We gave everything and more this evening down in the Gaelic Grounds but, in the final analysis, it just wasn’t enough. More than once in this All-Ireland semi-final replay it looked as if we were on our way but eventually it was Kerry who pushed ahead of us in the second half of extra-time to claim their place in next month’s final.
I’m gutted, you’re all no doubt feeling the same and, of course, whatever we’re feeling then you can be sure that James and the lads are feeling it a hundred times more. They put in so much effort again this year but once again, despite the historic Connacht four-in-a-row earlier in the summer, they’ve come away empty-handed. It’s a crushing, massive disappointment.
The bottom line, though, is that Kerry outplayed us from start to finish in the middle third tonight and it was always going to be hard to beat them when we were being cleaned out in the engine room. None of the changes we made there made any material difference and we never got to grips with this basic failing on our part. With the continual stream of possession they won around the middle – which Robbie’s one-dimensional kickout strategy, that saw virtually every ball humped down the middle, did nothing to address – it was always going to be an uphill task for us to come out on top. In the end, we just weren’t able to.
When we got the two first-half goals, though, and were briefly seven points ahead, it really did look as if we were in business. We hadn’t started all that well and Kerry had their noses in front by the end of the first quarter but Cillian’s unbelievable catch from Seamie’s long ball in resulted in a penalty for us, but no black card for the drag down.
Cillian converted the penalty and a few minutes later we were celebrating again. Aidan O’Shea made a great fetch and offloaded to Cillian who poked the ball home at the second time of asking. A free from the Ballintubber man followed just after and we were seven ahead and flying.
But we didn’t build on it and the concession of a stupid goal at the other end, scored by Donaghy, meant that we went in just three in front. Seen another way, though, it was a wonder we were ahead at all as Kerry were so dominant in both gaining primary possession and picking up the breaks.
The injuries suffered by Aidan and Cillian at half-time didn’t help our cause either. Was it a clash of heads between them? I’ve no idea what it was, but there was plenty of blood and both failed to restart after the break, though they did both reappear during the second half. Losing them then did, though, upset our rhythm and Aidan, in particular, was never as effective after.
I didn’t see either what happened in the run-up to either of Kerry’s penalties, I have to admit. I’ve heard there’s controversy about one of them – the second one, I think – but I’d need to see it again before saying anything further about it.
The first one, tucked away to Robbie’s left by O’Donoghue, put Kerry right back into it and when the evergreen Marc O Se – who, it must be admitted, was superb this evening – bombed forward to put Kerry two up with twenty minutes left, it started to look like we were in bother.
Andy Moran’s goal at the other end, though, was just the boost we needed at the right time. A garryowen from Cillian was poorly dealt with by the Kerry goalie and Kevin McLoughlin bundled it into Andy to score.
We looked the likelier winners for the next frantic ten minutes, until the second penalty. O’Donoghue placed this one to Robbie’s right and Kerry were now two to the good with time running out.
It was then that the Kerry playacting got going properly. There’d been a nasty edge to this contest from the start – and this would continue right to the death – but once Kerry got in front then they started a very clumsy interpretation of the Nordie timewasting playbook. One after another they fell like flies and took forever to get up. The three minutes of added time was in no way a fair reflection of all the time lost with this messing around.
Thankfully, they didn’t get away with it but it took a last-gasp punched point from Donal Vaughan to keep our hopes alive and take the match to extra-time. We even had a very late opportunity to win it but Robbie’s long-range free just came up short. Boy, it sure would have been delicious had we sealed it then.
I really thought we’d power on at that stage and for much of the first period of extra-time that looked like what was happening. Two laughably soft frees for them, however, both converted by Keane, pegged us back and kept the contest level as the tie entered its final frantic ten minutes.
We failed to add to our tally in the second period of extra-time while they got the three points that sealed it. There were handbags all over the place in the closing seconds (which suited them fine), there was a pitch invasion by one of our fans, who had to be wrestled from the playing area by several stewards, and Cillian eventually got a straight red for a kick at one of the Kerry lads. I’m not sure which one of them it was but I do hope it was that prick Donaghy.
So that’s it. I’ve said really all I want to say about the game and I’ve still managed to say nothing about the ref. The less said about Cormac Reilly, frankly, the better. All I will say is that if that was anything remotely approaching fair officiating then I clearly know nothing about the rules of Gaelic football.
I’m not going to delve any deeper into tonight’s match either. I didn’t leave it all out on the pitch the way the lads did but I’m emptied and utterly spent all the same. We all gave it everything tonight – the ferocity of the support matched the effort the lads were expending on the other side of the white line – but sadly it just wasn’t enough. There’ll be other days for us, I know, but, for now, there are wounds to lick and from this standpoint they look fairly raw.
As we wallow in our own self-pity tonight, it’s worth recalling all the lads have done over the last few years and, yes, all they can still achieve in the future. I’m only just back in the door and have just seen definitive confirmation of the news that James has stepped down as manager. I’ll say more about this tomorrow but the only right way to sign off tonight is by paying fulsome tribute to James for all he’s done in his time in charge. He took over when we were in total disarray and came close, so bloody close, to leading us to glory. He leaves the county side in an immeasurably better place than he found it. He leaves very big shoes to fill. Thanks for everything, James.
Mayo: Robbie Hennelly; Tom Cunniffe, Ger Cafferkey, Keith Higgins; Lee Keegan, Colm Boyle, Donal Vaughan (0-1); Barry Moran, Seamus O’Shea; Kevin McLoughlin (0-1), Aidan O’Shea, Jason Doherty (0-3); Cillian O’Connor (2-5, penalty goal and three frees), Andy Moran (1-1), Alan Dillon. Subs: Tom Parsons for Barry Moran, Alan Freeman (0-1, free) for Aidan O’Shea (blood), Michael Conroy (0-1) for O’Connor (blood) and for Dillon, Kevin Keane for Cafferkey, Richie Feeney for Seamus O’Shea (ET), Alan Freeman for Andy Moran (ET), Brendan Harrison for Vaughan (ET), Chris Barrett for Boyle (ET).
Thank you Mayo and James Horan for 4 wonderful years, ye left everything out there and thats all I can ask for. Too seething with rage to comment on the reff, but a big thanks to every man on that panel for their enormous sacrifice over 4 years. It doesn’t seem like it now, but we will rise again!!!….thats what we do. Proud to be a Mayo man.
Absolutely gutted!
Nothing but admiration for these players. Heroes all. Ref a bloody joke. but….
– Why – did were all kickouts long? David Moran cleaned us. We won 11/30 of our own kickouts and never went short? Why?
– Why did we not change up the marking on Donaghy at half time?. Both goals in 2nd half had his prints on them. Ref gave him everything but we did not help our own cause.
– Lost in first half of extra time. We were dominant and did not put Kerry away and ref gave them 2 joke frees.
You cannot beat the ref I will never see the likes of this team again t
Thank you james horan and all the management team, and panel, enjoy the great days you gave us
very sorry for those lads, they gave everything and in my view had a referee against them as well for major turning points. i’m sure james will walk away,at this stage he has to, family and life are more important than any sport no matter what.Thank you james and everyone involved, i wish i could have helped you some way today, prayers aren’t enough on days like this.
ill be tuning into the league next spring with a fresh bounce in my step, but tonight Ill just go for a long walk with the dog.
When the tears subside we’ll look back on some amazing days…last sunday was one of them. Just wanna get outta here and into the bed and not read a newspaper for a month.
Just watched the game on GAAGO here in Brooklyn. It’s so hard, losing a semi like that. I don’t usually go in for criticizing referees as I feel bad decisions usually balance themselves out over the course of a game. But Cormac Reilly was a disgrace today. He awarded Kerry two dubious penalties, the second one in particular where Ger Cafferkey clearly got to the ball first. He also gave two of the softest frees to Donaghy, one against Cafferkey, one against Keane both of whom genuinely had we’re trying to play the ball. He also awarded a free to Barry John Keane who had been fouled but who was given an advantage and shot wide. Where’s the consistency with this advantage business?
