73 thoughts on “Monday match reports”

1. The Irish Examiner feature piece is good

2. Only getting to the screen now. No doubt Willie Joe, apart from all you’ve put up here (and put up with!), you’ve probably cycled back from Castlebar and had an early morning gym session.

   If you saw steam in McHale Pk around 9, it was coming out my ears. The filth of Kerry (Crowley an absolute thug), the appalling reffing, the sloppiness of Mayo (12 giveaways according to Rochy), the missed frees, the match there to be drawn at the death or even won, the criminal hit on Regan, our mental sluggishness. Ugh, ugh, ugh.

   Still, if we win on Sunday, and the motivation should be huge, we could be reasonably placed. Donegal won’t beat the Dubs and Kildare v Tyrone is going to leave one of those very badly off or both if it’s a draw. Pearse Stadium in Feb is really a home game for us and with an 8 day turnaround we gain some inches. Kerry have to travel again to Monaghan next week also – good enough for them the bastards.

3. I don’t know which is worse the shooting in front of goal or the martial arts

4. The funny thing is. There was a league we started I think with two or three wins, but there no real new additions of players. Here we have the greenshoots of Eoin ODonoghue, some serious all star type form from Paddy Durcan and a potential return to form of Diarmuid OConnor.
   When we get the likes of Tom Parsons, Seamus OShea and Lee Keegan back that could be a hell of a 17 players or so.

5. The last gasp win in Monaghan is looking more valuable with every passing minute.

   Its beginning to look like Galway wont go gently into that good night and take their place in division 2.

   Kildare and “The Hills” look to be in a bit of trouble. Tyrone as well. A win in Pearse Stadium could leave us 4 pints clear of the trap-door. We need to take Galway out.

   I see there was 11 thousand, 6 hundred and something in Mchale Park Saturday night. Yeah right. I wonder what the real figure was.

   It was great to see Conor Loftus for the last 40 seconds of the game. He might even get a full minute next time.

6. I went to the match expecting the Kerry thuggery and they didn’t disappoint. I half expected the inept Mayo performance as this is Mayo in the league but what is really frustrating is that we started 5 players who have been there for 5 years or more, who apart from one who had a bad injury has never reached the level required and yet here we are again giving them more game time. The rate of change of personnel is so painfully slow, especially in the forwards, where you would think Rochford could throw caution to the wind, throw in a Treacy or a Naughton, they won’t lose a game but it would beat having to watch the same names wheeled out again and come summer we’re back to the same core 17/18 and the rest aren’t good enough to come on and win a game. Madness.

7. February isn’t the time to be upset at much apart from the weather and that,too will improve very soon. Give the players a break, they are amateurs that mostly live in Dublin and are not training as a unit at the moment. My bet is that they’ll get enough to stay in division 1 and be happy with that.

8. I wasn’t impressed with Michael Moyles on League Sunday when he claimed Mayo tried to bully Kerry and failed. That’s not what happened. What I saw was that it was Kerry who put it up to us on the physical front ( and fair play to them) but on several occasions they resorted to dirt. One example is that Aidan O Shea was pulled and dragged throughout the game and mauled to the ground on a number of occasions. The ref failed to take proper control of the game and allowed this kind of stuff to go on to the point where Evan Regan was seriously injured. Not good enough.
   That said, Kerry were far better all over the field and deserved to win. No complaints on that front. When you concede 1-14 from play and it could have been more and only score 1-2 from play yourself the outcome is obvious.
   We will improve. And come the summer we will be back to our best but I didn’t like the fact that a bunch of young lads were able to turn us over so easily.

9. It would be interesting to see per game stats on the following over recent seasons:
   1. The most fouled team in Ireland.
   2. The team that commits most fouls.
   3. The team that scores most from frees.
   4. The team that scores most from play.
   I have a feeling we score more from frees than most teams due to the running style of play we employ.

10. Any word on how Evan is?

11. Actually, I think it needs to be acknowledged that the pitch on Saturday was in fine shape given the hand the groundmen were dealt. Serious hat-tip to them for that. It will be in very good shape for the Dublin game (relatively speaking).

