Well, hands up all those of you who saw that coming.
I did have the idle thought ahead of throw-in today that, if we started well in today’s All-Ireland semi-final with Tipperary, we might just gut them but I still didn’t expect it to happen. But gut them we did and this game was well over as a contest before half-time.
Those thoughts were percolating in my mind on my morning perambulation down by a ghostly Croke Park earlier on today, the stadium shrouded in fog on a day when the chill in the air cut to the bone. The fog never lifted here in the capital all day and as the game went on it became harder and harder to see what was happening any time the play shifted over to the Cusack Stand side of the field.
We opened the scoring at HQ this afternoon. Ryan O’Donoghue was pulled back and Cillian O’Connor popped over the resultant 14-yard free.
Colm O’Riordan got the scoreboard moving for them soon after. We gave the ball away cheaply with a misplaced pass out the field and it was quickly worked into the Killea clubman who finished nicely.
Michael Quinlivan should have had the game’s opening goal in Tipp’s next attack. He fielded the ball over his head, leaving Lee Keegan for dead in the process, but one-on-one with David Clarke he picked the wrong option and tried to place his shot on the ‘keeper’s near side. David got down really well to bat it out for a ’45, which Comerford drove well wide.
Paddy Durcan saw his effort at a point come up short but Aidan got shunted in the back in the next play. Cillian made no mistake with the free.
But Tipperary then had a second goal chance as our hair-raising decision to go man-on-man with Tipp’s tall forwards inside backfired a second time in quick succession. Conor Sweeney caught this one but his shot was straight at David Clarke who saved it with ease.
We made them pay immediately, knifing downfield to bag the day’s opening goal. Aidan O’Shea thundered through the centre and with options left and right fed Tommy Conroy who lofted it into Cillian who palmed it to the net.
Tipperary, however, hit back in kind straight away. Brian Fox was under huge pressure as he shot for goal but his effort was a precise, low one that evaded David Clarke and was over the line before Diarmuid O’Connor connected with it in a despairing effort to prevent the score. This all happened in a flash but fair play to the umpires who correctly called the score.
Another attempt by us at the posts came up short – this one from Conor Loftus – but Ryan O’Donoghue, attempting to ferret out possession of the ball, was fouled and Cillian tapped over the free.
We now started to turn the screw. Three points in quick succession followed, the first off his left by Mattie Ruane, the second fisted over by Paddy Durcan after a nicely worked move and the third from a mark by Tommy Conroy. Tipperary had the final say before the first water break, though, as we ended a long period of possession without a score and they went down the field where Steven O’Brien fired over to cut the gap to four.
But we were starting to win the key battles all over the field and in the second quarter we proceeded to tear them asunder. Between the first water break and half-time we piled on 3-6, with Tipperary only posting three further points in response. The jig was well and truly up then for the Premier County.
Cillian was at the heart of this rout. After Kevin McLoughlin blasted over, having been fed brilliantly by Ryan O’Donoghue, Cillian pointed his fourth free after Tommy Conroy was pulled down. Tommy thumped over a great point soon after and then Cillian smashed home a second goal, shunting one of the Tipp backs out of the way with his hip before finishing emphatically.
Points from play from Cillian and Aidan followed in short order and then the roof fell in on Tipp as they conceded a third goal, again finished by Cillian. A crazy backpass attempt to the ‘keeper by Liam Casey was slightly undercooked and as Comerford advanced Cillian connected with it first to deflect it to the net.
Worse was to follow just before the break. We won a ’45 when Mattie’s shot was blocked down and Cillian’s placed kick hung in the air where it was met by brother Diarmuid who punched it to the net. Our fourth goal of the game left us a scarcely believable sixteen points in front at half-time.
All that was left for David Power’s shattered charges was to go back out and show a bit of fight in the second half. To their great credit, they did this and more, bagging two goals into the Davin end and winning the half on the scoreboard.
From our point of view, the second half would have been a bit of a worry. As the fog thickened at Croke Park, the fluidity we’d shown in the first half disappeared from view too. So much so that much of the second half action occurred in our half of the field.
We played the first ten minutes after the break with fourteen players, as Lee Keegan was ordered off on a black, dragging down Quinlivan before he got the chance to pull the trigger.
Our opening score of the half came from Tommy Conroy. Almost invisible in the descending fog, Tommy drove forward out on the right before firing over.
An end-to-end move ended with Conor Loftus coming onto the ball at pace and belting it over. We made our first switch then, Jordan Flynn coming on for Diarmuid.
Just after that Cillian got his fourth goal of the game. The long ball in over the cover by Kevin McLoughlin was a pinpoint one, Cillian gathering and turning to fire it past a startled Comerford. We were now twenty points to the good.