He didn’t book Donaghy when he wouldn’t release the ball for 30 seconds as he rolled on the ground as Mayo tried to take a free or when he scattered Hennelly’s extra footballs preventing a kick out. He allowed Kerry waste time all over the field. The game descended into farce by the end and that’s why we saw a decent lad like Cillian kicking out in frustration.
I was born and raised in Dublin but have supported Mayo since my dad (my parents are from Lahardane) took me the drawn semi final in 1985. I’ll support them ’till I die but as we all know that comes with a bit of hurt at times. Thank you WJ for the site, I hope everyone gets home safe.
As a Tipp man & havin relations in Ballyhaunis I’m gutted for ye. Was in Limerick today (still am) & in Croker last w/end & I have to say ye have the best supporters ever. Some atmosphere there today. Have to be proud of that team because that ref done ye no favours. Want to c that 2nd peno again for Kerry ! Best of luck in the future & do everything in ur power to hold onto Horan.
Thanks to the team and management and fellow fans for a great year again followng the team. We gave everything and can ask no more, just a great shame that our inability to counter the most basic of tactic (long ball into big dongahy) should be the cause of us not winning either match.
Prick of a ref today……..No coincidence he’s from Meath !
Soo much to be proud of in this group of mayo men ……. As with the last 2 years we were beaten by a SLIGHTLY better group of players ,,, our day will come,,, every little boy and girl in mayo dreams of wearing the green and red !!!!! PLEASE leave individual players out of comments !,, now is not the time for it ,,
How smart was Mayo doing a high tempo warm up for 35 minutes before the match when they knew extra time was a possibility??
Fucking sick,fucked ref a joke.thanks to all the panel and management for 4 great years.Like they have shown so many times before they will have a well earned break and come back strong again
Totally fuckin gutted. Nothin else to say. Was not able to go to game today but will wear my Mayo shirt with pride out tonight . not the time now to criticise anyone but serious guts shown by Mayo today. Cillian and Aidan clash of heads a turning point for me. We never got our game going after that. Good luck to Kerry but sick of same old same old
Not the time to look at our weaknesses. Great lads our boys but the best team won. Kerry know that having won 36 titles that you do what ever it takes to win and there certainly did that tonight.
Very hard luck today lads. As a Clareman who feels we were also rode all year by refs can feel yer pain. The ref was a joke.
So disappointed.Fan behaviour at end embarrassing for every Mayoman.
Thanks James for everything.Dont think we were savvy today and previous failings were not addressed.
No point in blame but we were tactically naive and some of the refereeing decisions and decisions from the sideline unfathomable.Lads left everything out there.Would have liked to see Freeman get chance earlier and Barry clearly not at pace.
Leaving Caff on Donehy naive. But whats the point.High ball has cost us many All Irelands and now semis.
Well done for effort to all.Team and management gutted but hey thats sport.
How the fuck can a ref be allowed stay on the pitch with decisions like that. Fair play to the team they gave it their all mighty bunch of lads every respect to them. Fair play to the fans who turned out and shouted their hearts out safe journey home to everyone.
Hard luck lads.
That was some battle.Seriously gripping stuff.
As a neutral watching it – I felt Kerry were just ever so slightly the better team on the day.
David Moran was unbelievable.His midfield partner Maher was also immense.Cafferkey couldn’t handle Donaghy at all.
You didn’t know what decision that referee was going to come up with next.And that was for the entire game.
On another note – while he wasn’t poor by any means – how on earth did James O Donoghue get the rte man of the match today?
Cormac Reilly & David Moran cost Mayo the match ,
WJ, I appreciate the excellent analysis on your audio report. My thoughts exactly. Thanks!
Luck didn’t go our way today. Ref was poor, 2 frees Kerry got in ET were incorrect calls. All of the penalty calls were correct in fairness. However Shane enright should have been sent off in the 18th minute when he blatantly dragged down o Connor for the mayo pen while on a yellow card. Ref gave no black or yellow card, and fitzy the cute hoor subbed him off a minute later, bringing on Marc o se. That was the refs biggest mistake, and no one is talking about it.
However donaghy cleaned ger caff at full forward I’m sorry to say and nothing was done on the sideline until full time was nearly up. David Moran also destroyed our much vaunted midfield. We can’t blame the ref for that. Dillon was also left on too long, Conroy was much better than him when he came on. The mayo fan escorted off the pitch at the end for joining the melee was an embarrassment and a disgrace. A classless idiot. Felt sorry for his poor daughter.
Massive thank you to James Horan and all the players for their fantastic efforts and the enjoyment they have given us all, and we will be back!
SAME GOBSHITE REFEREE THAT GAVE MAYO A FAIR SHAKE AGIN CORK. HE WAS A BIGGER GOBSHITE TO-DAY, ONLY HE DIDINT GIVE MAYO NO WAY NEAR A FAIR SHAKE.
Thanks to James and the boys for the last 4 years. I thought they were the better team over the two games. We just did not reach last year’s level especially at midfield. What a idiot mayo supporter at the end, very embarrassing.
No point in worrying about the ref now. He’s from meath. Like coldrick its not in his make up to be neutral in a mayo game. Best team won though. Just about. Major mess up with donaghy. And midfield was destroyed.
We will be back though.
Also meant to say in my post – I thought Andy Moran was immense today.
He was the one player that was winning every ball that went his way & caused serious trouble in the Kerry fb line winning frees etc.
On the train back up to Dublin, voice wrecked and feeling pretty dejected, but what a great bunch of players – and crowd were also great today. Lost a lot of respect for Kerry today, and least said about ref the better……
I felt a bit sorry for the fan. I could fully empathise with the emotion which drove him to his decision.
The ref…meath cheatin’ €&@#! He lost control of proceedings v early. He have so many soft scoresble frees to Kerry. Donahey not booked for his fucking about on the ball? David Moran not carded, for blatant trip. Riverdance should have been blackcarded before he fell over the advertising boards.
He better never get a league game in Castlebar, for his own sake.
Thoroughly agree with the poster above that the key decision the referee messed up was the O’Connor penalty incident..Stonewall black card and they should have been down to 14..Also he was shocking in extra time..But for the rest of the match I thought he was OK..It’s such a tough game to ref modern gaelic football on a tight pitch that there’s going to be tough calls to be made and they don’t always go for us.
Players were immense..But talk about old failings coming back to haunt us..We’ve seen it all year throwing away winning positions..We hadn’t even played well and we were 7 points up at one stage..We couldn’t deal with this again..Teams can’t win all irelands if they continue to do blow such powerful positions..We got away with it against Cork- the last day against Kerry- and again today..But in extra time when we were domintating we kicked numerous wides and had two good goal chances (McL point and LK fumble in front of goal)..That’s not the referees fault or the GAA’s and we just have to acknowledge that and not have blinkers on..
Finally I admire Horan to the last but another abject day on the line..It was as if we’d never heard of Donaghy..But for Kerry only part utilising the high ball we could have been annihilated – yet Caff was left on nearly the entire game..Don’t know how Sweeney wasn’t introduced..Would have brought a bit of pace up front..Richie had a shocker when he came on
A ref can give fifty frees to one team and twenty to the other, its where he gives them from that counts, he was shocking, I don’t want to always feel down but today I think was the worst ever
Sad end to a great period in mayo football. We may not have won Sam but it was some journey. Where we go from here is any body’s guess but I’d imagine that for James and a few of the older guys it’s the end of the line. To them we can only say a big thank you for the many great moments they have given us over the last few years. There’s one thing for sure though that regardless of this setback today Mayo football will go on and the standard has now been set for those to follow.
On the train back to Dublin too and I am just devastated, It really hurts but I just can’t fault our bucks out there today again, they gave it their all . Thanks lads.
