Not even the miserable wet weather, the impending end of the kids’ school holidays and the more general return to all the routine and activities that go with this can dampen the mood this morning. Images from yesterday’s pulsating All-Ireland semi-final are still dancing round my brain and it’ll take a while for those cameos to settle down and find a place in the long-term memory bank. What a day to be a Mayo supporter, what a team of heroes that we follow.
I’ll get onto the Limerick thing in a bit but first it’s time to do the usual day-after-the-game sweep of the match reports and related coverage. Here goes.
Irish Times: match reports (senior, minor), quotes from James Horan and Eamonn Fitzmaurice, analysis by John O’Keeffe, overview piece by Malachy Clerkin.
Irish Independent: match reports (senior, minor), quotes, blather from Bomber Liston and more blather from Billy Keane.
Irish Examiner: match reports (senior, minor), quotes, John Bannon’s analysis of the day’s reffing.
GAA (senior match, minor match).
RTÉ (senior match, minor match, quotes from James Horan, Cillian O’Connor and Eamonn Fitzmaurice, pieces on Limerick as venue for the replay – here and here).
Others: Mayo Advertiser, The Score (senior, minor, quotes from Cillian and James, MOTM poll), Hogan Stand (senior, minor).
In amidst that welter of coverage, two nuggets of information are worth highlighting, both from what James had to say after the game. The first is where he confirms that we will be appealing Lee Keegan’s red card, which I think is absolutely correct. If Dublin can get Diarmuid Connolly exonerated after a clear punch (in the 2011 semi-final) then the same should apply in relation to the innocuous incident involving Lee. I’ve seen far worse than Lee’s infraction this year not even meriting a card (Dublin’s Macauley in their quarter-final against Monaghan springs immediately to mind) so we should definitely do what we can to get Lee back on the field for the replay. The second point from James is that he says the problem that led to Ger Cafferkey’s withdrawal was no more than cramp and that he’ll be fine for the replay.
Right, then, on to the Limerick issue. Saturday 5pm at the Gaelic Grounds now appears to be set in stone and if this is the case then it’s a complete and utter disgrace, one that confirms yet again that those shower of money-grabbing fuckers in Croke Park know nothing and care even less about the soul of the GAA. These are the same geniuses who are responsible for the Garth Brooks fiasco, the odious Sky deal and Dublin’s permanent residency at Croke Park.
The notion that you build a magnificent stadium for your showpiece games and then sub-let the place out at the busiest time of the year for a sport from another country that nobody here gives a toss about and which forces a replay of one of your biggest matches out of your main stadium is just too stupid for words. I’m all for Croke Park being opened up for other activities but at this time of year the association’s own matches have to be given absolute priority. For the suits in HQ, though, money is clearly the sole priority driving them.
As many other have pointed out, Dublin certainly wouldn’t be forced to play a replay in Limerick and the official excuse – that the September the 6th date is needed in case Dublin and Donegal draw (the Dubs are 1/10 to win that one, by the way) – is just laughable. It proves beyond any doubt that counties other than Dublin truly are Children of a Lesser God in the GAA’s thinking, as it puts the small chance that HQ might be needed for a replay of that match above the 100% need for it as the venue for our rematch. That’s stupid and sickening and totally disgraceful.
I’m also a bit annoyed at our own County Board who I think folded far too easily on the issue. It was good to see them out of the traps so quickly to request that the match be played on Saturday week at Croke Park but no way should they have announced last night that, following the GAA’s confirmation that the match will be played in Limerick next Saturday, they had accepted this ruling, however reluctantly. If it were me, I’d have said there’s no way we’re playing there and put the ball back into their court.
Ultimately, though, I guess we’re going to have to accept that Limerick next Saturday evening is now a fait accompli. With that in mind, the main task for supporters is to make sure that as many people as is humanly possible get to the Gaelic Grounds to roar the lads on in the replay. The huge raucous support really drove the team on yesterday and we need to do the same again the next day. The lads deserve nothing less.
WJ,
You absolutely nailed with regards HQ. They are a 100% corporate body with money being the sole God. If I ever hear them talking about the grassroots and community again I’ll fucking kill Liam O’Neill. I’ve never in my life been more proud of being a Mayo man. These 30 lads are the finest men we have ever produced.
Kerry have only played once there (v Clare in a training session) in years!
I think the tighter pitch will suit our lads more. Anyhow, zero us or the lads can do bar get on with it and do the job! I expect us to learn from the first half mistakes yesterday and go on and win, though it won’t be without it’s shaky moments I’d say, especially with Donaghy’s potential impact
Bomber liston is an embarrassment to all of Kerry. His attempts at highlighting Mayo supposed over aggression is laughable.
Could this R Feeney’s moment to shine at no 5!