We cut the tempo several notches from there to the finish, content, or so it seemed, that we’d done enough and more to secure our fifth All-Ireland final appearance in ten years.
Tipp, by contrast, appeared determined to put a kinder gloss on the scoreboard and this they managed to do, scoring 2-5 compared to the further five points we added before David Gough blew the full-time whistle.
It’s hard to know what to make of our performance from then to the finish. With visibility fading all the time as the fog thickened at Croke Park and repeated switches being made to both teams, the contest became more than a little ragged.
What will worry James Horan, though, was the meltdown in our restarts – Tipp’s second goal came directly from one of our kickouts – and the way we were increasingly overwhelmed around the middle.
None of this mattered to the result, of course, as there was no way Tipperary were ever going to reel back in a twenty-point deficit. They did, though, cut the gap to a far more respectable thirteen points at the finish.
That’s not the only worry James will have ahead of the final in two week’s time. Both Chris Barrett and Eoghan McLaughlin limped from the field with knocks in the second half today and there will obviously be some concern about their availability for the decider.
But the wayward performance after the break today shouldn’t – like the fog – shroud what was by any measure a devastating opening half from the lads. Cillian is in the form of his life this year and a 4-9 personal return in an All-Ireland semi-final is utterly off the scale.
So, in this strangest of years, it’s almost inevitable that we’ve once more forced our way onto the stage for an All-Ireland final like no other. We’ll be complete underdogs against the all-conquering Dubs in two week’s time but I doubt that will bother James Horan or his team tonight.
I’ve always maintained that I’d run the risk of our losing the final every year as long as we were in it, as simply being there affords us the chance of claiming the big prize next time. Well, once again we’re back in the final and once again the greatest team ever to play Gaelic football stands between us and Sam.
Only this time it’s turkey and Sam. Get ready to pull up to the table. Up Mayo.
Mayo: David Clarke; Oisín Mullin, Chris Barrett, Lee Keegan; Paddy Durcan (0-1), Stephen Coen, Eoghan McLaughlin; Conor Loftus (0-1), Mattie Ruane (0-1); Kevin McLoughlin (0-1), Ryan O’Donoghue, Diarmuid O’Connor (1-0); Tommy Conroy (0-4, one mark), Aidan O’Shea (0-1), Cillian O’Connor (4-9, five frees). Subs: Jordan Flynn for Diarmuid O’Connor, Padraig O’Hora for Barrett, Michael Plunkett for McLaughlin, Tom Parsons for O’Donoghue, Darren Coen (0-2) for Cillian O’Connor.
Who was our MOTM against Tipperary? Pick your top three performers
- Cillian O'Connor (38%, 1,319 Votes)
- Tommy Conroy (18%, 646 Votes)
- David Clarke (13%, 458 Votes)
- Conor Loftus (6%, 223 Votes)
- Aidan O'Shea (6%, 209 Votes)
- Eoghan McLaughlin (4%, 131 Votes)
- Ryan O'Donoghue (3%, 93 Votes)
- Kevin McLoughlin (2%, 74 Votes)
- Lee Keegan (2%, 69 Votes)
- Diarmuid O'Connor (1%, 49 Votes)
- Mattie Ruane (1%, 44 Votes)
- Stephen Coen (1%, 35 Votes)
- Oisin Mullin (1%, 34 Votes)
- Paddy Durcan (1%, 31 Votes)
- Darren Coen (1%, 19 Votes)
- Tom Parsons (1%, 18 Votes)
- Jordan Flynn (0%, 17 Votes)
- Chris Barrett (0%, 11 Votes)
- Padraig O'Hora (0%, 11 Votes)
- Michael Plunkett (0%, 6 Votes)
Total Voters: 1,770
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Jesus lads, that was a thumping. 4-09 is a record from what I can gather. Nuts to happen in an AISF. Still would have taken him off alot earlier if I was in charge, seemed a silly risk not to.
Forwards looked like a unit, backs maybe not so much so. Playing a shootout will be suicide the next day, and I think Horan has learned that lesson. I’m very interested in what he will do.
Will Boyler be back?, he was sorely missed as an enforcer today.
A great attacking performance today but only Mayo could put up a record AI semi Final score yet there seem more questions than answers. Unreal performance from Cillian and young Tommy Conroy just gets better and better.
We will need to be a lot tighter the next day particularly from the start. No more early goals conceded like in 2012 and 2017 where we gave out headstarts. We need to turn the game into a battle and hope we find a way to come out on top.