Ref was just unreal , he just protected Donaghy all day, keane never fouled him either. How in the name of Christ did he get away with that smothering of the ball for nearly a min . I too lost a lot of respect for Kerry today, some really bad supporters ” ye had yer fuckin chance yer a shower of losers and always will be” said one Kerry guy and that was after the final whistle.
Yeah I forgot to give a shout out to the Unbelievable Mayo support there today. I was worried during the week that we’d be outnumbered, didn’t happen.
Mayo supporters are class and please go easy on the man that was on the field on the last few minutes!
It was an emotional time for everyone and Kerry had by then ( to be transparent) turned into a thuggish bunch of bullies. Such behavior was sadly aided by the officials. I don’t normally say this but I hope Dublin or Donegal bate the shit out of them. They feel entitled to every AI and that’s what fuckin knaws at me. We had them.
Thanks Lads for the joys over the last 4 years,we will have to handle the lows but are more than compensated with the heart, soul and tremendous effort put in by you men in our county colours. If All Irelands could be won by the pride ye have restored to our county then we would be on for 4 in a row.
Won’t go into what I thought of the ref (effing) decisions or the kerry gamesmanshit as it doesn’t belong on the same page as heroes.
MaighEo Abú
Gutted for the players – they’ve given every fibre of their being over the past number of years in their quest to win the Sam McGuire. This year was the last chance saloon for this particular group of players. Sadly it wasn’t to be. It’ll be a long long time before we see a Mayo team like this again. Thanks to James Horan and all of the management team and players for 4 memorable years.
All – I’m still on my way back (stopped in the Barack Obama plaza) but note I WILL delete all comments from those who break the house rules and deal with those who do so. Emotions are running high tonight, I know, but that’s no excuse.
@sean burke, if what you say is true about what that kerry supporter said, I hope dublin absolutely fuckin annihilate them in the final…wat a scumbag comment! Yes we cud have won it, but a fat prick like donaghy lying on the ball for over a minute without a yellow card is disgraceful. I don’t think as many players will retire as we think. I reckon they’ll be fairly angry when they look back at it and a few months with the feet up might re energize them…well heres hoping anyway.
Absolutely heartbroken tonight. Hugely proud of that group of players and the way they fought tonight and almost won it at the death in normal time when things were not going their way. But it’s bitterly disappointing to not be able to beat that Kerry team and to me, it marks the end of an era, unfortunately.
Thought all the players gave it their all and I’d be loath to criticize all of them. But I do have to take issue with what happened on the line. Did they not have a plan to deal with Donaghy? He must have known he was going to be playing at some stage and to have no plan for him was mad. Donaghy pulled them back into it time and time again and did serious damage. Cafferkey just couldn’t do anything with him, the difference in physical stature was too great. And he had the ample opportunity when Mayo went 7 up? Just drop a man back and go from there? Awful.
I also agree with your audio piece, Willie Joe. The battle was lost around the middle eight. The influence the two Kerry midfielders had on the proceedings cannot be underestimated, particularly Moran. Time and time again, he won balls by plucking them over the heads of Mayo men. The amount of breaking ball Kerry won was astonishing, particularly in the first half. Hennelly’s kick outs did not help this either. What did happen to the short kick outs?
They were unlucky too with Aidan’s injury. It was huge and even though he came back on, he was not operating on 100% or even close to it. Overall, not many of the Mayo players came close to their best, with the exception of Andy Moran, Doherty and Higgins who was absolutely superb. Thought Conroy did well when he came on and Parsons got into it also. But unfortunately, the match bypassed too many. Putting on subs when they haven’t played all year just wasn’t going to work. Barry Moran and Richie Feeney did not have enough football played all year to get up to the pace of that game that quickly. It was bizarre to see Barry starting having not gotten a minute last Sunday?
I need to watch the video again but to my, admittedly biased, eyes, Cormac Reilly seemed to have a shocker. How Enright didn’t get a black card, and by virtue a red, is beyond me, Aidan O’Shea would want to be shot with a gun to get a free (how the assault on him wasn’t given as a free I’ll never know) and I really question both the Kerry penalties. Neither looked a penalty to me.
And the less said about that absolute moron of a fan at the end, the better. It left a sour taste in the mouth and he is not representative of Mayo fans. How people cheered him in Supermacs afterwards is beyond me. Total. Fucking. Clown.
I am proud of the way that team battled on and they left everything on the pitch. Just heartbreaking stuff.
Days like these, you just feel they’re never going to win it.
Sad end for our lads today, hard to win a match when your playing the ref too,penalty and two frees for what,disaster,totally understand why that mayo fan was so angry,but thanks to James Horan,management and every single one those players for an amazing few years and ye will be back ive absolutely no doubt about that,don’t give up ye will do it it.
James Horan has just stepped down according to Sky Sports GAA.
it is too early for rational comment on the match.However, the referee was simply wrong
on too many times .Something must be done to improve the standard of referees and there
must be some censure for not releasing the ball once the whistle blows-its cynical and
leads to thuggery later.
Finally the players and management deserve our gratitude for giving their all.
NEVER FIVE UP.
Beaten by the Ref today – almost the same story last week !
He was absolutely disgraceful !
Both Kerry penalty decisions and at least four frees – shocking.
Kerry had a extra man for both matches….
V pissed myself but even more so for the team – they were alsways up against it.
Agree with nearly all the posters about ref and everything else but the truth is mayo completely ran out of steam in 2nd half of extra time. Kevin mcloughlin killed himself working but gave away as much ball as he won. The game was littered with errors from start to finish and neither team would have worried donegal or Dublin. 10 out of 10 for effort tho and feel for the boys. That was an absolute dogfight and mayo never gave up. Kevin keane was hard done by but wasnt going to be bullied by Donaghy.
Hard luck lads disappointed how many goals did cillian get. Hope dublin hammer Kerry and put jod in his box
Horan has stepped down.
Horan is gone. Thanks James, you gave Mayo 100%. We might see you at the helm again in the future.
Back to the drawing board for us.
Realistically we need to develop the underage structure a level even higher than where it’s at.
What happened at u21 level in Castlebar last March cannot be allowed happen again. If it does, we won’t be anywhere near competitive at senior.
Dublin are going to dominate for next 2/3 years. Time to build for the future. Our current squad still have lads who will be around in a few years, lee, donie, Aido, Kevin, cillian. Maybe our minors from last year can break through and we can compete at the top table in a few years time. Also we might convince that lad to come back from Brisbane, the fact that his younger brother appears to be en route to making it to senior, might be added incentive.
Up Mayo…build for the future..keep the faith.
On shit who will take over
Thank you for everything James
Was completely gutted and raging at the final whistle. Kerry should have been down to 14 after 16 mins. Absolutely clear cut , dragged Cillian to the ground. Thef first penalty was dodgy the second was a 50/50 contest that JOD won because he is JOD . Donaghey got a free of Cafferky and Kk when there was no free and bjk got another. I don’t recall any handy frees Mayo got and AOS was never going to be given a free when he was assaulted on a number of occasions. Despite the worst reffing performance that did cost us the game we could have won it. But as the dust settles we must acknowledge that Kerry won some of the key areas. David Moran was unreal in an area we expected to win. We struggled to cope with Donaghy and a few of our guys hadn’t recovered from last week. I.m not even going to mention the venue saga. Good luck to Kerry. But, I am still a very proud Mayo man. Proud of everyone of the team and management. They live and die by the decisions they make and most have been good decisions. We Will see more of this team.. Maigheo Abu
Can’t bring myself to analyse the game. Gutted for the team and James. He leaves Mayo within touching distance of the prize, the best team I’ve seen in 30 years and when they do lift the cup he’ll deservedly take his bow. Thank you.
If it’s true about Horan then it’s a sad end to a sad day. James and players have made me proud to wear a mayo top, fly de flag and roar them on! Heroes one and all.
we won’t give up, our day will come…
1. James Horan has been nothing short of amazing for the last 4 years. He has breathed life into a Mayo team and county that never looked like going anywhere. He is the single reason that Mayo are in the top 2/3 of the country.Had he been a little cuter then he may very well have gotten us to the promised land. Alas, it wasn’t to be. If he does step down (I hope he doesn’t) then I wish him nothing but the best. He has given his life to Mayo for the last number of years and we have him to thank for the times we have experienced.
