We never opt for the easy road. Facing a Kildare team who got hammered off the park last time out, the best and most straightforward approach for us would, one assumes, have been to bully them from the off. Instead, we let them set the terms for the contest and early in the second half it looked like we were going to pay the price for this.
My fear in advance was that Kildare would do as Galway did to us and this is what happened for two-thirds of the game. They sat deep, working incredibly hard to protect the D and breaking forward at pace. It was a simple plan but one that they knew we’d struggle with. Which we did. Again.
Eventually, though, it broke down as our switches finally jolted us into life and a moment of magic finally enabled us to breach their rearguard. At the finish we gave an almost passable impersonation of a team closing out an expected win.
The game’s first score didn’t come until the fourth minute. We got the scoreboard moving when Jack Carney clipped a neat one over from out on the left.
Kildare responded well, though, bagging the next four points. Our attacks ran into dead ends as a hungry and hard-working Lilywhite team defended in numbers and broke rapidly on the break.
They got their first one from play and then Hyland knocked over two close-in frees. We then left Kevin Feely totally unmarked in a good position fifty yards out and he drove it over from there.
Under pressure up the other end one of their players touched the ball on the ground. Cillian O’Connor pointed the free but that was all the Ballintubber player, looking well off the pace, contributed to an increasingly erratic first half from our perspective.
Jack Carney dragged the ball wide after that score and Paddy Durcan then undercooked an effort at the posts after we’d won the restart.
Kildare weren’t doing much better up the other end. Their ‘keeper was off target from a 45’ and they missed another chance soon after.
Jack had another go at the posts for us, this time with the outside of the boot but this one screwed well wide too.
Kildare finally got motoring again when their rotating forward line dragged us out of shape leaving O’Callaghan completely unmarked on the D and he shot over.
As happened the last day against Monaghan, it took Lee Keegan to get us moving. He got on the end of a rare, swift move by us and drove it over. Just after that we made our first switch, with Fergal Boland replacing Jason Doherty after just 28 minutes.
Flynn caught a super mark inside but was fouled and Hyland popped over the resultant free. O’Callaghan, once more left in acres of space, knocked over Kildare’s next one to push them four clear.
Eoghan McLaughlin rifled over a good score from out the left wing but the same player, as he’d done in Castlebar last week, failed to make the most of a goal chance soon after, with ‘keeper O’Neill deflecting it over.
We had a chance to cut the gap to one but once again got turned over. Instead Kildare broke, won a free up the other end and Hyland increased their lead to three at half-time.
We looked to be in major bother then. Kildare, as expected, were implementing the How to Beat Mayo playbook and this, combined with a strange amount of listlessness on our part, had pushed the Llilywhites into what was starting to look like a possible match-winning position.
Within six minutes of the restart, possible was looking like probable. They’d doubled their lead to six and we were flailing badly. All they needed then was the knockout blow.
In truth, it seemed they might not even require that. Sinking their whole team back behind the ball, they let us handpass it around until Diarmuid O’Connor tried a hopeful effort from out on the right which went wide. We looked totally goosed then.
But, as they say, the darkest moment comes before the light. We won the restart, the ball was eventually played to Fergal Boland who fired it over. Darren McHale then joined the fray in place of James Carr.
They then had a good goal chance. Flynn could, in truth, have taken a point at his ease but went for the major. He pulled the trigger but Enda Hession dived to pull off what was in all probability a match-saving block.
Cillian, after a neat 1-2, banged over the next score. Then, with Padraig O’Hora on for Stephen Coen, Conor Loftus found his range from out on the right and the gap was back to three.
They got the next one but you could sense the momentum had shifted in our favour. Lee, raiding forward as of old almost tapped it over off his left from over thirty yards out. Four minutes later, Diarmuid, with an assist from the increasingly influential Fergal Boland, cut the gap to two.
Kildare were rattled now. As well as that the huge work they’d put in was now visibly taking its toll as they began to wilt under our resurgent pressure.
Hyland gave them some respite from a free and then Paddy shot a bad wide. Hyland had a chance to increase the gap to four with another free but he pulled this one to the nearside of the post. Just then Jordan Flynn came on for Aidan.
Kildare were still defending in numbers and we were still having trouble breaking them down. Then, in a move he started and finished himself, Oisín Mullin brilliantly unlocked their rearguard. He’d run forward at pace but looked to be running out of road when he managed to get a pass off to Padraig O’Hora who promptly returned it to him. The Kilmaine player wellied it crisply to the net.
Now it was all us. We were winning breaking ball everywhere and back we came looking for the scores that would seal the win. Fergal was the first to sink the knife, firing from distance as we all know he can to push us ahead for only the second time in the evening.
Their full-back Ryan punched over at the other end to level the match once more. That, however, proved to be their final score of the game.
Lee had a go but this time the ball flew wide. But, with the high press on, they messed up the restart and Cillian profited from it to edge us back in front.
They coughed up the ball again from the next kick-out and this time we were happy to hold possession as they defended like demons. We hand-passed it around patiently until eventually a shooting chance opened up on the right wing for Darren McHale who clipped it over. Now, at last, we looked the likely winners.
Injury time was a messy affair. They were doing what they could to get the ball up the field, we were doing what we could to stop the play proceeding by whatever means we could.
They tried to work a goal-scoring chance but we managed to turn the ball over. Then as we broke forward Jordan Flynn spotted that the Kildare goalie was still off his line so he lobbed him and into the net it went to seal an improbable five-point win for us.
This was, of course, a harum-scarum performance, one in which we could easily have come off second best. But for what was a totally dominant final quarter, we’d definitely have been beaten and it goes without saying that the five-point victory margin flattered us more than a little.
There was a hint, though, in the effectiveness of the switches we made that we might be edging towards a team selection that would give us a better chance of success. This, combined with Ryan O’Donoghue’s likely return to action in the quarters, give us at least some hope for optimism for the summer.
The bottom line, the heart-stopping nature of our win this evening notwithstanding, is that we’re still alive in this year’s Championship. How far we’ll go is anyone’s guess and tonight’s mercurial display will leave plenty guessing about us, not least whoever it is we pull in Monday morning’s quarter-final draw.
