175 thoughts on “Mayo 0-12 Galway 1-12: indiscipline kills us again”

1. I thought we were really poor today. Disjointed. None of our forwards played well. Our defence had improved as the game went on but fatally fell asleep for their goal…leaving a one on one inside…(cant rem which gal player it was but he popped it to heaney and BANG.) Moments like that matter.

   I was looking out for Loftus. He didn’t feature. When AOS plays well, Mayo play well. He was off the boil today.

   Finally, heart goes out to Tom. We are all with you.

2. We lost it up front…..too many very poor wides.

   Parsons injury appears bad from TV. He’s a huge loss.

   Sadly this team is in the last chance saloon.

   Thought we’d have won today.

3. I’m afraid same old same old. Our performance in front of the posts beat us. We had the same on the score board as we had on the wides board.

4. Galway no great shakes but deserving winners all the same. A new dawn has been emerging in Connacht football in recent years and that was copper fastened today. Looks like the end of the road for a Mayo team the look completely out of ideas.

5. First time since the 70s that Mayo have gone 3 years in a row without reaching a Connacht final a long way now from 5 in a row Connacht titles and long road back will need the luck of the draw and plenty of luck along the way to get to the super 8 i feel now.

6. I also thought we were poor, but I thought Galway were poor too. Really felt we should have and could have taken them if not for another completely abject forward performance and a completely stupid sending off. What has been learned from last year, discipline-wise? It seems the discipline issue is getting worse instead of better and often repeat offenders at it.
   Our forward performance was very weak. No cohesion, silly shots and a shocking number of wides. Do they actually practice shooting in training, because it really seems like they don’t.

   And all the best to Tom. I hope it isn’t as bad as it looked.

7. Ok we did fight hard but this was a very poor Galway performance and it’s a match the other big 3 teams would have won pulling up.

   Bad decision making and wastefulness cost us today. That moment of madness by Diarmuid hardly helped either. Now looking at 4 qualifiers again and a season without Tom Parsons. Not good at all

   Loftus was a real disappointment up front sadly, and Comer roasted Barrett until we went into all out defence mode in the second half. Paddy Durcan was incredibly frustrating but did work hard. Their subs had much more of an impact than hours.

   Long slog ahead again. I’m sure we’ll be better than that in August but will we get there? Away games vs tyrone/monaghan, cork, cavan, kildare, down, roscommon, Donegal, tipp would be very, very dodgy indeed

   To be fair there was no way Kerin’s challenge was a red

8. Hi All…just a message to Tom Parsons hoping he is okay as the poor Lad was in agony. Hopefully he makes a very fast recovery.

   Kind Regards
   Martin the Dub

9. Feel worse for Tom Parsons than I do for defeat, best wishes Tom – you epitomise Mayo class more than most. We should now start investing in the future as its time to recognise the frailty of our forward-play & abysmal score taking. Please give newcomers a chance to bed-in.

10. A few poor wides and a few poor decisions. I wouldn’t write this team off yet though.
    We were well in it until the goal, even with a player down. I was too far from the incident to see what happened when Diarmuid got his red card. I think he is always one of our best players and stays going forever. He was a real loss but I doubt that he deliberately tried to take the Galway player out. He had the ball in his possession at the time.

11. Feel sorry for Tom Parsons hopes he ok and makes a good recovery. From where I was sitting I thought Diarmuids elbow was accidental and not intentional as he more or less ran into the player. Whoever is coaching the forwards needs to do better we looked clueless up front all day long although in fairness Galway’s defense was well organised. I think the best thing that could happen to this team is to get knocked out in the next round have a break and regroup in November and take the Fbd and league seriously we can’t keep going forever. These guys owe us nothing. If I had one wish it would be that a proper forward coach was brought in that could formulate a plan to break blankets and turn us into a Slick scoring machine.

12. Hard luck to our lads and sorry seeing Tom stretchered off. I thought Mayo did alot of things right but unfortunately didn’t keep the screboard lit up. We are in much the same boat as last year but it’s a big blow to have Tom injured. It was always goin to be struggle when we went down to 14.
    We’ll just have to get ready for the qualifiers and managment will have to plan to get cover and pretty quick too for midfield.
    Best wishes to Tom.

13. Yes Willy Joe, indiscipline cost us badly again. Lucky we even finished with 14, we played into their hands, we need every forward we have available. Overall the game was a terrible exhibition of puke football.

14. Hard luck Mayo we being in same boat before Mayo can rise again the break will do them good I don’t think this team finished yet well done to Galway. Hope t parsons is okay and get back soon.

15. Best of luck to parsons awful way to go out of a championship and speedy recovery

16. I think a few posters wrong regards shooting. We played as patiently as we could most of the time in 1st half as the shawl was assisted by a decent breeze. Can’t be passing it around all day and at some point have to give the shot a go. Galway had the same trouble in 2nd half.
    Posters wrong re AOS also as he won some big turnovers in 1st half. No room to burst through with that level of defense and Aido didn’t get turned over when others did.
    Last 15 or 20 mins was very hard to work a good shot as again Galway had good numbers back. Nearly always 2 on Andy during that period and most others forced out due to the numbers. Thought Loftus looked fairly good. Looking to pull trigger a few times but just too far to try with clutter of defenders and wisely passed on. Extra man in 2nd half was kinda like wind in 1st half .

17. Very poor game. Long periods of possession until someone makes a mistake and then it’s more of the same at the other end. Both teams lacking in clinical finishing.
    Hard to fathom out what’s happening with our subs bench. Gone are Nally Crowe Gallagher Boland and in James Durcan and Hanley. Vaughan should have been first sub to be introduced, Coen struggled big time with pace of game. One way or the other, I agree with previous poster, we need to develop our bench players by giving them plenty of football.
    Very sad for Tom, let’s hope we see him back next season…

18. Willie joe whats next?when is the qualifiers draw?absoloutley gutted with the result didnt think we played all that bad just not clinical enough up top this team cannot go on forver and i feel there is no talent coming up

19. Bit unlucky at the death when that long shot attack almost ended in a goal chance from 6m out but 2 Mayo players got in each other’s way.

20. Thats that , lets not sugar coat this loss. Galway are the better team in the west from now on. And this team has seen better days .

    We will not survive the long formatted Championship this year with performances like that Shocking Shocking and even more Shocking.

    Thanks for the great memories over the last number of years ,but this team is DONE no point in having another opinion . We’re only coding ourselves if we think that we can come back from such a humiliating defeat such as todays.

21. I felt really bad for Ger Caff today. As mayo fans we need to take a good hard look at our cheering on the knowledge that he was being substituted, obviously this was a substantional minority. Ger is going out there trying to do his best for the county and we would be right to acknowledge that, it is the manager who includes him in our panel, fair pay to him for turning out and doing his best. Players can learn and improve, AOS being a shining example of that.

    I felt today that if we had the 15 players for the full match we would have beaten Galway substancially. The selfishness that makes Moran a brilliant player for us, dose not stand him well when his accuracy was off.

22. So Sorry for Tom Parsons such a stalwart of Mayo . Hopefully he will make a complete recovery. A poor game and ill discipline by DOC again does not help Mayo. As a Dub I hope they make it through as the championship will be all the better with them in it. Good luck in next round
    Damo

23. Hopefully Tom and Paul conroy are ok. Tom has been such a great servent and player for us i hope we get to see him in the green and red again soon.Diarmuid really let everyone down today it was a very stupid challange there was no need for it the ref was playing advantage. Both him and cillian have become a serious liability in every game , what he did was disgraceful and it was up there with the dirty challange Lee got against Tyrone.As far as the qualifies its hard to know what will happen but it has a feeling as this could be the end of the road I hope I am wrong.

24. It was hardly a humiliating defeat for Christ’s sake

    Would I be right in saying Andy Moran despite being overall poor scored the same as Comer who disappeared for last 50 minutes ?
    Perspective needed

25. Any chance Mayo had of getting a result went out the gate with the sending off. To be fair, the ref was left with no option – a terrible and senseless challenge with the consequences plain to be seen. ‘Repeat offenders’ someone else has accurately described some of the stuff that has cost us again.
    Tom looked to be in agony and one would have to wonder about the condition of the pitch. The manager has not been blessed with enough forwards of the required standard but it looked like they have lost confidence completely.
    In any case, he has yet to win a trophy and this group will find it hard to change that – unfortunately. Hard to accept, but a long road to the promised land from where Mayo are now.

26. I agree mayo exile and thanks Martin the Dub. Horrible to see a player go down like that, Tom’s a gent, my thoughts are with him this evening. Diarmuid left the ref no choice, it was utterly wreckless, and there is no place in the game for that carry on. It took Conroy out of the game and was as bad a thing I’ve seen from anyone in a mayo jersey for a long long time. And utterly needless to boot as he had a free with the ref playing advantage. But look, Diarmuid will know that better than anyone this evening and will learn from it. I fancied us by 5+ prior and I think we would have achieved that had we 15 on the pitch as we were finding our groove and with the wind in the second half I’d have expected us to find our range as well. Shoulda woulda coulda. To be fair to Galway their goal was a real beaut, some lovely soft hand passes at close quarters to unlock the defence. Overall it was a poor game, whenever we seem to get going against Galway, something hauls is back, more often than not self inflicted, which is what’s most disappointing. I believe it’s a potential 7 games in 9 weeks now? I’ll always back this team whatever the challenge, so bring it on, what will be will be ???

