Back in 2019, the only previous time when Mayo played Kerry in the Championship at Fitzgerald Stadium, the day felt like a huge occasion. The place was packed, there was a big Mayo crowd there and while we were no match for the home team, it felt as if we’d all been part of a big GAA summer day.
Today was very different. The crowd was still big enough – a touch over 23,000 – but most of those were home supporters. As they’d very little to shout about all day, the atmosphere was strangely subdued, with a tinge of oppression the longer it went on, not that this bothered the small Mayo support on whom it gradually began to dawn that we were going to win this one and with a bit to spare too.
Such an outcome always felt like a bit of a stretch in advance, all the more so when it was announced that captain Paddy Durcan, along with Stephen Coen and Fionn McDonagh, wouldn’t be starting. Padraig O’Hora, Donnacha McHugh and Jason Doherty all lined out instead and that meant we were going with an extremely experimental back six against arguably the best attack in the country.
From the off, though, this was a game we controlled. We should have had the ball in the Kerry net as early as the first minute, but Diarmuid O’Connor’s effort was saved by Ryan. The Kerry goalie would save his team three further times before we finally raised the game’s solitary green flag with ten minutes to go.
We got the game’s opening two scores, a Ryan O’Donoghue point after James Carr missed our second goal chance. There was only three minutes played at this point!
Aidan O’Shea swung over a free from the right-hand side and he then added a mark after they’d opened their account.
When David Clifford squared the contest up on 12 minutes, it looked as if Kerry were getting into their groove. But they’d never lead in this contest and we responded with the game’s next two scores, the first fisted over by Padraig O’Hora and the second smashed over by James Carr.
As the first half progressed our hold around the middle became more pronounced and chances opened up for us. This enabled us to push on to a five-point lead at the break and the scores we bagged in doing this – from James Carr, Ryan O’Donoghue and Jack Carney – were truly exceptional. We were efficient too, our sole wides in the first half coming from two miscued ’45s from Colm Reape.
Kerry knew at half-time that their long unbeaten run at Fitzgerald Stadium was under threat. We expected them to come at us with greater intent and, led by their great talisman David Clifford, who was predictably brilliant again today, scoring eight points, this they duly did.
Now our backline had to be alert, as Clifford twice went for goal. Colm Reape saved the first of these efforts while Sam Callinan – imperious today on his Championship debut – prevented the other with a goal-line block.
We made a series of astute changes over the course of the second half. Paddy, we were told afterwards that he hadn’t a full seventy minutes in him, came on for Jason Doherty and was prominent for us to the finish. Enda Hession replaced Sam Callinan and Tommy Conroy came on for James Carr. Eoghan McLaughlin replaced Padraig O’Hora and Stephen Coen made an appearance before the finish, replacing Jack Coyne.
They cut the gap to three with twenty minutes to go but that was as close as they got to us. It became increasingly clear that they weren’t going to bridge the gap as we continued to own the ball for long spells, sucking air from the contest but then suddenly jabbing into attack with intent.
It was just before Clifford got that point to cut the gap to three that our fourth goal chance arrived. A cleverly worked move saw Matthew Ruane – who had his best game in ages for us today – put through but Ryan, once again, pulled off a super save.
The next goal chance came ten minutes later,. Eoghan McLaughlin wasn’t on the field long at that stage and few would have backed the Westport man, who isn’t known for his clinical finishing, but he absolutely drilled it low into the corner.
That was game over and within five minutes the exodus of Kerry supporters was on in earnest. It even began to rain but not that we cared.
We saw the game out calmly and efficiently, Kerry’s long unbeaten run in the Championship at this famous venue ending with a whimper rather than a bang. We were more than full value for the five points we had to spare over them at the finish.
This unexpected win gives us serious momentum in this all-new Championship. As Kevin McStay noted on the podcast last week, winning your games gives you a nice steady, week on, week off programme and this win now gives us the potential to have that schedule from here on.
The aim at this stage obviously has to be for us to top the group and advance directly to the All-Ireland quarter-final where we should, all other things being equal, avoid one of the big guns.
After today, the road to the final four looks a bit clearer. So too does the game plan we’ve adopted and, indeed, the ultimate ambition of this Mayo team.
Today’s win represents a clear statement of intent. We’re in the mix this summer, of that there is no doubt, and an interesting campaign it could yet prove to be for us.
Mayo: Colm Reape; Jack Coyne, David McBrien, Sam Callinan; Padraig O’Hora (0-1), Conor Loftus, Donnacha McHugh (0-1); Matthew Ruane (0-2), Diarmuid O’Connor; Jason Doherty (0-1), Jack Carney (0-1), Jordan Flynn (0-1); Aidan O’Shea (0-3, two frees and a mark), James Carr (0-3), Ryan O’Donoghue (0-5, two frees). Subs: Paddy Durcan (0-1) for Doherty, Enda Hession for Callinan, Tommy Conroy for Carr, Eoghan McLaughlin (1-0) for O’Hora, Stephen Coen for Coyne.
Who was our MOTM from the Kerry game? Pick your top three performers
- Aidan O'Shea (27%, 935 Votes)
- Matthew Ruane (22%, 767 Votes)
- Ryan O'Donoghue (7%, 235 Votes)
- James Carr (6%, 212 Votes)
- Jack Carney (6%, 207 Votes)
- Sam Callinan (6%, 206 Votes)
- Diarmuid O'Connor (5%, 188 Votes)
- Colm Reape (4%, 152 Votes)
- Jordan Flynn (3%, 119 Votes)
- David McBrien (3%, 106 Votes)
- Conor Loftus (3%, 87 Votes)
- Donnacha McHugh (2%, 54 Votes)
- Eoghan McLaughlin (1%, 45 Votes)
- Jack Coyne (1%, 32 Votes)
- Padraig O'Hora (1%, 32 Votes)
- Jason Doherty (1%, 30 Votes)
- Stephen Coen (1%, 24 Votes)
- Paddy Durcan (0%, 11 Votes)
- Tommy Conroy (0%, 11 Votes)
- Enda Hession (0%, 6 Votes)
Total Voters: 1,614
Loading ...Our Final Whistle podcast show from Fitzgerald Stadium is now up on Patreon for club members. Mike Rob and I are on it, we’ve match analysis from Martin Carney and post-match reaction from Stephen Rochford. Join the club here.
Fair is fair, an impressive win and we can’t meet them till the final now.
Ruane’s performance encouraging..and so a potential final spot is set up for us now.
Wait for the Kerry excuses though!
Fecking slow getting out of Killarney but going is good now. Think I’ll treat myself to a few pints when I get home.
Spotlight. You know that win will be put down to Kerry under performing but Mayo were bloody good and the composure and game management were top drawer. The belief within the squad will be at a higher level. McStay and co wont get carried away by the result and I don’t think fans will either. After all the years following the team and especially the last decade the Mayo fans are a knowledgeable hardened bunch who have seen it all (bar Sam).
Sam was terrific today and we were surprised he was taken off. But look, McStay has obviously convinced this team that subs are as important as starters, which of course is correct. That’s my biggest take-away from today. We need to continue to build as a TEAM, not focus on individuals or chaos.
We also need more consistency. Why is it that in some matches, like today, we can transition with ease, and get our forwards scoring from play, and in other matches, particularly against packed defences, we encounter serious problems in this regard. Louth should prove a good test in that sense, but seeing what the Dubs did to them we should be looking to really stamp our authority. But it will be a different test.
Overheard on Kerry local radio (one of the O’Sheas I think: ‘well that’s Mayo’s all Ireland today’. Talk about getting your excuses in early!
Don’t take heed of what is talked about On Kerry local radio . As I said on this blog earlier in the week If Clare scored 15 Points against Kerry What will Mayo do to them ? Now we know by that wonderful achievement today in Killarney
Nice one, Catcol! Today may have been any number of things but our All-Ireland sure wasn’t one of them.
I’m ashamed to say I didn’t see this result coming…the best I had hoped for that we gave a good account of ourselves, have no injuries and be ready the next two games…how wrong I was!!!