12. WHO THE HELL IS MICHAEL MOYLES ? Some other guy with an agenda, I suppose, that has to distort the facts to get noticed.Should apply for a job with RTE. HE WOULD FIT IN WELL, WITH THE OTHER GENIUSES.

13. It was Anthony Moyles on League Sunday, Diehard! I couldn’t believe what he was saying either. You’re right too that it was the ref’s failure to deal with the dirt early on that led directly to that awful hit on Evan Regan. Sadly, too many refs let this kind of stuff happen. Sadly, too, that we can’t have David Gough reffing all our games.

14. See my earlier comment, Mayo Viking – it was Anthony Moyles (ex-Meath player) not Michael Moyles on TV last night. He doesn’t need to apply for a job with RTE as he already is a pundit with RTE. Also can you please turn off the caps lock? You’re giving me a headache with all that shouting!

15. Mayo Mark, very true regarding the pitch… Allot of good work gone in there since the Galway FBD game…by summer it will again be one of the best playing surfaces in the country. It’s a small thing, but nevertheless annoying thing, why don’t they tie down the goal nets to the ground properly in McHale Park,? a low shot into the goal almost always results in the ball going underneath the net, and a second coat of whitewash wouldn’t go amiss with the lines either… I’m sure they can afford it with 11K+ paying into McHale Park for a league match with Kerry.. It’s a strange phenomenon in Castlebar, apparitions or something else very strange seems to fill up 4 or 5 thousand seats in the place on occasions, again last Saturday was one of those occasions!

16. Lads stop the aul Kerry dirty play comments. The game was physical. Kerry done what had to be done. We did not. The only way to deal with this is do to them what they do to us. Clifford and the other young Kerry lads – not a glove laid on them. Playing at home and bullied off the pitch – not great really. I know it is only February and only the league but we should never allow ourselves to be bullied. No point complaining about the Ref. We have to sort these type of thongs ourselves.

17. things.

18. If it will help us win Sam I volunteer to sort these thongs. A Paul Galvin inspired one called the Gold Coast?

19. Any of those of you complaining about the official attendance figures making allowance for the kids who get in free? They also take up seats. As far as I could see there were quite a few of them.

20. I don’t think the pitch was great at all, very heavy in places and didn’t suit Mayos style of play at all. Salthill pitch is in better nick than MacHale park at the moment and i would expect Mayo to produce a better performance on a better playing surface.

21. Lads and lassies, settle will ye. There’s still frost on the ground and we are only blowing out our lungs at the minute. In my opinion, for most of the Monaghan game and flashes of Saturday evening, it is as fresh and lively as I have seen a Mayo team this early in the league. We are notoriously bad starters. We’ll be grand.

22. Thanks JP.

23. I don’t think the pitch would have suited the young Kerry boys either. On the positive side the league has shown up one player Eoin O Donaghue’s as likely to be in our 26man panel for the championship. The two matches have also given an opportunity to a few other who imo are not getting there. I hope we see Boland Reape and Treacy or Naughton given a turn against Galway

24. Andy D,.. Of course there were loads of Children there.. Loads of them have ‘children’s season ticket’s’..Seen them in the stand.. …. I don’t know if if they charge for’ ‘other’ children or not in McHale Park, or what age or height constitutes a child. but those with’ ‘children’s season ticket’s’ are already paid for… Either way as it work’s for me, something has to ‘scan’.. The season ticket or the ordinary ticket for the turn style to let you in… All these turn style’ clicks ‘ could be counted up, and I feel certain that all the turn styles are connected, otherwise you could make several photocopies of the tickets you print out at home, and several adults could gain entry with the one ticket paid for, and the one single barcode scanned several times … By the way, I’m all for letting Children in for free,.. I jumped over a few wall’s, barbed wire, when I was a teenager to get into match’s when I was that age…. Don’t think anyone would be able jump over the walls in McHale Park nowadays tough!

25. Thanks WJ for the correction. Apologies to Michael Moyles – a decent Mayo man. It was indeed Anthony Moyles – a Meath man!