27. Back door means just an extra two games compared to the straight route.would’nt worry about anyone except the losers of Tyrone/Monaghan .

28. Terrible game first of all. Kevin Walsh would have serious questions to answer had we lost that game. The better Galway team finished the game, our subs Brannigan Sean Kelly and especially Ian Burke were excellent and all three need to start v Sligo. Burke has great vision and quick hands ( the lead up to the goal) why they didnt start? Disagree on the kerin incident, it was both of them at it and Mc Laughlin threw himself down easily, the replays proved this . O Connor however was the dirtiest of strokes seen on a Gaa field, hope Paul Conroy is ok.. Poor Tom Parsons , as sickening an injury to get. Please God he recovers well.Mayo tried the shawl in the second half but hadnt perfected it , the goal was brilliantly worked, you can see Colm Boyle shudder as he notices his man johnny Heaney gain possession just before thundering the ball home on tv replays. All in all another Galway win and a long road back for Mayo..

29. Tom got nasty break pics on irish independant wish him well he was one of our best players today shame these things happen seen diarmuids incident on tv i have to say im dissapointed he led with elbow full tally which cud have done serious damage to conroy theres no place for that and he let the lads down i think if diarmuid stayed the result wud have gone our way as always andy left alone up front on own loftus always wandering around but never get stuck in up front . No plan upfront game after game

30. I think that’s harsh John. How many times have they bounced back and surprised even the most optimistic of us. The run of games in the qualifiers( if they get them) will only do them good. Football every week to 2 weeks. Sure a lot of these lads haven’t kicked a proper ball all year for mayo in league; Harrison, Vaughan , barrett, COC , keegan etc they need football in testing conditions, will probably improve the more than a gimme against sligo. Any ideas on when first round of qualifiers will be? Open draw this time ? Feel for Tom p. What a guy and servant to this team.

31. Yet another senseless red card to add insult to another serious injury! Would think rossies sitting pretty waiting for galway in the hyde.

32. Diarmuid cost us, Andy was poor and should of been subbed before Loftus. Galway were poor in a shite game but deserving winners . Our support is typical of a bandwagon absolutely rubbish from non passionnate u natural supporters . It was like a library.

33. Our forward play lost it realky. I dont know how many times the shot was on in 2nd half, but we overplayed and gave 1 pass too many, not crisp enough and seemed afraid to shoot. Thought Aidan played very well actually. Always feared Loftus lacks the physicality, needs to work on it. Look, we’ve been here before, a handy draw would do us the world of good. Keep the heads up everyone, it hurts like Hell! But we’re not finished yet. Best wishes to Tom Parsons, that injury puts alot of things in perspective.

34. Pictures of parsons injury should be taken down by the indo or any website that shows them. Not fair on the player at all imo.

35. Devasting for Tom Parsons- what a servant. Feels like the end of the road. Gutted. Just so disappointed.

36. lot of if’s and but’s there John jennings, my guess is ur a troll, if u are get a life. If not, don’t write this teams obituary yet, you’ll have plenty time for that if your “predictions” come to pass.

37. I wonder could we experiment with Lee in the middle this year as cover for Tom. Could be worth a try.

38. In that final quarter half most of both teams chances were of the half chance variety. Thought maybe we shot a bit early for a few of those but chances were hard enough come by and perhaps players felt they had to take the risk. Almost the same at other end.

39. Why did we go all defensive in the second half with the wind behind us?
    Again no plan for the blanket.
    And why continue to insult players having them listed to play and the replacing them at the throw in. I think that’s rotten……tactics my arse.
    Not to worry, it has been said…”Rochy will have a plan”. Dream on.

40. The 42 reporting Tom has a dislocated knee, much more serious than a cruciate ligament injury. Not looking good long term.

41. Sad to see Tom with the injury. Wish him all the best. Mayo awful today but no surprise, you cannot prepare like we did in the league and then think you can just turn it on out of nowhere. People were saying it’s only February etc, wait until May comes and you’ll see a different team so what will be the assessment now? Managements record in league and Connaught is shocking, the team is on a backward trajectory. Sad to see

42. There isnt much sense to analyse much beyond Diarmuid getting sent off and our best midfielder getting injured. Sorry for Tom.
    We need to address discipline of repeat offendors. It’s costing the team games.

43. I am sorry to say I think its going to be a long summer hope I am wrong but it’s over for some of them we need to try something else and the boys owe us nothing wishing Tom all the best it’s going to be a long road to get beet by anyone else would be OK just not Galway my other half bouncing with her donegal

44. JohnJennings..Humiliation is a harsh term but I guess .you’re entitled to your opinion…I’m beyond gutted for Tom Parsons..All the training he has done to end up in this situation in May is horrendous..Feel like shaking my fists at the gods tonight..

45. A bit of persepective. If we had snuck a 1 pt win we’d all be on here talking about lion hearts and Galway didn’t go for it.
    Much like the Green n Red tinted exageration of our tactical masterclass win over Tyrone in 2016.
    We will improve as we play more matches. We move on, keep calm, be logical, support the team.

46. The long route wud have suited galway they need the extra games today was poor from both managers but thers still a kick left in mayo early days yet

47. My player analysis.

    David Clarke – Excellent today, cannot be faulted.
    Eoin O Donoghue – Found the going tough, especially when Burke came on.
    Chris Barrett – Did well overall, a liitle pressure in 1st half but got more help in 2nd.
    Keith Higgins – Our best player. he was very good
    Pat Durcan – A mixed bag, some great runs but gave away sloppy ball
    Colm Boyle – Very good first 15mins, but stuggled after that
    Stephen Coen – His lack of pace exposed, poor passing and anonymous in second half
    Tom Parsons – His health is all that matters after today, hope he recovers fully
    Seamus O Shea – Tried hard but struggled at times with the runs of Duggan
    Kevin McLoughlin – Our best 1st half performer but faded in second half
    Aidan O Shea – Tackled all day, but we need more
    Diarmuid O Connor – Was playing very well, but …..
    Conor Loftus – Frees good, general play average
    Andy Moran – Hasnt the same zip as last year, some good moments
    Jason Doherty – Never really got going

    Management – Failure. Use of substitutes deplorable. David Drake for Conor Loftus. Cian Hanley to Midfield. Four subs came on that have played no football in 2018. Have not instilled any discipline since taking over. Have not addressed free taking issues. Used 11 players that played in 2010 loss to Longford, have made no attempt to find new talent. Selectors from Clare & Armagh never watch club football.

48. surprised it hasnt been mentioned but how good was Keith Higgins? the stand out player on the pitch. He is pure class, like a quarter back. all the best to Tom.He was having a brilliant battling performance up to the Injury.

    As for this Mayo team its one game at a time now. deep breaths and let’s go again. once more into the breach dear friend … etc

49. What great days this team has given us. Thank you again.

    And best wishes to Tom Parsons. What a midfielder.
    After being done out of an All Star last year to placate Ulster. So sad.
    Please God is may not be as bad as some people think.

50. Gutted by the defeat but especially sorry for Tom Parsons – I wish him a speedy recovery – I pray we’ll see him in a Mayo jersey again. Despite having 14 men we were doing ok until Tom went off and could have sneaked it if he hadn’t got injured. Good luck to Galway – they deserved it but sadly they didn’t have to be brilliant to win. Diarmuid’s rush of blood to the head was unforgivable it put us under huge pressure and it was not nice to see Paul Conroy go off in circumstances like that either. I hate to admit it lads but this could be it for this team for this year. They all look like they need a break and qualifiers only prolong the agony. Rochford should seriously consider blooding more young lads from the fringes of the squad in the next game with more than one eye on next year. It’s especially concerning that we have nothing inspirational coming off the bench whereas Galway’s number 22 (Kelly) added real zest to their attack by grabbing a point and an assist for their goal. Mayo are now stagnating – we urgently need to freshen it up.

51. Backdoorsam, “best thing we can do is get knocked out in the next round” It’s this defeatist shit that horan spent years eradicating. We will get knocked out when a team is better than us and pushes themselves to the depths of their limits. We will not just roll over and die!!

52. Watched Diarmuid’s red back on tv and on first viewing looked accidental but then seeing it from an other angle it was pretty conclusive…what the fuck was he thinking…feel this really cost us the game..huge ask from that point on playing for that amount of time a man down.
    We’ve been here before and I would be wary of writing these boys off just yet but it’s a long road now. 4 games to super 8s and then wouldn’t be seeded. If we do get to have a shot at the super 8s I wonder could we play our home game somewhere other than Machale Park because fuck me our home record is woeful recently.
    Couldn’t believe my eyes seeing those signs driving to game…like what sort of sad bastard does that? I know it only takes one or two but this is the sort of shite that makes me hope they never see an All Ireland and looking at today I don’t think I will gave to worry about it too much.
    Colm O Rourke says we are in a state of terminal decline..fuck me am I paranoid or do I always feel they take pleasure in predicting Mayo s demise?
    Keith Higgins had a great game and the man seems to be getting better with age.
    I feel worse about Tom Parson’ s injury than I do about the result. Top man Tom and that looks like his season is over…hope he recovers and we see him back in a Mayo jersey next season.

