildare are a big side physically with some huge men around the middle. Won’t be as easy as some people think
Decent draw
Armagh or Clare could well make the super 8s
That’s the group everyone will want
Good draw,we can an easy enough up Mayo
How the hell can a county ground hold only 6500.
You see more at a first communion
Mayo Dunphy – that’s two comments in two days in breach of the rules. I think a spell in moderation is called for now.
It held 12000 for the league. 10000 mayo supporters in Kildare but would expect more next weekend with game on east coast. Kildare are better supported too than limerick or Tipp. I think there is racing in Curragh next weekend as well
Avoided Tyrone and Monaghan so happy enough, Kildare have that nice team look but you would never fear them, they could cause us problems at midfield with Paddy Brophy and Tomas Moolick tho with and Niall Kelly and Daniel Flynn up front will need watching
Straight choice for the GAA here – make it all-ticket and lock out a good half of those interested in going to the game or else shift it to a venue that can take the anticipated crowd. O’Connor Park in Tullamore gets my vote in the latter case. But will the GAA do this? The need to cater for a big crowd is precisely the logic the GAA uses when choosing venues for Dublin’s annual “away” game in Leinster so we’ll find out soon enough today if the same logic applies in our case for this one.
Avoiding Tyrone and Monaghan has to be a plus but that said, Kildare could still turn out to be a very tricky challenge and one not to be taken lightly. By now they should be over the shock defeat to Carlow and with an easy enough win over Derry and coming out the right side of a tough match against Longford will be feeling fairly confident with the home draw.
For us, this week is more about recovery and setting out our stall for the visit to Newbridge, rather than any heavy lifting. The team will be feeling good about themselves with the way they finished against Tipperary, and despite the huge loss of Seamie, should have enough in the tank to extend their stay in the Championship for at least another week.
Away to Kildare is no gimme and the extreme heat (cant believe im saying that) forecast for the weekend is also a leveller. It will be a battle for Mayo to get over Kildare and I expect a tight match where the fitness of the teams will be a big factor.
If as ye say Kildare have a good midfield pairing then Mayos injury worries will no doubt take up Rochfords time this week. Im away unfortunately I wont get to see the game but as ive said earlier last week Round 3 is probably the match that is most likely to test Mayos Super8 ambitions.
Good luck to ye and sure you could almost see the 4th round being Mayo vs Roscommon with the poor auld Rossies foaming at the mouth after last years hammering.
Nail on the head there Willie Joe
I think a lot seem to be underestimating the challenge. Sure we avoided mon and Tyrone but kildare away? Strong physical athletic team…our 1st choice midfield gone, our all star Harrison out, Vaughan with little or no game time, and with us using aido and Diarmuid (Who are an excellent pairing) it means we fill their places with lads who while willing and keen, haven’t strengthened our side.
Based on form and injuries, this will take a big effort and a bit of luck, again, to win it.
If our defence is naive and opened up again, like it was for long spells in Thurles then We’ll be in trouble. We left massive gaps for them to run through.
Is it up to the GAA Willie Joe or is up to Kildare GAA? Kildare would surely have to agree to give up home venue? I don’t see why they’d even contemplate doing that.
I think Portlaoise is the most likely venue as it is handier for Kildare fans and it is their “home” game. Just down the motorway for Kildare whereas Tullamore is another 30 or so miles across country. Kildare would also probably be more familiar with Portlaoise. In anycase holding it in Newbridge would make no sense at all. Regards the result, a lot depends on which Kildare turn up. They are potentially a very good side but seem to have a problem in realising that potential.
A touch of complacency evident here, Mayo will be favourites but treat opposition with anything less than 100% respect and we’re in trouble. A bad day for Kildare v Carlow but bear in mind everything went right for Carlow that day and they had 100% accuracy rate.. something I never recall hearing before.
Expect more of the same as from the Tipperary game. Kildare will put it up to us and will still be smarting from the hammering we gave them in the league. That said we should have enough about us to beat them – we have a better all round team with far more guile and experience. The only thing that always nags me is the 1 week turnaround which can turn games into a lottery if the fitness becomes an issue especially away from home. That’s why our squad depth will be tested. As for the venue they haven’t a notion of moving it to Tullamore – unless we start playing in sky blue jerseys and start selling onions on Moore Street that is!