Position on Croke Park needs to be changed – or high command will continue down the commercialization route at the expense of GAAs true values.
2 motions needed for congress
1. Croke Park can only be used for GAA sports for the months of July/Aug/September.
2. All championship matches from provincial final onwards must be broadcast on terrestrial tv.
In the midst of all the reading this morning you might have missed some recognition for the blog itself WJ. Well done
Best Irish Sporting Blogs http://sportforbusiness.com/best-irish-sporting-blogs/
If it must be limerick then why not in a fortnight? Why 6 days? How will ticketing work??
There’s gonna be far more Kerry supporters in limerick than there were in Croke Pk. Fact.
Ps: f@ck the gaa
I can only begin to imagine the uproar if it was fixed in a fortnight for Limerick given it wouldn’t be clashing with anything in CP!!!
Lads what’s done is done, while I’d certainly rather it in Croke Park myself it’s not gonna happen.
I’d fancy us to win even in Killarney to be honest next week, when we hit top form we are a good bit ahead of these lads!
Ref is always a hot topic here. Lee sent off aside . At least he let us tackle and take the ball off Kerry . We have been harshly punished for our tackle up to yesterday .
Lads ye don’t actually still read Bomber Liston’s pieces do ye?!
The guy hasn’t a clue, gave up reading him a long time ago. May aswell be any old Kerryman in the high stool giving their take. Let me guess he probably came out with something like Kerry will be delighted with the draw, and have the advantage next week, his bias is hilarious
“D”, thought the ref was mighty in the second half to be fair! He did punish Kerry a bit more than ourselves in the second half I think, but after that criminal sending off you’d expect that.
I don’t actually think that was a penalty on Cillian myself. Superb goalkeeping. Geaney’s miss just after was as bad and Donoghue’s was criminal in the second half.
It’s all sinking in now, I’m just over the moon we got a draw. When they went 0-10 to 0-5 up I felt it was goodnight. And when the ball left Donoghue’s boot at the end, same thing!
Incredible character, bravery and determination by the lads. Sadly it ultimately won’t be enough I fear this year but that’s for another day and we can only control our own controllables and that’s go out and tear into these lads from the start this time next sat and bate them!
Imir an cluiche i bpairc An Ghaelacht , Is cuma linn. Maigheo Abu le seacht bpointi.
We’re going to win the All Ireland.
DVD title: Doing it the hard way – Mayo’s glory year.
Well what can I say we showed great bottle no one should question this team as there efforts as for the limrick thing we just have to get on with it.its a crazy decision and I hope the commercial cooperate croke park committee are taken on head on at croke park at congress next year letting an America football team a head of the Gaelic players is nothing sort of disgraceful.there no point in goin on about this all week as far as I can see there not for turning we need to focus on support for the team and not be distracted by this crazy decision the supporters deserve great credit and we need to give this team all the support they can get cause they give us so much
I’m trying to find out who is televising the replay. Sky are already advertising it but I didn’t see it on RTE’s round up for the coming week during last night’s Sunday Game. All that they had was a mention that there would be highlights on next week’s Sunday Game.
Like most of the Mayo support there yesterday, I’m 100% intent on being there despite being disgusted by the GAA’s gross ineptitude in their handling of the whole thing. Let’s hope that they haven’t put salt in the wound by giving the game to Sky alone.
They couldn’t be THAT stupid, could they?
Rhetorical question there four goal 🙂
Liston is an old school parish pump supporter with no objectivity. There’d be some from Mayo like that as well but they don’t make it on TV. Sky replayed the entire match yesterday evening and he was interviewed at half-time with his chest pumped out and he was hard to listen to. However, like what Ciaran says he’s not worth listening to. In fairness Kerry people like Dara O’Se are, and his comments earlier in the week that Kerry long range points could be the difference looked accurate in the first half, but who could predict the sending off and what happened in the second half. Liston’s comments on over-aggression were self-serving, but I did think that Cunniffe took an unnecessary risk running in and shouldering a guy in the first half for the ball after the whistle had gone. Aggression has to be channeled. They did that successfully for most of the second half, the intensity was a bit forced and frustrated in the first half. I would back Mayo to beat Kerry in the replay, yesterday was confirmation they are the better team when they play well (when the game opened up they outscored them with one less man). The bookies odds reflect this. However, Gaelic Grounds worries me. The wide open spaces of Croke Park suits Mayo more than Kerry, we have come a long way when that is said.
I agree with the sentiment that as a county we must quickly focus on the game at hand and not waste any mental energy on the location/date if the fixture. If the game is in limerick, Croke park or the moon. Who cares, we’ll be there.
Time to circle the wagons. We are all in this together for one cause. Let’s do it.