53. This hurts, I cannot say it doesn’t. All this happens as Galway enjoy their momentum with wins and form. But it is only May, and the very start of the Championship. That must also be said. That is also true.

    Well done Galway on your win today. It was deserved. You certainly have some quality players. I now wish you, supporters and team, all the best this year and may you journey far into the summer. If you get farther than Mayo, I will back you.

    However I, for one, am not writing this Mayo team’s obituary and buckle up my expression at talk of ‘terminal decline’. It’s just not ‘fit for purpose’ as a description. There’s more road to go yet and some of our boys are only just getting started (Keith Higgins, you legend – for one!)

    I also would like to see better scoring up front. Really – bring it on! We got it in the Kerry replay last year. The boys – unfortunately – seem to need to get to the height of summer to go peppering them over. That’s frustrating on days like today. That really does frustrate me, but que sera sera, it is what it is.

    I’m still behind this team. We need composure and poise now, lots of it. And I’m looking forward to the next day out seeing Keith, Chris, Seamie and Cillian among others. We believe in you.

    It was the shawl or blanket that won it for the Tribesmen today – that and classy scores.

    Maigh Eo abu!

54. All – match report, audio, MOTM poll now up. Apologies for the delay, network coverage in the Castlebar area post-match was horrendous. I know there are some comments backed up in moderation but they’ll have to wait, I’m afraid, till I’m back at base later on as I’m on the road now. It’s a long day in every respect.

55. I was very happy until the red card and felt as i did last year until Keiths red mist that we we largely in control of the conitions.We really were looking at going in level at half time in my opinion after playing against a 3/4 point wind.The red card put us on the back foot and let Galway dictate tactics for the remainder of the game.Scoring into the Albany end was very difficult for both teams and 15 v 15 we would have run out winners i feel.The red card was deserved and no complaints.Best wishes TP it was horrible to see that.Where from here i have no idea but i will be wherever they are.

56. [Deleted].

57. Great analysis Redcol fully agree with all of it

    Higgins our best performer. Sadly a very underwhelming champ debut for o’donoghue

58. I wouldn’t be too despondent. We sorely missed lee. Some of our players looked a bit rusty but having said that Keith for a man with no inter county football this year was easily the best player on the pitch. Put aos at midfield in place of Tom and start Hanley the next day. Best wishes to Tom.

59. When is the draw?

60. Kerin’s wasn’t a red card, we’d be livid if a mayo man was sent off for that. Galway played defensively enough to keep us in the game despite how rudderless we are with regard to game plan and we didn’t have the guile or basic footballing ability to take advantage.
    No left footed free taker in a game of such fine margins, simple hand passes not finding their man and too many players who can’t/won’t take a shot on.

61. Between Tom’s sickening injury, Diarmuid’s indiscipline, underwhelming forward play and yet again getting beaten on our own manor, etc etc, there is no getting past today being a disaster. We never looked like taking control of the game and pressing on for victory. Yes, we might have sneaked a win leading into injury time but that would have been unjust on Galway’s part, given how successful they were in containing us. People here snigger about how they failed against Roscommon last year and in their previous quarter finals but it’s hard to shake the feeling that the guard is changing in Connacht. The proof is in the pudding, and the facts are that Galway have performed this year when it mattered and we haven’t. Big feckin alarm bells were ringing throughout the league but many here chose to ignore them. I am glad Rochford gave Durkan and Hanley a chance as it is painfully obvious we need to blood more players. Andy Moran was completely isolated at times. I am struggling to see how we can make the Super 8’s and perhaps it is inevitable that we will enter a trough while the team undergoes transition but there is no point writing obituaries yet until we are actually out

62. So we are finished and Galway could have a right cut at Sam. It’s utter nonsense.
    The score was level with time almost up and us with 14 players on the pitch and minus Tom Parsons.

63. Don’t think there is need for a poll WJ
    Higgins was head and shoulders above everyone on the pitch today

64. Best wishes to Tom Parsons looks horrific in the pics hope he comes well from it. In the grand scheme that is the most important thing this pm.

65. Mayo will rise from the ashes……as they always do…today they were unlucky. Mayo Abu!

66. My first thought is concern for Tom Parsons. A great player and a gentleman and a huge loss to Mayo. I hope he has a full recovery. My second thought is deep disappointment and anger at losing a match we could have won. I don’t mind too much losing to a better team but giving them the advantage of an extra man for 40+ minutes is simply unforgivable and deeply frustrating. And if I’m frustrated what about the lads who put in so much effort and energy to see it all blown away by Diarmuid O Connor in a moment of madness.
    All that apart we have some real warriors who never gave up. As Ger Loughnane once said at a critical time “men needed now!” And we have plenty of them as we all know too well.

67. My heart goes out to Tom. We are thinking of you and wishing you a very speedy recovery. You have been immense and we are behind you. I wish you everything you could need of strength, courage and rest this evening and in the coming days, and returning strength very soon.

68. An aside I know but Galway used 7 subs today when did the rules change to increase from 6.I know cooke came on as a blood sub but when conroy never returned that counts as a full substitution

69. I feel so sad for Tom. I wish him all the best. It was so awful and sad to see him stretched off in pain and he had played his heart out.
    Secondly those signs on way in to C’bar upset me so much. I hope that’s the last game Galway wins and i wish them all the bad luck from here out. Playing like they did today won’t be winning much. Sad for our lads. Like us their hearts are in their boots this evening. But as Stephen said We have to embrace what’s ahead now and we will.
    We have been here before and I will be where they are for the draws P.G.

70. Waiting for Sunday game now. Cavanagh is on tonight.. this is gonna be difficult to watch..

71. @Mairead, what was written on these signs? I came in from the N5 and did’nt notice anything

72. Can’t face the Sunday game I am afraid…

73. I have to agree Peter 46, what in the name of God is drake even doing on the panel, he brings absolutely nothing , he couldn’t even chase back and he was on 5 minutes, management have to take some blame for this defeat, we knew Galway would defend in numbers and yet we played the same way slow build up and lateral passes, hope I’m wrong but I fear for the future

74. On the signs…big fuck off professionally printed in maroon on white
    1. 67 years and waiting
    2. Still no All Ireland
    3. Why so Mayo (I think)

    Put up overnight I’d imagine…like to see them come back for them..sad pricks

75. What a shower of c***s! I swear to God im boiling now after reading that. You wouldnt get that from a Dub! Least behind it all they have a level of respect. That Galway team has a long long way to go to get anywhere near our current teams achievments. Wouldnt it be just like us to get through the qualifers and draw them in the 8’s, now that would be sweet.

76. Every one knows what they will be saying on the Sunday game mayo is gone its over for them

77. Much of the same old, same old feeling about this one. Especially about playing much of the game with 14 men. But this team is not finished. Teams reaching the end of the road usually finish up getting a walloping, this team was fighting to the end. And even without Tom Parsons I believe we will be there in the super eights. Yom’s injury looked a bad one. I was shown a photo of it aand it was not a pleasennt sight. Diarmuid will, I suspect get more than a one game ban for his indiscretion as I think he has already served a ban in the league. I don’t know what Conroy’s injury is but good wishes to him for a quick recovery too.

78. Nothing but disappointment today, Galway brought nothing new to the table they parked the bus like we all knew they were going to, so why were we not prepared. So frustrating to see balls being kicked into the corner time and time again, never got us anywhere but still kept doing it, forwards were shocking today all looked like they were too scared to go for it and miss although they was a fair few wides at the same time. Sickening to think it was there for us but we blew it again and now made things so much harder for ourselves.Going to be very tough now but who knows we might make it to the Super 8s.

    Best wishes to Parson praying it’s not as bad as it looked.

79. My sentiments exactly MayoDunphy..

80. As a Galway man I find it very difficult to enjoy this victory after what happened to Tom Parsons, hearing this evening that Paul Conroy isn’t in great shape either, get well soon lads and best of luck to Mayo in the qualifiers

81. Thank you all for your comments . In answer to a “guess” of me being a troll you’d be incorrect , I truly believe that this is the end for us. It’s a tougher test of games this year then last. Twice in three years at home we have been beten by our neighbours it’s not good enough. I’m an optimist but my optimism is wearing thin very thin indeed.

82. No plan B of any description. Diarmuid cost us the game full stop. No place for that kind of thuggery and ill discipline. Why didn’t we push Aido in on Sean Andy for a few minutes and let the ball in early. Andy alone inside with 3 defenders in front of him. As someone said this was puke football and it killed the atmosphere stone dead. How could you cheer for that kind of shite. Parson’s injury was horrific. It was one time he should not have put his leg in as ball lost. But he is a totally committed Mayoman and will be a huge loss to the team. Hopefully he will be able to return to the fray again. Another game we should have won with 14 men but woeful shooting cost us in the end. 3 weeks to get our heads back in the game.