Just listened to Rochy on the pod. “Stand up, stand your ground” was management’s message to the player’s today. Love it.
A few here in Galway have told me They let us win the league final so hopefully later in the year they will be so kind as to let us beat them in an All Ireland final.
Lol.
Definitely didn’t see the result coming. Surprised by our performance and theirs. Nice to have the breathing room now.
I absolutely saw this result happening, and I also backed Mayo to win.
I said last week that Kerry had a so-so league and then beat Tipp and Clare. This was accurate.
We dominated for 80% of the game, and were far sharper.
Take D Clifford out of it and Kerry are very ordinary.
Let’s focus on our own performance and the tactics.
Now, on to Louth.
Gas, Catcol!
Liberal, my thoughts below.
When a team using a packed defence build a lead on us it is a different type of game to today.
We might get one or two transitions right with luck but the opposition generally fall back into a defensive shape. The other team commit to defence and can sit back.
They prioritise the counter attack because they know they will score off it.
They can lure us in, feed off our desperation and missed points to counter at speed.
We need to be disciplined because of this.
In those games, we appear stifled – we find it hard to score enough points and score them fast enough. It’s a drip, drip, drip.
That was NOT the case today.
We had the luxury of open play because Kerry were not in control. If they were in control, it would be a different game.
That said, I thought Mayo showed some great cutting and darting runs inside the D when Kerry had a lot of players in that area at times. Mayo looked like they were opening that space up well when needed. They have worked on this, it seems. Good work, more to do.
And even though we were reasonably in control or put ourselves on an even footing at least, we still could have lost it. This is Kerry and they are always dangerous. Mayo management know that. That’s why they had planned to stack the cards as much in our favour as possible as the game went into the final 10 minutes – bring on some backup (Paddy, Enda, S Coen, E McLaughlin) and inject a rapid fire goal (I imagine a training ground goal).
Delighted with that. For the most part the players played intelligent football. Another good experience for the new boys.
Great result but the performance overall was just excellent. And I’ll cut that Kerry were poor or flat down right now – they simply don’t lose in Killarney. So this is a statement win. No doubt about it.
We led the whole way through. The youngsters like Coyne, McBrien and Callinan excelled. That will really stand to them, and as Billy Joe noted earlier this week, it will really bring them on in terms of their own belief they can deliver at this level.
Diarmuid and Mattie dominated the middle of the park. Big improvement there and we knew it was in them.
Up front we were exceptional at times. Great spread of scores and pretty efficient overall. Carr was a threat. ROD is a top forward. They couldn’t handle Aido at all.
Nothing won today but two points. But to be honest this means a bit more in terms of momentum and belief.
This was also a win for the squad. Everyone contributed and the bench made a serious impact. There’s a bit of depth there and there’s a fella called Cillian O’Connor to come back in.
Anyway, a good day. Up Mayo!!
That was so satisfying! A better Mayo performance than I hoped for – the defence coped as well as you could hope for against Clifford. Mattie Ruane had his best game in years in the middle. Such great movement and long fast ball into our forwards and a great spread of scorers.
And it could have been even more impressive if we had taken more of the goal opportunities we created!
3 players I’m particularly delighted for:
Mattie Ruane – after a prolonged poor run of form, he was back to his best.
Eoghan McLaughlin – often been a bit headless (e.g. Armagh) and a poor finisher, but was a brilliant finish for the goal, drilled it low and hard and into the corner. Could see what it meant to him.
Aidan O’Shea – been part of every high and low Mayo went through for over a decade. He’s a man reborn and it’s just great to see.
Finally, well done to mgmt – Mayo were flying fit, they had the right gameplan, and the substitutions worked well.
Overall, a bloody good day’s work!
Great points Swallow Swoops. Completely agree.
We haven’t heard from Gamechanger before or after the game – hope he is keeping alright. Like West Kerry he is always very fair in his comments.
Pleasantly surprised by the result. I thought we might struggle today, but in fact it was Kerry who were off the pace. They have a serious problem at midfield, which we exploited well today.
Should top the group now and the importance of that shouldn’t be underestimated. 1-19 scored from 33 shots on goal mad to think Mayo could and should have scored 4-25 this afternoon.
Great win and a very composed performance. I thought Paddy scored a point
i’m delighted with that win but seriously I didn’t think it was a great game. If you took Clifford out that would be a poor Kerry team today. Our backs were very solid today and Mattie had his best game for some time but plenty of improvement is needed if we want to be playing at the end of july .I’m glad I had my few euro on yesterday at 11/4.!!!well done lads!
Mayo managed the pace of Whyte and O’Sullivan very well. O’Sullivan kicked one super point but overall we limited him to pot shots. Whyte was very quiet.
David Clifford was close to unplayable. Actually, he was unplayable. One or two of the scores defied belief. The defenders were near faultless at times, and he still scored.
I’m sure there are plenty of stats to be taken from today’s game. The most obvious one being the 28 year championship winning streak in Killarney being ended today. Didn’t we end a similar type of one against Tyrone in the league this year too? When is the last time we didnt concede a goal to Kerry in the championship? Digits might have access to a load more positive stats??
Either way, our bucks bet their bucks in the championship in Killarney today and that’s always good regardless of flatness or anything else people might want to use as excuses. Kerry were bet all over by a controlled, well disciplined Mayo team from start to finish. Like someone posted earlier, Kerry dont want to give up their dominance at home or away during the summer months. They didn’t give it up, we took it from them. Well done Mayo.
How great was colm reape today I have to say he made a super save ! only early days and don’t want to get carried away we have a long way to go but fair play to the guys as I said and credit to mcstay & co we were written off altogether and they showed everyone we can compete with the best never write mayo off as they say ha!
David Clifford was great for kerry & their goal keeper probably kept them in the game.
Home sweet home, amd have the Malbac in hand. Can’t find the words to describe the feeling driving home. Did not see that result coming, did not see our shooting accuracy coming. I was beginning to doubt McStay big time, but fair play to him he shoved it in my face. Still lots to work on, especially goal chances, we got away with missing them today but might not in other games. The movement of the forwards was sublime. Mattie my MOM, ran himself into the ground. Callinan is some find, theirs a little bit of Oisin about him.
Tactics were spot on. Need to keep the heads down now and concentrate on Louth. MacHale will suit them so we need to be on the ball. Long way to go.
@Clare – Gotta hand it to you, you had the confidence all week to predict we’d win. Hope your having a glass or two tonight 😉
Never taught we would get the win it was fantastic ?
BTW, I thought Marc O’Shea was good on GAAGO co-commentary today.
What really impresses me is the bench ,those who came in were as strong and stronger than what started, great performance mayo, kerry are bloody lucky Clifford has serious form ,though, without him they would have been blown away
Definitely a statement win today.
My posts pre game talked about there being a mismatch in height and power between us and Kerry. I believe I was proven right.
Jack O’Connor does not make many blunders but I believe he made a huge one in having too many shorter players on the field. They won’t that mistake again.
I thought we showed maturity after building up the lead . We were patient and used the clock. Kerry needed to get the ball back. This opened them up for late scores.
Too often in the past we’ve not changed tactics factoring in the scoreline and the clock.
A classic moment for Mattie in first half under green terrace.
Kerry player (Barry? O’Connor) called for water Maor Uisce threw water bottle in. As it bounced up nicely to him Mattie intercepted the water bottle. opened it and with perfect timing offered it. Perfect timing and perfect timing.
Clear who was the man.
I was impressed with the way mayo finished out both halves. They put the boot in to build a 5 point lead at half time, and again finished off the game without giving an inch. Bit of mental strength that we would not have had in the past.
Doesn’t alter the fact that Kerry were dreadful and we need to pencil that into our analysis
@Margie ah thanks so much and sorry for earlier in the week if my optimism was a bit to much at times ha!
I am definetly having a glass or two! Hope your enjoying the win to : )
Listened on mid west, great commentary, Carney is great value!