26. If Regan has a broken jaw he should file an assault charge.

27. It only is ever assault charges in those just cases of just turn around and punch a guy cases. I’m not saying that is right or wrong.
    But you can see how it would be impossible to fairly decide on various injuries that happen during frees.
    Bear in mind a fair shoulder would also have you up on assault charges if it happened on the street.
    So just saying “If that happened on the street it would be assault”
    You also don’t dive into tackles on the street to make blocks on the ball so the street reference is always a non-argument.

28. Sinabhuil, I have to agree. We have to meet this sort of stuff head on and even plan for the consequences. Also, there must be a reason why we are such slow starters in the majority of games, with the odd exception, its like Groundhog day.

29. Mayomagic… Everything is realitive.. You should have seen the pitch after the two FBD match’s… If it improves as much in the next few weeks, as it did in the last few weeks..it will be grand… Incidentally, have any of ye taken notice of just how good the pitch in Semple Stadium in Thurles is just now.. And they have had a a few, intecounty hurling, football and even the Intermediate Club semifinals….incredible!

30. Come on lads time to move on…we are well able to get physical ourselves. Watched in back again and we were flat footed and fitness was down.

    It’s championhsip that matters. I except us to be more “up for it” on Sunday but another defeat will not be he end of the world either…all eyes on May

31. While we all accept that Saturday nights performance was poor, anyone feeling too down should hear what Eamon McGee , former Donegal player had to say in his column in Saturday’s Star.
    Just going from memory he said of Mayo.

    I wouldn’t read too much into they’re win last week v Monaghan, likewise if they lose tonight or are hammered. We in Donegal always had a term for upping the performance levels. We called it pressing the button. Every county will have they’re own word for it. Mayo have it perfected at this stage and are a long way from pressing it yet.

    He went on to mention how late we really got going last year, struggling with Clare , Cork and even Roscommon the first day. No need for panic just yet.

32. Resting our Sigerson players and other guys coming into fitness will prove positive yet. Fitness of players is heavily dependant on adequate recovery.

33. Thanks Leantimes for highlighting the goal nets problem. After the farcical Derry goal last summer I wrote to the county board on the substandard nets in Castlebar. We have seen many times a low shot going clean through. There was a penalty in the ladies colleges final in 2016 when the umpires weren’t sure if a goal had been scored. To even risk a similar situation in a big Mayo match is gross negligence. While the new green and red behind the goal nets are a classy touch the goal post nets need a similar upgrade. The Croke Park style goal posts have been adopted in the new Pairc ui Chaoimh, Hyde Park and Ennis. MacHale Park should follow suit. OK rant over. Let’s burst the net in Salthill on Sunday.

34. While it may be the championship that matters we can’t dismiss the league as not having purpose, no more than the FBD even if to a lesser extent. Also the backbone of our team are players who were going hard up to last September. It is no surprise that fitness levels are down a bit. What is important is that newbies are given a chance, that at the end of league, we know what we have going into a tough championship. Has Boland pushed on from the promise he showed last year? Are Reape, Treacy, Gallagher and others ready for the physicality of championship football. We need answers by end of league campaign

35. Regan has a “facial fracture” according to Mid West…..it looked downright nasty when it happened somImmnot surprised

36. Is facial fracture a fancy term.for a broken jaw??Havent seen much reference to it in the media..Not wishing to sound paranoid but imagine if one of our players dished out that treatment to a Kerry or Dublin player..

37. I suppose everyone there noticed Liam Hassett spent as much , or more time on the pitch than a few Kerry players. If it happens again, as has happened a few times in the past and the ref ignores it, should one of our back room boys join him. Maybe then the ref will act.

38. It says the below on Midwest’s website:

    Mayo and Ballina Stephenites star Evan Regan is set to face an extended spell on the sidelines after he sustained a facial bone fracture and concussion in an incident in Saturday night’s Allianz League Round Two clash with Kerry in MacHale Park.

    Full forward Regan was helped off the field after he was taken out by a Kerry defender in the 44th minute of Mayo’s loss to the Kingdom and it has been confirmed to Midwest Radio that he is recieving treatment with specialists this week. It has yet to be confirmed how long the forward will be absent for, but it will be a blow to Stephen Rochford’s plans with the Ballina man having started and performed well in the final FBD league game and both NFL games so far this season.

