We’ve just named our match-day panel for Sunday’s All-Ireland SFC Round 2 group stage match against Louth at Hastings Insurance MacHale Park (throw-in 2pm). Here it is:
Mayo (All-Ireland SFC v Louth 4/6/2023): Colm Reape (Knockmore); Jack Coyne (Ballyhaunis), David McBrien (Ballaghaderreen), Sam Callinan (Ballina Stephenites); Paddy Durcan (Castlebar Mitchels, captain), Conor Loftus (Crossmolina Deel Rovers), Stephen Coen (Hollymount/Carramore); Matthew Ruane (Breaffy), Diarmuid O’Connor (Ballintubber); Fionn McDonagh (Westport), Jack Carney (Kilmeena), Jordan Flynn (Crossmolina Deel Rovers); Aidan O’Shea (Breaffy), James Carr (Ardagh), Ryan O’Donoghue (Belmullet). Subs: Rory Byrne (Castlebar Mitchels), Tommy Conroy (The Neale), Jason Doherty (Burrishoole), Enda Hession (Garrymore), Frank Irwin (Ballina Stephenites), James McCormack (Claremorris), Donnacha McHugh (Castlebar Mitchels), Conor McStay (Ballina Stephenites), Padraig O’Hora (Ballina Stephenites), Paul Towey (Charlestown Sarsfields), Bob Tuohy (Castlebar Mitchels).
The team we’ve named shows three changes from the side that started in the Round 1 win over Kerry in Killarney a fortnight ago. As the official team announcement notes, it’s a case of reversing the three late changes we made prior to throw-in at Fitzgerald Stadium, with team captain Paddy Durcan, Stephen Coen and Fionn McDonagh all coming in, replacing Padraig O’Hora, Donnacha McHugh and Jason Doherty respectively.
There are also three changes on the bench. Into the replacements come Frank Irwin, James McCormack and Conor McStay, while out go Darren McHale, Eoghan McLaughlin and Kevin McLoughlin. Cillian O’Connor is obviously still not 100% ready as once again he doesn’t feature in the match-day 26.
The best of luck to the lads on Sunday.
Best of luck guys feeling bit more optimistic after seeing the team named as shows mcstay & co are taking no chances and am sure have learnt lessons from the rossies and prepared for a blanket defence .
Maybe won’t be as cagey match as I thought ! Mayo by 5 or 6
After the Kerry match I’ll take this announcement with a pinch of salt and see what the team is on team is at throw in and not a minute before! A pity about McLaughlin, he really can’t catch a break with injuries.
Really looking forward to this one and seeing how Louth set up against us.
Would be getting concerned now about cillian.seems to be constant ongoing injury issues
I don’t know the extent of Cillians injury but correct call if not 100%.
I’m a little nervous for this one .
Win by 4 or 5 points and no injuries and I’d be delighted.
Subs bench reasonably strong
@1985 agree but was it a hamstring injury he got? They can be a nightmare to get over sometimes I got one years ago playing hockey very painful and took a good while to get over it . Hopefully he comes back soon very unlucky with injuries as has eoghan mc!
I think Cillian will be fine come quarter final. Glac to see Durcan and Coen named to start. Sam Mulroy will need seirious attention from Paddy or maybe even Sam?. Its all about the first 20 mins in this one, had Ryans pass stuck with Tommy, we would never have lost against Roscommon. We got away with missing early one on one’s v Kerry, actually think we can’t afford to do this against an ultra defensive Louth.
James Carr for all his brilliance with point taking, is brutal in 1 v 1 with goal keepers. The trend goes back to ‘21 Connacht Final in croker. I hope managment are working on this one, because if he improves this facet of his game, he has All Star written all over him.
Looking forward to the MacHale in the sun. Remember we need to get on this reff’s back from the start, when Louth start feigning injury after our scores and time wasting, we need to go nuts and up the pressure on him.
Paul Flynn in his predictions claims that Galway have been imperious all year.I am fairly sure Galway lost to both Roscommon and Mayo in the league.it’s extraordinary how much credit Galway have got for losing the league final
After scenes in Budapest airport I’d disagree with anything to do with getting on the refs back. The ref will neither win us or lose us the game.
One thing that struck me after my earlier comment is how I didn’t even notice the back line, I read it and said solid and moved on, funny how time moves on and Mullin and Keegan are largely forgotten about. The lads with the jerseys are doing very well. Oisin starting again at the weekend for Geelong, fair play to him for such a quick transition. He is getting rave reviews here.
I was hoping Cillian would get a few minutes on Sunday aswell. It will be hard for him to realistically make a meaningful impact in the latter stages if he dosn’t get a game or 2 into the legs, sooner rather than later. It’s a very youthful looking bench with plenty of pace and power. Also hope James Mc and Bob get a meaningful runout. I don’t expect us to have any trouble seeing this one out by 7 points+.
Just looking at the Meath panel, no player from Navan with a population of nearly 40000, we are getting a great return from both Castlebar and Ballina.
@Mayomayo1 what scenes in Budapest Airport??
Ahh in fairness 1985, Galway are just different gravy this year and will be the hardest team to actually beat in championship, a lot of pundits saying it . They remind of when people go on about the Italian international side of old , plenty of flair but even more solid at the back , very hard set up to beat that when they get in front .
Look all we can do is get as far as we can , hopefully we get to win it soon after if they win it this year .
I rely don’t buy the whole Galway thing but mayne that’s just my inner rivalry coming out haha
Not a bad bench, but if you did have the likes of Cillian, Brickenden and Plunkett back (and in proper form), with Eoghan hopefully back later on there would be a lot of punch. It’s a bearpit re selection for the backs even without Lee and Oisin.
I am with you Clare, Galway have proved nothing yet,bet an injury ridden Mayo last year and 2 new counties to the scene, Armagh and Derry.
Had a chance to lay down a marker in the league final and missed it.
@JR yes exactly your spot on ! I’m delighted for Galway to have the favourites tag though does us no harm at all!
Mad how we beat them in league and drew with them yet they are still massive favourites ahead of us haha
We will just keep going behind the favourites tag :p haha
Long way to go yet though !
Let’s concentrate on ourselves. No point getting our knickers in a twist about Galway, Dublin or anyone else. F#*k the media, bookies and the half baked pundits claiming to know it all. I’m going to relax and enjoy the next 5 games that we play!
Very solid panel. Wouldn’t be shocked to see a couple of changes pre throw-in but even then it’ll be a strong 15.