Heard plaudits directed at Kerry goalkeeper for all his saves. He stopped them because the shots were directed straight at him – they were not saved they were missed.
We really need to show far more poise in such situations and slip the ball to one side of the goalkeeper.
Having said that, the movement with & off the ball as well as the slick no-look ball interchanges were superb.
Congrats to all involved.
I always was confident we would get something from this game, league game not that long ago, can’t see why people talk up kerry, if you took Clifford out they could forget about it.
On the goals missed, some of the angles weren’t great so hard to slip them in to corner
@ Mayo Exile. At least we can take a positive, we did create a plethora of goal chances, and yes lessons to be learned but McLaughlin showed them how to do it. I thought James Carrs was the weakest effort. Louth next and maybe a chance to make amends
I think Reape’s save from Clifford wast the save of the day as he had a wall of players in front of him and would have caught sight of it very late
Hello! To Willie Joe and all Mayo posters.
Context
Firstly I would like to congratulate Mayo on a fully deserved and comprehensive win today. Tactically spot on, ye looked fitter and faster, maybe with the exception of Gavin White whose probably the fastest footballer in the country, which was evidenced again today, but he was quiet otherwise.
There’s no excuses. We were outfoxed on the sideline, outhought and for most parts and outplayed. This rarely happens in Killarney, so this is seismic for Mayo indeed. Our midfield was non existent, David Moran, Mayo’s tormentor in chief always in the past is long gone, and boy is he sorely missed. Our half backs pushed up in desperation for scores, leaving our fullback line exposed in acres of space. Mayo’s ball retention was the best I’ve seen in years, shooting by ye in the second half was wayward in the final 20 a bit, but overall, ye should have beaten us by much more, that’s the only thing I’d be disappointed with, if I were a Mayo supporter. Ye looked fitter and faster, more up for it. I’ve never seen such a calm, reassuring and mature performance from Mayo, as today, all without the yahoo, bust and blunder of the past. Very low key. Off the shoulder overlapping was superb by Mayo, defend and attack enmass running. Supporters leaving the match with 4 minutes at least to go is always disappointing, every county does, every county. I don’t and refuse to do it myself, no matter how bad the beating is. It’s akin to the protocol of a ship’s captain staying on board and going down with a sinking ship.
Numerically, it was the poorest support I’ve seen in Killarney from Mayo since a League game way back in the Split League season of February 1988! I’ve been at them all. More would be down on a wintry weekend in the league in Tralee or Killarney. But I don’t blame Mayo supporters for this, different to 2019, not a Knock Out match, cost of living crisis and lack of accommodation, and county league club games are on this weekend.
Ramifications
In 15 weeks, we’ve lost heavily to Mayo, so no lessons were learnt, home record gone, so we do deserve all the criticism. I’m not being anti Kerry at all, proof, I go home every weekend from work up in Mayo for the last 20 years. There’s my love for Home here in Kerry, in fact, it’s the opposite. I demand and believe in high standards. The minor caveat of not being beaten in Knock Out Championship in 28 since 1995 still stands, but that’s no good to me, the record is gone, you can’t hide that nor sugar coat it and that to me is a very big deal, I love creating and record breaking myself. It hurts and this will now define our season.
I’m very upfront, call a spade a spade, straight up, the criticism aimed at the management and Kerry team is absolutely deserved today, but that’s because we demand high standards, you’ll win nothing otherwise, so that’s what Paudie meant way back in 2002.
There’s no All-Ireland in this Kerry team this year, think about it, we limped over the line v Dublin in last year’s semi final, we deserved to win, but if there were an extra 5 minutes left, Dublin would have beaten us, Fact. We were jaded and emptied the tank. We were lucky v Galway in the final too, eventhough last year was a superb year for us, we won every title to be got I 2022 at Senior football. That was a superb achievement for a very good side.
Legendary and exceptional teams win back to back and more, we are a very good team, but that’s as far as it goes. Very good teams tend not to win back to back and more. You see that’s the difference.
Special mention must go to the Clifford brothers. They did their absolute best today, and they are going through their own personal mourning still.
This is a different Mayo to before, no hangover, inferiority Complex of the past, a superb managerial backroom team, the best in the country. Donie Buckley like me, the exile!! Had the inside information on us. Kevin McStay seems like a breath of fresh air. Really astute, measured and a gentleman.
Anyway, enough said there.
I congratulate Mayo on a superb win, no excuses here, fully deserved. Hope my crowd were nice to the Msyo visitors down here this weekend and you enjoyed our friendly established hospitality.
Safe Driving up to Mayo to all. Heading back up myself tomorrow evening again.
Kerry fans again. Got to Killarney after a six hour coach journey at 2:55. Don’t ask. Running madly towards the ground I met a Kerry fan who informed me that Coen, Durcan and McDonagh were out. Jesus, that’s a killer I said. It is, very tough, he replied, with mock concern.
The most satisfying thing about today’s performance was how we closed the game out and how we looked so in control even when Kerry looked like coming back, which they did on a good few occasions in the 2nd half, but we kept them at arms length at all times. It was similar to how we saw the game out against Galway in the league final. And what gives me even more encouragement is the fact that we’re winning these games with some very young players on the field.
Today may not have been ‘knock-out’ football but then there hasn’t been a whole pile of true knock-out games in Killarney since the qualifiers were introduced in 2001. To go down and comprehensively beat them in their own back yard in an intense championship match is some achievement. We needed a boost after last year’s tame exit and today we got back on track. Brilliant performances all over the field. Our middle eight totally dominant and O’Shea caused havoc anytime he was on the ball. Did not collapse when Kerry turned up the heat but fortunate not to have conceded a few goals. Should be driving on now for a quarter final.
A good day’s marking job on Cliford would be holding him to 5/6 points. The lad is unplayable. Makes the impossible possible and the possible easy. Kicks wonder scores for fun. But I was surprised how reliant Kerry were on him today, Geaney aside perhaps
What impressed me the most today was the way Mayo played with no fear, with a total disregard you could say, for Kerry today. Many good teams would be sucked in by the whole narrative and myth surrounding Kerry in Killarney – All-Ireland champions, they always play well there, that record, aristocrats of the game and such palaver. Huge kudos have to go to Mayo’s management team because mentally, every player was on point. There was almost and arrogance to the way we took over here from the start and continued for the whole game. You could see in Kerry’s body language that they were unsettled by it – only the great Dublin teams of recent times have been able to unsettle Kerry psychologically in the manner we did today and it felt almost otherworldly at times watching it. I know there’s a long way to go but there’s almost a whiff of Limerick hurlers off us today from the year they first made their breakthrough. We’ve safely made it to base camp. Now the real climbing begins,
‘we were out foxed on the line’
That coming from a kerryman says it all.
Well done to players and management.
I said yesterday we have all been waiting for big games from a few players and today they delivered.
We won’t get that space again later on but we can see now the script will change game to game. We will be kept guessing, coz none of us predicted those changes, but I’m okay with that.
Our young full back line did well, half backs were organised, very good around the middle and the forwards played with freedom and imagination.
Happy out.
I wish Kerry nothing but misfortune in the weeks ahead!
Fantastic win today. Did not see that coming and delighted to be wrong. Huge credit to management for the way they used resources etc. How silly some on here should feel for criticising management in their comments when they saw the changes made before the game. I was concerned about them myself but not being involved in training sessions, challenge matches etc I figured that management probably knew better than I did and so it proved. As to the game Kerry set up so differently from the blanket defence set up of Roscommon, Galway , Tyrone etc which allowed us to play. We do struggle against defensive set ups so today was a breath of fresh air. Some great performances throughout field with Mattie for me being top man. Kerry will be back but today was our day despite the brilliance of Ryan and Clifford for the kingdom. Well done again to our lads. Really uplifting for us all. Maigh Eo abu
When we lose, the opposition are brilliant. When we win the opposition are useless.
Is this a phenomena unique to Mayo GAA ?