2. Donaghy was immense today. Hat off to him. To come into a game like that with very little game time all year and do the damage that he did. Class act. Ger had a bit of a stinker but he would roast the majority of the country’s full forwards. Not his day.
3. Finally, the referee. He made some terrible calls. Truly awful decisions. And yet I can’t remember a single game this year, or any year for that matter, where I saw the ref to be praised on this site. He was bad, no doubt, but probably not as bad as will be painted here over the next hours and days. Rather than lament
4. Colm Boyle. The man is an absolute trojan. In my lifetime, I will never forget some of the places he stuck his head this year. I squirmed in my seat time after time watching him literally throw his body onto fellas knees, boots…etc.
5. Cillian O’Connor. This kid has come of age. A talented free taker that has become the cornerstone of our team. A leader. A marquee player. A guy that will go down in history for Mayo and probably beyond.
I am devastated. I didn’t think that we would win the All Ireland this year but I still hoped against hope. As I have always done. As I will continue to do.
You should be proud of this Mayo team. They owe Mayo nothing. They have given everything over the last 4 years.
Me as a Dublin supporter would rather meet Kerry in the Final if we progress tomorrow.
I think this Mayo team would really put it up to Dublin.
It is a great shame this Mayo team did not get an All- Ireland for all their efforts. Mayo will rebuild maybe introduce a few minors along with some of the existing players and will be back again.
As a Dub living in the west I would have to say you would have to have a heart of stone if you did not feel sympathy for this bunch of players today.
I am sure you will bounce back as you always do. All the best for the future. First time poster
Thanks James Horan for four fabulous years, you led the best Mayo side I’ve seen in my lifetime. May everything go good for you in the future. Thanks again.
MaighEo Abú
Very sad to hear the inevitable about James Horan. Gave his all as a player and a manager a credit to his family and himself. This night has got even longer. #ThankYouJames
Left everything out there today can’t ask for more than that very proud
Just in the door .. Agree that ref was a joke, but game lost in the middle o the park. Was there for us in first half of extra time .. Handy frees for them and a few misses from us meant we didn’t capitalise when needed in a tight game. The Kerry fouling was hard to take .. Think the game needs a sin bin like rugby .. Ref says next team foul and it’s bin .. Destroying running teams like Mayo .. Thanks to Horan and lads .. Who will be next manager ?
Agree,you need the sin bin rule like basketball. Every 5 fouls and a guy is binned for 10 minutes. The black card is a waste of time. Did not deter much fouling today
So, so proud to call myself a Mayo man like those heroes out there this evening. So proud to have had a man like James Horan as manager for. 4 great years. To be honest we never got a grip on midfield that we needed, but still nearly did it. I was directly behind Robbie’s free, and was sure it looked to be going over, knocked the stuffing out of me seeing it fall short.
Don’t want it to sound like sour grapes, but when are refs going to be held accountable for their performances? I know WJ doesn’t allow personal comments on here, but if I was from Meath watching that game I would have been very ashamed of that ……. I’m sorry but I can’t find an adjective to describe the low-life for what he is.
We’ll be back , hopefully he won’t be. Enough said.
Horan had gone as far as he could with the team, the time was right for him to step down. A fresh voice, fresh thinking, and maybe a few new players given a chance will make all the difference next year.
On the game, the season ticket seats were atrocious, right down at the city end and near the pitch, so I have no idea what happened in the scrum at the Clare end in the last few minutes. I thought Kerry did everything to win, legal and illegal. Can’t blame them for that, it’s the refs job to police it. He seemed to lose control early on and let far too much go, especially for Kerry. I was close to the three penalties and I have to say that I thought all 3 were deserved, but haven’t seen any replays. Caff I think shouldn’t have dived in on JOD, thought Higgins had him covered.
On a side note, the black card has completely failed in its stated aim of eliminating cynical fouling due to the fact that refs haven’t bothered giving them out during matches.
Good game today. Ye must be sick with getting so close for the past 4 years. May be time for a fresh perspective management and player wise. Bring on a few u21s and minors. In fairness to yis, u always bring everything to the table and leave everything on the pitch. Hard luck today. 2 fine teams out there. Thought kaff should have been switched. Andy moran has been good servant but maybe time to hang up the boots and step into management. He certainly has that bit of beligerence I think you need to spread to players.
On a seperate note how do you all see tomorrow going? Guarantee you one thing if we (dubs) win tomorrow we’ll do our utmost to beat kerry for ourselves and mayomen everywhere
Cheers lads. Wait till you get back to mayo before you start slaughtering the gargle. Will you be cheering for us tomorrow?
If there was any justice in this world the referee should retire as well. An absolute disgrace!
Thank you James Horan, we may not have won an All Ireland , but you made Mayo ‘Consistently Competitive’
Thank you James.You deserve to be remembered fondly.It is the right decision.
Thanks so much to James horn for his service to mayo and his wonderful achievements and to his team. 4 connaught titles 4 all Ireland semifinals two all Ireland finals and within a couple of inches of a third. Another heroic performance today from the team but I think the slightly better team won in the end. We all need time to heal now and an early exit from next year’s championship might be no harm. The unsporting behaviour at the end of the match was sad to see.
It’s only a game in a world so full of suffering. God bless ye all.
Thanks James
Sorry to hear about James stepping down, it was to be expected. New baby in the house and work/ family need taking care of.
Today it’s raw, we lost a game we should have won for numerous reasons, however the framework is in place, we know what’s required in training to compete at this level and there’s bound to be more quality available in the county that will stand up given a chance.
A fresh voice and more tactical people will be needed, but, for certain, Cillian OConnor will raise Sam a few times before he done.
Please keep the faith and keep the flags up to show your support.
Firstly, if JH has stepped down then may I thank him for his achievements over the past four years. Like the team he has made enormous sacrifice. They have lifted and carried us on a crusade. While not achieving their goal the foundation is laid and with the boost of younger players from the last few years the pursuit will continue.
I will leave others to comment on the match and the performance of the referee. All I can say is that had Kerry taken fairly easy chances early on and had Higgins not shown what a staggeringly brilliant player he is then we may have been in a lot of difficulty.
For me the decisive moment was the sending off in the last game. For 30 minutes in the second half they proved what an outstanding set of players they are. They just gave so much it seemed that they couldn’t reach similar physical heights today
How long do I have to wait for moderation
wonder how much money the ref had on kerry
In the dark depths of 2010, who would have thought four years later we would have won Connacht four years on the trot, gotten to four consecutive All-Ireland semi-finals and two All-Irelands?
With James Horan as manager, we were always contenders. He brought that sense of belief to us that we were good enough to go all the way. I am gutted for him and his panel that this didn’t come to pass during his tenure. He is a man with a young family and a career and the commitment he has given to the cause should be remembered with gratitude by all.
Our day WILL come. I don’t know when it will be, but one day we will see the Sam Maguire trophy held aloft over green and red clad shoulders. We need to build on the gains made during the Horan era. We have come so far in the last four years, we can’t let that slip.
Maigh Eo Abú
No we cannot let it slip, the James Horan legacy will be the one that is remembered as the birthstone of our new era , we are not gone, not by a longshot.
The biggest addition james has given Mayo GAA is the new attitude of steel, we should never let that go now, we won’t be pushed aside or bullied ever again , he has installed a belief and the role models for the youth of Mayo football are warriors like boyler and co.
My own take on things are the first thing would be for Gilvarry to be coaxed into taking the 21s next year, he has done the business with the next batch coming through .
Until I get back home, Dubmeister – I’ve been behind the wheel for the last few hours. No need for the catty remarks, certainly not tonight.
Thank you James and your family for all you have done for Mayo football.