Hopefully get to see James, Frank and Bob getting some minutes into their legs. We’ll be relying on them at times between now and the end of the year.
@Clare: Some fairly horrific scenes yesterday (chanting, throwing water, spitting & even throwing a chair towards the security) of the referee from the Europa League Final, along with his partner, being abused by Roma fans who lost the game while making their way through the airport to fly home.
It followed an entire game of a Jose Mourinho led Roma cheating and abusing the referee at every turn before they eventually lost on penalties, which was then followed by Jose abusing the referee in media briefings and waiting in the car park for him to hurl more abuse.
Shocking stuff. Hopefully some very significant fines and bans coming for the good of sport in general.
Cillian’s absence is becoming a concern. Without him, we should still have enough to get by the Louths and Corks, but come the quarter-final, we will really need him to be part of the attack. A guaranteed scorer against any opposition and a go-to player when we’re in trouble. Here’s hoping that he makes at least some of the Cork game.
Good team nearly our best, would prefer to see more physical players like O Hora starting and when the sizing up is done after 25 minutes and the game opens up bringing in the speedsters like Hession and Conroy and E McLaughlin and go for big wins and play full trottle till end of game.
Don’t mind Galway. We might not actually meet them at all!
A good strong team named so we will wait and see if that is the one that takes the field. Louth won’t be a bad team and unless we are locked in and loaded then we could end up struggling to put them away. They are well able score and put 1-17 away against Cork, without two key players for them! We would be very happy with that tally against Cork so it is important that we start at a high intensity, full bloodied and not let any belief instill in Louth minds that they have a chance. We need to display a ruthlessness that sends out a message. One that proves the Kerry result was not tainted by a poor Kerry showing. One that matches Dublins score v Louth in the Lenister final.
I expect us to win comfortably but want to see us control matters from the off, just like Killarney. Then drive on in the first 15 mins of the second half to put the game to bed.
@seanburke. For the last couple of months you seem to have handed the cup to galway. I said lots of times sure they’ll be hard to beat but by no means unbeatable and if it wasn’t for the hope of seeing them lose I’d rather read the phone book than watch their rubbish. Regarding mayo v louth we have to be winning comfortably. All teams deserve respect but c’mon.
Galway galway galway blah blah blah. They choke like turkeys and yet they’re favourites in some peoples eyes. Sorry Sean but I don’t get it. I might choke on my own words but I doubt it.
Is it possible Sean Burke is an AI chat bot thingy created by the Galway County Board or Galway Beo.
I would imagine some of Sean Burke’s comments regarding Galway are somewhat tongue in cheek
Maybe teams / managers etc place too much emphasis on the opposition, ie how to contain rather than how to create.
One thing than hasn’t changed, higher scorer wins.
A team needs to be brave also at times, throw off the shackles and make that attack when they know it’s on, so what if an opposition player is left free for a minute, particularly when chasing a game late on. It must in in a score, a free or else the ball needs to be put wide.
This is how scores are made.
Being over cautious will get one so far.
Many of those pundits may have there own agenda, particularly if from Dublin or Kerry.
There may be a 4 or 5 point gap between my current top 3 teams and the next teams.
Sean Burke knows what he’s doing….. I’ve said it numerous times on here that this year is make or break for PJ. The age profile of their top players is high, Walsh and Comer entering the 30’s now, Conroy on his last legs, its now or never for Joyce, the pressure is well and truly on..
They are rightly alot of pundits favourites for sam. They have the defensive set up (which is designed to mask their individual weakness of defending) and the x-factor forwards. Hard to see anyone beat them.
this must be a serious team whenT Conroy and E Hession are on the bench
Same team as was announced for Kerry game to might be a few changes before throw in .
I cannot understand why we keep talking about galway and roscommon. We very already beaten one in the league final. Lost to the other 6 days after a serious encounter with galway which put us in the back door and now we.can go out the front door to quarter final. Neither of them 2 team s are on our radar right now. Its louth and cork. I would be more concerned about cillian getting game time and not picking up any more injuries. Also I would agree with you Culmore… ohora more suited to the physical louth forward s
@observer says:
T Conroy and E Hession are on the bench because both are looking to fully recover from their injuries. Impact subs than starters is logical place to have them at the moment.
Dont think we will see Tommy c back starting regularly till next year he’s not fully back to his top form yet but hes doing great and great to see him back after an awful injury he makes a great impact when he comes on off the bench!
Roscommon I don’t think they will go far to be honest fair play to them against the Dubs but the Dubs were poor let’s be honest !
It worked well bringing Tommy and hession on the last day , it’s also keeping the limelight off them a little . Both them players tore Dublin up in 21 , no harm in keeping a little in reserve if we are to progress a little further . I don’t doubt either of them and their ability to be top drawer but slowly does it for Tommy especially who is probably not quite at the top of his game yet after a lengthy injury period last year .
Margie.. Now or never ?
Why? Do you know something we don’t regarding Joyce… Top players entering their 30s..? Or similar to Aidan, Cillian, Jason Doherty, Kevin Mc Loughlin,well in their 30s now or never for them lads too I suppose.
Will be a great day out for supporters in Castlebar with heatwave..Not so much for players though..
Decent team …Glad we’re getting a defensive unit after the acres of space we were afforded in Killarney..
Sean Burke, surely a tongue in cheek comment re the neighbours..
Clare, heard a comment made on a podcast this week that the Rossies will take a scalp.in this competition yet and tbh I tend to agree..
A strong bench is vital & something we never really had over last decade. But the lads who started against Kerry were excellent too & that is vital if you want to hold a few aces back. Finding the balance is key.
But bringing Tommy, Hession & Eoghan Mc on when legs are tired and the game is stretched is a serious weapon to have and it is the way id like us to go in the later stages if we get there.
I don’t know why we’re bother with these matches, Galway clearly have it won already and this is all just a waste of time for everyone else
The Galway for Sam narrative is really gaining momentum among the experts and ex players. The question is will PJ and the Galway players be able to handle the hype and added pressure that is been heaped on them.
STHOP going on about feckin Galway and the Rossies , anyway back to the Louth match ……
The long term future for Galway will depend on how long the players want to play this type of football.It is desperately boring to watch and difficult to see if the players would actually enjoy playing in that manner.Donegal under mcguinness were only really a force for 3 years and couldn’t sustain this method of play .Dublin who were mostly an attacking team back in 2013 drifted into this awful possession game and had begun to bore themselves to death by the end of their 6 in a row
@Regina fair enough ! I really can’t see the rossies doing it though they failed to win their first game in croker in what how many years, ?? And they play puke football tbh ruins the game if they played open game the Dubs would have hammered them! They were actually pretty poor against us in the connacht championship and we were just terrible after being flat out . Rossies won’t get passed quarters if they get to it they might not even get out of their group! Ha
Haha yeah back to mayo now haha we should do it be interesting to see how we handle the blanket defence this time!!