You have to get to a final to win a final and we are in the final. I wonder if the management team may adopt a nothing to lose attitude and send us out on the front foot all guns blazing. A risky strategy against the best but if we throw enough punches then could it be we finally land a knockout one??
Take the win, game was over as a contest after 25 mins or so BUT conceding 3.13 is criminal.
If we let the Dubs play like we let Tipp play they will score 5.20.
Still, take the positives and work on them.
If our FF line from today plays in-situ as a FF line then we have our opportunity.
We’ve had a few tough games, Dublin haven’t. Clutching short straws but you know what, I’ll clutch them all.
Was that the most clinical performance ever from a Mayo team. Probably
Would 5-20 win us the final. Probably
Is this our year. Probably
Have I celebrated todays win too much. Probably
UP MAYO
Bit Jekyll and Hyde. First half bar the opening six minutes was excellent second half very poor in comparison. Still goal achieved we are in the final. We will be massive underdogs so nothing to lose just go for it.
Willie Joe I really enjoy the blog and you are a credit and a comfort to all Mayo folk far and wide.
2020 the weirdest year ever,what else can happen
Mayo team “hold my beer”
My worry about the next day is: what are we going to do about Brian Fenton? I can’t see Mattie Ruane and Colm Loftus competing with him in the air and if we let him rule the roost our goose is cooked. We need at least 50:50 possession against Dublin. While Con O’Callaghan fired the bullets which shot us down last year it was Fenton who provided the ammunition early in that second half. Still, James must have foreseen this scenario so let’s see what he has planned for it. It was great to see what our full forward line can do when played as such so hopefully we can see more of it. Tommy Conroy is our best right corner man since God knows when and we know what Cillian and Aiden can do.
Finally, I’ve said before that Tipp’s Sweeney, Quinlivan and O’Riordan would make any forward line in the country incl. Dublin’s so no surprise we got a bit of trouble from them.
And finally, finally, spare a thought for those poor Corkmen and Kerrymen – and Roscommon men – sitting at home today wondering what happened. League champions, promoted champions etc, etc.
Once more into the breach dear friends…..
A good few of you expected something similar. Certainly not me, but I am delighted. Great to see such positive play. And such great support play. They were all wonderful. O’Shea really pulls the strings and he has such willing puppets. Now to sort out the backs and it can be done.. Yes the Dubs will take beating but we are the ones that can do it. And they know it. Up Mayo.
This is how i would structure things
v Dublin.
Clarke
Mullin
Barret
OHora
Coen (Deep Sweeper)
EMcloughlin
Keegan
KMcloughlin
AOS(defensive midfielder)
Ruane
Diarmaid
Durcan (on Fenton)
Conroy
COC
5 back at all times holding the defense.FB line plus Keegan and Coen.
It begins and ends with not conceding goals.Heavy dosage of smart cynical fouling needed.
We need to get them into a low to mid scoring dogfight
Absolutely buzzing to be looking forward to another All Ireland final. Its incredible. And I wouldn’t want to play any other team but the Dubs. They’re awesome so why not relish a cut at them. Again.
Who’d have thunk it after our hammering at the hands of the Dubs last year in the semis? Who’d have thunk it after we were dumped into Division 2 this year? Who’d have thunk it after we scraped over the line against Galway? Not too many, bar a few Mayo men and women perhaps!!!
Sit back, enjoy the couple of weeks build up folks, get behind this team, keep the heads. There won’t be too much hype because everyone knows the final will be Dublins to lose. If this was 12 months time I’d have much more confidence as this team would be further in transition, but we’ll give it a right good go nevertheless. As good as were today, we were so poor in ways too… Dublin yesterday by comparison were far more measured, controlled, structured in every way. We’ll undoubtedly bring chaos and mayhem again but that hasn’t got us over the line in the past. We’ll NEED something different…. what that will be i know not. Maybe a bit more structure and control might help.
If Chris and Eoghan are out, or even if one of them is out, we’re significantly weakened as they’ve been key players in the last 3 matches. But there’ll always be next year, as Horan is building for the future, so a loss wouldn’t be the end of the world. If we defend in the first 10min the next day like we defended today it will 100% be 2006 all over again. Keep that in mind James, Team, and Mayo people. That’s a fact, plain and simple.
Great result and congrats to all the players and management team in getting to another AI final. That’s some achievement for this team considering all the new faces involved.
For Fenton i would give Durcan the job.
Tell him to follow him everywhere.Disrupt him as much as possible.
Down in 94 did something similar with Conor Deegan put him purely out to mark Tohill.
19/12/20 AIF DAY .