83. All very well moaning, but not that easy at all to score against a blanket defence whether you expect or not. Very difficult when they have 14 men in their own half
    on a tight pitch. Galway are playing a horrible brand of football now.
    For a footballing county like Galway, that style of play can only be justified with an All Ireland win and Donegal have been the only team so far to pull that off.
    So long term I’m not sure where Galway hope to go with it.

    We’ll dust ourselves down and go again but it’s going to be very
    tough for the boys now.

84. Devastated for Tom Parsons. Wishing him a full and speedy recovery. Rochfords refusal to blood new mid fielders over the past two years has come back to bite him. We have no quality being brought through in that sector and a serious injury to Tom leaves us with bugger all for whatever remaining games we have this summer or for future years.

85. Poor Tom Parsons… what a horrible injury, puts it all in perspective these young men put there bodies on the line for the cause, wishing him a speedy recovery, he is a huge player for Mayo….please God he will return to the green and red jersey again soon…
    The reality is Diarmuid led with the elbow and it was a straight red and a game of small margins did not help the cause…
    We really have an uphill struggle now…
    We have problems in scoring and midfield cover …Mayo have a way of rising from the ashes but a long route with high miles in the legs

86. Will we wipe that streech??off Kavanagh face.
    I’m sick. He’s so chuffed with himself tonite on Sunday game..UGH…

87. “Refusal to blood new midfielders” As if we have an undiscovered Tom Parsons in Mayo. These guys we have at the moment are exceptional and it is very hard to
    get replacements of the calibre in the county.
    Plenty of guys have been tried but they are not as good as the current crop.
    Hardly Rochford’s faults. Look at our underage results in the recent years.
    Absolutely terrible, except for one team.

88. I didn’t see much signs of improvement in Galway from last year to this today……….Comer nullified in second half and they had little else needing an injury time goal in the 6th minute of it to see off a depleted Mayos 14 men
    A lot of hyperbole on here the last few weeks based on league
    League is league

89. Great team performance but nobody can kick the ball straight even from a free. Contrast Galway scoring frees from 50 metres. Tough road ahead. Best wishes to Tom Parsons. Was a serious loss and I fear no real replacement.

90. If its 3 weeks to the next game, then thats a seirious advantage. If we were playing next Sat against an Ulster team away we might be in bother. But 3 weeks is a long time to get the heads and bodies right. Keegan, Cillian, Harrison will surely be back fit by then. Vaughan well capable of covering at midfield. Its 2 extra games to reach the 8’s, not 5 or 10 just 2!!. As said above, when a team reaches the end they get a pasting, It was far from that today. Maybe some young players are’nt as good as they’re hyped up to be. We’ll recover from today, have no doubt! This team is made of steel, they’ll find they’re rythym yet this year, have no doubt.

91. Best wishes to TP on a speedy recovery. The pictures do not look good.

    It’s a sickener to lose that game but we only have ourselves to blame. Discipline seems to be getting worse. When you see the red cards we got in the defeats to Galway and Dublin last year, how did it happen again? Who knows how much it affected the game but it didn’t help.

    Plenty of negatives if you want to look for them but I have to mention Keith Higgins. Has hardly kicked a ball competitively all year but puts in a performance like that. A rolls royce of a player.

92. I just don’t understand how we are still fairly inept against a blanket defence. We have had ample games against this type of system the last 3 years, but we struggle badly everytime. If we had 15 for the game, we may have won. But we may not have, we can only speculate. Despite this, we can go toe to toe with the Dubs every Autumn & we beat Kerry in a high scoring thriller last year? I don’t like to blame management, but we have a big issue breaking down blanket defences & beating Galway evidently.

    I was delighted to see Cian Hanley & James Durcan get a run out, but it was crazy to throw them in when we were in big trouble & expecting them to turn the game for us. I just hope it was a bad day at the office, but they are becoming all too frequent

93. I’m a bit surprised that people are so disappointed. Always tough to lose to Galway but hardly a shock.
    Galway were many people’s favourites for a reason. We are always half cooked for the league and for start of May this was a fairly typical Mayo performance against a very good Galway team. Add to that the sending off and loss of Tom and we were always up against it. Forward play was poor and 10 wides is bad – but also par for the course for this team in May and in Castlebar – (when was the last time Mayo have had a great same in Castlebar?)
    Mayo’s best football is always played on CP and usually in August and Sept. Even when we were winning Connacht in 2011-2015 it was often average stuff, plenty of wides and against limited opposition at the time.

    The only important thing now is that we get to the Super 8s
    Keegan is back in approx 3 weeks according to himself today.
    4 weeks more training for Cillian, Harrison, Barrett, Higgins, Vaughan, Regan, Hanley etc – all badly needed. Also Crowe will be available again and Caff is still an option.
    Tom is a massive loss but Lee to MF could be a massive boost for us in terms of mobility and speed.
    time to roll the dice now on the forwards – lets give J Durcan, Regan and Hanley a chance in the first qualifier when hopefully we are not up against a packed defence.

94. Don’t go too harsh on Diarmuid. You can tell from his reaction it was not done maliciously. It was split second. It was red for dangerous play but i don’t think he meant to injure the player. After the red he went back over to Conroy to see if he was ok. A player who meant to cause harm woukd have just walked. You can tell from his body language.

    Diarmuid will prob end up playing midfield for Mayo and if we are still in the championship after his suspension I suspect he’ll play a key role in the middle sector. For long stretches in 1st half he was hugging the standside touchline as we were dominating possession and playing lateral or patient football (whatever your perception) Someone of his calibre and ball carrying skills should have been deployed in a central position. Wasted out on the wing.

    We were one dimensional in 1st half. Side to side football. When a player did make a penetrating run it was off the cuff and he ended up bottled up eith no teammate to pass too. You need to burst in pairs in order for it to be effective. A previous poster rightly suggested sticking Aido into the square, even for a few mins to keep gal thinking.

    2nd half has we pushed up on the Galway restarts I think we would have won the match. It’s risky with 14 but I think it’s something we should have done. When we went 1point up we retreated I to our shell and allowed wave after wave of Galway attack. Meanwhile our attacking strategy, if we had one, fell to pieces.

    We lost to a Galway team that played poorly. That’s what’s so disappointing.

    Our u17 thrashing at the weekend is not good either.

95. We could have won that game even with 14, I really think we are back to the days when even Longford could bear us, the basic skills of quick hand passes and moving the ball at pace is all but gone. I hope they can bounce back they have proved me wrong before but I just feel that they were very poor today

96. Best wishes to Tom, hope he’s okay.
    I would actually start Drake instead of Coen the next day. Stephen still appears in little nervy, giving away cheap ball, similar to Cork match in limerick last year. He has enough experience now to eradicate that type of play. It’s costing us.
    There is no point in moaning. Most frustrating thing is that Galway were average again today. I thought we played decently and fought admirably. Neither team looked like grasping the match until Galway goal.
    I wouldn’t lay blame on team or mgt. I agree there is still fight there.

    For an off the ball idea, I’d consider putting Crowe at midfield. We have cover at the back.

    Tough match for James Durcan to come into, was the same for Diarmuid O’Connor on his cship debut.
    Hanley I think will bed in nicely and should get game time. Certainly looks athletic and could be an option at 11.

97. Yes I agree start the young players.

    Put the finishers on the bench and get in the habit of finishing games with best team on the pitch.

    Saying its only May is no excuse for poor forward play. Mayo is crying out for a forwards coach.

98. I feel much better now Mayodunphy. This blog surely is pure therapy. This Mayo team will never get a pasting while these lads still play. I still think we need to freshen things up for the next gsme. Sometimes you need a kind draw to get through the front door in a provincial championship. We were unlucky to have drawn Galway so early in the last 2 years while carrying the heavy baggage of a devastating all-ireland defeat. In Munster the draw is seeded to avoid the big guns meeting too early – Connacht would benefit in the same way.

99. I agree on Diamuid , he swung the elbow but it could have landed anywhere, it just happened to be his head. Not sure we would have one anyway as the extra man wasn’t going to make Galway abandon there defensive plan, why we went so defensive with the wind I cant understand

100. Mike, well said above! This is much of what I was thinking but you said it better!

101. Really was a baptism of fire for Hanley and J Durcan making their debuts in the 2nd half today. Hopefully they get more game time in the qualifiers.

102. Those signs on the N17 are the views of a tiny minority. I hope silly banter but nonetheless not what i would be subscribing to. Galway football folk I know and I know plenty have always respected Mayo football. Strange game today. Both teams seemed to have a fear of winning as much as losing. Galway team that finished plus Paul Conroy if he is back is the side going forward. On Mayo think super 8 will be achieved. Best to Parsons and Conroy on their injuries. Hope not serious. The Rossies will love meeting us if we get over Sligo but think we are improving.