Heat will be a big factor on Sunday. Will need to run the bench. Hopefully a straightforward win with no injuries.
I think there is fear amongst some, fear of that defeat that may or may not come in the next few games, no point in trying to control the uncontrolables.
Moving very far ahead thinking about Galway, it’s irrelevant right now. If both win our groups we can’t meet until the semis. Same with Dublin who will likely beat Rossies point difference if both end on 5 points.
As for Louth game, our S&C and especially professionalism comes into play in the heat. Good hydration, the odd stretching an injury break might be needed along with running the bench to avoid cramp. Our bench has to be stronger than theirs. As for game management, our lads training in Castlebar all week on the fast ground, it nullifies a bit the tight pitch where the rain helped Roscommon. I’d say the main thing is patience if it’s proving hard to break them or ruthlessness if we break them early. And if we’re in a tight spot at 55 mins, trust the subs to make an impact, that’s part of what we needs them for. Happy with the team selected. There’s a 50 50 case for O Hora. Would like to see Bob Tuohy appear depending on how mature the lad is. He’s done very well so far.
My Ball. Well said. Sometimes I wonder if I’m on the galway gaa site. Yes Tommy needs time and like a previous poster said…. ran riot in croker against Dublin that day. Big pitch suits his pace and directness
I sincerely believe that in the top group of counties, Mayo are out on their own,Mayo for Sam
I don’t think we can really take much from the starting 15 but really feel really positive about 26.
Eoghan MacLaughlins injury is disappointing but aside from that it looks like everyone got through the Kerry game reasonably unscathed. Might have gotten one or two knocks that mean lads don’t have 70 minutes in them but we probably won’t be sure about those until Sunday.
Delighted to see Frank Irwin and James McCormack included, hope they get decent game time. I would’ve thought their chance was gone for this year. I hope they prove me right.
Disappointing not to see Cillian, Plunkett or McLoughlin.
@Tuam Star, This is Joyce’s 4th season in charge, he already has one AIF appearance and came up short. Managment teams always have a “peak” in there cycle. The peak usually lasts 1-2 years, I firmly beileve Joyce is in his second “peak” year.
Its rare to find an Inter County manager of a big team that wins the AI for the first time in his 5th or more season. I genuinely cant think of a manager in the last 20 years that won the All Ireland for the 1st time after his 5th season in charge.
Players start to get tired of the same voice or system, if they haven’t landed Sam, supporters start to sharping knives aswell, as seen with James Horan and Stephen Rochord for example.
Whether you wsnt to admit it or not, its make or break for PJ. The good news is Galway are top of the power rankings at the moment and lots of pundits favourites for Sam. So ye probably will win it. If ye fall short again I think it will be the end of the road for Joyce, in terms of the team will start to decline, a bit like Kevin Walsh’s in 2019.
Out if the over 30 Mayo players you mentioned, only Aidan is playing a pivotal role this year. Kevin Mc nowhere near the starting 15, Doherty has played 2 games out of 13 (including FBD). Cillian is a peripheral figure, and if he plays any role its looking like it will be as an impact sub.
Galway are nothing without Comer and Walsh, as I said both entering the 30’s now. Father time waits for no one. Conroy hasn’t the legs for Croke Park anymore….now or never for PJ.
This is a game Mayo should win with a bit to spare. There’s no doubt Louth have progressed under Mickey Harte but this Mayo team is operating at a completely different level. The opening stages could be tight enough but I’d expect us to pull away as the game progresses. Our superior conditioning will also be a big plus in what will be a baking hot day in Castlebar. We have a great team with genuine All Ireland aspirations and I’m expecting another big performance from them on Sunday.
If P J doesn’t win the AI it definitely won’t be his fault! For all those convinced Galway will win the AI you should back them, they are longer odds than Mayo!
In all fairness though, Galway look as well equipped as anyone, but not to the point that it’s a foregone conclusion, like some on here seem to think!
I don’t know who is going to win Sam this year which is a nice way to have things. For so many years Mayo beat the previous all Ireland winners and were tipped to win Sam but not so this time which is a nice way to have things. Kerry are not fairing well so far this year and Galway were a kick of the ball away from beating Kerry last year so they are rightly tipped to win Sam which is a nice way to have things. And I will continue to remind Galway friends, fans and supporters that they are favourites to win Sam until they succeed or fail to succeed at mayo hands which is a nice way to have things 🙂
@Clare says:
In fairness the Rossies made the Dubs look poor did similar against Mayo on Easter Sunday. Unless they top their group it will be three games in two weeks for them and are unlikely to have the fitness,conditioning or strength in depth to be in a position to win a Quarter final tie with the schedule.
@Mayomagic fair enough entitled to your opinion of course!
We had a 6 day turnaround over a massive league final win and went 100 miles an hour all the way through the league we were dead flat off our feet against the rossies in terrible weather conditions to. They didn’t make us bad we were just dead flat anyone would be sure . Rossies didn’t actually play well against us in connacht either and should have been penalised for time wasting but that’s in the passed sure time to look to louth now!
The rossies didn’t make the dub look poor they haven’t been great all year tbh bar going through leinster and hammering division 3/4 teams and bringing back guys who are far passed their prime years makes me think dessie is desperate. Also bad form on the younger players tbh.
Anyways back to mayo we should win Sunday but don’t take louth for granted good luck guys!!
Louth are very average no matter how you try and gloss them up. They have conceded 6-40 over the last 2 games, so I’d expect Mayo to beat them by 10 plus. Mayo will probably get a better workout at training this evening.
I don’t know why we are so obsessed with Galway here – I thought we were in a different group to them! As pebblesmeller said sure we mightnt be playing them later in this year’s championship at all. It’s nice to crystal ball gaze but there are plenty of potential ambushes ahead for all teams – for that we can be sure. I just hope it won’t be Louth this Sunday for that is solely where our focus should lie.
Louth,Louth,Louth that must be our priority, a chance to play against the blanket.
If Cork get a result against Kerry the Cork game will be very important, remember them brining us to extra time in Limerick, a Corkman with a inferiority complex thinks he is the same as everyone else.