Dubmeister,
As long as it takes to get the DART or DUBLIN BUS back from Limerick!!!
Lads did us proud today again…Just wasn’t to be. Didn’t look as sharp as last week and well beaten round middle 8.
Hard to comment subjectively on ref as I was long way from action in terrace. However the 2 frees in et were crazy decisions and kept ky in it
Horan has done a remarkable job and has brought us on an incredible journey. He will be sadly missed.
My heart is broken again tonight. A time for transition now and need to find some new blood. Hopefully we’ll have our day soon but it feels further away than ever tonight.
Hold on about the over crack
All that is over is this years campaign and
James Horan’s current tenure
This is a great young team, with more left, even in the older bucks.
Playing badly and not being let play, we still nearly won with spirit.
We will get back on the horse, for what else can we do!
Gutted but proud
Pride well and truly restored to Mayo football. As someone said before extra time the only curse on Mayo was Donnaghy.
We lost the game because we lost midfield and breaking ball and then tiredness in extra team. As James H bids farewell a sincere thanks to you, the rest of the management
team and most of all OUR players.
Well done supporter especially the ones with the flares.
What happened the rest of black cards that should have been dished out ?.
What about the mini scrap before the second half even started ?
What about the major scrap at the end of extra time? Third man into a fight rule ?
We regroup, we focus on minor and U21 and we move onwards and forward. Come on the Dubs hope ye beat the livin daylights out of both Donegal and Kerry.
I have been to games and watched games where maybe 2 to 3 of a refs decisions could be questioned but the standard of ref in limerick was atrocious . I feel sorry for our team to have had to put up with his crazy decisions all evening . Thomond park is where you would usually see rucks and mauls being let develop . Our players despite being beaten at midfield and other positions around the pitch never gave up and gave everything they had for the cause . They are a credit to this great county of ours . I’m proud to support such a great team . I am not proud to see a ref help to railroad their hopes . I can not know what cormac reilly was playing at but it almost seems certain that it was payback time for lee keegans appeal.
Agree .. Team will reappear of course, think next coach is crucial . Horan has been remarkable but can we add another level with a new coaching set up ? Mayo should continue to dominate Connacht for next few years so 2 games from final again next year is a reasonable expectation .. At that point draw matters and a bit of luck and we can of course lift Sam .. Seems a long way away tonight but it’s important to stay at the top for next few years and build on the new status of Mayo as a top side. We will find a few new lads in the coming years .. Persistence is crucial !!
Not long home. As gutted as everyone else here.
Whatever about the referee’s performance, the bottom line is that it’s hard to win a match when you’re cleaned out at midfield AND on breaking ball. In those circumstances, we did fierce well to stay alive as long as we did. But nothing should surprise us about the resilience of this team any more.
So James has resigned. It’s worth restating that when the man took over we had just been beaten by Sligo and Longford, the latter an abject, morale-shattering nadir in Mayo’s recent history.
Look at Mayo now. Even after today. There was no bending of the knee to Kerry. They scraped home after extra-time in a replay, fixed for their neighbouring county, against a team that had just 6 days to recover from a titanic match, half of which they played with 14 men.
In tight struggles, those things tip the scales. A grain of sand, as Páidí might say.
Sure, James had tactical weaknesses. So had John O’Mahony. So had John Maughan. So had Mickey Moran and John Morrison. So had all his predecessors. Did any of them carve out a team like this?
I’ve gotten more pleasure, entertainment and, above all, pride out of watching James Horan’s Mayo than any other Mayo team in my lifetime.
Take a bow, James. Your rest is well earned.
Huge mixture of emotion tonight – disappointment, pride, anger and a huge sense that something great has ended.
James Horan deserves our deepest respect and thanks. Yes he made mistakes but the good he did was extraordinary also.
As for the lads themselves – well how down must they feel tonight. Thanks to all of them for a great 4 years and here’s hoping there will be more at some stage in the future.
Surely players like this who have put in so much over the years deserve a decent standard of refereeing on big championship days.
We were lucky to see the likes of them. How about boot camps for refs because they’re having problems with vision which the greater part of the crowd, Mayo or Kerry , could not fathom. Grump over, see you in Castlebar aris. Thanks for a wonderful 4 years and back to the drawing board.
There’s no doubt in my mind. Reilly knew EXACTLY what he was doing today. We were an inconvenience and we were in the way.
They got their dream final anyways. Kerry -Dublin live on Sky. And they got it by any means necessary. And by all means he was not to let today end in a draw. Quite clear that once they went ahead in the second half of ET we were not going to be let get the equalizer
Disgusted. Absolutely disgusted.
Willie joe
Simple question. Required simple answer. Nothing catty about it. I cant know your the admin or that your driving at the moment. Thought I was quite constructive in my first comment towards mayo or was that catty too?
Well done lads and goodbye James. I have nothing but the utmost admiration for you. The very best of luck
Dubmeister
If you had been on here befor you would know who the admin was. So could I politely ask you to fcuk off and another be annoying the hole of decent mayo supporters on a night like this!
Didn’t realise James had stepped down when I wrote this earlier, so just showing my appreciation for the man. We should never forget what he has done for Mayo football.
It’s been some journey, unfortunately it just didn’t lead us to our promised land.
Haven’t read the other comments on the main thread of the match just yet, just not ready for it right now.
Sick, on a par with last September.
But I’m still fierce proud of our lads.
They gave it everything. The ref was a bollocks (although he was equally shite on pretty much all his decisions), but sure that’s the way it forever seems to go with us.
I do feel it’s the end of an era now with James Horan, can’t see him staying on.
And you know what, I wouldn’t blame him. Some of the shite that man has had to put up with has been nothing short of fucking disgraceful.
If he does go, he goes with my complete and utter heartfelt thanks for dragging Mayo football back from the brink and regaining our pride and passion.
I’ll never forget Longford in 2010 and the journey we’ve been on ever since.
Yeah I know we haven’t won we all so desperately want, but I’ve had some of my proudest moments following Mayo over the past 4 years.
So thank you James and those proud lads that have represented us.
We’re not done yet lads and lassies
The only players that might not be back are Dillon and A Moran (two players that owe us nothing), apart from that are there any other players even in their 30?s?
We’ll be back next year, sure it’s what we do isn’t it? Hon Mayo
Dubmeister – no, your first comment was okay but the succession of increasingly catty ones that came after annoyed me. And, to be honest, I really don’t need to be annoyed further tonight as you’ll I’m sure understand.
sorry to hear your stepping down you did a great job built a great team brought them to 2 al lirelands won 4 connaght titles and brought them to 4 allireland semis well done mayo lads they put all there heart into the game ref was iffy with frees against mayo best of luck james you got to do what you have to do family comes first regardless mayo will be back next year and they will fight our day will come good minors blossoming up mayo
Back home after another amazing day supporting a truly great TEAM. Feel a bit reluctant to take off the jersey and hang it up for another year…. Might just sleep in it …
James Horan and Mayo team thank you so much for what you have given to our county over the last 4 years. You have given us a pep in our step and such a sense of pride. Totally gutted tonight but fiercely proud nonetheless. Sick of that ignoramus of a referee and Liston would you please mention kerrys non stop tactical fouling in middle third of field. you were quick to pull Doc for his supposed tactical fouling v cork. Finally to the GAA at the end of a bad week for ye will ye do something positive and get rid of the stupid black card. Its a joke. How Enright avoided one after his yellow beggers belief. I propose that the final black card used by the gaa be awarded to o reilly the ref. While the players gave so much to make this a great game he was a disgrace.
Generally believe in this county we give out about refs too much BUT today Cormac Reilly was a disgrace and an embarassmentpto all in GAA. The ref put players himself and spectators at risk and let things get out of hand.
For the third time this year we have let a substantial lead slip! Lessons have not been learned and one or two players continue to think they’re playing rugby and go into the tackle at tjmes. We had chances we didnt capitalise on and unfortunately it cost us. Im very proud to call myself a mayo man. Of course I’ll still hear this shit about bottlers for another year anyway but I guarantee you its always from people from weaker counties.