Won’t be easy and anybody thinking so didn’t watch the Tipp game….also our injury list continues to grow. I’m not taking anything for granted
The reason given to move venues when weaker counties draw dubs at home is capacity issues. Surely the same principle now applies. Portlaoise orr Tullamore are obvious choices. But this is not a Leinster Council decision so same logic may not apply.Doubt if Kildare Co Board would give up home advantage
Two quotes from recent GAA presidents
The first, on moving Dublin put of Croke Park: “we’re not in the business of turning fans away!”
The other, on potentially building a national stadium outside Dublin: “We can’t be dragging fans all over the country.”
Not 100% accurate wording wise I’m sure but a quick Google of same will reveal all.
Bookies have us 4/9 on. So it’s no gimmie.
Kildare only fell over the line against Longford. I would expect another game along the line of tipp game. Kildare forwards to get some good scores and put us under pressure, but Mayo to pull away in last 15 minutes.
Maigh Abu
So who really decides this venue thing? Kildare GAA, Leinster Council or Crime Park? Cannot see Kildare giving up home advantage unless they are bullied into it by HQ. And what is the capacity of the ground anyway, Wikipedia isn’t always accurate. McHale Park has a capacity of 38k, supposedly?
Sources say the game may be held in the Gaelic grounds in Limerick
It’s up to the GAA (CCCC) to set the fixtures, Turnip Head, but I think Kildare would obviously have a big say seeing as it’s their home venue. But then Wicklow should have had a say about where they played Dublin – and they were on record saying they wanted that game in Aughrim, as it should have been given that it was a “home” game for them – but ut turned out they had no say at all.
I said it here after our league game in Newbridge that kildare were gutless on the day considering their div 1 status was on the line, and they were. That does happen when you get defeat after defeat. However now they are on the back of 2 decent wins and surely will have grown in confidence since then. I also believe that they will be looking to get this moved to as big a pitch as possible as Newbridge does not suit their style of play. A lot here seem to have us in the next round already, but I think we need to ask ourselves are kildare better than tipp, I believe they are and let’s face it tipp had us in bother only for us to get a lucky goal but ultimately we beat them with our superior fitness. For me I had kildare at number 3 of the teams left and I believe this will be very tricky indeed especially with the current injury situation.
Someone above said, please no more injuries, and we all can agree on that. So I can’t for the life of me understand why panel members were playing for their clubs yesterday. People will come on here and match sharpness etc, but that’s bull less than a week out from knockout championship.
Hope this is moved and i expect the Euro signs will ensure that.We need all our fans right now and we may not have been in the draw without them in Tipp.Kildare have the potential to beat most teams on a going day and we need to be on our game.
@Willie Joe, I think there’s a difference between the situation now and Dublin’s opening round games in Leinster. Those Leinster QFs are deemed to be neutral ground games, whereas the team out of the hat first in the draw this morning has the right to home advantage.
This arose before for Kildare when drawn at home for a big qualifier game. In 2013, when still at the top table with McGeeney, they drew Tyrone at home in Round 3. The Kildare County Board were offered the use of Portlaoise to accommodate the crowd and get a few more bob in gate receipts (Kildare were in dire financial straits at the time). They dug their heels in and stayed in Newbridge, the game was all-ticket and could have been sold out 3 times over.
Not sure if the overwhelming optimism on here is warranted. Tipp had us on the ropes the last day, and could have gone another couple of points up before the fortuitous goal. Like most teams that play us nowadays, kildare will be really up for this and they do have a great qualifier record. We should win but no way would I be taking that for granted. Even with fully fit squads we haven’t exactly sauntered through the qualifiers last couple years and now we are missing a number of key individuals with one or two more showing signs of decline after years of heroic service.
I’m very nervous about this game. The injuries are mounting and the reinforcements are slow in coming back in. We’re beginning to struggle without Vaughan and Harrison and could really do with the depth now.
Watched the game again last night and though Hanley did very well overall. James Durcan showed really well, although he should have goaled well before his ‘lob’. Eoin O’Donoghue and Conor Loftus also made an impact on their introduction so that’s positive. Keegan struggled for 30 mins but worked his way into the game. He’ll be better for that game.