Margie, 13 of Galways All Ireland winning U20 team of 2020 have played senior for Galway. From that team, Jack Glynn, Johnny McGrath, Cian Hernon and Matthew Tierney start tomorrow. Sean Fitzgerald, Paul Kelly, Cathal Sweeney and Tomo Culhane are named subs. We should also bring through a few of the All Ireland winning minors of 2022. We’re hardly at the end of the road.
@Big mike ye should have won it last year but didn’t lost to us in league to and ye say we hype about our team . But fair play have the favourites tag sure no bother to us! We didn’t say ye were at the end the road for ye but maybe end of the road for PJ if he doesn’t win it this year
Sometimes a new manager is needed sometimes if they fail to deliver. But in fairness to pj he’s brought Galway football back to life.
But don’t buy the hype around Galway tbh .
Anyway back to mayo haha @ my ball that is spot on as another poster said sometimes I feel this isn’t a mayo blog though in fairness I chat about other counties as much as others to ha!
Are many here going to the louth match? Sadly I can’t as away! Mayo by 5 I think if we don’t beat louth bad bad day in the office ha!
The betting money Grabenstätt haveayo at 1,/12 for louth game…..Enough said!!!
@Big Mike, im not saying Galway have not got the talent to win one now, or in the coming years. If you read my posts, you’d have seen that I said its make or break for Joyce this year. Oh, and if Comer & Walsh aren’t on the pitch together, ye are not winning any AI this year, no matter what young lads are there.
Jesus there will be some tension on here if it turns out to be a mayo v Galway final.
@margie you are spot in that in that post!!
@ 1985 could you imagine this blog if it ends up a mayo/Galway final jaysus lol!
Back in the very wet summer of 1985 myself and my neighbour paid our first ever visit to croke park for the all Ireland semi final v Dublin.we got off the special match bus somewhere around Dorset street.us being greenhorns and not really knowing our way around we followed an older crew to a pub/ restaurant with a canopy over the entrance with the name the mayo arms on it .there was steps leading down from the street to it .as we were leaving we met Sean Flanagan on the steps and he stopped to say a few words to us .To this day no one has ever been able to tell us where that place was and the two of us are the only ones who have any memory of it.anyone have any knowledge of it
Any word on Cillian ? Worrying that hes not on the 26, hard to see him match fit for the bigger games
@Achilll75 all I know is he had a hamstring injury these can be so annoying /painful & long haul to get over I had one myself through sport ! It can be very frustrating to … he will get there he’s one of our key players he’s been very unlucky with injuries as has eoghan mc!
I’ve said it here and from a long way out that Galway have it all and will need some serious bad luck not to win Sam this year. They have so many styles of play often in game that they can call on and can adjust to any team and get the desired result. If its a Mayo v Galway final there would be little point in any of us going because the result would be inevitable and the pain would be great. At the end of the day all other counties competing for Sam this year are merely observers.
Mayo for Sam !
Looking at the odds the bookies and their punters reckon Mayo will win by at least 9 points. pointless comparing trying to compare Louth to Roscommon as Mickey Harte’s win wouldn’t finish 3rd in Div 1 and shipped a 20 point beating to Dublin instead of drawing with them.
@Tuamstar I actually laughed at that attempt haha! Sure it’s Galway year apparently.. haha
Galway for Sam 🙂
Cillian was rushed back too soon and I like the way that management have learned from that and are giving him as much time as he needs. I don’t want a scenario where he breaks down again in a non essential game like the Clare game where he did the achilles. Save him if we can until croaker.
On a more serious note Louth parking the bus will not be easy but if our head is in the right place I hope we deal with them like we did with Donegal in Machale park a few years back. We ran through them and nullified their play makers.. no injuries please and thank you
Yes, this is a Mayo v Louth thread and I hope we win this one. I also think game by game is the only way for us to proceed. The best way. And we have as good a chance as anyone that way.
However, I don’t understand all the comments discounting Galway above as very serious contenders for the Sam Maguire this year. That they have won nothing this year is no proof of anything, whatsoever.
First there is intent – look at the body language last year and especially this year from the Galway management, players and backroom team during and at the end of games. They had room for improvement from last year’s final (unlike Kerry, it seems) and nothing has happened to impede that improvement.
Intent means everything!
Secondly, they have the manpower, the players. Can anyone disagree there?
Third, they can peak for the quarters, semi and final. Why do they need to peak for the League?
Fourth, there does not seem to be any malaise in the team holding them back. We have some question marks over Kerry’s and Dublin’s form this year, zero over Galway’s. That’s not to say they will deliver a performance, merely there is no reason not to.
The most compelling factor for me is the first one – intent.
That said, I don’t go so far as Pullhard’s view. Galway are far from invincible, just I’d like us to see them as serious contenders. And do the prep to deal with packed defences accordingly.
toe to hand – injuries are just a part of sport. That Clare game was a playoff to get back into division 1, of course Cillian was going to play. Ridiculous to suggest otherwise.
Also your logic about resting him for any non essential game is flawed. The likes of Cillian needs to get back playing competitive games and build up the required fitness and conditioning. Throwing him into a QF without that will only lead to a follow on injury.
I checked in here tonight to get a feeling for the Louth game and see if the general comments were in line with my own.
But where did all the talk about galway come from, you’d think we were actually playing them on Sunday.
Anyway I’m glad to see the general view was as I expected, a comfortable win for Mayo and if we can’t beat Louth in MacHale Park, then we shouldn’t be dining at the top table!
Never mind Galway, Kerry, Dublin etc. – we are playing Louth on Sunday and we need to give that our full attention and not take our eye off the ball. Louth will undoubtedly come with a version of the blanket, so we need to get stuck in from the throw-in, an go at them with all guns blazing. They will be expecting us to have a go at them, so let’s not disappoint them. Don’t do like the Roscommon game and allow them to get ahead, start to believe and frustrate us. We are at home FFS, so let’s tear into them. An early lead and we can win comfortably.
Galway goalkeeper can be put under serious high ball pressure. Not many teams play that direct game. Have a read of Phillys article in todays Indo about the Dubs and the dangers of Con and the opposition back line. I know Philly would not be a dear friend of the red and green but well worth a read.
I think the same high ball logic he talks about can be applied to the Galway keeper especially with our tall forwards close by. If the keeper gets rattled the back line can get a bit nervous. Galway have a solid back line so you target the keeper first. Having said all that lets worry about Maroons later down the track.
Louth picked off some beautiful long range points against Offaly so not to be dismissed under any circumstances.