Mayo: Rob Hennelly; Lee Keegan (0-2), Oisín Mullin (1-0), Enda Hession; Paddy Durcan, Stephen Coen, Eoghan McLaughlin (0-2); Aidan O’Shea, Matthew Ruane; Diarmuid O’Connor (0-1), Jason Doherty, Conor Loftus (0-1); James Carr, Jack Carney (0-1), Cillian O’Connor (0-3, one free). Subs: Fergal Boland (0-2) for Doherty, Darren McHale (0-1) for Carr, Padraig O’Hora for Coen, Jordan Flynn (1-0) for O’Shea, Aiden Orme for Carney.
Who was our MOTM against Kildare? Pick your top three performers
- Lee Keegan (31%, 1,048 Votes)
- Oisín Mullin (25%, 839 Votes)
- Enda Hession (14%, 479 Votes)
- Fergal Boland (9%, 324 Votes)
- Eoghan McLaughlin (6%, 201 Votes)
- Diarmuid O'Connor (2%, 70 Votes)
- Jordan Flynn (2%, 68 Votes)
- Jack Carney (2%, 68 Votes)
- Conor Loftus (2%, 61 Votes)
- Padraig O'Hora (1%, 48 Votes)
- Darren McHale (1%, 36 Votes)
- Paddy Durcan (1%, 32 Votes)
- Cillian O'Connor (1%, 28 Votes)
- Aidan O'Shea (1%, 25 Votes)
- Rob Hennelly (1%, 18 Votes)
- Matthew Ruane (0%, 17 Votes)
- James Carr (0%, 14 Votes)
- Aiden Orme (0%, 13 Votes)
- Stephen Coen (0%, 12 Votes)
- Jason Doherty (0%, 10 Votes)
Total Voters: 1,662
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Defender s probably saved the day for us . Hession was excellent and of course the greatest player in my lifetime Lee keegan. The most please ing thing was the contribution from the bench. O hora. Mchale. Boland flynn. Great to see Boland getting his chance and he proved why he could be starting with 2 excellent points. A first half performance like that again will see us out of the championship against a more clinical outfit. But overall I’m happy to be in the quarter s. Such resilience
https://m.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/gaelic-football/one-of-the-craziest-rules-that-ever-existed-mayo-boss-james-horan-blasts-gaa-over-squad-regulations-41743455.html
WJ, I think Eoghan’s shot today was well aimed, heading hard for the top corner only to be denied by a wonder save. But we need to net those chances.
Definitely a PERMANENT change needed at CHB as others indicated. Lee, O’Hora, or Oisin. Make it happen.
A win is a win, is there something with Mayo’s training that makes them start slowly only to pick it up in last 15 minutes. This will not work v the big Guns in the games ahead.
Fair play to management, the Subs turned the game today.
You can’t help but admire the spirit within this team to pull games out of the fire. We looked out for the count but refused to be beaten.
That being said, we are going to have to improve a huge amount in two weeks if we’re going to go any further. Ryan and Tommy being unavailable would weaken any team but we need to move on. Asking backs to put the scores on the board simply won’t be enough to outgun Kerry or Dublin.
You saw what happened today when the likes of Paddy struggled with his shooting. What can you do to improve it? For one, Diarmuid needs to be freed from being a glorified midfielder. There was one point in the second half where he kicked a score and a minute later he was near our own goal chasing down Daniel Flynn. He needs to be left in the half forward line.
Oisin isn’t a full back, he should be used further up the pitch, he could cause even more havoc. Someone else can fill in there.
Boland and McHale, start one of them. They’re both proper forwards.
Horan has to gamble a bit in the next couple of weeks with how he sets us up.
Who are Mayo’s possible opponents in Q Final
Mayo88
So what happened last week where we had the game sown up by half time , yet went to sleep in the second half
El Tod
Someone posted on here last week posted it would be Derry and they gave the back ground to their decision
A Rossie and Donegal win would have kept is on the Derry/Galway side of the draw, I think.
I have to mention this, Eoghan McLaughlin brilliant today, carried the fight in the 1st half and has incredible speed that saved out when Kildare had a clear opening to goal at one stage.
I’d still hold Fergie Boland until the second half, but he should come in for the whole half. He finds space very well with game opening up…. it’s tailor made for him. A very talented footballer. His point to put us into the lead was pure gold.
Mayo are so strange. Appaling shooting in first half, then wonder points in the second. But you gotta love it.
My belief is that its either Dublin kerry or Derry. As we have played galway all ready. I’m not 100 per cent.
Darren McHale is like our own Barry John Keane. Not only do they look alike, but they’re both good for a score off the bench. Boland has silenced a lot of his doubters, surely he’s played his way into the QF XI.
I can lift the feet up now tomorrow and study closely our potential semi final opponents.
And then maybe I might tune into the Ulster game as well
Management did not change that game
Oisin Mullen changed that game
He was caught in the same position as countless other players before him were today- surrounded by kildare players with no options
But he somehow got out of it. And yes I am aware it was a sub (O Hora) who he played the one two with
Mullin also played a one two with Hession in similar position in first half
Every game we face into we hope and pray Horan will listen and learn from past mistakes
Every game we are made to look stupid for thinking like that
We have generational players who continue to dig us out like Keegan
I really want to see him/them get the reward they deserve . But it might be in spite of their manager sadly
Fair points km79, but how could Horan set us up more effectively?? He’s working with the hand he has being dealt, ie factoring in injuries….
There actually is more shape to us defensively and this was also evident V monaghan, ie no goals conceded, and same today. And I’m guessing that’s what your implying, that we play too loose?
We find it hard to break down blankets because we’re limited enough in forward department. That’s not James’ fault.
What are we going to do when Keegan retires?
He picked us up, put us on his back, kicked two points, ran himself into the ground and carried us into Monday mornings draw.
That lad reaches a level of consistency, over 10 years, that hasn’t been matched in my memory.
Unbelievable.
We are so shite we will probably beat Kerry .
Haha good man Sean!!!
Special mention for Colm O’Rourke, whose stock has officially reached junk status.
James Horan said that Mayo travelled up today because they couldn’t find a hotel. That could partly account for the flat start. Its not great preparation for a big game.
That said we did well to overcome a 6 point deficit. The one thing that is clear to me is that Oisin Mullen needs to be moved outfield – I would say midfield and have been saying so for a long time. He can unlock a blanket defence as he has clearly shown today and not for the first time. You need someone with pace power and agility to run at defenders and beat them instead of this harmless over and back stuff all the time.
Himself and Eoghan McLoughlin have what it takes to do just that.
The bench scored 1-3 in ten minutes. Why were they not playing from the start. No credit to the management. Similar to last year the bench bet the Dubs. What did Horan do against Tyrone. He picked the same team that started against Dublin and not the team that finished against Dublin. What say you that he does the same in the quarter finals. No place for Boland. No place for Flynn. O’Hora should be playing in the half forward line. He has scored more than once and he can get past defenders.
