There are worse ways to start a week, I reckon, than scanning the papers to read about a record-equalling championship win over Galway. That makes this particular Monday a better than average one in my book.
Here they all are: Irish Times, Irish Independent, Irish Examiner, Mayo Advertiser, GAA.ie, RTÉ, The Score, Hogan Stand, Breaking News. Go, on and spoil yourself – read the lot of them. You’d never know, it could be another hundred years before we have a similar margin of victory over the neighbours.
Aside from the match reports, there’s plenty more in the papers about the match in the form of post-match quotes, some of which are worth re-quoting. First, though, here’s a list of them: Irish Times and Irish Independent (both of which have quotes from Alan Dillon, James Horan and Alan Mulholland) and Irish Examiner (with quotes from the two Alans).
RTÉ also have plenty of after-match reaction with post-match audio and video reaction from James Horan (which segues back into the panto that is The Sunday Game Live, with more of the same panto here) and Alan Mulholland (audio) and with further quotes in pieces with James Horan, Alan Mulholland and Alan Dillon. There are also post-match audio clips with Darren Coen, John Maughan and Ray Silke, as well as with Donegal analyst Brendan Devenney.
You can parse all of this content as well as I can but I’d just point to two quotes from all of the above. The first is from James Horan, where he points to where we created the platform for the win:
What set it up for us was the turnovers in the first half. Our forwards just absolutely pinned them back and really broke their spirit.
That was probably the aspect of our play that was most impressive yesterday. The lads tackled and harried mercilessly in that opening half, creating several scores – including the second goal – in the process and, as James correctly puts it, breaking Galway’s spirit.
The second quote, which I really love, comes from Alan Dillon, who marked his return with a very solid and intelligent display and who describes the brief given to the members of the Mayo forward line thus:
Up front, you have two jobs, work your arse off and get on the scoreboard.
All of the forwards did the first of the above yesterday and all bar Kevin McLoughlin did the second as well, with the Knockmore man more than compensating for a rare scoreless afternoon with several score-creating interventions.
That’s it for now and, for me, for much of the week to come as well. I’m away on a work thing from early (ludicrously early to be exact) tomorrow morning and won’t be back ’till Friday night so things may be a bit quiet from my side here on the site in the meantime. Enjoy the week, y’all.
Great quote fro Alan Dillon – spot on.
Upon reflection this was as poor a Galway performance as I have ever witnessed. Suicidal defending at the back. Surely it was obvious after 10 minutes that we were not going to allow the ball to be just walked out of defence. Galway had no plan B and Mulholand must take the blame for this.
But there isn’t that much difference in the two teams (not in terms of 17 point scoreline posted on yesterday). Yes we’re further down the line in terms of preparation and maybe in Mchale park we would comfortably beat Galway. But in the second half all Galway provided were more suicidal tactics. What could have been a reasonable contest was just thrown out the window by Bradshaws and Colemans stupid reactions.
And after that the game became a farce really.
We learned a few things about ourselves (but litle enough I thought).
Cetainly we are good enough to win Connacht and are building up to the physical strength required for levels in August. Keeping guys fit and improving the panel is crucial now. One good point Brolly made on Sunday Game last night was how Donegal cannot risk any injuries. I think our panel is wider than that but keeping stiff competition for places in the first 15 is crucial to the continued development of the team.
One way to do this I think is to have some changes for the Ros game. It may seem a disservice to Ros not starting our (possible) strongest 15 but giving other guys championship time is vital as well. Now could be a good time to try them out as
Who knows when we will need them ?
On yesterday’s display it will be difficult to displace Seamus O Shea when Barry Moran is ready for action. I think there is possibly room for the two O Sheas and Barry Moran somewhere around the middle. It is an intriguing challenge for Horan as to how he uses his big men.
The worry I would have about Barry’s return is that they might move Aidan back to 11 to try to accommodate everyone. Hopefully it has now been fully established that he needs to stay at midfield. Seamus at 11 is worth trying out though, as Cillian can be accommodated elsewhere in the forward line.
No.11 needs to be able to distribute the ball well, and in this regard, CoC would be superior to SoS, imo at least.
Full of praise from the papers and rightly so,a really great performance on all fronts even allowing for a Galway team that were so bad it was unbelievable.If we play like that again the Nester cup will be no problem.We looked fast and hard yesterday and if we can build on that display the Donegals and Dublins will be very fearful of playing us.We mean business this year the determination is there roll on Roscommon.
Great to be in Salthill yesterday, windless Salthill at that and get MY first win there since 1967! Due to a family bereavement I couldn’t attend in 2009, when Johnno’s management laid a few ghosts.
Mayo were terrific yesterday, but, as other have pointed out, we should tread warily. I have made the point often that Connaught has become very competitive.
While Galway have gone back, the others have come on and are very sticky opponents:
* The Rossies have the club championship under their belts and the Kilbrides to come in. Their U21s were good last year and minor medallists of 2006 have shown reasonably well.