Best of luck to all our neighbours, Sligo are playing Roscommon I’m not going to choose between them . I suppose this is a Mayo GAA Blog after all, our neighbours are welcome, commenting on them is to be expected. But in the wider scheme of things re the inter county championship I look at it slightly different to many (at least many that comment here) the likes of Mayo, Galway, Roscommon, Sligo, Leitrim, Clare (believe it or not County Clare was once in Connacht) and Donegal (Tir Conaill extended as far south as Bonniconlon, in County Mayo today ) ..As regards standing up for ourselves collectively , as descendants of those who chose Connacht instead of Hell, forced there by Cromwell or descendants of the Gaels already there, against powerful figures in the administration of the GAA we collectively, the counties who have most to lose (and Mayo most of all) by the unfairness of the still privileged position of those in the Pale (Dublin) we have no been good enough in standing up for fair play for ourselves. Donegal in fairness did bring a motion to Congress to take Dublin out of Croke Park for their so called “Neutral” super eight game out of Croke Park and despite being mandated to vote with Donegal by the delegates, Mayo did’nt turn up to vote at all in Congress. Those who wield power in Croke Park, same as Kildare Street are delighted to see us on the Western seaboard not as united as we should be. If we keep sniping at each other instead of seeing the clear picture, where are we going?. On to Sunday, if there was a female personification of County Louth it would be St Bridget, the last time Mayo took on a team with powerful association with St Bridget (Kildare in Newbridge or Nowhere) it didnt end too well for us. There was a right ruckus over a Brown Bull once upon a time , when Queen Meabh’s champion and favorite Mayo Man Ferdia was murdered in cold blood by a Louth man, Cu Chulainn with a magic spear, in a very nasty manner. And that didnt end up too well for the Mayo man either..Still when you weigh it up, I think that ended up a draw because they both died. No magic spears allowed in McHale Park on Sunday, and is there still some with the spirit of Cu Chulainn next Sunday to fight for the Wee County?.
Such short memories here I think it was only a couple of weeks ago that we witnessed a new era in Mayo Football down in Killarney. Don’t see how anyone sees anything other than a big Mayo win. Kerry to beat Cork by a small margin and Mayo to drive on Sunday to secure a double digit margin leaving them in a position that even if they slipped up against Cork we’d still top the group on points difference.
Jeez……another thread on a Mayo blog about the Mayo team selection has descended into a scrap about Galway. Will they? Won’t they? PJ this PJ that. Could ye not find a forum about Galway to log onto? Leave talk on our neighbours until we are due to meet them.
Back to team selection and you have to say that we are reaching the point where barring injuries the team looks pretty settled. I presume Mickey Harte will probably adopt the Roscommon tactics to try and frustrate Mayo and if so we should get a look at what work has been done to counter it. I believe a fast start is vital and giving deep lying opponents nothing to try and defend. We have slowly but surely evolved since the start of the season and though we had some eye-catching league results we are now facing teams who should all be close to full output. The Killarney performance was important for the 2 points and more so for the confidence boost. McStay and co know how easy that could be reversed and that’s why it looks like we’re going full out for this one. Hard to overstate how important confidence and momentum are.
Jays lads, the Galway appreciation society in full voice here. Look, as Boyler put it, that 70 mins vs Kerry was the best 70 mins since the 2017 final. The final where we came within a post of beating the best team by an absolute country mile ever to take to a football field. So let’s forget about Galway, the Rossies, the Dubs, the whole lot. We have a special team going on here. Again. As in general we have had for the past couple of decades. A listen to that Louth (a county with a 10k larger population than us) podcast would be a welcome reminder for us as to just how lucky as a county we are, how proud we should be of what our lads and ladies have been able to do with our population, that is year on year genuine all-Ireland contention. So come on, show the support and let the lads do the the job. One day it’ll happen. What a story. Cman Mayo
Honestly the talk of Galway and their ability, intent , height, weight, goalie, etc, etc etc has gone overboard..They are favs with many this year and that’s just fine.Let them off.
Can we focus on MAYO ?
I would generally set fire to anything that former Dublin corner back writes.I am sure rte will soon have him saying mass live on a Sunday morning.Tomas o Shea described Dublin during their golden era as having the scumbag element at the back.I wonder who he could possibly have been talking about and I agree it’s time to forget about Galway for now .interesting to see how we go about dealing with Louth tomorrow.Of course for some strange reason the didn’t set up defensively against Dublin so no guarantee they will against us
I have to hope that the team and management are focused purely on the Louth game rather than the potential merits or otherwise of potential AI winners. From my perspective I plan on enjoying each game as it comes.
From the match on Sunday I expect that we will deliver a strong performance, and our back line to continue their steep learning curve against some dangerous attackers. Building momentum is important, killarney was a great start, let’s build on that tomorrow.
Many here have gone very serious or are on edge because of the next Mayo games, or is it the heat. The fun seems to be gone completely.
I say enjoy the banter, building up Galway and Ros etc, the best team will win the All Ireland this year anyway.
No point in expecting the big one this year, it can be a huge emotional let down if Mayo fail along the way. Alot to play for yet.
Try and enjoy the games, I will see about 8 games this weekend on RTE and GaaGo, I’m glad of GaaGo right now as confined due to leg injury.
I have to say, I find the media stuff comical these days. ‘Power ratings’ on off the ball or the sunday papers are just cringe. The way they fluctuate completely undermines their credibility.
Mayo – a team defeated by an outsider in the provincial semi, are now up to 3rd after one win. Galway have now, by default, become the media darlings, since dublin stuttered and kerry lost. Cue a below par galway performance and the tide will turn again.
It just highlights how completely over-saturated the market is, that pundits lurch from one after-the-fact declaration of greatness to another to another. The reality is they have too much airtime and desperately need to fill it with something every few days.
Personally, Id love to see media predictions and opinions recorded and read back at the end of the year – a media championship of sorts. It would expose a lot of flip-flopping and utter bs’ers.
Just to add my predictions for this weekend.
Kerry to beat Cork well.
Dublin v Kildare, I think this will be close and maybe an upset will be on the cards.
Ros v Sligo, Ros with a to spare.
Mayo v Louth, Mayo by 3 or 4 points.
Tyrone v Armagh, hardest to call, but Tyrone by a point or two.
Galway v Westmeath, Galway by 10 points.
Most people on the blog have in their own minds Mayo already topping the group while dismissing Louth and Cork. Hence all the talk of Galway as we rightly see them as our biggest obstacle and favourites to win Sam. I hope management and players do not have the same attitude as it is dangerous to underestimate your opponents. Micky Harte has been around the block and will make things very difficult for us. I believe our management will afford Louth the utmost respect and we will win by five or more.