Liberal Role……..I don’t think it’s dodgy predictions per-se with O’Rourke. It’s his hatred of Mayo teams…..he can never give us the nod..
James Horan should add a few keyboard experts to his mngt team, as they pronounce with such certainty.
Completely agree Marty. Stems back decades.
Sean Burke, tears in my eyes here.
As well as Lee and Oisín, Eoghan Mc and Enda Hession are some footballers, God bless them.
I would expect that in his 7th year as Mayo manager that we would have a plan B
But sure let’s just bury our heads in the sand again
All good
Horan ball is the way to go
I was out all morning (canada time) just watched highlights without knowing result. Delighted with the win. Mullin is class.
Might be back for a final after all.
Fergal boland with the 2 points off the bench means he probably won’t get a run out the next day haha, the subs and the greater fitness was the main difference In the end, also a quick note about enda hessions unreal block on daniel flynn, that goes in the net we are 7 down and likely game over.
Correct on the block On the road
Subs and superior fitness would have made no difference if that had gone in so
Would have been game over as you said
Win is a win. In the pot Monday morning….boom.
Not going to analyse the game tonight. It’s nearly too raw at the moment.
But Lee Keegan…. I’ve never seen anything like him.
Hello,
What can one say. I am a footbaii ignoramus but it does not stop me admiring the players ahd management. If Diarmuid and Conor were not backtracking Kildare would have scored so much more. It was their pressure that caused the opposition to miss.
Anyway most of you had flagged Boland as a point scorer and that is great. I guess Carr must have been disappointing but then Carney seems a great find. Hession was not bullied and is another great find. McLaughlin is marvellous and Jordan Flynn ls back. The others we know.
There are others in the panel which leave Mayo in a nice position.
Thanks to all the team for giving us so much and can see you taking Kerry out.
Ciarán 2.
The one thing I don’t get is why Diarmuid isn’t playing at 11.
He played there earlier in the year and produced his best football in years. Wasted on the wing. Needs to be central and fully involved in the heat of battle.
Oisin at 6 and Diarmuid at 11 the next day please.
Did the team travel up on the day today?
The only way to watch Mayo playing football is to listen to Midwest Radio commentary, the two excitable lads were in top form this evening.
Well done Mayo, ? we live to do battle another day!
Top performances from some of our big players – particularly keegan
But let’s be honest, we were in bad shape. If kildare had managed the game better we could be out – kildare very nieve and kept getting turned over high up the field or dropping balls into Robbie instead of holding possession and taking the sting out of the game
We love chaos and thrive off turnovers. Kildare allowed both of those in the second half whereas they limited them in the first
Mind the house. Your spot on. Mullin in the full back line is wasted. Doc at 11 is a must. . I hope ruane has had his bad day. We need a lot more from him in 2nweeks. .anybody know for sure who we can meet
Rte are saying we can’t draw galway is their truth in that anyone know?
Mayo have the players to win Sam, team selection is the problem, Management get team selection right and Sam is coming Home. No more Politics.
https://www.gaa.ie/football/news/all-ireland-sfc-quarter-final-draw-details/
It’s all there on the Gaa website
Oisin. That my take on it. Whatever about jh. Its hard to compete with arguable the best 2 players missing. .
Can I vote for the Kildare goalkeeper……wow he had a shocker and surely kept us in the game possession wise
We need a change at no 6 big time…been a problem all year
Also no 12…..
Really don’t know what to say after today.
From been completely demoralised along with all around me in the cusack (I had said I wasn’t going). To feeling the euphoria at the final whistle and witnessing the joy on everyone’s face.
It’s what following mayo is all about.
We were horrendous and beaten, but in the last 10 years, that’s the precise moment when we are not beaten. No logic to that, but no logic to mayo gaa either.
Onwards to the next illogical step. Sure how could you not follow.
We only play when we are not 6 or 7 points down historically. .
Sorry are 6 or 7 down
I tend to agree with km79, no plan B and only if it descends to chaos can we find a way back. Kildare didn’t have the know how to manage the game at 6 up. This year reminds me of 2019. If we don’t up our ideas we could get a thumping. But I have zero faith in the management coming up with anything new except the hope of creating chaos.
And on we go, heads in the sand and a few warriors trying to keep us in the battle. We were shockingly bad in 1st half but the only change to the starting lineup will be Flynn for Doherty.
There has to be more changes than that. O hora in. Coen out. Mullin to 6 Doherty and Loftus out. Flynn and boland in. Rod in. Hopefully.
You’re right Craggy Boglands.
Take 2 forwards each off Dublin and Kerry and they are back in the pack. Hopefully Ryan is fit for the Quarter Final.
I’m not sure we have the tools to get into a shoot out with Dublin or Kerry. I wonder whether James would ever consider a double sweeper like we saw from Kildare today and like we have seen from Derry.
Abandon Horanball Play Stephen Coen and Aido as spoilers,limit the space and drag the opposition into a dogfight.
Not great to watch but could be effective in a one off game.
Have to agree with KM79. No plan b again. We looked like a Junior team coming up against a blanket defence for the first time, absolutely no cutting edge. Can’t fault the heart of the lads and a few in particular were outstanding. But in my opinion we have gone backwards and a better team would have beaten us out the gate.
But we are in the next round and that is all that matters at the minute. I hope I am proven wrong, but I think we are miles off All Ireland standard.
We have to do something because the first half performance showed us how inept our starting forward line is. It was shocking stuff.
Culmore, I love your optimism. I too was like that once upon a time. About 13 All Ireland finals ago.
There’s no chance that we’re winning Sam this year. Not a snowballs chance in hell.
Had Kildare stuck to their plan instead of taking us on at what we do best, they would have held out for the win. They lost their heads, and our superior fitness from 62 mins on counted.
I actually think we’ve regressed as a team and only for the heroics of Keegan and D O’Connor we wouldn’t be anywhere near contention. I’ve major issues with the team selection and the quite obviously failed style and tactics. That’s just me, and I’m not going to bore everyone with it tonight after a win.
For all the talk of Horans ability to build squads, I actually believe he is failing to get the sum of what’s available to him, greater than the parts. This team should not be playing such shite football this far into his second tenure.
Relying on shocking wides from Kildare and favourable ref decisions to keep us in the championship is not “controlling the controllable”.