Hello,
Would like Aidan have a break against Louth unless needed. Maybe, Jason Doherty or Cillian can keep the flame alive.
Aidan was a little gassed when being interviewed for MOM. He was everywhere today.
Jason, has worked so hard to get back and he looked like a ball winner again today and there was always the expectation of a goal in him.
It must be embarrassing with all the possibilities. K. McStay had mentioned that it must be hard to be a half- back on the team.
Surely today must have been a masterstoke with those subs. Backs that can score.
Ciaran2.
Liberal role in the tie; ” I wish Kerry nothing but misfortune in the weeks ahead!”.
Liamontherunsince51; I’ve never regarded us as the aristocrats of the game. In fact that has not been said in years, and only by a few, as the narrative and palaver of that record in Killarney, we’ll, whether you like it or not, it was a record, still in non Knock Out, they are the facts, whether you like it or not, yes, you ended that today match statistic wise, 40 championship matches, I bet you were not saying the same words in 2019, or in years before that, easy to say it now. I take exception to your comments there. I’ve paid nothing but homage to Mayo on this forum, my record on here states that on a consistent level. I’ve no problem with anybody, from anywhere being critical of us, if and where it is warranted, I do have a problem with anybody from anywhere that tries to denigrate our past, as many are not around to defend it and our record, as I would never do such a thing to any other county’s past A little thing called respect, modesty is needed. Humility.
You’ve beaten us, well beaten us and fully deservedly so, accept that, like i well and truly have, and fully move on. I DO WISH MAYO ALL OF THE BEST IN THE WEEKS AHEAD. There’s the difference you see.
@Micko – Don’t take any heed of those comments, probably from some lad who’s in Kerry having a few pints and is getting a bit of stick. It comes with being a Mayo fan and we’ll just have to put up with it until we finally get the job done. That’s the way I see it.
@joet1480.i think it’s Donegal you mean regarding breaking their home record during the league. @micko.that’s probably a fair assessment of the game and your next game v cork takes on a whole new look now. It’s totally in mayo hands now to top the group and earn a week off. Regarding many saying kerry are lost without Clifford I’m wondering where are all who were ready to shoot me last week for suggesting the same.
I would’nt worry too much about Kerry Liberal………
We will all wake up tomorrow morning and know we beat them….and they are still in the championship…..
I was over on the Kerry blog earlier and they are very similar ourselves after a defeat….doom and gloom but they will still make quarter final……they had a bad day like us v Roscommon….not more than that
This is a great day for Mayo but I was very impressed with how cool everyone was on the pitch after such a good win. It was just job done and I reckon they are thinking of Louth by the time they sat down in the dressing room. Not sure I buy the knocks etc on the guys we didnt start. Why did we name them…..clearly the management most likely Rochford threw a curve ball and they have a substitution strategy with game finishers coming in to close out the win. It worked as well because it broke Kerry momentum. We have a strong side the ultimate prize is in them…..maybe not this year who knows but they can do it
It never ceases to amaze me how when we defeat Kerry or Dublin it’s not our performance that wins the game but the opposition under performing , just like the headlines i read earlier on that stated Mayo beat a ” below par Kerry today” , we dominated the game from the start and could have been easily been double figures ahead after 6 minutes but for the brilliance of the Kerry keeper , now i know Kerry got back within 3 points before Ryan O’Donoghue sealed the game but in all honesty we never in any trouble .
True lads. Look! I’ll put my hand up here, I’d love to see Mayo win an All-Ireland. I work up there and ye are great people. I stand by that.
It woukd be great for the game. However, Christmas may have to cancelled the year you do it, like it was in Donegal back in 1992.
It was Mayo’s best performance I’ve seen in year’s today. Fully deserved. Well done to ye.
Micko. I
Fair play Micko. See ye in the final! 😉
Micko, thank you for your kind comments. No doubt also after a loss like today, you – as we would be – as trying to make sense of it and be able to move on from it.
Kerry looked very good in the Clare game. They certainly have class and ability. That didn’t go away.
Sometimes, we need to come up against opposition that truly test us. That happened you against Tyrone in 2021, and look what happened. You went off, found a defensive coach and made changes that brought results last year.
We had a wake up call against Roscommon (and Tyrone in 2021 – ouch!)
I’m sure the loss hurts this evening and Liberal’s words don’t help.
I think he would have the same feelings about the rest of the top teams though that is no consolation.
Luckily, you are not dependent on his blessing and get a few more of your forwards scoring and you wouldn’t give it a second thought. (I thought Paul Geaney looked sharp today).
Fair play Micko. See ye in the final!
Rakestreet – class comment!
I dont get the Kerry are lost without Clifford argument.
Even if it is true why does it matter or warrant comment, I mean they have Clifford so that’s the bottom line.
If we lose in the final this year to them and he shoots the lights out against us how will the fact that if he wasnt there we would have won console us?
Well done lads 1 to 20, shrewd management & S&C. Great team game but those young guns at the back deserve massive praise. Clifford is undoubtably is a fantastic player but those teenagers were not afraid of him, didnt treat him as if he is precious, didnt foul, did a great job.
That ref is fair, he sees what goes on with Aidan & isnt afraid to give him the free.
Two yarra old lads talking behind us saying Kerry couldnt put a hand on Mayo..we were much fitter, faster, & have a great bench!
Thank you Mayo squad for a memorable win, great to be there & hear that Mayo roar.
Cillian..cant wait to have him fit again.
Continued success.
Micko – take no notice of that disgusting comment from Liberal above.
We all know that some of the Kerry players have had enough back luck this year already.
I have no doubt that Kerry will be there at the business end of the championship as they nearly always are.
Was delighted for eoghan mclaughlin today and you could see how much it meant to him!He has had some tough times with the jaw injury and underperforming but he deserved that goal today.
Was the save from James Carr at the very begining a footblock?
Id say other Counties had a “gulp” in the throat looking at todays result. Nobody enterained the thought Kerry cold be in the preliminary draw.
Hard luck to @WestKerry and @Micko. Still wouldn’t write Kerry off at all. This could be the kick in the jewels they didn’t know they needed.
That’s very low of you to bring anything like that into the conversation Southmayo exile. How dare you. You know full well what I meant. All in terms of footballing rivalry. How dare you. Your comment is the disgusting one.
I know it’s irrelevant now but Aidan seemed adamant that his “wide” in the 2nd half was actually over so can anyone who was at the match say if it was or not from where you were sitting? It looked over to me.
How was anyone meant to know what your thinking was @Liberal, it was a stupid crass comment. The only thing worse than a sore loser is a sore winner, and that’s how you came across.
Great day out, Kerry fans very gracious in defeat. Mayo Team and management were on fire today.
Voice gone but what a feeling ?? Mayo Forever
I hear you Tubber. Fair enough.
Just watching McLaugling goal again, what a finish….but the pass by ROD is sublime an unbelievable pass looks simple but the lay off to Eoghian, savage
This is a good Mayo team. Mcloughlin’s goal was one of the best I have seen. Other chances were not as well placed but were tight angles. Low and hard to the bottom corner. Swanee should be playing upfront. Has. A good head for positional play. Aidan o’Shea is getting younger. He is fitter, stronger, faster and hungrier than ever before. Nothing won yet lads but we can put the chest out and drive on. Believe in Mayo and our day is not far away. Don’t write off Kerry. They may be licking their wounds but will be in the mix at the end.
So far in Super 16 Mayo looking the best team on show but Dubs, Derry, Armagh, Rossies yet to take the field. Dubs into favourite with bookies with Mayo now third behind Kerry for what its worth with us just behind ye. Kerry have big problems now in midfield and at the back wide open they might need a sweeper against Cork. Tyrone and Galway jury out due to bad conditions ruining game. Its early days no doubt McStay will want yer lads to park that match and focus on next game, if won ye will almost certainly top the group and avoid the extra game. Congrats to Aidan but I thought Ruane was best for Mayo today with Aidan a close second. McStay will see room to improve to close down space as Clifford spurned 2-3 easy point chances with goal efforts but he is a one man show at the minute for Kerry. I also notice Mayo this year are not taking many of those hail Mary shots so forward coaching is impacting now and ye have a strong bench.