It’s hardly just a few mayo supporters that consider Galway favs for the all Ireland .
Anyway some things are more important than football , Galway have brought the rivalry to a different sphere by robbing our pub from the award winning film set in Achill and setting it up in Galway. That’s a low act .Battles are won and lost though , who will win the war ?
West Is Best
The top 3 teams in Division 1 of the League were all from Connacht. The same three have had good starts to the pool stages of the Championship and I believe that Sam will travel west this year.
The Leinster and Munster Championships are non events, which has allowed Dublin and Kerry to peak once a year at the time of their choosing.
The new format is upsetting that apple cart and levelling the playing field.
We may have benefited most as our loss to the Rossie’s in the Connacht QF a week after the League Final (great GAA player welfare care there) and the 6 weeks break, may have allowed Mayo to twin peak in a split season this year.
Galway and Mayo will be in the favourites to make the last 4, but the Rossies will be there about too at that stage and Sligo have had a good couple of years at Under-20 and Senior. Right now, ‘West Is Best’ – and continuing tomorrow, we just have be focused, hardened, driven, and composed, to be the best of the best!
Is that the thinking of McStay-Rockford & Co?
That’s not the only thing they robbed off us, Seán – don’t forget the 1925 All-Ireland! On second thoughts, let’s not go there …
Bit of an archaic view their wide ball and I would contend that injuries are not just a part of sport and can be well managed and avoided more often than not. I still believe had Cillian been available in the final against Tyrone he would not have missed that penalty, we would have got a bounce and gone on to win that final. Instead we dog him in training and we dog him on the field by leaving him on for most of game against Clare and at 30 why are we doing this?. I didn’t say not to play him but manage his game time to 15 20 25 minutes and gradually bring him back up to optimum fitness. I think we all accept that Cillian and Aidan are 30 minute players in Croker and will be interchangeable and will not reach fitness levels of a 26 year old.
I would also ask wide ball that you read posts fully and not to use words that are not in the post to make your argument such as ‘rest him’ I did not say to rest him. People will say how do you know he was dogged in training.. well the answer to that is that he got injured in training and that is poor management in my view. So I am reassured with this new cautious approach
A quick search shows 155 mentions of Louth in the last week on the blog, versus 114 for Galway. Rossies on 74. Kerry on 71. Dubs on 68. Combined 5 Ulster counties trailing on 61. Louth the big winners – credit to Mickey Harte for getting them dining at the top table. Galway second best again. Dubs on the slide. Very hard to get out of Ulster.
Mayo88 – I’ll go with
Kerry to beat Cork by 3/4.
Dublin v Kildare – agree this will be close, Dublin to scrape it.
Ros v Sligo, Ros by 8 plus.
Mayo v Louth, Mayo to win well – 7 plus.
Tyrone v Armagh. Looks hard to call but I think Tyrone by 3-4.
Galway v Westmeath. This could be tigher than it looks. Galway by 3
Few nice games there, Expect a big crowd tomorrow for our last home game as it’ll be the easiest on the pocket for families. Should be a good atmosphere and the great weather to boot
Galway bench not strong enough to win all ireland. 2 or maybe 3 at best after that the team weakens.. For me right now mayo have the strongest bench in the country (and we all know what a strong bench has done to us many times) meaning 7 or 8 could come on and not weaken the team Conroy hession McLaughlin Doherty cillian McLoughlin tuohy Brickenden McHugh o hora. Now I know some are injured now and again and I’m speaking about introducing any 1 of them at any given time and i would have full confidence in the team and for that reason I’m hopeful for the season.
Harrison running out of time to be involved this year. Unfortunate for him. McCormack needs game time. And what is the plan B if Loftus gets injured or playing below par. Hession absolutely vital tomorrow, both Coen and Loftus struggle with pace and rely on lateral passing for the most part.
Water breaks would be a good idea, has a referee the authority to allow water breaks?
All I know is if Mayo end up playing Galway in Croke Park , I’d back Mayo to win every single time.
@No Doubt
I often thought that starting 15 v starting 15 we could beat the Dubs. The difference was the bench. Mcmanaman, Brogan,Mannion etc etc
Talking of benches that was some mob we sprung the last day. Paddy,Tommy,Enda,Eoghan Mc and Stephen Coen. Please God we can get Cillian back. Even at 75% off the bench he could make all the difference in a tight game.
I think of the league final and Tommy’s contribution late on. His speed got us up the pitch and he forced 2 frees which were invaluable and helped get us over the line.
All we can do is take care of our own business and enjoy the ride. We are ticking along nicely and the depth of panel is the best I can remember. We have multiple options for most positions which gives us as good a chance as anybody else in my opinion.
toe to hand – Cillian got injured after around 25 minutes in that Clare game. From memory, there was a 2 week break beforehand as well. He certainly wasn’t being dogged by over playing.
Nobody is denying he was a loss vs Tyrone that time, but every county has a couple of players out injured throughout the year.
So I was today years old when I realised that you can watch back all the games on GAAGO for FREE! I was looking to see if you could get a day pass because I wouldn’t mind watching Cork/Kerry and Kildare/Dublin and there it is in all its glory Kerry/Mayo .. well that’s me sorted for the evening. Wish I’d known this 2 weeks ago on the Sunday morning after the long drive home from Killarney!!
No day pass btw! Think I’ll wait to see those games for free on Monday ?
@AMC, you can get a mid Season pass for only 39 euros today, loads of games.
Kerry game is well done and dusted onto the next game.
For all the negative reports that GaaGo was getting it’s a Godsend when one cannot get to the games, I’m glad of it
Was there really a need for him to start that game Wide Ball. Every game can be deemed important. We have a track record of being woeful at playing the long game. We throw everything at the lead up to competition finals, show all and sundry what we are about and save nothing for the day itself. Even if Cillian was tearing it up in training I wouldn’t play him bar bit parts so as not to show the full arsenal we have available to us. Anyway he is not playing this weekend and I hope it’s not serious and that he will be fully fit when we really desperately need him. Now let’s take out the wee county. Maigheo Abu
@ joe. You mightn’t win every time…. But tomorrow it’s Louth and early days
@Mayo88 thanks for that! It wasn’t giving me that option in the app but I see I can get it on the website.. I assume if I purchase there it will appear on the app??