Nuff said.
Well done to the lads, they’re in the hat for Monday.
Jesus… some of you would prefer us to lose so ya can have a right pop at Horan .
We were shite for the approx 50 mins …but the lads and subs dug it out .. Really poor decision making and ball skills at times but Mayo in the draw for Monday and the Rossies out ..
I’d have taken that this morning
@Mayo Focus.
I agree we look Miles off AI standard but then again we were the same in previous years qualifiers and we still found a way through. Tyrone beat Monaghan last year by a point in Ulster and they were as far away from AI standard as you would ever see.
While I have breath in me I will live in hope. We will draw Derry on Monday morning, turn Galway over in the semis.
Do we start flynn or aido? Flynn might be better to finish a game.
I saw a lot of different things from Mayo over the first hour today.
The one thing that I didn’t see over that hour was “Horanball”. There was no running off the shoulder of the man in possession, and no runners coming on to the ball at pace.
Horanball is not the problem, poor application is the problem
We’re not at an all Ireland pitch atm but the difference in intensity between our game and the Clare Roscommon one was massive
I agree frost the hammer. Look at all the ball we gave away. Kicking into the keeper s hands etc no tactics involved there. God help us if we lost. I was around to see manager s such as liam o Neill. Mcgarry. Jack. Brian Mcdonald. The bleak 70s and 80s. .. we cannot put it all on the manager
A mute button would do nicely for the next few weeks.
I am looking forward to the build up to the 1/4 final, we were poor today but ive seen enough from the squad this year to know that we can beat any of the remaining teams.
Ryan being fit and injury’s to the rest of our squad a will decide how much further we go. Plunkett is a bigger loss than i expected.
James horan said 1 player dropped out sick this morning and 1 got injured thursday night so he could only pick from 24 today. Assume bryan walsh was one as mark moran wore 25 (but wasnt eligible to play), any idea who the other player was who was named on the bench and didnt warm up ?
Was Kevin McLoughlin the other missing player? Surely he’d have come on if available
Pebbles, you’re ignoring the key context: a team ravaged by retirements of generational Mayo players. Plagued by injuries currently. The psychological damage of 7 final losses. I could go on.
By right we should be where Meath are at. But we’re not, we’re still trying, still competing. You need to be able to state specifically where you think James could improve… at least list a suggestion or two. Come on. We’ve had massive player rotation over past two years, ie everyone’s got a fair chance. What players is James leaving out? Come on.
Craggy and all, surely the problem we had in the first sixty minutes was Kildare using a mass defence, 14 men behind the ball. We know we struggle with this and continue to do so.
– Start well is an option. Get a cushion. We didn’t this time but did versus Monaghan.
– Use your backs to come forward for extra numbers. We’ve been doing this.
– Work it around the D and try to probe for openings. This is what we did most. In fairness we are getting more confident at it but we’re not scoring that much still. Kildare were finding it MUCH easier than us to get scores in that period.
– Have a magician like Mullin who can actually carry the ball into the mass defence and wriggle free.
– Outwait the opposition. Trust the process. Wait for your opportunity and nab it. We did this today. But this would be very risky against a team like Kerry that could be out the gate by 60 minutes.
You’d wonder where we are going. But there is a kick in us yet!
Brilliant win today. Despite the poor crowd I thought there was a serious atmosphere in the Cusack once the comeback started. I dread to think what this place will be like when/if we eventually are beaten. So many have the knives sharpened for JH already. Imagine what Dublin would be like without Con and Costello? Kerry without Clifford and Geaney? Or Kildare without Flynn and Hyland? That’s pretty much our situation at the moment.
What more can you say about Lee Keegan though. Best player in the country over the last 11 years bar none.
Hi Willie Joe, I feel that much of the credit for tonight’s victory must go to the Mayo fans who roared their heads off in the second half . I was in the front of the Hogan stand . The roars from our lot were absolutely brilliant. The first half was dire,to say the least . The second half was typical of us… never say die stuff. Jordan, I’ll buy you a cup of coffee..or a pint or two next time we meet. My bet today was 11/10 Mayo minus3. I was just going to tear up my docket after 74 minutes…
Absolutely thrilled with the result and the guts and determination they showed was a credit to such a great bunch of warriors. Unfortunately management have no variation in the play, never learn. Try and outrun the opposition seems to be the only plan. I commented when the Team was announced that Stephen Coen and Conor Loftus were lucky to start but no one agreed. Stephen had another poor game and Loftus was average. It took Lee, Oisin and Enda to dig us out.
Even if I never see Sam in Mayo in my lifetime what a great journey these lads have given us. I am proud to support the Green above the Red.
Ultimately we might not get what we all want but in terms of natural sporting attrition and shelf-life of a team, we should be on the scrap-heap right now, but instead we’re continuing to defy the odds, we’re still fighting, and I believe James and co are doing their best.
The theory is out there now that Mayo can’t play against a massed defence. We’ve seen Galway, Monaghan and Kildare change from their usual game plan to try and stop us playing. At least we can take it as a compliment! They obviously rate us highly 🙂
Absolutely right swallow. . There’s no doubt had it been kerry or Dublin. They would have been out the gate as proven in the league final. We certainly struggle with a mass defence but in the absence of Rod and Tommy..when the chances come we don’t have the personnel to execute them.
If the lads travelled up today then it answers a lot, yes hotels expensive and hard to get but guys playing at that level against a very robust team just an hour travel time away at most is crazy. V Monaghan we say a sharp mayo team very well rehearsed in tracking back, today there was even greater need for the tracking back given the width of the ground and we were not at that pitch in first half. Don’t think the contribution of Walsh at that work is fully appreciated, very big ask putting Doherty into the centre of the pitch from the start given his age and injury come backs and expect him to deliver. Again today all the correct substitutions occurred more or less at the opportune time so mangt are now at the right pulse of such decisions.
Attendance said it all today, the fixtures committee needs to have a serious look at themselves. Such mistakes should not be allowed to go without some recognition from the very highest office acknowledging the cock up and apologising
Got away with that today, Kildare tried to hold on rather than commit to going for a win and we got a break with the goal. Never say die without a clear attacking plan but players commitment cannot be faulted. Kildare are athletic but just do not have the experience to close this out and probably lack a few leaders. Let’s see who we get Monday but we will be underdog irrespective who we get.
I wonder about the Captaincy. I’m not great with specifics but haven’t we seen in form players get the armband and seem to struggle with the weight of it all.