Add them
– Not bad for a team in the middle of a re-build to reach the final…good to know our team is full of men who will face the challenge that awaits them in the final head-on
– The older wiser heads of COC and Aido delivered in spades today while Conroy pick of the young lads.
– More concerned about the two goal chances Tipp had in the first few mins then the amount of chances they had in the last 20 mins when the Mayo backs went down to first gear.
– Another concern is our subs aside from Coen did not impress, Flynn’s fancy boots must have no studs as he kept slipping. OHora, Plunkett and Parsons added nothing.
– We all know that Dublin would not have let Tipp run up that score.
– DOC to mark Fenton and stick to him like a leech. Leeroy on Kilkenny. Big decision on who will mark Deano and King Con, those 4 and Cluxton are the Dublin engine room with maybe James McCarthy at times. Philly will mark Aido and we know how that ended up the last time…
Well Willie Joe , I predicted yesterday that we’d win by 10/12. I was wrong! Cillian was superb. Conroy very impressive. Great to be back in final again. Well done boys. Up mayo!
Well done Mayo..what a performance overall. Semi final and the game was well and truly over at half time. And that is where my analysis ends. We went out today to do a job against a team who highly fancied themselves and beat them convincingly. Now its time to leave it in the capable hands of Horan and Co to come up with a similar plan for the all Ireland unbeatable champs..I look forward to the final on Saturday week. I Have every faith. You continue to do us proud. Mhaigheo Abu.
Had to believe what we witnessed today in foggy empty Croke Park! The Good, the Bad and, dare I say, the Ugly. Lots to take from it and plenty to work on. 30 counties would give their eye teeth to be in our boots. Savour the moment!
BRING.IT.ON
look at last year, a far from outstanding Kerry side nearly caught them. Fine it was completely down to the red card – and we’ll need a LOT of similar intangibles to go our own way, but if you’re not in you can’t win
Down to division 2, definitely not the force we were a few years ago – it mightn’t be far away at all from a time where we are lucky to make semis at best every now and again, so we should absolutely treasure these moments while we have them
As for today I wouldn’t spend too much time analysing it, for good or bad. Established top tier side hammers division 3 strugglers, nothing to see here – focus on two weeks time only and move on . Impossible keep concentration on a day like today when we were gifted score after score in a farcical first half
Great win no matter how the second half went , we would have taken that win all week long ,
COC is playing his best football in years and has a freshness about him maybe ballintubbers short run in club was a blessing in disguise for him,
Tommy Conroy is a revelation, he could be mayos most important player within the next 2-3years,
Ryan O D impressed me today , great movement up front and great vision , sometimes being a smaller player has it’s benefits, he wins a fair amount of frees in scoring zone
Hate to say it but Keegan has to be taken out of full back line , didn’t even try to recover after high ball at the start of the game , looks like a man who is neither here nor there ,
I’ve seen previous comments about getting the older guys in to shore up the defence but it would be madness bringing in guys with zero game time this year , we nearly lost a Connaught final bringing in Higgans could you imagine how a rusty player would fair against the Dubs ,
Hopefully Horan gets his matchups right and keeps to what’s has worked all year attacking football, never mind the sweeper go man for man, we have the forward to trouble them so keep them forward!!
All in all finals are a different ball game and Dublin are still human (just about) keep the faith and get behind the lads , worst case scenario we have got a team that will compete at the top for hopefully another 5+years
@ Olive: I thought O’Hora was quite good when he came on. If he has any fault its that his tackling and the way he completely commits is a little too zealous. But I reckon he’d actually be a good markup on the likes of O’Callaghan and would give a guy who doesn’t go down easily plenty of it.
Oliver Kerrigan o hora brilliantly put his head on the line and blocked a goal bound effort. He defended better than others did
Will start as I finish – Up Mayo.
Back in the final in the strangest of years. Comprehensive win but a performance riddled with defensive errors. Some systemic failures. Up front we showed genuine promise. Cillian was simply sublime and Tommy marked his arrival as a top class attacker.
We’re where we want to be. It may be a poisoned chalice but it’s one we’re going to have to grasp. The Dubs look awesome, maybe unbeatable. But that’s the challenge ahead of us.
No choice now. Go for it. Up Mayo.
Okay .
We will get mauled if we go head to head like that against Dublin .One big change .
Kevin McLoughlin must go sweeper and O’Shea must spend more time out past the 45 . We are far too weak for Dublin in areas around the middle 8.
possibly only 2 of our lads would make the Dublin team in the middle 8 as it is currently lined out .
Still we are a year ahead of schedule with the young lads . A bit of structure to our play wouldn’t go amiss . James needs to work harder on aspects of defence and some forward transitional play would be my note for the manager .