I’m hoping strategy tomorrow will be start like we did against Kerry,go hard early on . Create goal chances,take a few of them this time,get our 7/8 point cushion and then control the game and let them chase around in the heat while we keep the scoreboard ticking. There are signs that we are showing more composure this year albeit we gave Kerry a few half decent goal chances late on. We need to eradicate this completely.
@AMC: The games open up as free a fair while after the initial airing (I think it’s ~5 or 6 days but open to correction there) but they won’t be there on Monday, unless they’ve changed the setup there significantly since the Kerry game two weeks ago.
Never buy in the app, it costs more. An individual game that costs €12 on the website will cost ~€15 in the app with the added marketplace fees from Apple/Google. Once it’s attached to your account from buying on the website you can log in and watch it on the app no problem (you can bounce between TV/android box/phone/desktop/laptop with it no problem, just can’t watch the same game on 2 simultaneously).
I am after reading that about the 1925 All Ireland, where Mayo were awarded the All Ireland, no final was played, and for some mad reason the Connacht final had not been played until after the All Ireland final was awarded to Mayo, then Galway beat Mayo in the Connacht final and some how took the All Ireland title from Mayo
I say why did Mayo allow this mad situation?
Seems like Mayo were a bit soft back then.
Don’t start me on that topic, Mayo88 … !
I was checking on the archives and the last time we lost to Galway at a neutral venue was the 1948 Connacht Final replay
@mindthehouse.that is exactly what I was saying and would have great confidence in most subs coming on. Just about to watch kerry v cork with Mike Finnerty on commentary. BTW another great performance from oisin again this weekend and covered alot of ground by all accounts.
Fair play to Mike. In the first couple of minutes he let’s everyone know that Kerry lost their longstanding unbeaten record in Killarney to Mayo 2 weeks ago.
Just to remind everyone, Kerry are very fast learners, have gone ultra defensive so far v Cork, it will be interesting Championship.
@Mayo88 kerry are playing a poor cork team who have been poor all year and kerry are not exactly hammering cork Atm.
still wouldn’t fear kerry come the later side of championship!
Gough gives Kerry a very very soft penalty when they need it. The help is always there for Kerry and the Dubs when they need it.
Beware lads, Referee ( Goff ) gave Kerry a penalty that was 4 or 5 yards outside the large square, Cork absolutely shafted.
I don’t know, that was ridiculously stupid by Powter
Moynihan nearly takes the head of a Cork player 4 yards from the linesman and gets a yellow card, this is what is against Mayo this year in the future big games v Kerry and Dublin.
Cork poor enough but Kerry therefor the taking
Gough’s halo is slipping a bit with this performance. That peno decision was shocking, no way was it a clear goal chance.
The Gaa is rigged simple as that, help Kerry and the Dubs at any cost.
Kerry with the refs help scrape past a poor enough Cork. A better team would have beaten them today they are wide open at the back. Gough not as smart as he thinks he is.
Refereeing a problem. Gough didn’t cover himself in glory. This group is going down to the wire
Cork got a great return from their subs
Kerry lacking leadership. Needed someone to take control of that game around the middle.
Kerry might learn fast but they clearly weren’t watching the Rossies last weekend
Even Radio Kerry commentators didn’t think it looked like a penalty. Cork didn’t help themselves with a plethora of bad wides.
Cork gave kerry plenty of it. Lesson for us is that Cork are a decent side or maybe Kerry not as good as we thought so our defeat of them is not as great as we assumed, I think it just shows that the football championship this year is quite open. Lots of tight games across all 4 groups. No team is looking way ahead of the pack. If we beat Louth by a decent amount then we should finish top as Kerry score difference isn’t great if 3 teams finish on 4 points. Plenty to play for.
Terrible decision for the penalty awful stuff feel bad for cork in a way even though they were quite poor to said it before say it again kerry won’t win back to backs . Wide open this year !
Hope our ref tomorrow is better them gough : /
It wasn’t just the penalty,
Kerry player should have seen red 4 yards from the linesman for clear tackle to the head, but only got a yellow.
Another two frees went to Kerry that were not frees.
Cork had no good free taker on the left flank attacking into the goal, they missed 3 in Second half.
One would have thought that the Mayo Commentator would call things as he saw them but sadly didn’t happen either.
Kerry fouling when ahead out around the middle of the pitch.
Anybody but Kerry to win this year’s final.
Clare – I’ve edited out that borderline libellous allegation included in your comment. You should know you can’t make allegations like that in a public place like this and I really shouldn’t have to point out something as basic as that to you.
@willie joe apologies sorry didn’t mean be so harsh.
It’s not the harshness I have a problem with, Clare, it’s the potential legal consequences you’re exposing yourself to by posting a comment like that. If I were you, I’d do some research on the law of libel.
@willie joe fair enough . It was a stupid comment to make maybe the heat is getting to me ! Apologies again.
To win just once. The problem is that kerry could run riot against louth and increase their score difference. We have to win both games to be sure
A win and a draw would do.
A draw is too close to a defeat for me nephin. We have had enough back doors now. Time to stay in control
Of course I agree. Just mean mathematically.
Two draws would win us the group
Ladies,and men we have lost two meaningless game all year a d you are warning is of the dangers in front of us,we are at the moment by far the best team in Ireland,if we avoid injuries we will win Sam simple as that
Gough also missed the cork kickout 2 yards inside the area. Kerry didn’t set the championship on fire and Galway struggling to westmeath at the minute and dublin have 17 pts scored at 50 minutes so games are different from week to week nothing taken for granted
Since 2011 the only team we’ve lost to outside Connacht that would not be regarded as a top level side were Kildare in 2018, when we had very significant injuries to contend with. If we lose tomorrow it would be a shock of seismic proportions.
Galway labouring to another win I see, still have no idea how people have them of favourites, yet to beat an experienced team in Croke Park
Seems like another imperious win for Galway then .you would think teams would be showing some kind of form at this stage.is it the new format or is this it really.i suppose we can’t say anything until we see how we perform tomorrow
Labouring ? They like Dublin have both won handsomely in the end , that’s all that’s required at this point .
Hopefully lay down a statement win tomorrow
Sure the red card for Westmeath at 11 each changed the game particularly in that heat, as I said yet to see Galway put in a performance that would make me fear them.
Cork will come to our match full of confidence. They’ll claim they should have beaten Kerry and a win against Mayo could leave both on four if we win tomorrow. We need to keep our heads down and just win adequately.
The McStay mantra of taking each match and trying to win it is sound.