Did any of the starting forwards play well for large portions of the game today? Im specifically talking about attacking play and shooting.
Would like to get a biased (some might say delusional) fan’s view on this. Just for the craic!!!
True Richard, they did travel up today, James confirmed it. He also said they trained twice this week, indicating that it may have been too much and he’ll review everything for the next time, as all good managers do. Definite drop in energy today, especially noticeable in first half.
Joe every time the captaincy weigh s heavy. .if jh was managing roscommon then I would have a problem with him. They absolutely blew it. We are in the draw . Play Ed bad for 60. I’ll take that
First things first; Kildare were bloody good. Their pace, their power, their fluency, for a long time, left us for dead time after time. Eoghan MacLaughlin outsprinted? And, they had Daniel Flynn, who tormented us, but didn’t fully pull the trigger.
Given all that, the win was amazing. Six down, and being outplayed and outmuscled, it looked a hopeless situation. Lee, Enda, Eoghan, and Oisín kept us in it, and when we got the goal we played clever football: possession, probing stuff, until an opening came and then good efficient scores.
Good to see Mark Moran make the bench too.
Not to be awkward Catcol but Mark’s presence was cosmetic. He wasn’t eligible to play because of some daft ould GAA rule referenced earlier.
Catcol, I agree with you – Kildare were excellent and played with heart and commitment. I thought this even in the League and they were unfortunate to drop to Division 2.
I wish them well and hope they push on.
The worst and best of Horans mayo on display today. Dreadful for 3/4 of the game. But for Kildares wastefulness it could have been a pasting. Still Clueless in attack v the blanket.. Running into traffic.. shot selection miles off and you could drive an artic truck up the middle of our defense. Their midfielders were running riot and their forwards were causing us big problems.. But we hung in there.. What more can be said about Lee Keegan? What a leader.. our greatest player in the last 50 plus years.. You have to admire the way lads dug in at 6 down with 20 odd mins to go.. In the end Kildare gassed out and we got there.. The danger however is the last 10 mins makes us forget just how bad the first hour or so was.. As bad as I can remember. Horan has to drop Aidan and Stephen Coen.. Boland and McHale showed what they can do. We have a big problem at 6 and 3.. Oisin maybe at 6 but he needs to be let loose up the field to help punch holes in the blanket that we are going to face.. Were still in the hunt but just about. We were on the ropes for long stages. I would like to see us come out swinging and throw caution to the wind from now on.. Mayhem and madness are our best shot
Immense Pride
Some disappointed lads on here tonight. Have been sniping at Horgan since September and thought they had got their wish today. No doubt if we lost it would have been his fault. He makes the right changes but gets blamed for not picking the right team to start. Meanwhile other chaps were demanding a “statement” win before the game and of course now that we won Kildare were just poor. Personally I thought Mayo were poor for over 50 minutes just as they were v Dublin last year. Horan made crucial changes as is his job and they worked. I am sure Horan and management team have a better idea of the form of the players than some posters on here. Mayo are no world beaters. They are missing two of their best forwards and have other injury issues. Some of their better players have dipped in form. But as supporters we should be so proud of them. Day after day the go out and perform with courage and bravery and fight til the death. They have beaten 2 teams that operated in Div 1 this year. Has any other county done that. Sure they won’t win the AI. They are well below the standard of Kerry and Dublin, but maybe if those two superpowers were short of their two best forwards they might be vulnerable as well. So instead of moaning about Horan , who has never failed to get us to at least a semi during his tenure, and instead of moaning that we don’t have a plan B give a bit of credit to team and management for what they have achieved. No doubt the begrudgers will get their day in the sun sometime in the next month and can tell us all “ I told you so’ but we are in the draw for Monday and at this moment in time that’s all that matters. Maigh Eo Abu .
We are fucked if Lee keegan ever retires lads
I’m out tonight. When I sit down for 20 mins or more, I’m not too fast moving about when I stand up and try to move. Mayo team had nearly 3hr journey up before the match. Kildare rocked in from next door. I think we will be fixed with the hidden bowls to draw a big gun.
Delighted to see the Real Mayo supporter boycotted that abysmbal decision by the cccc to put on that game at six o’clock in dublin on a saturday evening. Unfortunately sky are still the big winners as the pubs were packed back home and bar people were stunned to see faces in there establishments that would normally be at the matches.Well done to Martin Carney on Midwest calling out the gaa hierachy for the treatment of the Mayo supporter trying to support there County teams with the Minors playing tomorrow. They have surely killed the golden goose and what the Mayo public have given to the organisation. This glorious era will pass as it enevitably will, and I as as a traveller to all games wont shed a tear for them.
Sorry for the dialogue.
As for the game ,it looks like Mayo are defending strongly not to concede goals early on as they can be demoralising but give up points. Stay in the game ,review at halftime and finish strong. Subs made a huge contribution this evening but worried about our strength around midfield.Jordan to bolster that area and hopefully Ryan back to strengthen the half foward line.
No team will want to meet us in two weeks.
Bring on Kerry I say and bring jack and the yerras down a peg or two. Yes then we have to beat dublin too, but bring them on also.
Maigh Eo Abu
I would be shocked if Stephen Coen, Conor Loftus and Jason Doherty make starting 15 in 2 weeks time such a difference with the team that finished the game today then what started, praying that our best attacking player Ryan O’Donoghue is back to turn a poor season on its head.
Although we could obviously do with Lee in the HB line again, he has developed into a top FB line defender.
Move him from there now and it could create a further imbalance. It’s a good headache for James to have though. He persisted with Lee in the corner and it has paid off.
@To win just once.
Yes, I had said that Mayo needed to make a statement today.
I believe they did just that, turning a 6 point deficit in to a 5 point win.
After todays turnaround, the analysts on Sky said that nobody will fancy getting us in the QF.
Possibly only one of maybe two teams in the country that could have retrieved the situation we were in today.
Before the game some posters were told we were not respecting Kildare enough and that they were a very good team that could shock us.
After the game some people have turned that around saying Kildare were a poor enough team who wilted (No thanks to the mayo pressure).
Make up your minds.
At a certain stage in today’s match ” everyone “, except I think it might have been Catcol felt we were gone.
Our comeback ” To win just once ” was a statement from this team that they are never beaten.
If they hadn’t made a statement today we wouldn’t be in the pot again for the next draw.
Sky saying ‘ nobody will fancy meeting Mayo in the QF ! Are ye raving mad. You think for one second that Dublin ,kerry ,donegal/Armagh or even Derry are quaking in there boots after watching that.