    In a cruel twist of fate, the injury came just two days after the third anniversary of Regan breaking his collarbone in a league game also against Kerry which ruled him out for the rest of that season’s league campaign.

    Meanwhile Regan’s Ballina team-mate Ger Cafferkey is the only other injury concern from Saturday night ahead of this weekend’s clash with Galway. The defender is being monitored for a hamstring injury and a decision will be made on his availability later in the week.

39. I think we need to look the fact our lads were not at the match sharpness that the Kerry lads were at instead of such a great performance Kerry put in.I am not disputing that they were the better team but when the ball is kicked in and their forwards are out in front and winning ball not to mention Caff getting roasted its easy to take scores. Personally id give Dotherthy the free taking duties at least until the end of league it looks to me Cillian is feeling the pressure. This year it is important the lads are up to thr pace a lot earlier in year going through the back door this year is not an option for us.Next weekend v Galway big game for lads confidence.

40. How unlucky can a guy be, terrible if Evan Regan has received another serious early season injury. Does anybody have footage of the incident from the match ?, I have’nt seen the incident.

41. Terrible news about Evan Regan, I was too far away from the incident to see what exactly what happened, does anyone have good quality of the contract, I can’t imagine there was intent to cause injury and unless there is conclusive evidence I would be slow to apportion blame. This may annoy some on here but he is not that kind of a player despite what some might claim.. I hope he makes a full and speedy recovery, he is a good talent and best wishes too him.

42. I’ve just this second seen the clip. I had a decent view on the night but didn’t seen as bad.

    He knew exactly what he was doing. Cowardly hit

43. I am beginning to wonder if there are a pile of dubs on this great site when I read the Cillian bashing That guy has been fantastic for us since 2011 and because he misses a few free on a miserable February night some guys here want him dropped I wonder who should we replace him with because for the life of me I can’t see good forwards coming through I have no desire to give out about guys but neither Evan on Douglas are going to do a job for us Come to think of it but it looks like we will have very few additions come Summer Its no coincidence that our last 3 management teams have been forced to revert back to the older lads We saw JH bringing on Andy and Dillon to save us in the Hyde in 2014 and 4 years later we are in a similar situation And why all this giving out about the team We have the same stuff every Spring Win a game and we are world beaters Lose one and its all over Have some guys lost their faith and respect These guys have performed Summer after summer since 2011 Don’t be too worried if and when Galway beat us Sunday They beat us last June yet we were there in September while they were walking the Prom in Salthill Look back over the Spring and league comments from previous years on this site Same as here last two weeks Ecstasy when we beat Monaghan deflation when we lose to Kerry Same pattern as always This is a fantastic team who have done their talking in the Summer when they needed to No point looking back on a February match v Kerry I prefer to remember the 2 excellent games against them in Croker in August Up Mayo

44. i think its terrible news about Evan He has had some misfortune playing v Kerry but what’s worse was this seemed like a nasty deliberate hit I wish him a speedy recovery and hope to see him back as soon as possible

45. Regan has had a shitty enough time with injury all the same and this one, again against Kerry, looks nasty.

46. Do you have good quality footage Mayomark,, clearly there must have been contact but the intent is the critical issue, I hope there wasn’t !

47. Footage is from Eir Gamechanger.

48. Too bad for Evan. Best wishes and a speedy recovery to him.

49. I’m sorry Gamechanger but the excuse, which you often see wheeled out by English soccer managers, that someone “isn’t that kind of player” is both pathetic and utterly irrelevant. What kind of individual someone is or isn’t (on the field or off) has no bearing on the issue.

    Shanahan broke Evan Regan’s jaw quite simply because he chose to play the man – smashing his elbow into Evan’s face – and not the ball. I saw it clearly and it was a filthy, vicious, cowardly hit. So save me the “he’s not that kind of player” bleating. I’m sure Johnny Buckley wasn’t that kind of player either when his reckless charge into Evan two years ago broke his collarbone and could well have put him in a wheelchair given the way he came down on his neck that day.