Galway cruised to an eight point win away at the team who ran Armagh to a point last week and again kept up their record of only conceding an average of 12 points. No doubt we will be content with an 8 point win tomorrow. Dublin also very comfortable v Kildare. Both Galway and Dublin looking more impressive than kerry at the moment, but a lot of football to play yet. Hopefully we do the job minus injuries tomorrow.
Both Dublin and Kildare looked lacking in confidence.
Dubs picked up some injuries, could prove a pyrrhic victory
Kerry and Dublin might both get lucky and draw each in a quarter final
The big guns starting to show now.
A couple of notable Galway forwards went off with injuries today too.
As said in other threads. Think Tyrone are still the best if the Ulster teams, but still feel it’s between ourselves Galway and Dublin.
With our playing personnel and good injury record YTD we should be favourites, but Dublins habit of actually winning will stand to them.
Rian O Neill straight red rules him out of Galway game.
Thomas o Shea doesn’t know what category the rian o Neil sending off was but he reckons there has to be one for putting your knees down on a man’s head
Mayo should win tomorrow by 12 + to instill them as firm favourites by Monday morning
True Tuamstar if Mayo win easy tomorrow I expect they will be favourites for the All Ireland. They are the form team only reason they are not already favourites is the poor record in the final.
Getting a bit silly now about who are favourites now .it’s like a school playground conversation.maybe we will win tomorrow by 12 points and instil ourselves with something afterwards
@.1985 totally agree with you there !
its silly season now allright
Say more 2hops, I didn’t see or hear the game.
Love to top our group but bottom line vis championship will not start until knock out stage.
Avoiding injury imperative now and getting game time into our recovering players, without rushing them back
Give it a rest lads. Its getting a bit childish for sure. See ye in July when the men will be seperated from the boys.
The Kerryman was cutting in on goal alright, it was definitely a foul. I suppose it depends on what you regard as a clear goal scoring chance?. For me the foul stopped a goal scoring chance, I think it was within the Refs rights to award a penalty even if it was a soft one. And definitely a black card. ,Kerry no doubt were lucky . Was it Corks best performance in years?., Probably was, and Kerry’s second mediocre championship performance in two weeks. Last time Kerry put two such mediocre performances back to back, in the naughties they still went on to win Sam Maguire. Jack O Connor learned as he went along back then. Dont rule it out in 2023 either. However for Mayo it makes a win versus Louth tomorrow even more important. We need to guarantee ourselves at least a playoff place. Because Cork who face ourselves in a neutral venue, will definitely be encouraged by today’s close run versus the All Ireland Champions and would like nothing better than getting some revenge for all the Rebels Championship defeats to Mayo in the previous decade.
Galway must be the overwhelming favourites now. Their forwards come alive at Croke Park, a ground which is a graveyard for Mayo and of course they have Shane Walsh who has so much natural talent and potential.
Am I doing it right ?
😉
I fully expect Tuamstar to start writing his replies in Crayon shortly.Any chance of a block button here?.
can you buy a ticket at the gate?
If we could win by a big margin tomorrow 12/15 points it would seal top spot even if we loose to cork by a few points..it would mean Kerry would have to beat louth by 20 points to ovetake us.?
Simplest thing ofcourse is to win both games ! But Cork are an up and coming side and i was surprised there form.is so poor this year until now.. i think they coukd get QF spot this year and push for promotion to D1 next year..
I’ll settle for a 1 point win tommorow. We can worry about permutations after we hopefully secure the win. I’ve a feeling Tommy will start this one, and maybe Carr kept in reserve.
Corks performance today tells us we’re not as good as we think we sre. Kerry are in the depths of a seirious All Ireland hangover, similar to Tyrone last year. I now dont think we’ll really know how good we are until the 1st knockout game (if we get there).
Sadly you can’t BazHam – the two options are online or offline at selected Centra and SuperValu outlets.
Clare. Galway massive favourites? With all due respect most of the bookies have Mayo as slight favourites behind Dublin and Kerry. The big thing about us is we are hard to beat. God forbid though the day our forwards shoot the lights out. Unfortunately not easy as we have had to shore up areas of the pitch that was our nemesis in previous years.
This blog is so brilliant and a wonderful source of information and a platform for chatting and engaging in a bit of ‘banter’. When I say Galway are favourites i am being so very tongue in cheek and maybe a little childish as someone has said but just partaking in a little ‘yerraism’. Speaking seriously though the way I see it there are 7 teams namely Dublin, Mayo, Galway, Kerry, Derry, Tyrone and Armagh who are contenders and in fairness on any given day could potentially beat each other. It’s wide open and should be a great 2 months ahead.
@FrosTHammer, re your earlier post about Galway beating Mayo in a replay in 1948, you must have the year wrong there, because, as far as I know, Mayo reached the AIF that year, and lost a controversial one v Cavan..
Lads an Ladies, I’m in the rebel City of Cork, preparing to run the marathon here in the morning (I’m hoping that it will be cooler than Mayo at present), so, prayers please!
I was talking to some sound Cork an Kerry fans this evening, folks who know their stuff, an the consensus was Mayo can go all the way this year in a fairly open race, if we can avoid injuries an keep the heads. Some didn’t have faith in their own counties prospects, and all agreed Dubs an Galway no world beaters either.
Just a few southern opinions I suppose.
I feel Mickey Harte wil have a trick or two up his sleeve manãna, but after some early shadowboxing, I fancy us to win well, maybe with a half doz to spare.
Thanks once again for such a fantastic blog Willie Joe..
Up Mayo!!!!
@Pullhard, there isn’t a hope in hell that 7 teams are in the running to win the All Ireland, more like 2 or 3.
Mayo 88, you don’t think Tyrone could take Dublin or Kerry for instance or Armagh on their day could beat Galway or Mayo? Maybe it’s a bit of a stretch in hindsight to say 7 teams but it’s more wide open this time round than previous years
After watching Tyrone v Armagh earlier, there are only 5 teams worth talking, when it comes to the 2023 race for Sam – Mayo, Kerry,, Dublin, Tyrone and Galway, and in that order of favouritism.
In my opinion..
Key for us tomorrow is a victory and no injuries
The final isn’t for another eight weeks and at this stage it’s a bit daft saying who are favourites or certainties to win it. Not every team in good form and injury free will be in that position in two months time and some teams struggling at present could be a different beast in July. Kevin McStay has it right when he says we’ll take it one game at a time. Let’s get over Louth first and then move on.
At RP McMurph the two if are big IFs. Some counties not showing full hand until knockout stages.
A couple of poor refereeing decisions cost you dearly. See you in Ennis…