It’s definitely the case, Cappadonna, that there are different bodies making the fixture decision. The Leinster Council always follow the money and will bend over backwards to ensure that Dublin never get sent to an awkward venue (on the odd time they’re asked to leave HQ at all). I recall that Tyrone match you mention and it could well be the same situation this time. If it is, it is, but it’s just you’d want to see some logic and consistency in decisions of this kind.
Gillactico – I don’t know what comments you’re reading (or not reading) if you’re picking up “overwhelming optimism on here.” Cautious optimism is as far as I’d do in summing up the opinions expressed thus far.
Every game is a worry now with our injuries.
I’m not so sure bout Kildare. A hard physical side. Hopefully we’ll come thru without injuries to get the win.
Best of luck to Stephen and lads.
Game has to be shifted to PL or Tullamore. Travelling support from Mayo has been lauded by all and sundry, so they can’t be shut out this weekend.
To be honest, sell-out games increase the value in the event. Give me a Newbridge bursting at the seams over a 1/4 full Tullamore. As much as I like Tullamore!
Double header at Croker? Us and Kildare, Tyrone & Cavan?
Kildare also have a large following MayoMark, and with a fair mingling of Mayo sympathisers too given the number of exiles in that part of the country. Newbridge would indeed be bursting at the seems, but I’d say a good 10-12k would have to forgo the pleasure.
A piece by Edwin McGreal in the Mayo News (here) ahead of our League game against them in March quotes a Kildare GAA source saying there’s a capacity “in the region of 12,000” in St Conleth’s Park. The vast bulk of them standing, of course, but if they’re confident they can get that number in then it’s unlikely it’ll be shifted.
small tight pitch is only downside here.
avoiding Tyr/Mon was the main thing and we avoid them completely now.
Getting out of the blocks quickly is key
and protecting our full back in the air
Just what the doctor ordered… Mayo’s path to the super8’s is now well within their grasp. Fair play, the lads never give up! Hopefully, a few fringe payers will put their hands up for this one.
Similar quandaries this weekend in terms of who we assign to mark Daniel Flynn. Not as skilful as Quinlivan but he’s a big powerful man and has pace too.
Hardly be moved to croker?
I am nervous about this game, Kildare defeated Derry away by 8 points and beat Longford in Longford by 3 points, both very good results for Kildare, they sure have recovered from the Carlow game. Ger Canning in commentary at the Donegal /Fermanagh game said that Donegal did not underestimate Fermanagh and were ruthless when required. On a Tipperary GAA forum it was stated that Mayo underestimated Tipp, it appeared to me at the game that some Mayo players did underestimate Tipp, if we have that attitude against Kildare we are gone. A speedy recovery to Seamus, wishing Stephen and the TEAM every good wish on Saturday. A very difficult test on Saturday.
There is nothing easy about Kildare, they are monsters of men around the middle and fullforward with tidy physical cornerforwards .
It will be hard to pick big men to mark their big men like for like but maybe a game where Big Barry, Kirby and Conor O Shea get to stretch their legs.
The positive of playing Kildare is there will be more space for inside forwards .
It wont be easy but a good physical test for us as we hope to be building for later in the year .
The beauty of the qualifiers are you will meet teams with very different traits and have tried out many options if you are to proceed and meet the big boys .
I would worry about our fullback line once more and even be thinking of AOS as a sweeper .
Keep Higgins back there but allow him to attack moreso even pushing Keegan up the field .
___________Clarke
_______Barrett____Caff___
________AOS___Higgins
Keegan____Coen___Durkan
_______Diarmuid__Barry
Hanley___Kevin Mc___Doherty
_________Cillian__Andy
Kirby as a sub for halfforward line
Conor O Shea to replace Barry
James Durkan for Andy , push Doh into corner
Kildare will try not to have game shifted–why should they?
We just need to get on with it. Forget about the venue & ref & concentrate on Kildare. a day for a sweeper i feel.
Was happy enough to draw Kildare for a variety of reasons:
1 – drawing Leitrim, Armagh or Clare would have had no benefit other than to try out something at midfield given we’re down our 2 best midfielders.
2 – Didn’t fancy drawing Monaghan or Tyrone and I’m sure they’re happy enough with their lot and having avoided us too.