*Leitrim will give Sligo a run for it in the other semi. And we know that London were no mugs either. Sligo themselves are an increasingly tough nut to crack and their under age teams are improving all the time.
The fact that Mayo are chasing 3 in a row for the first time since 51, the fact that Galway haven’t done that for ages (70s?), and Rossies (80s), shows how hard it is anyway. Dublin have won a stack in Leinster even when they were mediocre.
Finally a few words about Galway people:
Is there a better crowd out there – apart from our own?
My son was knocked off his bike on the outskirts of Galway on Thursday, in appalling weather and had to be taken to hospital.
The help and support he got from people who didn’t know him from Adam was amazing. He’s fine now, but to all the Moniveas and those on the Tuam Road, a very big thank you.
FYI If I am reading it correctly, Paddy Power have cut the odds from 11/1 to 7/1 for us to win in September…if you haven’t put a few bob on before now, hurry on
I will second that about our neighbours in Galway, was in Merlin Park for a few weeks with a bad fracture when a young fella and the memories I still carry with me to the present is of a great crowd .
Even then we had our banter over Mayo and Galway football, I was only 10 yrs old but it was great crack with the nurses and they even took me to see one of the Mayo injured who was recovering from a broken leg, I think it was Joe Early (stand corrected there) , in any case he was great to me as were all at the time.
It was from then on that I started to take an interest in our own County and have done ever since. It was Oct 68.
Go raibh maith agut Gallimh
Surely Cillian is worth a punt at 50/1 for player of the year.
Galway last did it in 82 to 84
Points to take from the game:
– We can score goals (for those who thought that from the league we had completely forgottenn how)
– We continue to work really hard which has to be the baseline for any team with any aspirations, obvious I know but its surprising how often its overlooked
– We will not be beaten easy and have enough spirit and belief in ourselves to fight on irrespective of the circumstances
I dont think we can draw any other conclusions from Sunday in terms of where Mayo 2013 are at versus our ultimate goal of winning Sam.
I predict a tight match against Roscommon, with us winning by 3 maximum. After that the pundits will be critical of us and wringing their hands, but dont buy into it lads, just like no-one should buy into the pedestal we have been put on since last Sunday.
We’re not as good as that scoreline suggests, and Galway arent as bad. Twas just one of those days where everything went right for us and wrong for them.
remember Galway this time last year? I’m sure their odds for Sam tumbled after that performance also, but look what happened to them. We’re a better more experienced team than that, so the same wont happen, but the Rossies will definetly give us a game, we will make mistakes, and that shouldn’t make us doubt this team
JJ, Joe Early was there after a bad break in a league match. The one official who visited from the football world was the legendary Tull Dunne. The flowers and fruit from the Mayo hierarchy got lost in transit!
Cillian definitely worth a punt at 50/1. Myself and a friend backed him at 80/1 about 2 hours after the Galway game. Was amazed to see that the bookies waited until he had officially got the MOTM award before slashing his odds. Even without the award he had a stellar game and was coming into the championship on the back of two YPOTY awards.
Hopefully he can continue in the way he showed on Sunday
Over the last week or two I looked again at our matches from the last year. And what I noticed was – like the little girl in the story – ‘When we were good we very very good but when we were bad we were awful’. The very very good bits were when we cut loose and fired up a big score in short time. The bad bits were when we collapsed for a short period and coughed up a lot of scores and in particular goals (that eventually killed us).
The difference this year has to be – no collapses – no goals conceded – when the opposition get on top for a period – kill the momentum until we settle again – minor rows – disruption -auld tricks if you like but all very necessary on the big day. The other difference will have to be staying free of injuries to key players. If we have our best 15 on the field all fully fit and the heads are right we will be very hard to beat. No-one will want to meet us.
As I said when we lost to Kerry two years ago – at least we have a Mayo team now that will make us proud no matter what happens. That was the feeling I had going into Salthill and I cannot wait to see them play again. What a delightful change for Mayo supporters.
One observation on post match comments……….why are so many Mayo fans concerned about the state and future of Galway football? Thats their concern, and for me our objective in mayo over the coming years is to ensure we stay the dominant team in the province so that there is no doubt that we will be competing in the quarters pretty much every year.
We have suffered many good beatings to Galway in the past, and I dont like our sympathies to them and our concerns for their future. That has been a problem for ‘nice Mayo’ in the past, showing too much respect. Dont worry, the tide could well turn in short enough time, and I for one wont be looking for sympathy from Galway (and I dont think we will get much).
These matches is all about the history, banter and all which is great, but a few older Galway gentlemen behind me the last day kept having loud conversations to themselves behind us on Sunday (so that we could hear them) along the lines ‘mayo will never win an all ireland’, ‘where are their all ireland medals’, ‘we will have a couple more in a few years and they will still have nothing’, ‘who is this Andy Moran? he wouldnt lace Joyce, Donnelan, etc boots’. Why would I worry about their future?