    Ultimately, though, I blame the ref for what happened to Evan on Saturday night. Kerry’s thuggish intent was clear for all to see right from the off – as it was in last year’s All-Ireland semi-final replay – but, unlike David Gough last August, O’Mahoney hadn’t the balls to deal with what was happening in the game. From a player safety standpoint, he bears a heavy responsibility for the fact that Evan Regan ended up with a broken jaw. Needless to say, I don’t ever want to see that spineless idiot ref a Mayo match again.

50. Very sorry for Evan Regan on what sounds like a serious injury. The timing of it is also very tough on him as he was probably feeling that bit of extra pressure to demonstrate a higher and more consistent level of performance this spring in order to hold onto his place in the squad for the championship. It’s now up to others to step up and show how they can compare in the interim. Wishing Evan a speedy recovery.

51. Maurice Deegan was ridiculous in the Tyrone game. All laughs n high fives n how are the lads. He allowed a Tyrone player get dangerously smashed and nothing was done about it.

52. Does anyone know whether the Mayo panel has been cut yet? Are they still carrying players who featured in the FBD that didnt feature on the Kerry and Monaghan panels. Brian Reape , Ciaran Treacy ,Fionn McDonagh and Peter Naughton need to get game time to show what they can do.Its not fair that some journalists tweets sent in to Sunday sport on RTE are writing of our younger players when there not been giving a proper chance ,Eoin O’Donoghue is the only player to make a debut under Rochford in his 2 years.I think Ciaran Treacy and Fionn McDonagh are our top scorers from play of the season so far even if it is only the FBD and who could forget that beauty of a goal Naughton got against Galway.Brian Reape cleaned Sean Andy that nite too.

53. I think the ref lost it on Saturday by not taking stricter action early on in the match. It might have stopped the over physical stuff that went on later
    Strong case I’m for sin bin, if refs are going to renage on black card.

54. Watched the game back tonight on Eir for my troubles. No complaints about the result, we were soundly beaten. Some of our foot and hand passing was dreadful. Compared to last August and September it’s like chalk and cheese.

    On the Regan injury – the Kerry defender knew Evan had stepped inside him and was through on goal. It was a desperate, reckless attempt at a ”tackle”. Caught him with a closed fist and should have been a red.

    I didn’t realise it at the game, but in injury time the Kerry 19 gave Cillian an awful shoulder to the side of the head when Cillian was getting back to his feet. Could have resulted in another facial fracture. The referee clearly thought otherwise!

    Eoin O’Donoghue was better than I thought on second viewing. He is really good on the ball as well as defending. Gave one super 40 or 50 metre foot pass that led to Doherty’s free in the first half. Caolan Crowe impressed me again when he came on. I think he’s been underused the last year or 2.

55. Some deserved Red Cards are much worse than other’s.. Of course the offence perpetrated by Shanahan on Evan Regan was at worst end of the scale… It’s not going to happen anytime soon.. But an independent ‘Citing Panel’… with a doctor or physio… Preferably’ Without ‘. any GAA pedigree, or any bullshit reverence to supposed hard men of the past, might help in protecting our player’s… Kerry were undoubtedly the best team at playing football on the night and deserved the two points.. But, reckless and/or deliberate act’s of thuggery should be eliminated from the game… I don’t have any confidence in the County board to do or say anything about the incident,.. Stephen Rochford could, but it would be ‘wrongly’ portrayed as sour grapes, so I can understand why he might not want to do so… Kerry are as far from the ‘purists’ of Gaelic-football as it is possible to get., despite a well oiled, and well used public relations department … Some of the stuff that went on in Limerick (aided and abetted by Cormac Reilly)..Should remind us of that fact…. Anyone who seen on TV, or first hand as I did, the, appalling assault perpetrated on Nicholas Murphy, by Taigh Kennelly before the ball had even landed in an All Ireland final, needs no further reminding.. Of course ‘Taigh’ was not that type of player either…. However in his book, mostly meant for the Aussie market, he mentions how he got the knowing wink from Paul Galvin, meaning do it, just before the throw in… There are plenty of Kerry pundits out there in Media World, but contrast the, different attitudes they shown for the treatment of Colm Cooper by Tyrone, to the way they talk about it the Nicholas Murphy incident… ‘pot calling kettle black or what’.. Player welfare, my arse.