At this stage, Kerry would see us an ideal tune up before the Dubs
@Paddyjoejohntom.
We lost Cillian last year to injury and had little or no chance of winning Connacht and absolutely no chance of beating the six in a row Dubs.
How did that work out ?
Kerry and Dublin will absolutely feel they can hammer us in a quarter. We’ve got still massive issues.
One positive for us is that Mattie, Paddy and Aido will surely never play so poorly again.
Good night.
@ Liberal.
We had massive issues last year as well.
We lost Cillian.
Then I think Oisin got injured.
We were dead and burried against Galway.
Great second half comeback.
We were dead and burried against Dublin.
Great last 10 minute comeback and then extra time.
Made a complete balls of the AI which we had about 16 mixed scoring chances (4 of them goals).
In a screwed up way, if Dublin had to face Kerry at least Dublin know what’s coming down the tracks.
If Dublin had to face Mayo, Dublin have no idea what’s coming down the tracks. Mayo don’t have any idea what theyll be sending down the tracks. Mayhem is the name of the Mayo game.
For the past week all the talk was about the brilliant Kildare forwards. Best in the country.
The rest of the conversation was about how we had no scoring power and were doomed by many.
We outscored Kildare 2 – 08 to 0 – 6 points in that second half today.
We were shocking for sure in that first half but we were brilliant in the second half.
I wouldn’t rule us out against anybody if we have a going day.
Pebblesmeller I agree with you we played some shite football. Some of our passing was terrible for this time of year. But I don’t understand how you can say we relied on shocking wides from Kildare and favorable ref decisions to keep us in the championship. We kicked some shocking wides our self and kicked more wides than Kildare
Mayo did well, call a spade a spade.
Kildare were very good.
Mayo will go in under dogs against whoever they face next and that will suit us.
Listen it’s the dream that doesn’t die and Sam is coming home.
Who would have thought that at 6 points down and us only capable of playing ping pong across the the middle that we would be celebrating a 5 point win at the final whistle. But that is how Mayo does it, same as last year with the Galway and Dublin victories and again it was the subs who made the difference.
Oisin’s goal was a piece of magic and demoralised Kildare and Lee is unbelievable, a true true Mayo hero.
The general consensus is that we are well off the standard of the big two and it’s hard to argue with viewpoint but we were deemed to be last year as well.
The hope now must be that we meet Derry in the QF, get the Belmullet man back and be on course to avoid the Kerry/Dublin side of the draw come semi final day.
Well said @ Mind the House. You say to use double sweepers as spoilers and clog up space and turn the game into a dogfight if we face a Dublin or Kerry.
Some managers will change tactics but most are predictable and do not change – Galway surprisingly did against us a few months ago and it worked.
Spoiling a game is not for purists but who cares. We then score on the break. Employ the old style of kicking high balls into the edge of the square. Spoiling and using double sweepers and firing high long balls would be an interesting change of tactics. As you say it could be used as a one-off game tactic.
Here is another point I notice – goalkeepers who run up the field are asking for trouble. Forwards especially should be keeping an eye on the opposition goalkeeper – then be ready to pounce in a split second. I think Jordan knew what he was doing – he was thinking quick – a roaming goalkeeper should present opportunity.
Jordan absolutely knew what he was doing. You can see he looks up and spots the goalie haring back, so he checks back himself, steadies for the shot and lets it off. It was a brilliant strike.
I think Flynn’s goal sums up an awful lot of our play. If you watch it back, Mullin and O’Hora are our two furthest forward players even though we had a lead.
Defensively we are very poor, we are trying to drop a sweeper in. The sweeper varies but is usually a half back or Aido. Too often we are dragged out of position though as our players go man to man. Instead of blocking the central channel we try and engage the team way out the field leaving ourselves wide open at the back. The intensity of our tackling also seems to have dropped considerably.
Going forward it is really hard to fault any of our forwards. They are usually double marked, or if they manage to get by one player they are into one of the double sweepers. This tends to happen as ball isn’t moved quick enough from defense into attack. Running following a turn over gives the other team a chance to get back and set a shape. It’s only when we fall behind that we seem to work the ball faster and then everyone says “oh our subs did well”, or player x made a difference. I don’t believe this to be the case at all. It’s a mindset change and a change in how we play. We need to move the ball with quick foot passing rather than relying solely on strong runners off the shoulder.
Spacing of our forwards is also an issue. We end up with about eleven players between the half way line and the 45 yard line. These lads are well able to kick a pass, let them do it.
Still though, we are in it and ROD is coming back. Another game for players for fitness is great. I still believe there is a gallop in this team. 1-9 we are extremely well set if we made a slight structural change with implementing sweeper.
I think between Cillian, ROD, Carney, Doc plus two we can do enough damage to give quarter final team whoever it may be a good rattle.
Lee Keegan though. What an amazing player.
Good to get through, couldn’t fault many of the lads. Lee is our greatest ever – no dispute
But we are gone backwards. God forbid we draw Dublin. They will massacre us
So many comments to add to .
Yes Flynn’s goal was a guided shot at goal . So he meant it . The outcome may have surprised him but it was meant .
Ohora really should be back at full back and move Oisin to centre half . Having Durcan and McLaughlin running . That is some running half back line and by god we need it . There might be nobody home in a tight game but at least we will create a lot of chances .,
Id still have aiden but at centre half forward again assuming or hoping ROD is back . Why aiden , we need some blue tack at that position to retain possession and also in congested areas . If only he could just distribute efficiently and intelligently . Move Diarmud back to midfield if Flynn isn’t a full 70. Not sure after that as I’m lost but add for sure Cillian yes . My heart would have said K McLaughlin all day but he hasn’t had too much game time . Can someone add to this or change the layout . This is on response to no plan A or B from mayo . I’ve zero faith in the management to change anything other than run at the opposition .
Love Sean’s Burke reply .
“We’re so shite we’ll probably beat Kerry “
That alone is worth the print. Worth getting T shirts done up .?
Was at it and we struggled badly against blanket for a long time and it was hard going. But my God, the negativity on here is something else. I have to smile though when it’s now a case that JH should have started the subs that he brought on and did so well. He really cannot win no matter what with some commentators on here. I think we’re in a pretty good place this morning despite not having played well. I don’t think anyone would want to draw us. Maigh Eo Abu.
Management 100% bailed out by players yesterday. We had no game plan, other than the usual one. So easy to set up against – a mediocre Kildare team managed to clog us up for fifty minutes. It’s only when they became ragged that we kicked into gear.