103. Good analysis Redcol. We will be stuck for midfielders now poor Tom is injured. Its alright throwing out names for mid field but it’s not a natural position for some of them. Wishing Tom Parsons all the best. What a trooper.

104. @liamontherun, totally agree there, we’ve been very unlucky to draw Galway so early in the year two yrs in a row. We all hoped the “August” Mayo would turn up today, how naieve we were to think that was even possible, seeing as its the 13th of May!!!. A kind draw, and confidence levels will rise again, along with match fitness, sharpness and combinations. If we got say Louth or Offaly next day out, id be playing Hanley and Durcan from the start, let them cut their teeth and get a few scores, twill bring them on wonders. Once we get to Super 8’s its a whole new competition.

105. When’s the last time we beat Galway at any level in championship? Minor, u21 or senior??
     I wouldn’t mind but it was an average Galway side today. I genuinely think Roscommon will beat them again. It could be 2 in a row Connacht titles for them.
     Higgins the best player in the field having only joined the panel 6 weeks ago. Bringing in Durcan and Hanley like that late on was a very strange move too? Was the league just a joke to Rochford and co? It made no sense to be at all.
     I said here a few weeks ago there’s not a single player under 22 on the Mayo panel and it’s not right. It’s not normal. The best 3 or 4 players aged 19-22 should always be on the panel, pushing hard. Not the case in Mayo. There is a black hole of talent between the ages of 17 and 22 even compared to Roscommon, yet alone Galway. Some people were making out we have great talent coming up, but I just don’t see it.
     Lot of people sayin we are finished but to me that’s silly talk. 2/3 of the teams in Ireland are poor enough outfits and I expect us to beat the likes of Waterford, Louth Antrim etc when we draw them, even if not at 100%
     Once the next game is won, we are back in the saddle and should make the super 8.
     Really hope Tom Parsons gets back playing soon too. Devastated for him.

106. Those signs were on the N60. Don’t tell me they were on the N17 as well.

     Whoever put them up is a waste of sperm. Probably the same **** who painted the shed in the field behind them in the Galway colours years back

107. Some good comments tonight. A poor performance that is in line with our showings the last two years bar a few weeks in August and September last year.

     Is this a team with dirty diesel?

     To me 3 defeats in a row to Galway, no silverware likely again this year, topped with just scraping relegation means that Stephen should consider if he is the man for the job at season end.

     Bizarre that our first subs were Drake, a debutant at this level and a guy with no football played in 3 or 4 years.

     Can we regroup? I don’t think the guys will be able to summon the appetite for this long road. Either way they owe us nothing.

108. Facetheball… I agree the current crop are exceptional but are you saying we don’t blood new options?… we have to integrate youth with experience, Galway are doing that , all top teams do it and midfield is a place that this has not happened. Just wondering, I agree playing lads out of position is not ideal…
     Having said that now is not a time for panic, cool heads required!!

109. Would firstly like to wish Tom Parsons well for his recovery. I would not like to see Diarmuid vilified, he made a huge mistake in the heat of the moment – but I would never consider him a malicious player. My thoughts on Galway: as I’ve said KW’s football philosophy does not rest easily with Galway supporters. The fact that Corofin players, have by and large, signed off, is an indication of morale at IC level. Ian Burke, Sean Kelly and Brannigan made the difference in the last quarter, how they weren’t included from start.. well only KW can answer that. Finally, the way I see football developing, with developmental panels etc. there is no reason why Mayo can’t push on to 8’s – just take each game as it comes..

110. Missing Tom Parsons will force us to rejig the team.
     Midfield: The most obvious pairing is Aidan and Seamus O Shea. However, this pairing lack pace and could be overrun by young pacey players. We are not short of midfield options. Lee Keegan, Diarmuid O Connor and Donie Vaughan have plenty to offer.
     Backs: We are well endowed here and we could easily spare Keegan or Keith Higgins or Vaughan for duty further upfield.
     Forwards: we do need something fresh here. Aidan is a powerful footballer but he is not a natural forward. His scoring rate is far too low for a centre half forward and he would be better off in the middle of the field. I would play the following the next day:
     Kevin McLoughlin, Cillian O Connor, Cian Hanley
     Evan Regan, Andy Moran, Jason Doherty
     (Diarmuid not available, Loftus not too convincing in general play). Evan also offers free taking from the right hand wing which we lacked today. Cian Hanley might just offer the pace and drive we need to unlock tight defences.
     I would also be looking to James Durkan and Kieran Tracey to put up their hands for a place if Jason Doherty doesn’t regain his old form.
     In the meantime best wishes to Tom Parsons for a speedy recovery. All thinking of him right now.

111. Just getting time to digest the comments. I can’t understand the negatives and the benefit they serve?.

     We played v well today but lost to a soft goal after being down to 14 men for 60% of the game plus lost Tom P. Our forwards are what we have. We can’t magic new ones.

     Right now its the backdoor we end up in. We’ve been there. I’m not worried. We need more football and this is the platform.

     Lots of guys to come back. We’ll get stronger and sharper.

     Keegan to play at 8 or 9 and become an even better player.

     I’m looking forward to seeing us over the summer.

     Never lose faith.

112. I had kind of forgotten about the signs.

     I didn’t see any “good” Galway supporters trying to take them down out of embarrassment for their tiny minority.

     I have heard some good Galway supporters trying to rationalise them though.

113. WJ just wondering why I’m still in moderation

114. Durcan and Hanley should be on the development panel and introduced next year in the championship after a run of games in the FBD and NFL. Bringing both on today was strange to say the least certainly something the likes of Kerry,Tyrone,Dublin wouldn’t do as they have benches filled with experience or younger players that were first blooded in the NFL.

115. Well it didn’t go our way – a few points

     Everyone around me thought Diarmaids red was very much an accident – we were looking from behind in the stand Sportlann side (i can see why the ref gave a red though)
     We lost a very mobile player in Tom Parsons ( and the very best to him in his recovery) which was a real drawback when down to 14
     I thought the performance today was good for an opener and still feel we would have won with a full compliment

     And to all the Negative Nellies I hope when you put your milk in the tea in the morning its SOUR and you don’t realise till you drink it !

116. If that’s the best Connacht can offer, never mind then.

117. Key stats from a game Mayo should have won.

     Mayo: 11 wides –
     Mayo: 3 kickable frees missed
     Mayo: stupid (deserved) red card -when Galway full back line picked up 3 yellows
     Mayo :stupid foul/ concession of yellow, whence came Lightning Galway attack and goal

118. Have said this before and hope I won’t be saying it again but it seems we don’t learn lessons so probably will!
     Why was Kevin McLoughlin AGAIN taking frees today? His body language clearly shows he doesnt want to be and has no belief in his freetaking ability. Early miss AGAIN affected his all round game for a long period
     It’s ludicrous that he was back on any of them today after so many misses in the past which also then affected his game.
     Being left footed does not automatically mean a player is a good free taker from that side. Sure if that was the case all the right footed players could take frees from the other side.
     It’s a major bug best of mine and 2 crucial kicks were missed again today.
     All evidence points to him not wanting to take them so I don’t understand how we were back to him again today
     Rant over . And that’s my only negative post to be fair!

119. Only back in Dublin so don’t really feel like saying too much now. Absolutely devastated for Tom Parsons and his health is far more important than anything else at the moment.

     Breezed through some of the earlier comments. Usual mix of sensible analysis and dire over-reaction. Not going our way at the minute but we’re just going to have to work our way out of it. Will be tough this year but we’re well capable of it.

     Now is not the time for ‘supporters’ to submit to the demise of this team.

120. Wishing Tom Parsons a full and a speedy recovery. Men now needed if we are to win the next round.

121. I was at the match… I walked across the pitch, while not pristine.. The pitch was in excellent condition, I do not believe it was a factor in Tom Parsons injury… Stephen Coen certainly has his critic’s here on this blog , Stephen is unlikely to show up on any TV highlights programme, but the sheer effort Stephen Coen made in covering off so option’s for Galway with Mayo a man down, is not appreciated as it should be!… The Tom Parsons injury is by far the most disappointing thing…

122. JP2 – because I’m just in the door, having driven 500km today and posted a match report, audio and MOTM poll before I hit the road for home after the game. Just working my way through the comments now before I reach my bed. I’ll get to yours, no doubt, before then.

123. I’m inclined to agree Leantimes – the criticism of young Coen is very harsh in my opinion.

124. Diarmuid got a red for sheer thuggery.
     Tom received a sickening, sickening injury.
     Mayo fans were a disgrace for their reaction to caffs replacing.
     Galway subs made an impact, 3 handled the ball in lead up to goal.
     Our substitutions bar cillian were baffling and had no impact.
     We scored 0-12 from 27 attempts, Galway scored 1-12 from 20 attempts.
     Todays game was a horrible, horrible game of football, the likes of which I never want to see again.

125. Ah Now I think the reaction was to the return of Chris Barrett for the first time since AI final

126. Management of this team leaves a lot to be desired and I don’t think I am breaking any sites rules when I explain what I mean with real examples

     Last year in Galway we had a man sent off early. All week I was thinking we have to make sure there is no sending off. What do we do today ?