3 – If its Newbridge, Tullamore or Portaloise it’s a handier spin for me than Castlebar, Clones, Armagh, Omagh or Ennis or Carrick. Cavan would have been as handy for me if not handier for travel.
We should be winning this although Kildare will rightly fancy their chances given our midfield injury woes and they’re coming off the back of 2 wins. Plus they’ll be looking to avenge our victory against them in the League.
Aside from that – got to watch the Tipp game back again last night. Couldn’t go due to prior commitments and managed to catch only bits and pieces live with a poor connection. Tipp certainly had the better of us in Midfield and were well able to take a mark.
I’m not buying into the “lucky goal” narrative as that being the event that was the key to our success. Sure – it was lucky and sure Tipp didn’t get a look in afterwards- but I’d say at least half of the other 8 unanswered points would be turning points but we seem to look for reasons to call our wins as fortuitous. I firmly believe we would have won with or without that goal, the margin of victory would have been smaller. Maybe 5 points. We had the bench strength that Tipp didn’t have and we have a lot more experience and were clearly fitter and better able to see out the last quarter, particularly in the sweltering heat.
Great to have Jason Doc on song, when he plays well we play well – when he doesn’t, we don’t. Thought Higgins was fairly quiet apart from the free he won early on which Cillian converted. Andy and Cillian were quiet enough but were double marked and Cillian seemed to be quite deep compared to how he played against Limerick. Diarmuid was excellent when he came on. Aido was great at linking play (no doubt some of the twitter freaks won’t acknowledge that). Some people really do have a blind spot when it comes to him.
Barrett wasn’t his best and we’re lucky that we have a near perfect clone of Chrissy with Eoin O’D. Boyle had an off day and to be honest was as well to have been given a black card so Hanley could get some game time, which he certainly will benefit from the experience. Very impressed with the 2 Durcans. Paddy didn’t have a great first half but he was exceptional in the second half and he really is a class act. His brother didn’t look like a lad who only made a senior Championship debut this year either. Lee took a while to steady himself put popped over a great point at the end. Kevin Mc was his usual efficient self and scored a couple of peaches too. Caff had a good day too I thought, but sure he won’t get any credit for that. Thought Coen was fairly anonymous. Really hoping Evan Regan can start to gather a few scores as at this stage I’m beginning to wonder if perhaps he’s not at this level. Didn’t see enough of Kirby or Loftus in terms of play to comment.
Have to feel for Seamie and he was playing well up to the injury. We’ll have to come up with some good ideas for midfield and I can see Diarmuid now being a starter there with J Durcan or Hanley getting his starting berth. I’m not sold on Kirby as the man to make it though he certainly can field the ball and also knows where the posts are. Not having seen Barry Moran play for ages I don’t see that as an option and Vaughan is probably the only other player we have that springs to mind there. I’d prefer to see Nally get a run there but time will tell whether that happens or not. I don’t think he’s that mobile – I recall seeing him in a lather of sweat and struggling for fitness when playing Tyrone in Omagh last year and he seemed to be fairly rooted to the spot against Monaghan in Clones this year. He does have a sweet long range shot though and is worth a point or 2 when he plays and given we’re short on options we’re as well to look to give him some game time in my view.
Anyway – hoping that I can get a ticket for wherever the Kildare game is at and be there to roar on the team.
Up Mayo.
why cant Mayo just put away a team, started great against Tipp , then thought it was easy and lost concentration and let Tipp control the game and only survived after a very lucky goal by Durcan.. Leave the older plyers Moran, Boyle, Barrett on the line for first hour and let the younger players run Kildare into the ground and then finish the game with your strongest and most experience players.
Kildare wont be easy , be aware .
Kildare fans banter – sure they love us – big welcome signs going up for us in Newbridge.
probably right to think getting us to Newbridge is their trump card – their 16th man!
http://kildaregaa.boardonly.com/t1643-kildare-v-mayo
Yes, it will be tough. Yes, there will be a few scares, as there always are in knockout championship football. Kildare deserve respect, and they will get it from Mayo.
But realistically, we should have enough to win this.
A one-point win with no further injuries would be just fine.
The game has to be moved
This is going to be an issue in super 8s at some stage too imo
Couple of places I’ve read that official capacity is 6,200.
It will definitely be moved.
KM79 I’d like for the game to be moved to a larger venue but Kildare are within their rights to dig in their heels for the home game.