I couldnt get GAAGo to work on the tv app so I had to stream it using google home to the tv. Its picture quality then suffered so its not great value for 12 quid its the faffing with devices instead of just watching it on broadcast tv thats a problem.
The great thing is it feels like we have plenty of improvement left in us yet and a depth of panel I cannot remember us having before.
Aido in the forward line gives us so much. He occupies defenders and teams would be taking a big risk leaving him 1 on 1. The ball sticks to him which encourages runners to play off him. I thought he managed his workload well today and it was great to see him last the full game. I have no problem with him making his way back into midfield now and then but he is far more useful to us closer to goal if only for the uncertainty it causes the opposition.
There were no weak links today.
Wow, the risk those Aer Lingus tix for QF weekend might be wasted just took a big hit!! Love it.
Sick of ppl minimizing the importance of these games. Projecting ahead, if we win the group, assuming Kerry wins their 2/3 game (maybe they get Tyrone or Armagh in a prelim QF), they will play a group winner other than us. How’s a Kerry v Dublin or Galway or Kerry sound? Today was massive. Up Mayo
Mayo clear favourite now for Sam Maguire.. apart from a slip v Roscommon they have been unbeatable all year..
What a performance in Kerry today absolutely blitzed the All Ireland champions..
Start booking yer hotels for Dublin lads…
Just catching up now on the comments. I think Liberal’s comment was construed to be something more than it was. A bit of levity should be recognised for what it was.
Micko no disrespect was intended on my part. I merely meant that many teams would have wilted in the face of your excellent record in Killarney (we did in 2019!) and I was just expressing my own satisfaction (I assume I’m entitled to do this given that Im not born in a county with 38 All-Irelands) that Mayo didn’t do that today. If you are getting precious about my choice of the word “aristocrats” to describe your county’s glorious past record of All-Ireland wins there is little to cheer you I’m afraid! Commiserations today and I hope we meet ye in the final in July.
On way back to car from match two young lads said ‘well done , great game’… class comment and added to a great occasion..
Only in the door . Brilliant stuff from the bucks , fantastic managerial performance too . I think we can improve too . Todays win was vital in the broader picture , we can afford now to breathe a little , not suggesting we can take the foot off the accelerator as we have two more games to win but it does give us a right good footing moving forward .
The performance today compared to rossie game is ridiculous but does it prove the point of recovery time needed at county level .
Liamontherunsince51, I totally agree with you, this was the most significant take from the match for me, we went about winning the match right from the start. We showed a distinct healthy lack of respect for Kerry throughout the game. I got worried when I saw Sam being substituted in the second half having just thwarted the mighty Clifford from scoring a goal minutes earlier, the only man that could get anywhere near him. Yet, I still think we need an orthodox centre half back who can retain possession in the tackle and not cough up easy scores. It’s fine margins like that which determines ultimate glory.
Teamstar…….was wondering where you were. Did the guards clear the bar early?
Sean Burke. Think you’ve hit the nail on the head. Even as a supporter I’d be pushed to go again next week.
It was a great day for the young Mayo footballers and management. Magnificent.
Planning the recuperation between the games and keeping the players fresh now, is the most important job.
Great to see all six Mayo starting forwards on the scoreboard. We’ve had too many days in the past where 3 or 4 or even 5 of our forwards failed to score.
I thought for Kerry, that Clifford was close to his best today. He was excellent.
This should bolster our young players confidence. Even with David Clifford playing very well our overall work rate and performance was more than enough to win the game.
I thought Jordan Flynn was brilliant today but so was Diarmuid, Mattie and all around, a top notch performance from the entire team.
A few hours needed maybe on keeping the composure when in on goal.
Reape, Coyne, McBrien, Callinan and McHugh are all rookies at this level really. Some going for us to win a national league and now turn Kerry over with a developing team.
Micko, a very raw and honest post from you earlier. I had mentioned earlier in the week that ye haven’t been going well this year, which was understandable given the late start back training, injuries etc. Ye put in a huge effort last year, winning before and behind ye. I remember reading an arcticle last year about a Kerry player playing a sigerson cup game in the afternoon and then driving 3 hours to play in a McGrath cup game that evening. Madness, but the end justified the means. I thought ye were full value for yer all-ireland win last year and when that final was in the melting pot ye had the superior fitness, bottle and guile to seal the deal, no luck involved. Today, I saw a tired team who lacked a small percentage of that desire they displayed last year. We were up for it and took full advantage. Its small margins at the top level that tip the scales. Fortunately for yourselves, ye have another bite or two of the cherry left but once you lose that percent or two it can be very hard to claw it back. I had a great day in Killarney, fortunately surrounded by good football people from your home county who took their beating with grace and humility. By the way, I don’t know how you can undertake that drive every weekend. It’s a long haul.
According to the bookies this has blown the all Ireland wide open
Dublin into favourites – while mayo and Galway’s odds have shortened considerably
You still can’t write off Kerry and interestingly they’ll now be a very tough quarter for a group winner…. 66% chance of meeting Galway or Dublin provided they win their own groups?
This could be some all Ireland yet!
Incredibly controlled performance by Galway who have all the hallmarks of all Ireland winners by the way they’re going about their business
Mayo should have a very manageable path to the semis. Could we seriously see an all Connacht all Ireland final?
No harm getting giddy now with the prospect but the bookies are probably correct with their new favourites
A very impressive performance by us and an under par one from Kerry who look to have problems which may or may not be solveable. The most satisfying thing is simply the victory greatly increase our chances of getting to the AI SF and significantly reduces Kerry’s who will have to take out a group topper should we go on to win the group.
Management did well especially in squad rotation although I think Paddy would definitely have started if 100% so if anyone thinks that particular move was a master stroke, I’d have my doubts.
A few areas to work on. Like Kerry we wasted a % of posession with a few unnecessary poor passes when not under that much pressure. Our 2nd half shooting wasn’t as accurate either and some training ground work needed on goal chances. Ironically the worst miss was the 1st one as Carr normally our best goal scorer should have either sold a dummy or popped it over, the goalie was too far advanced to blast it past. Also positive that Eoghan MacLoughlin who McStay said had been working on shots a lot in training was the one who stitched it. A player working on past weaknesses paying dividends. Padraic O’ Hora had the look of a fella afterwards thinking feck yet man may have robbed my jersey with that goal. One management decision I thought they got wrong (presumably was management call) was McBrien moved off Clifford before he really cut loose.. I though he was doing fairly well on him bar one slip which wasn’t punished and one free which was a marginal call. Some of those late scores were simply lay offs from Kerry players passing the buck a bit to Clifford in the pocket some were wonder scores too.
The best thing about or performance was we overran them and could probably do it again if we played them again bar Killain Spillane being available and the other things was taking their home patch record, at a neutral venue with a swing in support it could have been an even bigger gap. Playing Morley as sweeper left them short elsewhere and once we bypassed it Kerry had to go orthodox. Our athleticism looked a handful for all comers as we were coming from all angles and subs in the main were pure speed merchants. While they ran us a bit close for comfort we should either have simply pointed more of those goal chances or scored the bloody things – something to work on in training. We should be trying to put that right against Louth and bag 2 or more goals. Reape missed a couple of 45’s which I wouldn’t worry about as he’s normally a high % and caused a dangerous turnover coming way outh the field which we weren’t fully punished but would stil rather he did that if no players available as he’s played plenty of time outfield by all accounts and it’s a risk reward balance – there’s always the risk a goalie can be caught. Clifford’s shots were trying to force the game but they had venom were still well stopped so that’s another positive.