56. Sad news about Evan regan wishing his a speedy recovery some thing has to be done about this everyone talks about ulster football been dirty but kerry is worse than any ulster team and he new what he was going to do to Evan

57. Talking of spineless idiots Willie Joe, you’ll be pleased to know that linesman Anthony Nolan who was right on the Regan incident and did nothing, will be our ref on Sunday. O’Mahony will probably be linesman!

58. We seem to forget that Kerry did not take part in the McGrath Cup. That is why they would be fitter. Some of our players looked tired on Saturday night. Those lads have played 6 weeks in a row Some are saying to wait until the special ones arrive and all will be fine. Some of them have not returned for training. Yet they expect to turn up and get picked.I think the lads who have played the last 6 weeks should get a break for 2 weeks. Those players have played 4 FBD games plus the last 2 league games. The state of some of the grounds they played on would test the stamina of the best of atheletes. I too saw the assault on Evan Reagan This Kerry Thug should be named and shamed and also get a suspension. We will meet this bastard again. As I said the referee and his buddies were a disgrace, I wish Evan a full recovery and hope to see him back soon.

59. Just after looking at Mayo Micks video production of last Saturdays match.
    Evan Regan looked concussed and shaky on his feet while being helped off the pitch.
    I am stunned after watching Cillian miss 3 frees when he came on, two were about 14 metres from the goal, slightly to the right. This was the winning and losing of the game. I hope he regains his confidence soon.

60. Sorry to hear about Evan’s injury again. Some players will do what they get away with. Its not a Kerry or Dublin thing. Lets point at the root cause and keep the emotion out of it. The referee is the final arbitrator in Gaelic games. It is not his job to allow the game flow as many people seem to think. It is not his job to decide what kind of game it will be. His core task is to implement the rules of the game. If this does not happen then where do you point the finger. The person with the whistle on Saturday is not a referee. It is as simple as that. A very poor excuse for one in my opinion. Where does the blame lie for his appointment. Look at what is regarded as top class referees in Gaelic Games. You can count of the fingers of one hand all the referees who demonstrate a working knowledge of the rules, and these are constantly beleaguered in the national press as Inexperienced. Wait until you see the joke of a referee that will be appointed for the Mayo v Dublin game. Front runners for this gig are Dublin Joe, Deegan, and Reilly. Don’t get me started on the fiasco that is hurling at present

61. To win just once: I dont for a second think Cillian should be dropped however if Dotherty is in form which he looks to be why not give him he a crack at the frees.I think it was 3 or 4 years ago he was top scorer in league .On the Regan incident.I havent seen it myself but I saw him coming off and while I am not I doctor I think it is safe to say he definetly was not fully conscious his head was rolling and his legs were like jelly very sad to see. I can understand teams been cynical but there was a serious amount of dangerous tackles and off the ball shite going on. Kerry and traditional pure footballers does not exist anymore .I believe OShea received a lot of abuse from some Kerry fans that were at match .They could have done that from the high stool and not go out of their way making the long trip to Castlebar.

62. Much appreciated wilie Joe don’t take it to heart. Don’t worry about the capitals . malfunction in the glasses department, sorry about ur headaches. I’ve got one 2 after yesterday. All im saying is sand up and be counted. Nothing more or nothing less.

63. It’s a long road without a turn, I wouldn’t be too harsh on the team for the result.

    I do think had Kerry not had the red cards then it would have lent to a more open game. The one thing that was lacking was when Kerry seemed to “park the bus” there was no tactical measure to counter this from a Mayo point of view. Play a more, dare I say it, Dublinesque controlled possession based game and poach a few points and get a stranglehold on the game using the width of the field and run the 13 Kerry lads ragged…Instead Kerry played for the odd couple of counter attacks and were rewarded with enough to keep day light between us and them. We just need a little more astuteness at times, capitalize on advantages and not implode haplessly.