Have to say i have never being as proud of our lads today. Regardless of what happens from here on in these lads are Heros. The way we fought back in the second half . We had lost one of our best players and id say possibly the best half back in the county. We we playing a Kerry team with all the history and i never want to hear that that these lads are bottlers because by god they are no bottlers. Men stood up in the second half and we counted. Im sorry for Leeroy . No one will be no more disappointed than himself. Think its worth logging an appeal to get his match ban over turned. AOS , SOS , Kevin mclaughlin , alan dillon , cillian o connor all stood up to be counted. But colm boyle for me knows how to take the game by the scruff of the neck and he stills passion in the lads. For 25 minutes in the second half we played like animals possessed i was very impressed by the level of intensity that brought to the game. I would be interested to know how many turn overs we got in the second half. Im worried about 2 things . Ger caff and not closing games out. Id feel for Ger cause im sure his confidence must have taken a battering this year . If the game is in limerick next saturday then so be it. Lets go there beat the kingdom and let the lads focus on next game . Mayo Abu 🙂
I’m fed up of us being caught on the media side of things. It does influence games! We have been persistently targeted by media commentators in recent years (Brolly, Cuthbert, Tompkins, Liston etc) while our representatives (McStay, Carney, McHale, Brady) are admirably refrained and unbiased in their media dealings.
What I’m getting at is that Mayo had been called systematic and tactical foulers in middle third. Yesterday, I thought our middle eight and especially A O’Shea (such a collosus) were hauled and dragged down repeatedly with no sanctioning for Kerry players. Our media reps should be highlighting this all week in this week’s media and plant the seed in referee’s mind ahead of the replay. A few cards for the Kerry boys would have to improve their discipline and allow us to prosper at our best tactic i.e. running game. I’m convinced Kerry reps are all talking to each other and agree on coordinated media strategy – we should be doing the same
Circle the wagons is right.
The gaelic grounds will affect us supporters in terms of being familiar with it and getting in and out but it wont affect team Mayo who in my mind wont care if it was played in austin stack park on Wednesday evening.
They fear no team, no player and certainly no venue.
Start looking for your tickets folks.
I have to commend our supporters yesterday who raised the bar to a new level, this certainly helped the team. This should be remembered by all when we are backed into a corner again, never doubt the ability of this Mayo panel- under James Horan they have never bended the knee to no one.
does anyone know whats the story re tickets. im not a cairde member . when or where are they available?
Thanks for all the links! 🙂
So proud of all the lads, they played brilliantly yesterday.
So to Limerick we must go, it’s a joke. Who’s bright idea was it to book an American football game during OUR championship!! 6 days is not enough time for both teams to recover after a game like that & if Dublin were involved you’d know where the match would be played!
Now I’ve gotten that out of the way time to focus on the game on Saturday (and trying to get the day off work!) Did anyone hear about there being a shortage of tickets for season ticket holders???
Tickets are available now from gaa.tickets.ie €30 for uncovered stand, €20 for terrace. Get ’em while they’re hot!
Willie Joe, to be fair I wouldn’t be one to stick up for the county board but unless Kerry were also to come out (which they wont of course) and complain about the choice of venue it would just like we are moaning, irrespective of how correct we would be, and would only serve to generate column inches while taking away from focus on Saturday.
best bet is to go ahead, win it and the county board to issue a withering statement afterwards. Do our talking after we win
well said willie joe..am sickened by limerick decision after the heart and hunger that mayo boys showed yesterday..hard to see how playing in limerick isnt an advantage to kerry..And as for the bomber….what a clown..made the mistake of reading his article at the wend..never again..hope the boys lock it down in limerick!
Tickets available NOW on gaa website.
Buy early and often! We need to snap these up and get them into Mayo hands!
Get onto all of your friends. But tickets today!!
Big Bertha flag and other terrace goers are looking at West ENd (clare end) terrace
Suggest that we get the word out quite quickly that tickets are available NOW on gaa.tickets.ie .
Make no mistake Kerry people will want to attend this replay and many on their forum have suggested that they will travel to this one (having openly admitted that they watched the drawn game on TV)
The capacity of the Gaelic grounds is around 49000 so this will sell out quite quickly.
Fortunately I have my season tickets and will be in and around the awesome support that we witnessed and participated in yesterday.
Let’s support this magnificent team and roar them across the line next Saturday evening (as disgraceful a decision that it is)
Citywest
Sorry forgot to include the Kerry forum;
http://kerrygaa.proboards.com/thread/5506/kerry-mayo-ireland-semi-final?page=16
Citywest
Agree with Mayonaze – spread the word and buy early and buy often – we need to get the numbers down to Limerick.
In other wonderful news, Cormac Reilly has been appointed as the man in the middle on Saturday …..
The Voice is still gone. What can you say? What a bunch of lads. So proud to be a Mayo man. If you get your hands on todays Indo, turn to page 8. The fella on the top of the page with his fist in the air is me. That says it all.