One excuse I’d make for Kerry is we caught them (not deliberately) with a few heavy bangs early on and it might have affected said players performances.. but I think the bigger problem they have if playing us again is we’re simply the more athletic team now especially in midfield. Would have preferred to see either Tuohy or Kevin Mc come on for Aido as the last 10 was his quietist period (than sub off both Callinan and Coyne although the latter seemed to have a problem with his vision so hopefully ok for the next game).
The short gaps in games for all teams now means we should maintain an S&C advantage that we gained in the 6 weeks off. While one off day isn’t the be all and end all I’d push Kerry back to 4th favourites or beyond based on that showing and QF peril as we really could have won that by 10 or more. Others will fear them less now.
PS, the Kerry people on here have been very gacious in defeat and we should reciprocate in victory so I agree with criticism of anyone wishing them ill.
Brilliant performance today.have to say Clare proved us alot of us wrong with her optimism.great post by there by tuamstar but just wondering what age is this person
A really great team performance, I picked Mattie, Diarmuid and Jack for MOTM but it really was hard to choose, a performance like that isn’t down to one or a few individuals but is a panel effort.
Reape had another great outing in goal, he is in charge of the square and his restarts were generally excellent. I thought McBrien did as well as you could against Clifford on that kind of form. Against Clare we saw him waltz through for a few goals, clearly mayo management wanted to avoid that inside pass which meant Clifford could get ball in front. Coyne on Clifford and Callinan on O’Shea I thought were match ups the mayo management got spot on. McHugh, O’Hora and Loftus I thought had very solid games.
Loftus again getting some harsh comments, people are digging into a position and can’t see the positive of what he does and why McStay has picked him in that position. First goal chance came as a result of a Loftus kick pass into ROD. Still work to do on the defensive side without a doubt but he isn’t deserving of some of vitriol coming his way.
Midfield, nothing to be said. The two lads were immense, how Mattie has that energy in the tank to get up the field and kick the last score is incredible and a testament to his hard work and dedication.
Our forward play was the most pleasing thing. I don’t remember any stage where we ran into the alley and got bottled up. The movement was terrific, runners off the shoulder and if it wasn’t on we recycled out the pitch and probed again. O’Shea was a terrific focal point for the attack, Carr gave another excellent performance, his abilit my off left and right is superb, a little bit more composure at times and could have had another 2-1, I’m sure McStay and co will work on this. Half forward line was excellent I thought, Flynn sacrificed so much for the team to mark White. A really disciplined, dogged display capped by a point. Jason Doc was brilliant, his experience really told and the organising and volume of work he got through was like rolling back the years. Jack Carney’s ball winning from primary and breaking ball gave us a great platform around the middle.
All of the above was complemented by a terrific impact off the bench. The injection of pace allowed us to drive on for the win. Credit to the management team, they set the team up tactically and the players delivered for them.
The big thing for me today was the amount of selfless hard work from players, watching it back you can see that a lot of work is going on with our forward play to create space for goal opportunities. Fellas today sprinting 40-50 metres for no more than a decoy run to create space for a teammate. It epitomised the team effort for today and to go to the lions den as O’Se called it and get the two points really sets us up nicely for the group stage.
Plenty to work on still between defence and attack, some sloppy turnovers also that need to be addressed but for us fans a win to well and truly enjoy, given some of the comments after the Roscommon game I thought football in Mayo was dead but thankfully still a bit of life left in it.
Kerry will take plenty from that game, Cork could feel the end of a backlash from Jack O’Connor. Any team with Clifford in it can’t be in any written off.
Tuamstar thinks this blog has an effect on the team or the whole Mayo fan base. A pretty laughable attempt to try an drive up the hype amd pressure on here. Im sure he/she will catch a few innocent cratures out though. We definetly live rent free in some of these Galway ladeen’s heads.
Possible Prelims
Armagh v Tyrone
Kerry v Cork
Monaghan v Donegal
Kildare v Ross
Possible Quarters
Galway v Kerry/ Monaghan/ Kildare
Mayo v Armagh/Tyrone/Monaghan/ Kildare
Derry v Kerry/Kildare/ Ross/Tyrone
Dublin v Armagh/Tyrone/Kerry/Monaghan
Does anyone know for sure can Mayo still meet Kerry in a Semi Final? And are the Connacht V Munster ,Ulster v Leinster pairings gone for Semi Finals this year?
As a doubting Thomas, I am delighted to have been proven wrong. We are back to the great habit of beating the previous years champions.
I agree with so many of the above comments, we were very composed and confident that it reflects the great work done over the last 6 weeks.
On one level, conceding 17 points to an underperforming Kerry could be a concern, it more reflects how unreal DC is as the overall defensive structure seemed good overall.
Mayo still continue to take a very brave approach to the game, Reape plays sweeper, did Coyne play half back and Callinan seemed to be in the middle third so much, he had an excellent game. We use our pace to create opportunities and take some chances defensively as we back the pace to cover so it is great to see.
Our middle 8 were very strong and such an improvement on the Rossies performance. I have always admired Jason D and he went about his game in his usual understated manner. I thought that our overall performance by the forwards was the best that I have seen in a long time and the timing of runs was really impressive. The shooting efficiency was very high. We know that we struggle with blanket defences but that was a mean Kerry defence last year and we pulled them apart yesterday.
The Louth game will be a different test, mentally as much as anything else but we could be at the beginning of another roller coaster journey with what looks like another exciting Mayo team.
Best 3 things that happened yesterday.
1. Beating Kerry in their back yard in Championship is up there with most satisfying Mayo game to ever be at.
2. Mayo missing three 1 on 1’s with their keeper which if they went in would have propelled us to dizzy heights which we all know is not good.
3. Watching the panel and management walking off the pitch to tumoluutous applause and barely acknowledging the euphoria which suggests they know its only 2 points gained in a round Robin.
Very focused “Dare we Dream”
Just watched the game back……Mayo even better than I thought live and how bloody good is Ryan O’Donoghue? One of the smartest footballers I’ve ever seen!
Very good post shuffly, and a very good win by the lads.
Kerry were so open at the back it was almost hard to believe, we were unlucky not to put up another 3 goals.
As I highlighted during the week their defence is ordinary enough, and their loss of Moran would prove a bigger loss than ours of Lee and Oisin as the midfield is not a strong point for them. I still thought with home advantage they’d pip us. Based on today both their defense and midfield are weaker than I thought. But luckily that’s not our problem.
With Clifford they always have a fighters chance, he’s incredible and such a consistent performer at such a young age, and after all he’s been through recently. A serious GOAT contender. But he’s unlikely to be able do it on his own, so as bookies are showing, they are sliding out. I’d have Dublin, Galway and ourselves ahead of them now.
Result of today’s game will be interesting, I thought cork might be starting get act together but they were woeful last time out. Be interesting see how they reply, I reckon they will bounce back and win today, buts it’s very hard to judge.
Hopefully now we go on and top the group, ideally avoid team with good blanket deployment skills, as they are teams we struggle with. Tyrone are possibly the Ulster team I’d most like to avoid.
I’ll say this for GAA go – having it on the phone comes in handy at a baptism! Great performance, nothing to say that’s not been said already above. You’d imagine there won’t be many teams going forward that will want to play an open game against us, but I’m sure there’s plans in place for that. Hopefully no banana skins in the next few weeks!
So happy that I made the trip to Killarney yesterday.. as West Kerry said we were made very welcome.. parked in a dairy farmers field on the Tralee road and he was chatting away, saying this is Clifford country here, you could here the pride in his voice. I told him I was from Colm Reape country and that I hoped he’d be able to keep the ball kicked out to them.. great bit of banter.. lovely meal downtown before the game but I was shocked at how few Mayo jerseys seemed to be around, the crowd was smaller than I expected but those that did travel made themselves heard. On the way into the game a lovely Kerry gentleman thanked us for travelling down to a Kerry training session and I have to say it was the best training session I ever experienced! The Kerry supporters were all lovely and so gracious in defeat, something Galway (and dare I say ourselves) could learn from. I had my son with me and he said on the way home that he has only ever seen Mayo lose twice. There will be a new generation of fans that will have total confidence in this team. The entire team played as a unit and were impressive from start to finish. Apart from Aido, Jordan Flynn, Diarmuid OConnor and dare I say Conor Loftus all out in serious shifts. Conor’s work rate was fantastic, he made a few errors that led to turnovers, but he covered some amount of ground…
Onto Louth in 2 weeks time and hopefully a game every 2nd week right up to the end of July.. use the off week well guys 😉
@chesneychet.regarding gaago app forgive me if you know this already but did you press the cast your screen icon before you tapped on the game? That caught me out for a while on a previous occasion. On another note it seems a bit unfair that some teams have two weeks between games and others are out the following weekend.