Keegan is a player for the ages. Not just Mayo’s best players but one of the greatest players to ever grace a football field. It’s criminal how he’s being played out of position.
Players have to be picked on form and played in the positions we’ve seen them perform best in.
People have been calling for Boland to come in and be given a chance. Finally got a game and, lo and behold, he scores two excellent points.
Aido is not a Croke park player. Pitch is too big. Sub in at FF, he would be a good option.
Diarmuid, as another comment alludes to, was playing brilliant football at 11. Has to go back to that.
Liberal role in the tie – you quote mitigating circumstances and include the psychological loss of 7 all Ireland finals. The same game plan by the same manager has been responsible for no less than 4 of these losses if I’m not mistaken? If we do make a final (we won’t but humour me), the plan will be no different and the result will be the same.
Team should be thus, given the players we have.
Hennelly
O’Hora
McBrien
Hession
Durcan
Mullin
McLaughlin
Flynn
Ruane
Boland
Diarmuid
Carney
Carr
O”Donoghue
Cillian
My ten cents. I accept my opinions are no more valid than the next man or woman’s. I don’t think anyone on here was disappointed that we won yesterday, stopping us from having a go at management. Every Mayo person wants us to win an All-Ireland. I would absolutely love if Horan was the man to do it. I can’t see it but I’d love to be wrong. Not agreeing with each other is not a sign of one being a fan or not. Passionate opinions and arguments show how muc game.
Dont add a mute button WJ – seeing other people’s opinion is good to challenge your own. It’s what makes the blog so interesting. You’ve created a wonderful thing. If we mute people whose opinions are different to our own, we create an echo chamber where you can feel you’re always right.
The blog provides an outlet for respectful discussion (haven’t always agreed with the moderation but it is well done) that doesn’t degenerate into twitter levels of hatred. Thanks for the space WJ and keep up the good work!
I didn’t even realise I was in moderation at the moment!
Woke up this morning still buzzing and then read some of the negative comments that appeared while I was asleep. The world unfortunately is full of Group Think and all of a sudden because a few so called experts say it Dublin and Kerry are well ahead of the rest. Same as last year and yet neither made the Final.
Dublin would have been put to the pin of their collar to beat Kildare yesterday. They still have the same team as last year. Kerry will be as rusty as the creaking door and they were no great shakes against Cork for 50 mins. Their Messiah Tally ruined Galway and Down so more Group Think. With a few tweaks to our play we will match any of them. How management can’t see Aido does not have the legs for outfield is mind boggling. FF for Aido to give us another dimension.
Anyway off to Tullamore for the minors against a really good Kildare side. Keep the faith in the Green above the Red.
@MayoMayo that’s the best summary of it.
Thank you for highlighting the tackling. I actually said it out when watching. Our tackling intensity and execution of it is not where it used to be. Not at all.
When the ball reaches the forwards there is simply zero room. Even the best forwards would struggle in our system. Do we really think this is going to chance under current manager? I don’t. Rochford did bring in more kicking. That has disappeared in recent times. It’s extremely frustrating to watch. It’s boring to watch and I’m sure boring to play too.
You’re not, Tommy Joe! Apologies to you and others getting snared this morning, there appears to be something up on the anti-spam front within WordPress at the moment.
Tommy+Joe – dropping Keegan from the team?! I prefer Horan’s plan tbh
Good luck to the minors today. Yesterday both the Ulster and Munster champions fell to provincial runners up. Mayo be warned!! Also, the 5 day turnaround is hugely unfair.
I see posters are going right through the night, – Erris Exile clocking in at 03:49, and you’re on the case yourself Willie Joe for the 7am shift.
Not bad going.
We were bad 1st half but the subs changed it. Boland and Flynn will start next time out. Need to have Keegan further out the field?
This idea that Mayo struggles against a blanket defence is becoming standard currency.A bit like Mayo cant produce marquis forwards eventhough we have pgoduced the championships all time leading scorer.
Everyone struggles against 15 behind the ball thats why teams do it along with the fact that they actully fear our attack.
There is no real evidence that we cant “unlock” a blanket defence in the league we beat Monaghan, Armagh and drew with a defensive Donegal This year we got through Monaghan and now Kildare and really only lost by a point to Galway having created the chances to win.Same as the final last year.
Kerry couldnt beat Tyrone either for all their genius.
If 15 intercounty Div 1 players go behind the ball you will struggle but Mayo are able to deal with it better than most.
Our issue yesterday seemed to be basic skill execution….we were shocking
Good man Tommy Joe, are you resting Keegan the next day?
That was a battle yesterday, something I had expected from Kildare all week, they were really fired up for that! We were very poor for 60 minutes but took over after that.
Someone said only for Kildare poor shooting they would have won? I would argue that Mayo missed more easy enough chances than them
1989 – completely agree. We had more than enough chances to beat Tyrone last year and Galway in April. Cork were able to stick with Kerry for most of the game a few weeks ago too, just by dropping everyone back.
Kildare just like Monaghan showed no flexibility. Even when we went a point up yesterday, they stuck rigidly to their blanket defense. Which makes no sense.
Sorry John – left Keegan out by accident after all my praising of him. Sad thing is, my advancing age has left me questioning who shouldn’t have in there as a result. I’m going back to bed!
Just a bit of perspective on the match in relation to our 1st half. There was a serious wind ( in golf terms a “2 club” wind blowing towards the hill. In GAA terms it was a 4 point wind. On the hogan stand side you couldn’t feel it but over in the Cusack you could. First half was more about containment and keeping the score down.
Great to win two matches in a row against two very negative teams. Kildare will regret not going man to man in the second half.
Jim McGuinness piece in yesterday’s times is worth a read, ironically he says time to ditch the blanket or not fully ditch it but to mix it up with more foot passing and running during the game.
Once ROD is back and with Flynn on to dunk balls into him we will have more ammo up front.
Bring on a big gun. Those lads have no fear.
Mullin belongs at 6 and Diarmuid O’Connor belongs at 11. Will Horan play them in their best positions? No. Of course not.
Before every Mayo game the pundits try to give a picture of what they believe will happen. Based on logic. James Horan probably selects his team based on logic. People posting on here do so based on their own logic……..Will we never learn that Mayo football and logic should not appear in the same sentence.
Reading James Horan comment that he was missing 2 out of 26 named in Panel. One injured in training on Thursday night and one fell ill on morning of match. Anyone know who these 2 players were? Silly rule that he could not replace them from the squad.