Cop on lads, time we showed our superiority in connaught after putting 2+ years of hard graft, we beat a Division 2 team who have only won a handful of championship matches in the last 10 years. Its just one game against our traditional rivals who happen to be poor at the moment. And let Galway look after themselves……..
As much as I Can’t stand Brolley’s usual waffle, he made a good point the last night about stamping our authority on Connacht football. We now know that we are a force, but we must write that into the history books as we go on, year to year. He gave an example of the amount of provincial titles Dublin & Tyrone have won while they were on top of their game which eventually led to All Ireland success.
We must now try to replicate that and dominate our province while we are significantly stronger compared to our arch rivals and with all respect the lesser counties. Winning well while being hot favourites is what will be required all the time now, not just last Sunday. For too many years we have been scrapping victory over poor/average teams and then feeling like world beaters after, only then to be turned over in a game which was supposedly ours on paper.
I don’t want to be negative in the aftermath of such a fantastic performance and to be fair we must give massive credit to James Horan and the lads, however it’s the past now and we move on to “Game 2” as he says himself.
We didn’t put Galway to the sword in the second half when they were deflated with 13 men. I know it was over as a contest after 20 minutes and human nature kicks in but we need to add that bit of a ruthless streak to see it out, Like what Kerry have done to us in the recent past.
The real ambitious aim and goal is always the ‘perfect performance’ any manager worth their salt would tell you this.
Well done mayo great win am happy
Thanks John for that, how sad that he didn’t get more recognition,I do remember the nurses there telling me he was a great player, I was too young to know but he was great to me even though he was laid up. I hope life for him afterwards was good and now I get the chance to Say Thanks Joe Early for a precious memory……………….Thanks again John, I always thought it was him but needed confirmation from one who would know, you’re a walking encyclopedia .
Go raimh Maith agat a Cara
After watching the game back, I see Brolly came out and said that Galway were not serious about football, to much sputtering and shouting from Spillane and O’Rourke. The point he was making was not about the players themselves, who no doubt are as committed as any other team, but more about the general set up in the county.
Last year Galway lost to Antrim in the qualifiers and there was barely a peep out of people in the county. When we lost to Longford, it was like the sky had fallen in, we had resignations and committees of inquiry and reports and recommendations. Basically the fans and football people in the county demanded better and we got it. Sad as it is to see, football seems to be on the wane in the public consciousness in Galway, the hurlers generate all the backing and public support.
Truth be told 16k was a bad crowd for Mayo v Galway in Galway. I know it wasn’t a final, but I remember only a few years ago 30 thousand squeezing into Salthill and Castlebar for these matches. Unless the people and County board of Galway get serious, as Joe would say, about football again, I don’t think they will return to the top table anytime soon. The game has evolved, and the traditional Galway method of relying on skill alone no longer works without intense physicality and organisation.
Having watched the match on Setanta again this evening, I was amazed how many frees we gave away and how many yellow cards we got. I know the ref was a bit pernickety and indeed struggled at times to keep up with the play, but we’ll need to refine ( if that’s the word) our tackling skills before the stiffer tests down the road. Five of our forwards had received yellows on forty minutes and that’s not counting the backs.
Another point worth noting was unless the’re going flat out, our forwards struggle to create openings for themselves and rely solely on defenders coming through. There were several examples of this especially in the second half, where forwards were too static and not making runs into space, this resulted in many wasted shots and misplaced passes. I thought that in the second half with the match already won, we could have moved the ball more slowly, work the Galway backs a little more and waited for openings especially as they were a man or two down.
These are mere observations and do not in any way distract from a great team performance and confirmation if it were needed that James and his management team are doing a right good job . A word of caution though, Mayo are not as good as this result might suggest !!!
mayo mchale how do you know how good mayo are,no one knows,no need for negativity
Just my opinion CARHEENMIK – Just my opinion !!!
carheenmik – the old “negativity” rears it’s head again. Why the hell can someone not give an honest opinion and an accurate one at that without this stupid “negativity” comment. mayo mchale is quite within his rights to comment without being branded. Do you really know what “negativity” is? Roscommon will prove how good Mayo are. Then we will have a clearer picture. Constructive criticism is always good.
I have to agree with Joe Mc on this one, Carheenmik – everyone is entitled to put forward their opinions here (within reason) and I’d prefer if responses to opinions put forward concentrated on the substance of what has been said rather than simply putting labels on what others have said. Doing so serves no useful purpose other than to cause annoyance, as you can clearly see.
John Cuffe.
The apples and oranges for Joe did not dry up from mayo. Johnny Mulvey and other officials visited as did John Morley and John Carey as did people from the Mayo Association in Galway. Jack Mahon from Salthill was also up (Joe a St. a Jarlath’s man??)