     Last year we should have tried a big man or 2 in the square for at least part of the second half……we didn’t and lost

     Today we had a good wind behind us in the second half and the galwat full back line were all on a yellow. A perfect chance to send a big man or 2 into the square. We didn’t and lost

     This year we treated the league with total disregard yet while doing so we put unnecessary mileage on some senior players. Winning is a habit as is losing and the manner in which we accept defeat in the league is simply not on

     Today was a game where we needed to score long range points yet one of our best long range scorers was not in the panel and playing for his club last evening……and of course he scored a couple of long range points. The same player who has been given little chance and regularly insulted by being brought on with little time left

     This management practice of selecting dummy teams is disrespectful to the likes of Ger caff who e Ds up being booed by a minority toys when it’s revealed he is not playing,……pick the team and play that team thus saying to the opposition here we are this is us beat us if you can

     I won’t dwell on the sub decisions today as they sold be unfair to players who were brought in unfairly with too much expected of them. Suffice to say that I think we all know the mites that we made

     In summary………this team is badly led……

127. Let us face facts, but first of all a speedy recovery to TP.
     Connecting with the elbow is a straight red card. No excuses. Lack of discipline.
     Keith Higgins only footballer we had who showed a bit of flair. Others just did not perform
     For the umpteenth time our lack of scoring power cost us a match, just as it has all those All Ireland Finals we lost by narrow margins. We just do not have forwards who can slice defences open.
     If Galway had the guts to start Ian Burke, Brannigan and Kelly, they would have won by 8.

128. Finally seen the red on TV
     Horrible and fully justified red card

     When I seen it live I had thought he was unlucky as Conroy ran into it. Not the case at all.
     He now along with Cillian will have his card marked in advance by refs and opponents .
     Maybe justifiably so to be honest . Needless and dangerous

129. Is it possible our next game might be in London?

130. Quick gallop through the comments now done – thanks all for keeping the debate reasonable and respectful. Thanks in particular to all those contributors from outside the county who have come on to wish Tom Parsons well, a sentiment all true GAA people would echo.

     I’ve let a bit go on the comments tonight but sometimes it’s no harm to do so, providing what’s being said doesn’t go completely overboard, which for the most part was the case. There was a bit of OTT stuff (as well as a small amount of rather pathetic trolling, which is completely pointless as it never reaches the site and it takes way more than that to hurt my feelings) but I’ve dealt with that, either by binning the comment in question completely or excising the offending bit.

     It really has been a long day …

131. This team is not finished. Diarmuid made a balls of it. We were going well and would have won. Going down to fourteen changed game tactics. We went defensive out of necessity. Mayo will never win unless they are going forward. I can safely say there is not an all Ireland in this Galway team. I think that Roscommon are waiting in the long grass for them. Mcstay is licking his lips after today. Mayo pressing up is the only team with the potential to beat Dublin. Wait and see you of little faith. It hurts to lose to our old rivals. But it is only a battle. The war is yet to be won.
     There is work to be done especially on the discipline side. I don’t have to remind anyone of Keith and Donie. I was talking to someone close to the Galway camp and he told me the Galway team target the O’Connors because they will get a response that is required. Even if it does not result in a sending off at least you will put them off their game thru the distraction of anger. A period on the bench might cool their jets.
     Lessons to be learnt all the time. Keep the faith
     Muckle

132. Hold on about the obituary stuff, Galway more or less had a full hand today, we had DOC sent, TP injured seriously, COC only came on with 15 mins to go, Harrison for last 5 mins, AOS did not play that well and we only lost by 3 pts.

     We will be okay when we regroup

     p.s Hope Tom Parsons will be okay, he is a great Mayo player

133. Jeez im gutted for Tom, I hope the surgery went well. My very best wishes lad.

134. Best wishes to Tom Parsons on a speedy recovery. What a player he has been for us over the last few years. Best wishes also to Paul Conroy on what looked like a nasty injury. This was just one awful game, no point in buttering it up, this was puke football at its worst. Our wasteful shooting was excruciating but then I suppose we have overly depended on our half back line for scores for many years now and our star man was badly missed today. Its hard to know how far we’ll go this year but lets not forget this team owes us nothing at this stage after seven great years.

135. Tough luck today but no surprise really. All form pointed to Galway win. They were much better in league Lots of our players returning from injury. Actually I expected Galway to be much better. We calling for new blood but neither Donahue nor Loftus great today while the new subs who came on struggled. Wouldn’t be too hard on any of them.. What let us down again was our inability to score and our indiscipline. But no point making Diarmaid a scapegoat. He made a costly error and boy did he know it. If we get a handy draw we could get going again. Some of our best players are returning from injury and we can get a bit of momentum Would like to wish Conroy and Parsons the very best of luck in recovering from their injuries. Two great servants to our counties. And finally in the slight chance that the ignoramus from Galway is reading this that compared Comers alleged injury when he lay on the ball to Tom’s serious injury a while afterwards well you should be ashamed of yourself. You are not typical of your county’s supporters nor indeed typical of GAA supporters in general.

136. So sorry for Tom today, fearful that it might draw the curtain on a good career in the game. Was such a vital cog in our drive for Sam over the last few years. One of the classiest and most graceful players on the Mayo team, glides over the ground, was really playing well, had just scored a point.

     Very like last year’s game in Salthill, could have won but lacking self belief and confidence and Johnny Heaney the match winner once again.
     Told the Galway supporters today that both teams were poor and that Roscommon would probably win Connacht again but maybe not by 9 points!!

137. Rochys Management decisions

     Picks Stephen Coen and leaves him on for full game while he consistently gives away possession of the ball clearly out of his depth while Shane Nally ,Caolan Crowe and Vaughan are in reserve

     Leaves Kevin McLoughlin taking left footed frees when he is clearly not comfortable at taking them and the whole of the Mayo Supporters kno this.

     And brings on DAVID DRAKE for Conor Loftus and Brendan Harrison for Andy Moran when your chasing a game in the last 10 minutes for scores

     Ignored playing forward talent in the county this Spring in the League when he should have known it was the main requirement to unearth a forward after coming up short in the last 2 All Irelands

     Ciaran Treacy, Jack Reilly, Enda Varley, Brian Gallagher all ignored and then brings on 2 lads who hadn’t played a minute for Mayo at Championship level before or in the League this year.Eventhough I do think there is plenty of talent in Cian Hanley and James Durcan to throw them into that today was unfair.

     Sooner County board appoint James Horan for a 2nd term the better for Mayo Gaa.

138. Yeah, go easy on the obituaries lads. We dont traditionally play our best in May, and at home these days, we are not impenetratable for whatever reason. I disagree Willie Joe that indiscipline cost us, as we were well in the game right to the end. I feel we had a bad office day in our forward dept, and that’s what cost us.
     Diarmuid will be disappointed, but i don’t believe he’s a dirty player. It was a clumsy challenge, and the elbow was too high, but i dont think any harm was meant.
     We have a wee break now, an this will suit the panel esp those recent returnees. We lost to an average Galway side, who i reckon wont get far.
     Like others, i’m gutted for Tom P too, and wish him the best.
     We will rise again, Maigh Eo Abu!!!!

139. We’ve gone from being a free flowing attacking machine into wannabe-galway, over the last 3yrs! Blanket is not in our nature.

140. Einstein said doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result is insanity. Well we saw alot of the old flaws today and we shouldn’t be surprised with the outcome.
     In fairness we got the measure of Galway defensively but up front it was disappointing.
     If we converted 3 of the 11 wides, we had a draw. Some of those misses were shocking wasteful and you would have expected players of this caliber to have converted them, or not take on some daft shots that were never going to go over.
     All the coaching seems to be focused on defense but not much on taking on the opposition and out scoring them until August. Well if there isn’t a change in conversion rates there willl be no August thIs year
     Which brings me to the next issue, substituting potential scorers with race horses that won’t score in a month of Sunday’s. We need both, but we can’t keep trying to out run teams at the end of games and reducing our scoring threat.
     We have come across blankets and shawls often enough to have come up with more than just fighting fire with fire. In my useless opinion I would have thought put on some player who can take long range shots or send in a giant in full forward now and a while to mix it up. One of the few on the panel that can take long range shots was nt in the match day 26, and got no game time against Tyrone. We had counter attacks breaking at high speed running out of road and having to go backwards when they ran into the shawl today. Patient build ups are fine, but you need someone at the end of it to pull the trigger.
     I said when Doc was sent off, one of our few potential goal scorers was gone. He probably knows better than anybody what he did was daft, but too often lately the sending off of one of key players has been the turning point in us loosing tight games.
     What s really annoying is that game was there to be won. Galway won the game with a lot less possession. They were no great shakes. The Rossies are likely to be licking their lips, but they ll have to tighten up a lot at the back to make a game of it

141. Head down, That opinion is not “useless”. Barry Moran or Aido should have been put 14 and let them break ball for Andy.