Jh has retired. He brought the team on no doubt but there is a tremendous group there but we need to develoo underage too and keep the supply chain coming. When we played direct football we looked dangerous and then the same old crappy running and handpassing game crept in going across and over and back allowing the blues to get back. The fastest mover on the pitch is mr o neill himself that’s at all the games. Move the ball quick and we open teams up but unfortunately at crucial times we ran and got caught up.
Anyway im off to bed badly scalded and disgusted at the negativity kerry showed. They were looking for a brawl from the start and cormac reilly showed he’s not only inconsistent but has no balls and let things spiral out of control. If a doctor cant do his job he’d be struck off…why arent refs held accountable
Didn’t play well enough on the day to deserve a win but playing off colour especially in midfield and almost win tells me Kerry aren’t that great either.
In regards to Horan he has brought Mayo a long way from the extra time win in London. Sometimes you don’t know how good someone has been until he’s gone and that could now be the case with Mayo.
Wille joe
Totally understand how you feel mate been there myself plenty of times.
Die Hard
I politely respond to your fcuk off with a no.
Lads – leave Dubmeister alone! Bit of a misunderstanding is all it was, no need to put the boot in on him.
Just gutted. Thanks James and the TEAM for the last 4 years. Its been a hell of a roller coaster. Massive highs and some terrible lows. Not even going to comment on the ref. its all been said above.
Good luck in the future James.
Hup Mayo
Much as it will sound bad for us, I can’t see that Kerry team getting anywhere close to winning the AI.
More than that, for me they’ve also lost a lot of creditability and respect as one of the so called institutions of our game.
But then maybe that’s why we’ve fallen short again. Maybe we’re still not ruthless enough, are we still yet to tap into that ‘win at all costs’ mentality? Fuck knows I suppose.
I’m pissed/pissed off/seriously fucked off, so just thinking out loud I guess.
Also not sure how to react to the constant stream of ‘McStay is lined up as the next manager ‘ messages I’m getting…
Thank you James Horan for a wonderful 4 years.
Great day’s.
Thank you back room team for keeping the boys in optimum condition.
Thanks to the Team.
Getting closer & closer.
The break through will come !
Team don’t give up.
Supporters don’t give up either
Our time will come soon.
Apologies dubmeister, I think I got the wrong end of the stick with your earlier comment.
Or to put it another way, a lot of people here are pretty fucked off right now.
No offence intended
Cheers Wiillie Joe.
Believe it or not even as a dub supporter and a juvenile football and senior camogie coach here in my own club, i want a strong mayo side and a strong kerry and a strong dublin and as many strong sides as possible. It makes our games compulsive viewing especially in the latter stages.
I do feel your pain. I rememember coming home from croker in an absolute daze after the 4 match epic. Drove home and dont remember a minute of the drive and I hadn’even had a drink (much as I needed 1. But after a few days the pain subsided and I was looking forward to the next year, so keep your chin up pal
*4 match epic with meath (bastards)
I was behind the goal on the Clare end terrace. What ever about the result the outrageous, thuggish carry on by the Kerry team in the last few minutes of the second half of extra time certainly merits investigation by the GAA. If conduct like that is deemed acceptable the it is truly a sad day for a great game. It was utterly barbaric from a county that produce some magnificent players. Their predecessors should be ashamed as should their supporters.
Can’t sleep. Can’t believe the Horan era is over. Can’t even stomach thinking about next year just yet. Can’t thank James enough. Can’t give up. Won’t give up. Heartbroken. Mayo forever.
Cheers Dan. No offence taken.
Thanks James! And to your family. You absolutely gave everything for Mayo. You can be proud of what you did for the county.
This one hurts. Really does. Thank you to James and the team for the great years of service.
Thank you so much James, in a couple of years you will see Mayo complete what you started. You will go down in GAA history as one of the greats. As another poster said you will hopefully be back for another reign in the future. Thanks to all the Mayo players for their passion, commitment, intensity, sportsmanship and pride.
Game of the last few decades surely – best I have ever seen in any sport, a pity about the ref and hence the result – worst I have ever seen in any sport.
Gutted, but at least I’m still from Mayo!
Let’s face it,the best team won today, star cleaned us out, JOD scored 2-6, Moran dominated midfield, Seamus and Aiden hardly got a kick, our half back line never functioned, coyle and Vaughan replaced. Freeman whats happened to him, Leroy was so bad today also, think the carry on during the week didn’t help, and what was that supporter doing on the field at the end, being pulled away by his daughter, just so embarrassing. Just a bad bad day again to the hands of Kerry, knocked our gallent minors out and now our senior team.
Fair play WJ for not blaming the Ref’ for everything. Kerry played him like the flute he was and we were too naive again. To win these days, you have to “win ugly” and i’m as proud as i am sorry that that is not the MAYO way! 5 years ago, we couldn’t even dream of an All Ireland Final…
Very proud of our team, they fought to the bitter end. We were a hop of a ball away and that is the difference at the top level. A huge thanks to James, selectors,back room team and most of all our brave heroic players. We will be back because that is what we do, we are from Mayo. We should all be proud Mayo people tonight, it is hard to take but the best players we produce keep coming back which is the sign of real character and in my eyes real winners. Okay we won’t be all Ireland champions this year but we can hold our heads as high as any county in this country and say we are from Mayo and we are a great people from a great county and we will never go away, we will keep coming back again and again and we will do what ever it takes to support our teams and one day we will prevail.
I know the supporter who has been mentioned in previous posts, he didn’t do what he did lightly. It was passion boiling over, his passion overcame him and he was living every moment with the players. I would cut him a bit of slack.
Just a side note when Kerry were 3 points up with 3 minutes to go they put 14 men behind the ball and started fighting, this is probably the final thing we need to add to our game. Win at all costs!
Mayo Forever.
Ref cost us 1.02 in a game this tight that proved to much to pull back by by god they tried . Fair play to james and the lads for the last four years when you look at what he took over to what is there now one of the best teams in the land and the best mayo team that I can recall thanks lads I’m gutted for all of you don’t give up
So proud of this team. To some of the negative ones here, back to June 2010 with ye before James took over.
Not to be today. The ref was an outrage wj an absolute disgrace
Dubs for Sam now! They’ll annihilate this Kerry team in final and il be so happy when it happens!!
What a panel we have though and I’m very positive ahead of next year with a new start
Despite tommy carrs bizarre and frankly disgraceful comment after that it was the “end of the line” or something to that effect for some of these Mayo players, anyone that’s not a gobshite knows every one of these will be back fighting hard next year under a new man. Two or three lads in their 30s (including Richie who probably won’t be back) he’s some clown is tommy
What a mention for parsons and conroy today, immense from the bench
And in cillian mayo have one of the best footballers in Ireland
JOD mom??? Must say it was lovely of keith to let him out of his pocket to accept his award after! D.Moran was the man, credit where it’s due
Lads go easy on the big mayo man who was on the field…..he didn’t hurt anyone, there’s no shame in being passionate about this game. I know plenty of ppl like that in my homestead.
Game was lost at that point anyways….lesson in how to close out a game, we should take note of it.
3 reasons for defeat.
1. Kick outs- could not see the plan, hennelly didn’t either
2. Lack of subs- usual waiting until a man can hardly walk before taking him off. Kerry showed us how to do it
3. Referee forgot black card rule and gave donaghy handy frees
You can’t win with the above going against you. Mayos heart got then to extra time despite the above
Starting to have a clear reflection. And possibly towards next year.
God this bunch of lads are like no other mayo team I have witnessed. We all have visions of willie joe with the blood drenched bandage. This whole team apitafies this right across the team,
We didn’t play as well as we should. Got some bad knocks to cillian and Aiden . Think Aiden was a little effected after coming back.
Higgins showed that odonaghue is very mark able one to one. There is no comparison between cillian and JoD. Very different players. I would have cillian any day.
Looking forward.