Tremendous result and performance. Yes, we missed goal chances and conceded 0-17, but to take down the 38-time All-Ireland champions, a county that has inflicted so many traumatic days on us, in their own back yard? The only thing that would be better than that would be to win an All-Ireland. But all of that hype is for another day, and it’s good to see that bar one or two, nobody here is losing the run of themselves. And rightly so. After all, that was just a round-robin fixture, and Kerry will still make the quarters.
We just need to focus on Louth and Cork, and make sure of two wins. Neither game will be as easy as they might look now. Teams will note that Kerry decided to try and beat us in an open shootout yesterday, with disastrous results for them. Whereas Roscommon, and Galway in the League final, knew that parking the bus and slowing the game down causes us untold problems. Mickey Harte won’t have any problem following that plan – expect 15 Louth men in their own half on Sunday week. Hopefully our brains trust have figured out a strategy to beat that approach. And hopefully we work very hard on converting goal chances in the meantime.
But well done, Mayo. Best result since the extra-time win over the Dubs two years ago. Here’s hoping we can harness the momentum from this win from here on in.
Great performance yesterday, lots to be admired, but fair play to mcstay, he played a blinder. Its now about consistency and dealing with the defensive minded teams, which we tend to struggle against, that’s when we need to have the composure to hold on to possession and wait for the right opportunity to shoot. Makes the next few weeks way more interesting.
Don’t like that Jersey by the way…..
The self belief in the Mayo Team yesterday was a joy to behold. They backed themselves all the way to win this one, on the line and on the pitch. Sean Burke maybe that Tyrone fan was right, time we now adopted the same level of belief in this new team. They surprised almost everyone even most of the die-hard fans on the blog with that performance. Looks like a very exciting Summer ahead!
Donnacha McHugh was one of the unsung heroes yesterday. Kept Tony Brosnan out of the game, handles a lot of good ball and fisted over a point at a very important stage.
I think if we keep winning now we will have a game every two weeks which is ideal
Davy J makes a good point most, most teams who get thru to the business end of the championship will play a system that places great emphasis on conceding less than your opposition. Armagh, Derry, Tyrone, Galway, Ros.
Anyone who has watched Galway this year will notice a clear change in their gameplay and strategy…and it’s working. They had the tightest defence in the league. They are conceding the fewest amount of goals. For me (and I really hope I’m wrong) they are the team to beat this summer. For Mayo, I felt we conceded too many soft scores yesterday. We didn’t make Kerry work hard enough for some of them. If we really want to win the All Ireland we need a meaner, tighter defensive system. I’m fairly sure McStay & Co clearly see this.
People take offence here when I say that Mayo are (results wise) the team of the year?
They won the league in excellent fashion, and as I said apart from the Roscommon game Mayo have been the form team this year… That result and most importantly the performance yesterday in Killarney has the bookies putting them in as second favourites behind Dublin now…
Dublin haven’t played one Division one team yet this year so for me the jury is still out on them…
Still think Galway have work to do in our forward areas so right now I believe Mayo in my opinion are favourites..
Oh and by the way I’m a 44 year old Tuam man and was nowhere near a pub last night!!
Very controlled performance.. un-mayo like! No drama. Mcstay loves fixing problems. Goalie tick, long range free and left-footed free taker tick tick. But the big difference is in the 3 big areas, defense transition and attack. New fb line, and 13 man retreat when out of possession, squeezing space. Overloads on wings and transition on sidelines, when pressed. Attack.. long kick passes, marks, shot selection and Accuracy and angled running .. triangles… we almost overdone the reverse passing, 2 horrible turnovers because of it yesterday. I expect Louth to reverse to type against us and mimic Roscommon plan…if we can break down blankets we will give Galway a run for it…need Cillian and Plunkett back before qtrs
Yes we shipped 17 and a few goal chances but that wasn’t our best defence starting the game. Paddy and Stephen are very experienced operators. In the league Diarmaid OC was more filling the gap left by Loftus covering deeper that was the case yesterday. True he put in another big shift yesterday like others but our setup was more attack minded than defence minded. Hit them early and often was the intention and it nearly paid off but for Shane Ryan. Against Louth our goal should be to get in front early and stop them parking the bus. Getting a 1st half goal would greatly help as Ros turned the tide on us in Castlebar with their goals the 2nd of which had a fair dollop of luck. If we took our early scores in McHale the Ros goals wouldn’t have mattered despite us being a bit off, they’d have never gained such momentum and confidence and wouldn’t have game managed so well. There’s a threshold of 5 points which is difficult to breach when it comes to game management. Hard to see Louth getting and holding such a lead for long given our athleticism and while hats off to Mickey Harte, Ros are a better team than them having a quite good league in the top division and not going down badly to Galway who are seen as real AI contenders.
One curiosity is why was David McBrien taken off Clifford before he cut loose in the 2nd half given he did well enough in the 1st half. He was then able to score with 2 defenders in front of him so the 1st man in needed to apply more pressure than we did apply and risk being side stepped. Either that or it takes 3 surrounding him to stop him which I don’t think is the case when McBrien is assigned the marking job.
Great win in the lions den, hope this is a new Mayo, the old Mayo would go out next game and struggle or loose to Louth . The defence needs to tighten up more and get closer to the shooters, 17 points is a big score to conceed and would win most games. Forwards need to take the goal chances, goals win games. Aiden O Shea got man of the match and did have a great game but David Clifford was best player on the field. McStay made great use of the bench and had proberly best team on the field at end of game, good day at the Office. Just Keep Her Lit.
Watched it back – different game to watching live behind goal! I take you point Mayonaze about conceding a lot, but I think that was a risk we took. If you don’t go toe to toe, and score(!), Kerry will blitz you. If we sat back, Clifford was going to score anyway. A sickener for Kerry, was our ability to keep the scoreboard ticking, and consolidate our four to five point lead. Sitting on that lead would have been very nervy.
Agree with poster (can’t see who now), who thought Aido’s shot was a point. Definitely, and one of Clifford’s wasn’t!
I thought that the Mayo,Mayo,Mayo chant from the supporters in the stand was brilliant yesterday . The Yerras were a bit subdued yesterday but in fairness they were gracious afterwards. I would hope that we will turn out in bigger numbers for the Cork match which ,I think, may be in Limerick.Great to meet so many of our diehard supporters yesterday. Hope you all got home safely. Incidentally, the stadium was opened in 1936 and the then All Ireland champions played in the first game there. Hope appropriate is it that we should end the long winning record!!
Hi No Doubt I used google home to cast my android screen to the Sony tv. I downloaded app to tv but it wouldnt open. Also on the GAA Go app on phone it didnt recognise that I paid 24 quid offer so I had to use web version. Its tricky enough to get it working.
@Tuamstar, please do inform us of what bookies have Mayo now lower odds than Kerry? Not Paddy Power and not Boylesports! C’mon now…
@Shuffly, I take your point about us maybe not having our best starting players in defence yesterday but it’s more about the system of defence a team adopts, not necessarily the personnel. I believe Mayo have as many good players as Galway have in defence, but I think Galway have a better more streamlined defensive structure. PJ and Cian O’Neill very clearly took stock of matters over the winter and decided that the strategy they would employ that would best serve their AI ambitions would be to create the tightest defence possible and rely on Walsh, Comer, Tierney, Finnerty, Heaney etc to have enough to out score the opposition in a low scoring encounter. Galway showed their hand during the league and have adopted a very clear gameplan (a glance at their results says it all). It’s a system that places greater emphasis and team mentality on conceding less than the opposition. Yeah, you are less likely to shoot the lights out, but you are more likely to win – and that’s all that matters. I know from speaking with players and people close to the team that keeping a cleansheet is now a huge target in every game.