You can’t but praise the forwards for their tackiing and turnovers . They were phenomenal.
I am going to enjoy the next two weeks. Cillian was fab – we are lucky to have him. Cannot think of the Dubs tonight. Hope Chris and Eoghan are ok for the final. An emotional tribute by the Tipp captain at the end.
A huge decision for Dublin will be who to put on Aido if he goes into FF. I suspect Philly may get the start but who do they drop? Byrne? Fitzsimmons? Murchan is too small I’d say. Maybe Small might even go on him from the start then bring Philly on to dish a dose of his usual dirt in the second half.
Watched the 2017 final a few days ago and Aido was very influential outfield so I expect him to spend most of his time there. Who knows. We need to get the most out of our main men. With Cillian and Tommy in such form, Dublin will have plenty headaches around the matchups. They might not get the luxury of bottling up and persistently fouling Aido in their own inimitable way.
The Dubs hate playing Mayo, we irk them every time!!! This all ireland final outing will be similar
Was Barrett injured coming off? We definitely need him and McLaughlin fit for 2 weeks.
Keegan just doesnt look right. I’m not so sure it’s just down to him not being used to the full back line. He looks a bit off in terms of not being fully tuned in. He used to own games and bully forwards. This season he seems a shadow of his former self. All we can do is hope he ‘comes to life’ in the final.
Tbh we have so much room for improvement in every sector up to the half forward line. Our inside line did very well today but against a fairly hapless tipp full back line who were simply not at the races. Beaten to almost every ball…kicking the ball straight to our lads, not being tuned in. Dublin will be like fired up demons in comparison.
Durcan is due a big one. I’m fact, a lot of our lads can improve for the next day. If they can then we have a proper chance but as others have said, we need to be far better defending. We have some proper players who should be confident of being able to beat anyone on their day. We’ve all stars and lads with minor and u21 all irelands. We can do it.
No need to analyse today’s match too much. We know what we did well and we need to keep doing it. We also know what we did badly and need to sort these things out URGENTLY. Our midfield aren’t great winning high balls or indeed at defending. This put enormous pressure on the backs and we looked very porous.
I don’t really know what the answer is but if we don’t win enough ball around the middle from kickout or if we don’t defend solid on the 45 then it won’t be pretty.
Fitzsimmons will go on Cillian, I think. Not sure about Aidan. Philly hasn’t been a key starter for them this year, but I could see him coming on at some point to do a job as he (unfortunately for us) has a good record on Aidan. Maybe not starting though, bring him on later if it’s in the melting pot.
Think Keegan has to go on Killenny, he’s played him very well in the past and he clearly looks uncomfortable in the full backline. Him standing and watching Quinlivan bearing down on goal after getting beat by him today was criminal. I think he is struggling with this positioning.
Not sure what to do about Fenton.
A player we should target is Jonny Cooper, if he starts. He is Dublin’s weak link in defence. Fouls like crazy.
Agree dreamysleepy.
I thought Philly looked excellent yesterday though and to my mind very much still has it. I could easily see him start the final. Easily. And I’d be concerned.
Dublin backs love to bottle up the opposition forwards under the high ball. We need a plan to rightly thwart this. It should be a key objective (aside from improving defence of course).
Yes, unfortunately Dublin have many options and have plenty of experience in playing the likes of Cillian and Aido. Their strengths and weaknesses will have been analysed to death by their backroom teams over the years. The only unknown quantity for them might be Conroy.
Cillian hit 3 09 in a qualifier game in 2018 if memory serves me correctly. Today’s tally was off the scale. The biggest score in a Championship game since records began, not to mention the biggest in an AI semi final. Am I correct on this? Mind he is still not a “Marquee forward” for the following reasons.
He is not from Kerry, and also he IS from Mayo.
Tipperary were woeful in defense, the worst I have ever see on TV, what county team was the second worst ?
Sunday Game laying it out very clearly the vast gulf in funding between Dublin and other counties using 2015 figures..About time..Really shocking when you see Mayo and Donegal on €22.30 and € 20 and Dublin on €274!!
Was not expecting this discussion on The Sunday Game to night . They might get around to showing Mayo Tipp game soon.
Gilroy really ignoring the lopsided funding on the Sunday game.
Second best team of all times …. From Milroy lol
Nothing to do with money…tis the genius structures that are in place in Dublin that the rest of the country aren’t aren’t able to replicate…sure didn’t Pat Gilroy explain very clearly.
Gilroy just acknowledged Mayo have had the 2nd best team of all time with our limited resource versus Dublin. We all know that in Mayo but good to get it acknowledged publically by a very passionate Dub.