Minors coen and Conor Oshea with the younger Conner . That will beef up the front line and keep Aiden in midfield.
Ger caff will need a strong replacement for the likes of donkey donaghy.
We should try out Reagan and give the league a full test to these guys. Sacrifice the league if necessary next yaar . God knows that this team needs a rest.
Love mayo and would take any other county .
Agree with you on everything you said midfield lost it although what about t parsons great game. What happened with cillian and aidan where not same players in second half the lads did their best dubs now to win.
Thanks to James Horan and his backroom team for the great joy and pride you have given us these past four years. Thanks too to the players who I hope will be back pushing hard again next year. We keep going! Maigheo Abu….
Best of Luck to James Horan. He took Mayo from a team of individuals in Longford in 2010 to a Team that no one what’s to play again now. The key now is to hold these standards and for me the next League campaign is vital. We must win a league title.
Yes, the ref was disgrace but we really had the winning of this in the first period of extra time. We missed some scorable shots, fluffed chances and Parsons caught some fine high balls which we failed to turn into scores. The winning of this game was in our own hands, you can’t control external things like a bloody horrendous ref, we’re stlll blaming McEneany for a final narly 20 years ago! It can’t always be the bloody ref.
James Horan and his team have done a great job and this Mayo team and set-up are worlds ahead of 96,97, 04, 06 etc. But there’s still more needed. I believe Horan has improved this team in 2014 and we were a better team yesterday that the team in the AIF last Sept. It’s a great pity he’s going. I believe we’re on the right road.Trouble is yesterday this Kerry team have improved from 2013, even without the Gooch. We may see today if Dublin/Donegal have also improved also. The 1 thing Mayo supporters and team know through long, bitter experience is that wining an AI is f*ck**g hard work.
The effort these Mayo boys and Horan’s management team have put in the last 4 years has been monumental and that is the commitment needed every bloody year going forward to get us there. And There is no guarantee of an AI at the end of it all, Jesus, it’ll soon be 20 years since 96/97 and who would have thought back then that 20 years later we’ld still be trying?
It is a stark thought that for Connacht final 2034, this team may be on the field in their suits as part of the half-time interlude presentations. I’ll be very proud of them then as I am of them today. But we may still be waiting for a team to crack the AI for us even then.
All of us must look around for ways we can contribute to Mayo teams. My humble contribution is a Wednesday assisting coach for U8/U10s & I try to get them to take their bloody scores when they have a chance. Practise their points, handpass over the bar etc. We need more parents volunteering to coach underage teams and participating in basic coaching sessions. And we need parents committed to bring their kids to training week in and week out so that we have the best and biggest squads from which future county teams can be developed. The only guarantee is that there’ll be good days and awful days.
We were beat my the better team in the end . Our middle sector did not function . Well done Kerry . Cormac Reilly was brutal towards mayo but Kerry won . Now this jersey needs to be placed in a special place till the new year . Thanks James and entire squad . We had some very special days
Still too raw to try analyse the game or even read about it. Full credit to the lads they were heroic. Out star forward playing with one eye. Everyone else tried so so hard and done so well.
Thank lads and James was an honor to be a fellow county man withy that performance.
Kerry s better quality bench and the ref were the difference.
Anyhow that’s gone now. I think Dillion and feeney will retire barring that can’t see any retirements.
New blood is exciting.
Conor Loftus is best young player in country bar none. Stephen coen is a leader in making. Maybe even a fullback ?? No he’s a centra half back.
Maybe Irwin Kirby Mikey Sweeney tommy convoy other coen etc coming through we will be adding to an already superb team. Also the return of cathal carloan will be a big plus.
Dubmeister
My apologies for last nights comments. I had thought you came on here to take the piss. I hope ye win today and annihilate Kerry in the final.
As regards the game Kerry saw our half back line running from deep as the biggest threat. Their half forwards stopped this by whatever means they could and it worked for them. We simply could not get them motoring. As well as that the second half last Sunday knocked a lot out of these very same lads who defended and attacked until the tank was completely empty – physically and more importantly mentally.
The breaking ball around the middle went mostly to Kerry lads……….and we couldn’t cope with Donaghy.
Truth is we did really well to be within 3 points of them given the amount of possession we conceded around the middle.
Down and out this morning……….but not dead yet!
Diehard
Devastated would be an understatement this morning. I am however fiercely proud of our players and supporters who never stopped yesterday. Also thanks to James and the management team for the last four years. Sport is very cruel. I was also on the Clare end terrace and after witnessing the antics of the Kerry team and some of their supporters I hope Dublin knock seven shades of shite out of them in the final.
One thing I thought was a joke yesterday which someone mentioned were the kickouts. The trajectory of them hanging in the air gives the opposing team the advantage. Even if you are out in front the way they hang the opposing man will be up on top of you by the time it gets down. Poor David clarke got an injury and has never got a look in since but tactically I would have gone with him. Massive man that could come out on donaghy and if clarke was there last week donaghy would not have caught the ball so near to goal to set up jod. His kickouts are also solid. At a crucial time robbie hit a kickout yards out of play in our own half and the ball in caused the first penalty. Inexcusable and cost us a comfortable lead
I’m heartbroken today and too upset to write about the game. Just totally gutted. I fear with James gone from the helm and probably a few players leaving as well we could go a few steps back in next couple of years. I hope I’m wrong.
http://www.gaa.ie/coaching-and-games-development/match-officials/referee/
BASIC REQUIREMENTS LADS…they obviously didnt go through them with cormac
Thanks james Horan and staff,Thanks to mayo panel A to Z,you gave us 4 mighty years,in tears right now I say we are so proud of you,as one man said above keep the flags flying with pride,its almost better to lose with class than win in disgrace i.e kerry wankers , still a young team but i think they need a long break and I know with a good manager we will be back again, so keep the heads up mayo we are as good as any county out there
Thanks to James Moran and his backroom team and time to move on with a fresh voice at the helm, he took us out of a bad place losing days against Sligo n Longford and gave us great days in the last 4 years but he came up short and made mistakes and I thought he had a poor day on the line a few times during his reign. Yesterday ref was brutal, but were used to that an meant man I know but our neighbour sligoman Duffy is a disaster as well and generally refs in football are a joke, not one of them stands out for me,secondly limerick was worth a couple pts to Kerry as they plat there more often and it really is just littearly out the road 15 min but again our county board has for years never objected to go in down to play cork or Kerry in minor n 21s in limerick or Ennis, never and you get what you sow, jus listen to the gaa president during the weekend and his take on the venue,
thirdly the team was,t playing as well as las year and to much chopping and changing and yesterday forgetting bout ref Kerry were the hungrier and more physical and better team on the day and got the calls to go with it. Nowafta the raw pain subsides and it will a new manager with a new voice n fresh faces and even though we may not been top 3_4 next year, the goal for next years team and new manager will be to retain conn and 5in a row, a first I believe in the province and in the quarters again and built on from there again.squad is fairly young ,a couple of retirements alright, but we can’t an won’t go back to the dark days again, this squad of men will give us good days again starting with conn and the drive for five…..
This will be there biggest break for two years and them lads need it some poster said we neecto win a league title…no way I say. The players should be let rest till the latter rounds of the league…Alan Dillon was re born this summer having had a lengthy break. James has changed the mentality of mayo football and for that we owe him so much. If the players stick with it and we get a few young lads through our day will most definitely come.
Just watched the game again, and our defending just wasn’t good enough.STAR cleaned us out, JOD scored 2-6,he was fouled for both penalties and scored 4 points from play, while Keith did well over the 2 games, JOD still scored 3-9 and 10pts of that was from play. We need to find forwards if we are to dine at the top table.
Just because we were cleaned at midfield and fullback does not all of a sudden give the referee permission to throw the rule lol out the window
We were beaten when we had our fate in our own hands, but we did not receive fair play yesterday
@mayoforsam, we are already at the top table!! James Horan has insured that.