Can’t seem to locate an attendance figure for our league game against them in March but St Conleths looked pretty full that day. I can only imagine if this is at Newbridge again a full house is guaranteed, with a large number of people being disappointed at not being able to go.
Heimat thanks for posting that. I will admit I did have a few laughs reading it. How could they not like our great group of Mayo supporters…. If I was in their shoes, I would be sticking my heels in too.
I was at the game in March. The stand is fairly small and Id say it was full. We were the far side. The edges and ends had a scattering. I cant fully recall but I think it was around 8k of people.
FDB the obvious and major benefit of a leitrim game over kidare is that it would have given us as close to a weekend break as you’ll get. We would have been almost guaranteed a win.
Apart from risks of injury, I enjoy this back door process. Regular matches to sharpen team up etc.
Think this weekend will be similar to Saturday, will be a tough test and probably take tight for long period but overall think our class will be too much for Kildare
Fair point Mayonaze but sure if we drew Leitrim there would be complaints of not having a test.
I heard St. Conleths Park is cleared for 8,000 with the H&S authorities so that at least can accomdate the season ticket holders for both counties. While we bring a bigger crowd than that on our own Kildare were drawn with home advantage then it is only right they get to hold it in their home ground. Now a lot of Mayo fans will miss out but in other sports the majority of away fans miss out anyway as home advantge is supposed to be that and advantage!!! Imagine the outrage here if the GAA moved a possible home game v Dublin in the super 8’s to Croke park beacuse Dubs fans would miss our due to McHale park would only hold 30,000 with the demand being twice that!!!
100% agree that Kildare have every right to dig their heels in over this, was hoping for Kildare or Louth (if they had beaten Leitrim) just to show up how hypocritical and biased the GAA are to the Jackeens, will be very very interesting to see what happens over the next 48hrs or so, talk about shooting themselves in the foot.
With regards to the Tipp game, I do indeed feel we were very fortunate, we looked devoid of ideas until that goal went in, was only then that we woke up and our runners came into it tearing down the centre at every opportunity, I thought Hanley was very smart in the way he stuck to the sideline to drag a defender out and create extra space for Durcan/Keegan/Higgins to run into. Also surprised how nobody has commented on James Durcan scoring 1-2, all from play, bar Andy and COC, when was the last time one of our starting forwards contributed as much to the scoreboard from play? Boland was always good for 2-3 points from play but he seems to be gone off the radar altogether.
Thought DOC did very well when he came on, you would think we would have to get another midfielder in now, someone along the lines of Shane Scott from Westport would be ideal, amazed he hasn’t got a chance, other than that you’d be hoping one of McCormack/Ruane could up it and give us a surprise as James Durcan has. Frustrates the shite out of me how we are so slow to give younger lads a rattle at it, look Fenton/Con O’Callaghan for Dublin and Sean O’Shea/Clifford for Kerry, got their chances at an early stage and have thrived since, whereas we have lads like Boland/Ruane/Akram/Plunkett/Reape and even Loftus at roughly 23yrs of age who have realistically never got a proper chance to prove their worth, granted Rochford has given the likes of O’Donoghue and Coen numerous chances but I just feel we’ve let a few slip through the net.
With regards to Kildare, you’d fancy us but it’s no gimme. We really really struggled against them in midfield in the qualifier in 2016, Vaughan started midfield that day and honestly don’t remember us winning one kick out in the air till Barry Moran came on, something to be mindful of the next day, best tactic may be to play it short and run the legs off their big fellas. Main thing is to win and to pick up no injuries, we badly need Harrison back, for me after Keegan he’s our best man marker and really frees up the likes of Durcan to go forward. Would keep a few lads on the line to bring on as serious options with 15-20 mins to go (especially considering the heat forecasted and run of games) and go with something along the lines of this.
Clarke
O’Donoughue, Vaughan (if fit, for Flynn), Crowe
Durcan Barrett Keegan
AOS/DOC
Loftus Nally (Kick out option) McLoughlin
Doherty COC Durcan
Subs- Hennelly, Higgins, Boyle, Coen, Cafferkey, B Moran, A Moran, Hanley, Conor O’Shea, Regan, Boland
Look at this this way if we can’t beat Kildare theres no point in us going to the Super 8s anyway, Kerry , Dublin and Donegal would not be fearing a Kildare team who lost Carlow and struggled with Longford!!