Surely RTÉ could have come up with someone better to challenge Pat Gilroys defence of the huge imbalance in funding towards Dublin.
@Walter He totally ignored why Dublin get over 270 per registered player and Donegal get less than 20.
If ya don’t mind me saying McEntee wasnt fully researched or prepared. He hummed and hawed a lot….Gilroy tried to hoodwink us by regularly referring to 2015 figures. AIG etc are pumping obscene amounts in there
Crikey that was a terrible debate , two of the worst I ever heard at it. Were they on the lash before , better debates in a pub .
Look up Revelino…there’s my sarcasm…whoosh. @Diehard I think RTE knew very well what they were doing when choosing someone to offer a counter argument.
What a poor discussion re Dubs domination on the Sunday game. Rather than talking about the causes in any detail, most of the discussion was on splitting up Dublin, fixing County boards etc.
Pat Gilroy was full of whataboutism and steered the discussion away from finances very quickly – because that’s where the problem is
Absolutely agree, a real botch job of an interview about such an important issue.
Fb line a disgrace against a div 3 team. We need to get man markers in like eoin o d etc.
Keegan looks out of sorts. He seemed to be disinterested at times – very unlike him!
Eaghan McLaughlin had a great game, hope he is OK as would be a huge loss for final. The other McLoughlin hit some wonderful passes as well today to set up a couple of goals. Of course Full Forward line immense. Problems in o lot of other lines we will need to work on but grear to be in the final again!
I think its reasonable to believe Lee will lift it for the Dubs. Hes never let us down in a final and isn’t about to start now. He above anyone will relish another rattle at them. We still have a very strong full back line. I’d be more concerned about how our half backs were today, as Tipps running started from there, the lines were broken from there. Stephen Coen did excellent on O’Riordan though so he’s exempt from most of the blame.
Well done to the lads today! There is something special about this group of mayo men
We are there on merit and we have one hell of a chance against the Dublin
Gilroy there as another highly paid member of Dublin Gaa / AIG . Ger Gilroy would have done as well .. loves the Dubs too.
Liberal – Lee got rinsed in the semi final in 2019 when trying to make Con, I’m afraid. I wouldn’t like to see him marking him again.
just watched the game again , Mayo were terrible for the first 10 minutes and were lucky to be still in the game, Keegan beaten for ball and just stood still then, Barrett easily beaten for ball , some crazy defending again by Mayo in the second half letting Tipp players cut through them with ease, defending like that against the Dubs and Mayo will take an awful hammering in the final.
True dreamysleepy. Only difference i guess is that he has now more experience in the full back position. He was very green there last year. However, there were concerns today. Looking back at the highlights, Quinlivan should have bagged 2 goals from Lee. Not good. The way Lee jumped for that ball for Quinlivans first goal chance was so lacklustre and half hearted. Lee needs to use his strength more, although there was a height disadvantage there. On the plus side, Lee didn’t let him influence the game besides. Two huge slip ups from Lee though. Can’t happen against Dublin. What are our alternatives in the full back line though? I’d go with Lee personally given the lack of other easily identifiable options. Harrison an incalculable loss there.
Dublin will win 8 out of 10 All Irelands now and in the future.They simply have too much raw material not to.
Castleknock GAA have 1200 players at under 12. Within 4miles radius there are 3 other clubs with the same. That’s just one small pocket. Each club superbly organised with massive funding. It’s not a massive achievement for them to win an All Ireland.
We are there this year and if we control what we can control who knows. It might be one of those outlier years.
Honestly I dont think we are good enough…but neither is anyone else . Kerry are not even close they couldnt win last year with an extra man for 50 mins.
We have a chance though….
@Walter. I know you were been sarcastic.
Mcentee should have kept requesting to have the initial funding chart to be put back up and kept badgering Gilroy as to why are Dublin entitled to 14 times more funding than any other County per registered player.
I wouldn’t be too excited about Gilroy calling us the 2nd best team ever either. In his own roundabout way I think he was just saying that Dublin are the best team ever.
Jaysus that was a septic excuse for a debate. Watched the match today on sky and after there superior analysis why did I put myself through the torture of the Sunday Game.
On the debate Andy Mcentee was a terrible choice to debate he is still meath manager and will be leading his team against Dublin again so could only say so much…the obvious person to bring on was the ex westmeath player who wrote the open letter. But no he was to well3 researched and able to speak on the matter so rte couldn’t have that.
Then you have Dublin Des who never once challenged pat Gilroy on the nonsense he came out with. His solution (even though des never thought to even ask him if he thought there was a problem) was to amalgamate leitrim and roscommon. He came out with the age old tripe that no one made anything of kilkennys success in hurling and again never challenged him that Kilkenny were not beating everyone by 20 points. The blood boils!!!