Best wishes and sincere thanks to James Horan for his magnificent work. Was extremely proud of our players again yesterday- such courage and skill although too many were just not at the top of their game yesterday. No reason why we cannot make the last four again next year with hopefully a few of the 2013
minors breaking through. Don’t really see too many retirements- maybe 2 at most.
Well said Kevin McStay on the sunday game. Never realised that there were so many incompetent decisions. Another one I spotted was in the 42 nd minute, Hennelly kicked the ball directly out over the sideline and the Kerry player encroached on to the field of play when kicking the ball into the square that resulted in a kerry penalty .Linesman should have put the flag up and the ball thrown up. The linesman are watching this in every club match in the country and at the highest level its not picked up on.
“Another one I spotted was in the 42 nd minute, Hennelly kicked the ball directly out over the sideline and the Kerry player encroached on to the field of play when kicking the ball into the square that resulted in a kerry penalty .”
Not just encroachment. Watch it again he stole about 15 yards getting closer to goal which allowed the extra distance to feed Donaghy.
Anyhow, as JH said, this type of thing isn’t good for the soul.
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Actually the young lad for the Mayo minors. Hanley – I saw him play on TG4 a few times. Fast track that lad onto the senior squad and build a forward line around him. Prob one of the best minors I have seen in a long time.
@ Aidan_Kerry Unfortunately the only fast tracking Cian Hanley is going to get is over to the AFL with his older brother Pierce who played for Mayo aged 18 at CHF and was probably a bit better than Cian!! We will more than likely have to look somewhere else for that top class forward to join Cillian O’ Connor up front!!
Congrats on the win and good luck in the final I just hope you get a better ref than what both Mayo and Kerry poeple had to put up with yesterday!!! If Hennelly had put over that free to win it in normal time I would,nt have begrudged a few Kerrymen invading the field considering David Moran was fouled about three times after he caught the ball just before we got the free!!!
Ah yes, the standard response whenever Mayo people point out unfairness towards us after a defeat: ‘Stop whinging’. Good man yourself Aidan. Congratulations on your ref-assisted replay win in the “neutral” venue ye know so well. Call up your good friend Liam O’Neill there and let the two of ye go for a drink and figure out how ye can shaft Donegal in the final.
I’ve deleted that comment, Aidan – house rules 3 and 21 refer. You’ve some neck to come on a Mayo site in the aftermath of Saturday night and preach about class. Don’t bother coming back.
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Aidan – I’m not interested in having an argument with you. Your team won, ours lost, go somewhere else for your kicks. You’re not needed or welcome here.
We should have stuck Gavin Duffy on Donaghy! Food for thought…
I am not looking for an argument WJ. No one from Kerry wanted to play that match in Limerick. Just got to see the match back on tv there. Christ the ref was shocking for both sides. That said he favored Kerry massively in extra time.
Also he couldnt keep up with the play by the end. He was cramping up sure by the end of normal time.
Nobody seems to have mentioned the position of our last free by Hennelly to win the game.
The foul occurred about 5 mtrs inside the 45, but the linesman ,Deegan I think ( another great friend of Mayo ) told him to place it on the 45m line. If taken from the proper spot , he would have had the range.
Sick to death of being rode by ref’s and county board singing dumb.
Thanks James and all the lads for 4 great years, really proud of ye all.
hi first of all the mayo players should be proud of themselves what they have achieved
now to the match.i cant understand why aidan o shea wasnt put on moran in centre field.when we beat donegal by 16 points last year he excelled.
we were white washed in the centre.kerry must have won at least 60 to 70 per cent posession in the centre.
we should have moved seamus o shea on donaghy and parsons to centre field much sooner.
why did we keep sending our kick out to centre when we were beaten hands down there???also why wasnt the kick outs varied .ie left wing ,right wing ,centre ,and short.mayo are far too predictable.
if mayo did these few changes we would have won this game hands down.kerry wanted a war in the centre field and they got that and they won hands down.we should have varied it and kept kerry guessing.
cillian o connor a faboulous footballer .he scored a total of 2 goals 5 pints.he is also a team player.this is the next point i would like to address.some of the mayo players dont play for the team .they are glory hunters.i wont name names but there is one especially who should have given a simple pop pass to vaughan and it was asimple tap in for a goal.instead he went for glory himself and sent it badly wide.an argument ensued afterwards and this kills team spirit.
if mayo started aidan o shea on moran and moved parsons on donaghy mayo would have won this game.
mayo need to learn that tactics win games but they still dont learn year in year out.
look at what donegal did to dublin???no one gave them a candle but i believed that dublin was not tested at all yet and i was so right.
dublin was simply beaten in centre field especially in second half.they also had very weak backs .ger brennan would have made a huge difference to them .
back to mayo.mayo need to be more agressive and actually hate there opponent if they are ever going to win an all ireland.
please mayo board hire jack o connor from kerry .he is a great reader of a game and we would bring us over the line .he would also know all of kerry tricks etc on how to win.
please mayo county board approach jack o connor after minor final and ask him to manage mayo.he would bring home sam which we so deserve and yearn for.
it would be the happiest day for every mayo man .mayo are fit focused physical enough to win an all ireland but what they need is a great tactitan.and the man for the job is jack o connor.
I don’t know would Jack be interested. He is committed to to the Kerry minors for two years anyway. Its not a slight on the Mayo job but, i dunno would he have mind for the travelling. Is it 5 – 6 hours to Mayo from Dromid? Its about an hour and a half to Killarney from there and another hour and hall to Limerick and add a few more for Mayo.
The late Paidi O Sé always wanted the Mayo job. I think he was actively touting for it when John O’Mahony was in charge around 2010.
If mayo want to win McStay is not the man. On the Sunday game he criticised James Horan by pointing out that Cafferky was only taken off after he was injured on 67 minutes and making the point that he should have been subbed much earlier. He was very critical of the referee. No doubt he was correct to point out these two screamers of issues.
Now this guy is throwing his hat into the ring !!! James Horan was in my opinion very slow to do something about Donaghy ( if Fitzmaurice had failed to do something about Donaghy had he been playing for Mayo he would be hung drawn and quartered, almost litterly) the ref was a joke but if honesty is to be employed both sides suffered, the fouls on Donaghy were for holding and not as shown by McStay for the exchange between the players as they grappled for the ball. Mayo got a free to Winn the game on full time after Moran was clearly fouled after winning a great ball !!! Too many to mention of both sides but not sending off Enright was the worst,,,, a mayo man beside me said the yellows he gave out earlier were soft and that was why he did not send him off but for me he should have gone, outside of that massive mistake I think both sides suffered.
Anyway the point I’m making is McStay should have been more professional and not use his position on the show to publically put the knife in Horan as he did (slyly as usual) Horan was gone and he knew that and he also pissed off every referee in the country.. In 2011 Kerry were cleaned out be uncle Joe in the final against the dubs but our players or management never mentioned it again. They were an old team and they were not going to get too many more chances but they held the line.. McStay is not popular in too many places outside of Mayo. It’s a big mistake trust me, ye don’t need a whinger in charge ye need someone strong and inspirational two things that he definitely is not, trust me Mayo will not beat Kerry with that person in charge,
Well I don’t trust you game changer, sorry and I thought mcstay was 100% correct to say what he did on the Sunday game ,were getting blaguarded by referees for years and no one have the guts to say anything about it, especially the boyo,s in the county board, 2 games against Kerry and caff left on donaghy, l know with help from ref, but he should have been doubled teamed or try one of our bigger men on him, that was the diff really between the teams, learned nothing from 04_06 in how to mark him even though he,s slowed down a fair bit, mind boggling really….anyway its mcstay for me and I,d be very confident with him at the helm next year and give most of them lads a break from the county set up till at lest round 4 of the league, is,t Kerry doing it for last 3years and it has,t hindered them to much has it….cute Kerry hoors. We will be back and we will have some big battles with them in the next few years and there certainly is no love lost now between the county’s and that’s not maybe…upper muigheo.