So it was a non existent wind in the first half that cost us and the fans that won us victory in the second half !, and there was silly old me thinking it was Kildare who lost their formation and that allowed us back into the game that was the difference
Justoutsideballagh – I’m open to correction on this but I understand that the two missing players were Kevin McLoughlin and Bryan Walsh.
When a team wins it’s wrong to start focusing on the negatives and if they keep winning in such a way it matters not.
There are a few things that became abundantly clear yesterday which I’ll go into at another time but if you were the Mayo manager waking up this morning and you factor everything into the equation of where we are as a team, what personnel are available, how much time is left until the QF and what your overall ambition is then you really only have two choices available to you.
It’s a fork in the road moment for the manager, one road will lead to inevitable failure and one road could, even at this stage, finally lead you to ultimate glory.
There are only two choices and I hope the manager makes the right call for everyone’s sake, including his own, because there is an opportunity staring us all in the face here and I’m talking about an opportunity to win the All-Ireland this year, forget waiting for next year, go for it now.
I am consistently seeing Lee keegan top of these polls and Stephen coen at the bottom of the list. Keegan should have been captain, long before COC, AOS and SC. He oozes class in everything he does. Would have made a phenomenal captain.
Thanks Willie Joe, was wondering what happened to Kevin McLoughlin yesterday. Hope which ever of them picked up the injury that it is not too serious.
Viper
Can you lay out what you think those 2 choices are.I agree with the “go for it now” mentality
Alex Ferguson once said that the most important thing about a knock out competition is having your name in the hat for the next round. That is exactly where we are today so I cannot understand all the negativity after yesterday. Yes we were poor for long stretches and the match could easily have got away from us but it didn’t and we won
.
After all when have Mayo played well in qualifiers. Going back to 2016,2017 and 2019 none of those performances were top class yet we found a way to win. The only exception in that time was Newbridge in 2018.
I don’t think we can win the All Ireland this year but we can still enjoy the journey as long as it lasts. So lets get behind the team and management. We will have long enough after July to discuss going forward. For now enjoy the present.
Are ye sure about Kevin Mc? I thought I saw him with a nib on for warm up. Watching on t.v. though so I could be wrong. Did not see Walsh though.
I’m not sure, 2 hops – as I said, I’m open to correction on the point but it’s my understanding that he was one of the two. Would be hard to imagine us not bringing him on at some point if he was available.
chaos, we seem to thrive in it. Other teams fade in it. How can we get Kerry, Dublin or Derry to play an unstructured game. Derry tactic seem to be most structured. I don’t buy, how the blanket defenses will not be suited to Croke Park. Kildare protected the D, and left us with the flanks, and was nearly enough to beat us.
Jesus don’t indulge him 1989
I’m just trying to be logical with one big point. We have some players who lack the consistency to be used at this level. Mixing the occasional brilliance, with more common poor execution.
That won’t change. It really is case that you have “it” or you never will.
@1989, yes, I will do in the next couple of days.
Suffering a bit with the old insomnia tonight so got up to make a cuppa and wander about for a bit. Nothing here will help me to find sleep though and then I made the mistake of watching the highlights back, which actually made us look half respectable and has me wide awake now.
I know there are a few posters here crying negativity but honestly reading the comments nearly has me believing we have a chance this year. God it was ugly for 60 minutes but we showed massive resilience to win that. And yes, Kildare may be nothing special when it boils down to it (which is unfathomable given their situation), and they may have shot themselves in the foot and ran out of steam but our lads still made it happen in the end. Special mention for Enda Hession because his block did save the game for us; had Hyland goaled that time I really think it would have been curtains for this team. We are teetering so close to the edge right now that it really does make you feel alive …
Substitutions were massive for us and seeing as we would be the first to cry when they don’t work out, Horan probably should get the credit for them. I can’t have been alone in crossing my fingers for Fergal Boland when he came on after all the clamour of recent weeks, but we needn’t have worried. He delivers nearly every time and I really, really hope he gets more time next day out, even if he doesn’t get the start. Darren McHale surely has to be in with a shout as well, and hopefully we’ll see Mark Moran on the bench; no-one will know what to expect from him apart from ourselves.
I know Horan has his detractors, I’ve certainly questioned his tactics, especially his selections more than once but at the same time I think he should realise that there are very few people who would not like to see him (and I mean him personally, not just the team) reach his goal after all that he has put in over the best part of a decade. While his decisions can be highly frustrating to figure out, he has still managed a massive transition with very depleted resources this year. If he is brave enough to take a gamble or two between now and the end of the year, whenever that may be, you just never know what might happen.
I really feel for Stephen Coen; I rate him so highly on many levels but he is having a very hard season. I wouldn’t start him the next day (I’d move Oisin up), nor would I start Conor Loftus – I actually think he would offer us a lot from the bench, and I’d start Darren McHale instead – and while I think Aido has had a very good season to date and didn’t do a lot wrong on Saturday, I wouldn’t be starting him in Croke Park again either. I’d be starting Jordan if fit and hopefully that will help Mattie spark back into life.
A special mention for Pádraig O’Hora who I would definitely be starting the next day – I know we are biased here in Ballina but I thought his movement when he came on was outstanding, he was everywhere. The one-two with Oisin showed his smarts and he is well able to kick a score or two on his day as well. Oisin is different class and thankfully scores by defenders are worth just as much on the board as others, though you’d wonder at times.
Jordan Flynn’s grin after that lob – yes, he absolutely meant it – will live long in the memory, no matter what comes next. I’m thrilled to see him back and so impressed with the journey he’s taken over the past few years. If we get Ryan back (WJ, you seem optimistic that we will?) we may even have half a chance but I think it would be too much of a stretch to say we have a chance of going too much further without him.
Early in the day I’d been arguing that I’d prefer one of the big guns in the next game and let them beat us early and save us the heartache later if we’re not good enough, but reading this now has me convinced again that the longer we are in it the better and that chaos might even be the way to go. Damn ye. And I haven’t even mentioned Lee Keegan. The greatest of all time for Mayo in my lifetime, bar none.
6 hours to the draw, best set two alarms …
I am so glad you mentioned Jordan Flynn’s super goal Willie Joe – piece of class, well done to Jordan and him just back from injury!
And well done to the rest of the team for pulling this one out of the bag – who cares if it was in the last 10 minutes! We’re through to the Quarter Finals….pity about getting Kerry-would have loved to meet Dublin again!