142. Just watched the game back, don’t know what to think except that it was poor quality.

     In general play we were just as good, if not better than them throughout. Sure we kicked some bad wides but Galway had poor misses as well, Shane Walsh & Peter Cooke especially. It’s stating the obvious but the one clear goal chance in the game was the difference. One untracked runner and that was it.

     Eoin O’Donoghue did okay for the first 50ish minutes on Armstrong but struggled on Ian Burke who won a free and set up Kelly for a point. Although in fairness Harrison did no better as it was Burke that won the crucial ball for the goal.

     Don’t know what the short term solution is for taking frees from the right. Kevin Mc is a cracking player but he’s not a free taker. Galway nailed their frees from both sides, we didn’t.

     On 2nd viewing, Hanley was very rusty when he came on. A sloppy hand-pass prevented a possible goal chance for us and he collided with one of our players when a ball was dropping in the square late on. I’ve no doubt Cian will improve but you would have to question management why him and James Durcan were brought on despite not playing this season? What is the purpose of the league exactly if you’re not testing Championship players?

143. Full and speedy recovery to Tom, that looked like an excruciatingly painful and horrific injury, Get well soon Tom, hope pain has eased a bit tonight, ur a terrific footballer and will be sorely missed, but ur state of wellbeing is of the upmost importance to U, and ur family, and indeed us crazy Mayo fans.

144. I agree wide ball. The Hanley and Durcan substitutions made no sense. What was the point of the league games then, Douglas, Gallagher, even Regan? If I was rochford I’d pick up the phone and get Enda varley into the squad pronto. If nothing else than to provide and option for left footed frees. He’s in excellent form and well worth his place. Don give me nonsense about parachuting lads in either.

     I’ve said it before a few times on this site – Kevin McLoughlin SHOULD NEVER AGAIN KICK A FREE FOR MAYO.
     How many times do we have to see this proven in huge games?
     Would we ask seamus o shea or Barry Moran to kick right footed frees for us? It sounds ridiculous – but it’s the same thing.
     It’s not fair on Kevin, dents his confidence and takes from his normal excellent link play game. Utter madness.

145. Credit to Damien Comer for his tweet after the match on Tom Parsons too. He comes across as a decent fella off the pitch in fairness

146. When the dust settles and 4 weeks pass I’m 100%sure they will regroup and they won’t let us down I’m not saying there going to win an all Ireland but people here will blame management point fingers it very easy to be a keyboard critic the fact if the matter is it an amateur game but this team has been at a professional set up in every way Tom Parsons has got a bus to go training at 2 o’clock in the day for training and a return bus at 2am that’s nuts that what these guys are giving that poor man has a long road ahead putting his life on hold and people can just hide behind a keyboard and give these guys no respect I’m just asking people to lay off for a bit on these guys they owe us nothing only our respect and there is a lot people worried about our underage at the moment yes it’s not great look at Galway the road they have come from getting hammered by us before this that must been hard for them we all have to pull together in clubs to work on underage I’m know I’m ranting in a bit but negativy never got anyone anywhere it’s common theme in mayo but behind it all we love following this team let the journey begin

147. I’ve read all the comments and feel we are not a bad aul bunch. Every one is flat after yesterday.

     It was dissapointing not to win.
     It was annoying to see us losing a man, again, to a silly swing of the arm.
     It was heartbreaking to see Tom Parsons suffer a serious injury, much more so for his own well been than losing him as a player. I think everyones thoughts will he with Tom today and throughout his recovery.

     As regards the qualifiers. I think there isn’t any option now but to play to put teams away. It seemed yesterday that we were playing to be there or there abouts with Galway at the 70 minute mark. I believe we are a much better outfit than what we showed yesterday.

     I hope young Durkan and Hanley are given a proper shot now to change our style of play up front. It’s badly needed.

     Cillian got 2 with limited time on the pitch. He’ll be adding to that in the coming games. Vaughen will be sharpening the fitness as will Barret and Harrison.

     Most of Mayo’s play yesterday was high intensity and the lads did an awful lot of things right. If we introduce Hanley and Durkan I think it could really turn our year around.

     We did get some lovely points yesterday and some really bad attempts at points. I would agree with posters, it isn’t fair to keep asking K Mcgloughlin to keep taking those frees. On one of those frees yesterday he wasn’t even looking towards the posts. He was searching for a team mate to pass the ball back to (which he eventually did) because he didn’t want to take the shot on. He’s a brilliant player but not a free taker.

     I don’t agree that it’s the end of an era for this team. No way. We do though, now have to introduce those young lads in to the forwards and get this team moving again.

148. If we had 15 players for the full match we’d have won. We dominated the middle, turned Galway over 6-7 times prior to the red card. With the beeeze and a few men upfront we would have done enough to win.

     Instead, an O’Connor gets sent off again, we play with just 1 forward up in the 2nd half (sometimes we had no forward up) and our whole attacking structure was gone. Should we have left another forward up with Andy more often, yes!

     The O’Connors are very dedicated and true Mayo men but they have lost their way. Their performances aren’t up to scratch and their indiscipline is very frustrating. The two of them need to take a look at themselves, focus on playing football and stop seeking out confrontation.

149. Since the start of the 2017 Championship – Shane Nally has made two substitute appearances at halfback totaling 10 minutes playing time scoring 0-2.

     Stephen Coen & David Drake have started two games and come on 17 times between them. Scoring 0-2 points.

     This is based on Championship only and Stephe & David did play a lot of minutes in forwards.

150. Wideball, good comments there. On O’Donoghue, think he injured his ankle as he seemed to struggle late on and was limping. I was behind the goal and had a good view of him.

151. The reason Hanley and Durcan were introduced is because they have what we sorely miss in our forwards, blistering pace. We needed fast runners to pierce holes in the Galway cover and try to drag their defenders out of the way. It didn’t work all the time but Hanley was involved in the build up to two points. Gallagher, Douglas or Regan are lacking pace and/or power (in Gallaghers case unfortunately both although he is a wonderfully balanced and technical player). As for Nally as a half back?, he would have been skinned for pace by the Galway half forwards and been especially prone to their counter attack.
     The facts are we missed 50% of our efforts in the first half (6 from 12) and Galway nailed 7 from 8. Really, we should have been a point or two up at half time with the possession we had and the shots on their goal. Both Boyle and Cillian were guilty of terrible decision making when they decided to shoot from distance off their weaker sides in the second half, both efforts fell in to their keepers hands and gifted them possession (both efforts should have been left to Mcloughlin to come on to on his left foot). Boyle then lost Heaney for their injury time winner and Diarmuid gave Lane a decision to make when he nailed Conroy (I don’t think he intentionally went to do him, but, his elbow was high and he connected, Conroy player no further part and if that happened us we would be up in arms.) All of the above are self inflicted and nothing to do with tactics or management.
     The two things we needed going in to yesterdays game in order to beat Galway was 1) keep all 15 players on the field and 2) be with them, or ahead, coming down the final few minutes so as to force their defense further up the field in search of scores. We failed on the no.1 but succeeded on no.2.
     The actual reality is we now have two more games to play to get to the super 8’s compared to if we went on to win Connacht. If we get favorable draws we must use the games to give Hanley (he has huge potential, a serious engine but looks very, very rusty and light), Durcan, Regan and Douglas game time. We have no other choice. We will get Cillian, Keegan and Harrison back fully fit and before we know it we will be back in the grove. We must decide how we are going to replace the huge midfield hole left by the horrific injury to Tom Parsons. And, we must keep the faith. We were the better team yesterday, defensively excellent, physically superior, tactically cuter. Had we stayed 15 v 15 and not lost Tom I believe we would have won.
     But. If my aunt had balls she’d be my uncle. we all know that story too well.
     Hon Mayo and get well soon Tom.

152. Awful game and despite the huge crowd (80% Mayo) an awful atmosphere. In fairness we weren’t given much to shout about.

     I really hate to say it but I can’t see us having a long summer. Mayo sideline were woeful again yesterday. We don’t have the forwards to win an All Ireland.

153. O’Rourke says “Mayo are in terminal decline”. Sounds familiar because he and his buddies were spouting the same old blather this time last year too. For all their forward flair the Galway lads had some woeful wides yesterday. They’re a really hard team to beat and as bad as we think we were we were with them all the way up to the goal and with 14 men. The summer will be tricky with the qualifiers now but our fellas are very capable of going on the road and winning. TP is a big loss and I hope he makes a good and complete recovery.

154. [Deleted].

155. It’s not often I wince when watching a game, but Tom’s one was a real eye-shutter. Hope he recovers, he’s a real loss.

     Can’t add much on top of what has already been said, but I will chip in that not pressing a full back line who were all on yellow cards was a baffling decision. Galway were there for the taking. I know it’s only opening round in May, but it was poor fare served up yesterday by both teams.