Jees I can’t suffer Des Cahill. He can never summon up any enthusiasm for us.
Hes a horrible dose , that sniggerin is if we are some kind of joke , terrible personality . Michael lyster, wss twice the man
@Blondie11. The great Kilkenny and Kerry teams weren’t getting the huge funding injection either during their great reigns.
I think for is it’s brilliant to be back in the final. The youngsters will be dreaming about been Cillian or Tommy Conroy tonight and getting football boots for Christmas. Keeping the toddlers dreaming of playing for Mayo and we’ll always be there or there abouts.
Why do people watch the Sunday Game
I haven’t watched it since 2014.
With Lees quality, I’d rather have him in the full back line than another Mayo player untested at this level, or ring-rusty. Half back line is full now, and none of the 3 there will be shifted, even to accommodate Lee. And rightly so, because that line has a very settled feel to it now and will not be changed, barring injury.
I bet near 100% of Mayo people (and Horan) would want Lee on the pitch in 2 weeks time rather than any of the others on the bench, even with his form a little patchy. That’s what it boils down to for me. If any other player was marking quinlivan today, the Tipp man might have scored 2-5 and set up a scatter of other scores. Who knows. So for me, there’s no decision for us there. Lee will start and finish the match. Fact. Probably in full back line, assuming Eoghan is fit. If Eoghan isn’t fit, I’d put O’Hora in FB line and move Lee to number 5. We’d be weakened, but we’d still be fairly strong.
An awful lot of BS about one player here. Pulled down for one Dublin goal last year and fair enough 2nd goal was a piece of brilliance by Con OC but how many defenders in Ireland would stop that one. Maybe 2, Paddy Durcan and Jack McCaffrey probably or Keegan himself 50% of the time. Kept Tipp forwards extremely quiet for most of the day and took a black for the team. O’ Hora lauded and I’m usually a fan yet he made a kamikaze lunge for the ball (and missed) giving a Tipp player yards to line up an easy goal. Chris Barrett was outfielded and turned for a great Tipp 1st half goal chance so most of our backs made a mistake here or there. However almost all their big scores came from our kickouts which were poorly contested later in the game and I wouldn’t blame the Goalie bar 1 bad one, we were just very flat footed a good few times . Surely Jordan Flynn should have been used as an option when Diarmaid was off the field. We need a kickout plan with hand signals when nothing easy on for Goalie. Bit worried about our subs as others said with only Coen made an impact. Up front a great performance.. only 2 wides must be nearly a record.
I note that While Cillian is leading on MOTM poll he’s on 38%. 38%? What does he have to do?
Just hitting the hay here and wondering do ya think any of the Mayo team or Horan read this blog? Some passionate insightful people here I have to say and fair play to ye all. No one thought Cork could beat Kerry or Cavan could beat Monaghan or Donegal or Tipp could beat Cork…its the year of craziness. Aston Villa beat Liverpool 7-2 for Gods sake earlier in the year!!! I’ve booked a table with myself and my wife for the night of the 19th and in my head I plan to be celebrating.
Can’t stand Des Cahill either but I do enjoy the Sunday Game and RTE GAA coverage in general Thought Cora was well spoken and eloquent today Can’t see what’s special about Sky, know all McGuinness and Donaghy wouldn’t do much for me If I never saw a GAA match I wouldnt subscribe to British SkyB
Catcol – mathematically that’s due to voting for top 3.
Match-day podcast episode just up now.
It baffles me beyond belief why so many on this blog get so worked up and annoyed about what
Presenters and panelists say about Mayo on The Sunday Game. They are doing their job and sometimes they criticise our play and sometimes they give us praise .
If for whatever reason you don’t like any one of them.
Then you are not going to be happy about whatever they say about Mayo.
But thats a personal reason nothing to do with
Their assessment of our play.
If you don’t want any body to give their opinion
Don’t watch The Sunday Game or any programmes that you think might not agree with your opinion and you will learn Nothing…
Mayo are once again in a All Ireland Final and thats all that matters for now.
Maigh Eo abu.
Couldn’t agree more Mike it seems to me that it’s OK for us to critisise but dare anyone else
I want to start by saying that the Tipperary team ceremony, where Michael Hogan was murdered, was so emotional, and it was so beautifully done. Think of it. Just 100 years ago. Just 31 years before our last all Ireland win, that such a heinous act could happen in Croke Park. I salute the Tipperary players for being so dignified despite how disappointed they must have felt. Again, it was beautiful , dignified , and fitting. Michael Hogan RIP.