The decision go play this game in Limerick is farcical. The message it sends is we don’t give a toss about Mayo, the place of the Dubs is sacrosanct and it would be preferable for Kerry to advance to a dream ‘money spinning’ final with the afore mentioned premium franchise. Derisory treatment of Mayo. I’m fucking livid with the greedy £*#~*£ds.
CityWest, I followed your link to the kerry forum and had a little laugh when a pop up came up saying there were problems with the security cert for that site 🙂 makes for interesting reading though, I am always looking through the green and red tinted glasses. Best of luck to our boys on Saturday, I am always proud of being from mayo but never more so than yesterday. Best team & Best supporters in this country.
Why are they only selling seats for the Uncovered North Stand and Terrace – where are all the main stand tickets going?
Well if the Roscommon game is anything to go by justoutsideballagh, they’ll be going to ‘VIPs and sponsors’…
To the county boards and croke park most likley for their respective supporters clubs, clubs and their usual commitments. I cant imagine there will be any covered stand tickets on general sale, I think it holds about 8k if memory serves from hurling matches.
Its a smaller pitch, not sure if that suits them or us
I booked seats in the North Stand on GAA.IE. Looking on the Website for the Gaelic Grounds they have section numbers in this stand. However no numbers are allocated when you book your seats. I wonder will they be numbered seats when they post them out?
Only terrace tkts available now and postal delivery only.
Just bought 4 Clare end.
Buy asap! If you can buy an extra one for an.other then do. I have. At least I know it’s guaranteed to go to a mayo supporter.
Wonder how they are looking after all the Mayo Season Ticket holders. Stand tickets now all sold out. Have they held tickets for all our Season Tickets?
Clare end tickets bought. Now to think about what time to leave…11am or 12pm….on Friday! 10,000 cars though Claregalway…
Limerick is it?
My first thought as I made my stunned way from the Hogan was -ah feck it ! not bloody Limerick.
Then followed a memory-
2008 August I think, Mayo Kerry minor semi reply.. hold on I think ..not all bad, Robbie, Aido and Kevin Keane were on board Maybe others, the day we beat “the princelings” as I remember WJ christened them,,out the fecin gate. 3 goals and a hape of points to one and a few. That was my first and last time in the gaelic grounds and from the get go it was joy heaped on joy for the mayo support. Any chance of a refill there lads?
Brolly’s theatrics generally don’t appeal to me but fair dues to him, he’s one of very few public GAA figures who has stood up against an increasingly corporate policy coming from the chiefs.
The Sky deal was and still is an unforgivable crime perpetrated against anyone who has ever put any free, voluntary effort into this amatuer association’s games.
Unfortunately there’s probably nothing that can be done regarding the replay. It might even serve as extra motivation for this team.
Very proud of our county, players and supporters after that yesterday but not proud to be a GAA member. There is now a widening disconnect from the top decision makers in the GAA to the supporting public and it is not on.
That said il ech above and urge everyone to get as many tickets as possible. We were in full voice yesterday and the atmosphere was one of the best I ever witnessed at Croke Park,
Any news on when Keegan,s appeal will be heard,check this piece of Connelly in ’11 ,he got away with it,slighty different and overreaction by Donegal man but still struck with intent https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRaI1PDU2xw
Bomber Liston gone down in my eyes after reading his article in the Indo. As far as I could see Kerry cynically fouled Mayo everytime they got the ball in their half back line when it looked like they were going to attack at pace. This included all 3 of the Kerry half forwards. AOS was fouled everytime he got the ball in the second half. All Bomber could write is about Mayo’s over physical approach and Lee Keegans petulant flick of his foot in response to the Kerry mans late punch. If you are going to write for a National Newspaper you need to keep a small bit of objectivity. He was wearing the green and gold. Whilst Darragh might be guilty of the same thing but at least he merely resorted to praising his own team. I feel both teams brought the physicality as far as they should and leave it at that. I thought Kerry were very good in certain areas. I feel that the next days game could be even better as Mayo now know that by running at the Kerry backs scores including goals can come. I thought that the ref in general had a decent game despite the red card. I hate all this calling for cards – black or red. Get on with the game. If you want no contact go watch a hockey game or something.
What D.Walsh did was petty and unsporting.I really think we need to be careful with these feckers in limerick.They are dangerously wounded
Couldnt bear to lose to them now.Nothing has been won yet and before the game I would not have taken a draw though I would at half time.Big improvement needed from some players.Also maybe some selection headaches for James.Personally I would go with Barrett and leave Kevin where he is .Probably start Tom & Andy .Hope Caff is ok ….no need to change horses in mid stream.
I think Rob needs to be more assertive.Looked a bit hesitant to me.