McStay & Co have done very well to date, but it appears as though they are taking a more balanced approach in terms of strategy. Maybe that will work, but when Mayo come out of the group, we will face teams who, like Galway (but not with as strong a midfield or attack as Galway) will set up a system that clogs up their defence when you have the ball. PJ as good as said it in his post-match comments after the NFL Final. Pack your defence and the chances are Mayo will be hugely reliant on scoring from free’s; ie: Mayo won’t be strong enough to break us down. Galway missed several sitters that day. Let’s face it, we were fortunate to win it.
Victory in Killarney yesterday was great and well deserved. A good confidence booster after the ros match, but the free flowing open football on show yesterday in Fitzgerald Stadium will feel like a distant memory and different sport compared to some of the games that will take place in the knock out phase. There will be far less space for forwards. When required, we need to be able to play defensively and counter attack. It’s not something that can happen at the push of a button. It takes months of training and preparation to master it. I hope Mayo will be ready!
Mayonaze – we played Galway twice in the league, conceding 2-8 and 11 points respectively. They are pretty good defensive showings by any measure.
McBrien was possibly going to get a yellow on his next free with Clifford.
Didn’t actually notice he was moved off.
David Clifford’s shooting yesterday was the best I’ve ever seen.
I’ll go further.
Of sports with kicking he is the best at getting most difficult shots for scores.
His point outside the 45 was one of the best I’ve ever seen. Two steps to kick a 47 yard point from play after selling those shimmys.
10/10 stuff.
He’s an unusual build. He’s all legs but slim arms. So he’s surprisingly agile not weighed down with top heavy arms.
See some kerry folk saying aido was mouthing off and was very childish the amount of abuse aido gets is ridiculous and I know there are bad supporters in every county including our own and fair play to @west kerry and @micko for being gracious in defeat unlike some kerry supporters comments I have seen. But that’s always the way isn’t it haha
well done again to our guys who played great in front of not many mayo supporters and a full house of kerry supporters they did not let them stop them producing a magic performance!
A good day for Mayo and they were up for it – McStay & Rochford a good combo. Was worried about our achilles heel, the 3rd quarter collapse – it happened but less damaging than usual.
Aidan O’Shea a different player under this management – still gets bottled up tho. Great to see Mattie back on song. One point – we had some point-blank chances that were saved, Carr had a 1 on 1 with goalie and just blasted it against a very good keeper admittedly – practise the Messi trick– shimmy, dummy and even sidestep at speed as technique improves. Things heating up – so far, so good. Maigh Eo Abú!
Wide Ball – how many clear goal scoring opportunities did Galway have in that league final? The answer is far too many. Only for Reape, Galway should have has 3 goals.
I said it was great to win yesterday but I’m not sure it’ll be all that relevant when playing against any of Galway, Armagh, Derry, Tyrone, Roscommon, Monaghan or Donegal if we face any in Croke Park. It’ll be a totally different game. I am not saying all those teams are the same standard, some are far more dangerous than others but the point I’m making is that, completely unlike Kerry, they will all set up with a really solid defensive structure. In fact, Louth in Castlebar may prove a lot more relevant in terms of preparation for knock out stages.
There is a weird logic with some people towards Galway and Mayo.
Mayo win a league final against all Ireland finalists of 2022 and then beat reigning all Ireland champions in their own back yard by 5 points – Not good enough
Galway lose league final and beat a team 14 man Tyrone team struggling to find form by 3 points at home – The team to beat this year
Both Mayo and Galway will be there or thereabouts come the end of the year. Plenty of football still to be played before we will meet each other and it will be a 50/50 game.
Mayonaze – the Galway goal chances in the league final were completely overblown. Most of them were half chances. The best goal chance on the day actually fell to James Carr, yet nobody mentions that.
Your other point is a fair one however. The way Kerry set up yesterday suits us down to the ground. In an open, high scoring game we will beat most teams. Roscommon and Galway supporters in particular love getting digs in about Mayo forwards. Yet they always set up defensively against us, because they know high scoring games won’t end well for them.
Congratulations to Mayo. No complaints from Kerry. Mayo played brilliant football, the speed and movement was something to behold. Only for Shane Ryan the game would be over by halftime. Thought Adian O’Shea had a mighty game. The Kerry team a management team has a mountain of work to do if they have designs on retaining Sam.
But not over till the fat lady sings ??
Are there any definite dates and times for our other two games plus actual venue for cork game or when are we expected to hear ?
We beat Galway and Kerry in big games and are league champions thats fact. I see Mayonaze’s point though. Ultimately Kerry dont respect Mayo.They see us as a team they should be able to beat easily enough and they came in complacent yesterday and frankly we are way better than they give us credit for and showed that. If we play Kerry in semi I expect they will set up similarly to how they did in the 2014 final and be a different animal right across the pitch.
However can we beat them? yes. can we beat anyone left? yes we can.
We should be in QF at least now but I dont think anyone will get carried away here. Least of all the team and management.
The headline in a paper this morning reminded me that we usually don’t like to see an Eoghan goal but different circumstances this time. @jkel88 those stats are impressive alright and would look good on a cv and in fairness mayo can only take each game as it comes and as someone posted on another thread no point supporters worrying about a game that might happen. @chesneychet.looks like you tried everything and thankfully no trouble my end.
@ Sean Burke I understand that neutral venue for all teams is Croke Park, that includes Dublin.
Not sure about the Tailteann cup.
Let’s now concentrate on Louth. Take it one game at a time.
Are none of our team able to operate a dummy in front of goal.
For many years I have been looking for more left footed shooters in the forward line, under the Horan and Rockford eras.
And all along A O Shea was that very player, I think he got 3 or 4 yesterday from the left foot on the right flank on the pitch.
Mayo were way too predictable for years in the big games.
Everyone should enjoy the win yesterday and hopefully the good form and planning will continue ilto the final.
JR – Enda Hession can!
Spot on about Hession.
In fairness to James Carr, he backs himself to go for goals. I love that. He’ll practise and improve.
I love that Aidan is a left footed kicker for us – agree Mayo88.
I enjoyed the posts above about Galway’s thinking and tactics in using a blanket defence. I know other counties do it. I’m going to think about Galway in what I say next.
Some thoughts about upending blanket defences.
I always think – the audacity of them for trying a blanket defence, the cheek of them for thinking they can control us.
I think there has to be a fine line sometimes in thinking that control will work or it won’t.
My feeling on it – let’s find the fine line and upend the strategy; let’s remove their cheekiness and feeling of comfort.
Following on from that, these are a few simple things to remove the cheekiness of teams leaning on blankets. My aim is to get ahead early or see what can make the blanket fall apart. (There are more things that those who know the game well can say).
– Aim to win the first throw-in and score from it (point or goal). It’s a tiny margin.
– Use the forward mark to get a score. Get a super accurate long range kick passer to kick a long one in to a shooter in the scoring zone when the blanket hasn’t been set up. (Aidan to Ryan or vice versa).
– Be ruthless if and when you can. If we can break forward and get a one-on-one, let’s practise that it’s a goal scorer that breaks and gets a goal.
– We can’t necessarily influence this but a black card or losing a man to a red card can affect a mass defence team.
– In the past, James Carr running at Galway really upset them. How did that work and why?
– Who are our long range accurate shooters? Colm Reape. There may be others – who, like Aido, with his left footed kicks – haven’t used the skill enough.
These are scrappy things but we can think tactically, practise, set up and leverage them. We just need to eke out a few points lead and it gives us much greater freedom against a team like this.
Relying on the very slow play we have tended to use against blankets, while I see the reasons, means scores come very slowly.