Chris – congrats on winning Monday’s prize for the best stating-the-obvious comment! If we can’t beat Kildare then we don’t get to play Round 4 of the qualifiers, never mind the Super 8s.
It’s on at 7pm in Croker on Saturday. Curtain raiser is the Cavan v Tyrone at 5pm.
Makes sense as Breffni park is unavailable.
Where has this been announced Eoin?
Yeah Sky have it as a double header and wanted one venue for the outside broadcast. Long way to travel on a Saturday night
That’s hasn’t been confirmed officially yet, Eoin, but it certainly chimes with what I’m hearing. Breffni’s out of action so Cavan can’t host their match with Tyrone. The official announcement should be made shortly – it’s usually lunchtime on the Monday when qualifier dates/times are confirmed.
It’s a shame a county the size of Kildare has allowed their county ground deteriorate to such an extent that it is struggling to host even a qualifier match. I think it shows a lack of ambition by their county board over the years.
Jay I think a number of Kildare’s issues stem from when they had McGeeney knocking around and spending cash like it was going out of fashion. They spent huge amounts of money and have done reasonably well at underage recently but it’s not filtered through at senior level – why would it when the superfunded monster is the neighbour?.
Sure last year weren’t the lauded for losing by only 9 points to Dublin in the Leinster final?.
In fairness to Chris Kellys comment above, I think he is stating that a team with Championship aspirations should have no trouble putting away Kildare and he is right. While qualifier form isn’t always an indicator of form later in the Championship, I will be getting worried if we can’t put away Kildare with plenty left in the tank.
We are streets ahead of them talent wise and one has to wonder why we cannot bring that talent to the fore in the qualifiers in the same we we have done in the All Ireland Series.
That is all kinds of shite. For Kildare, who deserved their home game both for economic reasons and reasons of principle. For us, having a 7pm throw-in on the other side of the country. And for the GAA, with Sky calling the shots. And more money for the Croker coffers. Wonder what price the tickets will be now it’s a double-header?
These are the times we live in folks. I’ll be bringing me own sambos. On the plus side the players will be delighted.
Kildare will be raging … you’d think at this stage their county board would have had enough of incentive by now to get their shit together and sort out a decent ground.
FBDinashui….Health and safety has been reducing capacities for 20 years, they should have invested years ago, they must have twice the population of Mayo to pay for it.
Mayo GAA twitter account confirmed it’s at 7pm in Croke Park.
https://twitter.com/MayoGAA/status/1011151542332870656
Seriously raw deal for Kildare, it should be their call where the game is played regardless of capacity. Any chance they had of beating Mayo is well gone now
Next 3 games could be in Croker which suits us
You sound upset Joe
Have to be satisfied with that.
It’s a little harsh on Kildare but their county board is seriously negligent in not addressing the capacity of Conleth Park.
While the team will be delighted to get a run out in Croker early season (will help James and Cian), its a bit of a raw deal for us and the Kildare side. I am sure this match is not going to be 10e as its a double header, we are last on, so last to leave. Will still have to spend the day heading up to Croker and get back down again after midnight. Full day gone for one match. And they know we will travel, like we always do. Sure Mayo fans love a day out. Like Ann-Marie I will be bringing my own food (will skip the kitkats, they melted in Thurles).
Great for the team to get a run out in Croker before the Super 8’s. No doubt ticket prices will be increased as a result of it being a double header…
Looks like ye will be getting a walkover lads.. We are not moving and rightly so. The hatred in Kildare for HQ is palpable here.
https://www.leinsterleader.ie/news/gaelic/320273/kildare-agree-to-move-to-croke-park-for-mayo-clash.html. Kildare putting up a fight. Hard to see them win with the tickets already for sale.
Thoroughbredcounty: They don’t seem too fond of us either going by the comments on that Kildare supporters’ forum!
Seriously though, I don’t blame them for digging their heels in, if the reports of them refusing to play at HQ are true. It’s what we should have done back in 2014 over being dragged to the Gaelic Grounds.
Its now official re Kildare GAA website. Its in Newbridge or not at all.. What an utter disgrace GAA HQ are..