156. Time for a forward coach to be brought in to help our front line shoot and put up a few scores from play . We have two of the best in C McDonald and C Mortimer so make use of them

157. Dia daoibh muintir Mhuigeo
     We are all disappointed no doubt but comhgairdeas to Gaillimh. I thought their subs made the difference in the last 15min.
     Best of luck to Tom Parsons and like everyone else wish him a speady recovery. Therefore it is of paramount importance that all Mayo fans support the weekly Mayo GAA lotto as it supports injured players fund. It costs as little ad €5.10 per week. We must bear in mind that GAA players are amateurs and thus the need to support their injuries at all times. WJ, please add a link. Like other posts above I was extremely impressed by the wonderful sportsmanship displayed by Damien Comer in his post match interviews when he wished TP well. I wish Paul Conroy a speedy recovery.
     So the team are in the backdoor again and I suggest that we all support them in their efforts yet again agus le cunadh De bheid an tadh orthu i mbliana.
     Slan go foil
     Mhuigheo abu!

158. Never said Nally for half back, I said that’s where he was played. It’s no more ridiculous than Drake for Loftus. Tom Flynn started wing forward he wouldn’t skin many but did leave Drake for dead in last Galway score.

159. Jaden – unless Kerry come up with something I really can’t see anyone bothering Dublin this year.

     With TP out have we any midfielder that can be brought into the senior panel?

     Shane Nally by all accounts had a stormer for Garrymore sat eve after being dropped from the Mayo match day panel.

160. Do u kno what posts annoy me are the ones saying ah sure will regroup again and get back to the qualifiers.If Rochy can’t even organise free taking for this team wer going nowhere
     .If we can’t nail simple right sided frees inside the 21 we don’t deserve an All Ireland.I really don’t think Mayo Senior management study the form of top forwards or freetakers in Senior club football in the county.Even John Maughan was smart enough to play Maurice Sheridan a specialist free taker who was not very good from play at all and it got him to 2 All Irelands with a very limited forward line.Jimmy Killeen from Garrymore would have nailed them simple 2 frees Kevin Mcloughlin missed yesterday in his sleep consistently but never got a fair chance over the years with Mayo.Enda Varley,Liam Irwin or Brian Reape all deemed not good enough would have probably scored them too, and that was the difference in winning that game yesterday even leaving out Diarmuids Red card thats how average that Galway team are.

161. Mayo88 – this one is specially for you.

     There’s no censorship involved here. What’s happening is that you keep attempting to post comments on the site that are in flagrant breach of the house rules. You’ve been posting here long enough to know what is and isn’t allowed so you’ve no excuse. If you want your comments posted, then (a) read the rules (here) and (b) make sure what you write is in accordance with the rules. It really is as simple as that.

162. Redcol, Shane Nally’s points that you refer to were scored against a Roscommon team that had already been beaten out the gate. Fair enough, he hasn’t been given a chance to prove himself in a tight championship game, but what exactly are management not seeing that everyone else seemingly is?

163. Pebbles I don’t disagree with you about the lack of pace in the forward line. My issue is – where the hell was James Durcan all spring?? I’m not based in the county at all, but last October a few weeks after the all Ireland I saw Mitchell’s play knockmore and James Durcan looked for all the world a county forward compared to his club mates Douglas and Kirby. Pacy and skilful. I remember even commenting here afterwards that he has great potential.
     Then Gallagher and Douglas have been groomed all spring in the league to make an impact in summer (or so we thought), then over 6 weeks they have disappeared and Durcan and Hanley are suddenly the go-to replacements in the forwards?
     Accept hanley came on stream late but it definitely seems to me that James Durcan has been poorly managed this season, and that’s rochfords fault. Enda Varley needs to be brought in too, he’s an inform forward and on form is miles ahead of Regan, kirby, Douglas and dare I saw it – even loftus.
     These are the decisions that define management teams and rochford needs to get it right in the next few weeks.

164. Pebblesmeller – Galway were the better team hence they won the game.

     Unlucky Mayo, never know how it will go in the backdoor.

165. Matches are usually lost because you are beaten by a better team. Were Galway the better team yesterday? I don’t think so and believe most fans of both teams as well as neutrals and analysts would agree. Were Mayo the better team yesterday? To be fair I think it’s probably a no as well but we contrived to beat ourselves with to many wides, a red card and some head scratching substitutions. Galway didn’t beat us we beat ourselves.

     Coming down the home stretch the game was there for the taking and fair play to Galway they took it. Galway over the 70 minutes were not better than us. We can’t claim we were robbed. We can’t blame the officials. We had enough possession. We had enough chances. We should have been a few points ahead at half time rather than a point behind. So you could argue we gave it to Galway rather than losing to a better team.

     But hey, the outcome wasn’t a major shock to any of us was it? in the match build up there was very divided views on who would win yesterday – even in Mayo and Galway – and at least those views were justified. Granted the match fell way short of the entertainment everyone wanted but the result is not a shock. A setback but not a disaster. And as mayo fans we are used to getting ourselves into these predicaments and this bunch of players have never thrown in the towel. I’m sure they won’t now either.

     And no matter what the result the reality check we all need is put in perspective with the horrendous injury to Tom Parsons. Wishing him all the best and a speedy recovery.

166. Agreed Ultair, and that is the only game that Coen & Drake got scores in also. I do wonder what management see in certain players but obviously it’s their prerogative to bring David Drake on for Conor Loftus. It’s not an easy job to pick a team or subs but we can all have our own opinions. Sean Kelly played puck on Stephen when he came on. Scored a point, huge interception at vital time and gave pass to Heaney for goal

167. TH, Horan for all he achieved with Mayo made plenty of sideline and substitution decisions in his day that left us baffled – a quick search on here will prove that.

168. Disappointed with yesterday’s result and performance. Management need to talk to O’Connor brothers on their indiscipline. Mayo have two longstanding problems :no consistent freetaker from the right hand side and no fullback. Why hasn’t something been done over the last three league campaigns to rectiify these problems?
     One bright spot yesterday was the performance of Keith Higgins .What a servant.to mayo football and hurling and an inspiration to young players!
     With a favourable draw in the first round i hope we’ll have a long and successful summer As JOM once said :Keep the faith!
     Finally best wishes to Tom Parsons for s full and speedy recovery .Looking forward to seeing you back on the red and green,Tom!

169. Well said redcoll on your various comments and analysis. For all the hype it was a very poor game. When we looked likely to push on in the second half, we coped poorly. Inability to pick of long range points even with the breeze at our back. Worrying going forward because any of the northern teams will similarly frustrate us.
     Keith Higgins performance proved how some players can benefit from a break and come back fresh. The most disappointing aspect of the game was our bench players. They we’re never going to be match winners unlike Galway subs chompin at the bit to get on and establish themselves…..

170. I think if Mayo meet a Div 3 / 4 and possibly Div 1 team Team in Round 1 & Round 2 of the Qualifiers they should play the following team with a mix of experience and youth
     Clarke
     O’Donoghue
     Harrison
     Higgins
     Durcan
     Barrett
     Boyle
     Seamus O Se
     Keegan
     McLouglin
     A’O Se
     Jason Doherty
     Evan Regan / James Durcan
     Cillian O’Connor
     Cian Hanley

     Id Play Cian Hanley as a third midfielder allowing Keegan to bomb forward giving Pace Power and scoring threst breaking from midfield

     Diarmuid O’Connor hopefully will only be out for 2 games

     Id leave Andy as an option to come in to FF line for last 20, Boyler to come in to steady the ship at the back and Vaughans athlethism around the middle third after that you have Stephen Coen for the backline and evan regan / james durcan for forward line

171. Why would you only play Andy for 20 minutes, it makes no sense. I’d be sending the likes of Cian Hanley off to play with his club for the next 2 weekends and prove he should be on the team.

172. I think in tight games we need Andy on the pitch in the closing minutes, didn’t have hime yesterday in those closing minutes, he cannot play 70+ mins so I think we need him at he end that’s the reason

173. I didn’t see the game but I am led to believe Hanley played well in Championship game against Aghamore but I agree he needs football and a lot of it

174. Some terrible shooting especially in the first half coupled with Diarmuid O Connors indiscipline cost us dearly. Galway were not great on the day either but the players they introduced particularly Brannigan and Ian Burke had a hand in the scores that got them over the line. I thought Rochford was slow to use the bench and when he did we seemed to have no shape at all esp from mf up. We dont know how fit guys are but I thought there was a case for Vaughan being brought in much earlier. Our attacking division was seriously depleted with the game in the balance, albeit with 14 men. Its great to see the likes of James Durcan and Cian Hanley pushing for places up front but why were they not tried in the league? Its a big few weeks coming up for Rochford’s tenure. An unkind draw in Rd1 could see the end of his reign and the end of this great Mayo team as AI contenders. Alot of commentators are talking about the mental miles mayo have on the clock but I think it is wear and tear physically that we are starting to see manifest after 6 solid years on the road, all of which were long seasons. I hope I am wrong but after Parsons injury on top of the numerous question marks we have on the fitness of others, the vultures are circling. To use boxing parlance, Father time is undefeated and I think this team is approaching the final bell.

     Onward we go. I am praying for a favorable draw to get us back up and running

175. Dubs fan here did Keegan ever play full forward for you. Good option to try he could turn into Graham Geraghty