Now to Mayo and the match.
Dublin management and players looking at the Mayo blitz in the second quarter will know that the final is going to be the usual Mayo/Dublin dogfight.
Mayo played in 6th gear for twenty minutes. I never saw anything like it. Out of this world. Game over.
After that it was all about thinking ahead to the final. We actually had the luxury of thinking like that at halftime.
Avoiding injuries and giving game time to the panel was what the second half was about.
Personally, I poured myself a can of Guiness Draught, sat back and enjoyed the show after the second goal.
The naysayers need to look at the Munster final. That Tipp team are a good championship side. They are Munster champions. We hockeyed them by playing for just 25 minutes.
We have a real chance in this final. I’m not worried about the defence. Galway and Roscommon both only got 13 points against us. We let in no goals until today. Horan is getting his tactics very right so far.
If we win this year – which i suspect we will – our Christmas tree will be up in June every year from now on. 2020 could yet be a year of fond memories. This could be the best Christmas ever. Santa Claus has been neglecting me for many decades now. Enough is enough … and there is only one present I want.
Re the fake debate between Gilroy and Meath manager McEntee… It shouldn’t be overlooked that Meath down the years, have been benifceries of so many Leinster championship games held in Croke Park almost as much as Dublin, Meath right beside Dublin, short commute to Croke Park for teams and fan’s alike, plus the same as Dublin, Croke Park which is paid for by all the GAA including Counties who have had to build and maintain their own home grounds that are fit to hold a big crowd for a big championship game..Meath are the second most team who benifits from virtually every Leinster championship game in Croke Park… and it’s not in Meaths Interest to play the likes of Offaly, Longford, Laois or Westmeath, in any of those counties home grounds, when they can bring them to Croke Park for what is almost like home for Meath… Gilroy talking shit about how much he admires Mayo, while we have been very competitive this last decade, the Bill’s have to be paid by Mayo, and in the case of the Mayo Club’s the enormous debt the cost of redevelopment of Mchale Park and the financing of the county team is very difficult for each and every Club in Mayo… Dublin club’s have no such millstone around their necks!
By the way 38 % for Cillian is phenomenol. If EVERYONE VOTED. FOR HIM AND VOTED FOR 3 IN ALL …… HE WOULD ONLY GET 33.3%.
Just shows how many just voted for him and left it at that.
Personally I voted for Aidan, Cillian and Tommy.
Aidan orchestrated everything. His bullish strength, athleticism, height and skill set are unplayable. Huge work rate and does the right thing every time. Let’s not forget his huge contribution when the rightful plaudits are going Cillian’s and Tommy’s way
Re the debate on GAA funding of Dublin. Nobody was getting that kind of funding when Kerry were at their zenith and it was only beginning to flow to Dublin when Kilkenny were tops. A bigger problem than funding is population. Dublin with c. 1.3 million people swamp the country. Amalgamate all of Connacht and we’ll still only be trotting after them. Dublin are now four counties in local government terms, Fingal, Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown, South Dublin and Dublin City. Time the GAA recognised that. Amalgamations only result in less player being able to play the game. Who benefits from that?
Lads if there’s one player we don’t have to worry about going into an all Ireland final against the Dubs, its Keegan. Hes produced the goods time and time again in finals when the chips are down, popping up to score goals in 16 and 17 and outscoring his markers in those finals. He might have had an off day today but he’ll be well tuned in for the Dubs.
Re the game, I think Keegan will deliver a performance in the final no problem, probably on Kilkenny this time,. Worried a little about Eoin McLaughlin, hope that injury he picked up is not serious and that he will be good and well for the Final… James Carr is absolutely made for Croke Park in my opinion, and I was a little surprised that he didn’t get some game time, not that I am complaining about anyone in our excellent Full Forward line v Tipp, Darren Coen when he came on was also very good…I was disappointed when I seen the 26 on the programme that Fionn McDonagh wasn’t there, he no more than Carr seems made for Croke Park… not a criticism of the anyone on the 26 match day panel, I don’t know if guy’s are carrying knocks or just not in their best form.. Just wondering on Darren Coen, could he be a target man and allow Aiden O Shea out to midfield for the final, we definitely will have to be more competitive in the air v Dublin.. You know the way that Dublin famously examine and analysis the opposition…I think Mayo are very difficult to analyse for the All Ireland final… But I think we will need some unexpected card up our sleeve, and my instinct is telling me that, James Horan and Co, might just have been working on something all along!
Con Callaghan will relish the prospect of going through our porous defence
He started the second half on slaught last year going by Lee Keegan with ease
we must be prepared