    Passing generally was atrocious and there was a lack of clinical edge to some of the stuff was frustrating to watch. I don’t the surface lent itself to balls bouncing too high in the sky.

    However, it is early in the year there are lads being rested and the conditions are less than ideal especially on what was a cold wintery night.

64. Firstly I’d like to wish Evan a speedy recovery. Having reviewed the coverage again and went through the incident frame by frame it appears shanahans shoulder made direct contact with regans jaw. It was hard blow. Yes he went to hit him hard alright. I doubt he went to break his jaw. If the tables were turned and a similar incident occurred at other end of the field we would be all saying that there was no intent. Un any case I wish Evan well in his recovery.

    Having reviewed the game carefully nearly ALL of kerry scores came as a result of turnovers. Sloppy passing. Aimless kicking. Failure to secure possession. Gibbons and o shea going for same ball and neither getting . We were very ring rusty. It’s hard to see us ever playing as bad again. Still we only lost by kick of the ball. We played poorly enough to be beaten out the gate. I expect us to be bit sharper in salthill. We’re gonna have to be. Simple as. I’d like to see a team something like this
    Clarke
    Harry
    Macdonagh ger
    O Donohoe
    Boyle
    Durcan
    Nally
    Parsons if he is ready
    Barry moran
    Macloughlin
    Aiden
    Diarmuid.
    Fionn Macdonagh
    Doherty
    Loftus

    I’d like to see Adam Gallagher get a run he has a lot of skill. Not the fastest but has lovely skill set. I expect mayo to win. When our back is to the wall that’s when we come out of our shell.

    A big improvement is needed but our guys know that. We lost the kerry game because we gave away possession to easily too many times. Not because we were bullied.

65. So sorry for Evan. How in the hell are Kerry getting away with this. It would not go unpunished if thos happened off the football pitch. No place in any sport for this thuggery and a blind eye turned when we are on the receiving end of this behaviour.

66. The dissappointing thing about the assault on Regan is that nothing will change as there is no appetite for change. This is the culture of thed game and neither supporters or GAA hierarchy want to fix it.
    In the last 3 years I can point to assault on Tom Parsons in the All Ireland final with a headbutt, eye gouging Colm Boyle last year and eye gouging Kieran Donaghy in 2015. All dangerous acts that just quitely were ignored by everyone including ourselves as fans. The game is like this because we want it like this.
    Solutions;
    1) Introduce video ref
    2) Allow video ref to review incidents after the game is over and take retrospective action.
    3) Enforce the rules that are there already and question officials when they are not.
    4) Stick to officials decisions unless there was a material mistake.
    5)Allow captains to appeal decisions to video ref on the pitch.

    Anyway it wont happen. I hope the lads stand up for each other much better in future. They were a bit soft on Saturday i thought.

67. I wish Evan Regan all the best in his recovery and hope he can take the field soon.

    On the Cillian issue, by his own high stanadards he had been missing frees that he would normally put over with his eyes closed. This was a pattern last year too.

    It’s nkt singling the lad out as he has been fantastic for us but something is a miss. As someone said hopefully he can regain his confidence…I am sure he will.

68. Hope evan has a speedy recovery.
    Kerry knew if they where to win this game they had to be overly physical.
    Yes the ref lost control but our experienced players let it happen all through the game.
    Have we learnt nothing from 2014.
    Cillian plays on the edge a times but he wont allow the opposition to bully him same with keegan.
    I watched closely oshea and crowley,crowley was instructed to drag oshea into a wrestling match by no other than hasset 2 yellow cards given play goes on and hasset runs out and taunts oshea.hasset was completely out of control the last night he stood on the end line for cillians first free shouting abuse was ask to leave by ref after the kick.
    Now if i was a player and saw this ass on the field i would have to accidently plough into the bollux on purpose.
    Kerry were the better team on the night.
    Expect the same physicality in salthill sunday mayo need controlled aggression,teams wont mind losing players against us the way we are finishing out games.

69. Pat75 Eoin O’Donoghue is only one of a number of players that Rochford has given debut games to. I don’t recall Stephen Coen playing under any prior management nor did Fergal Boland or Sharoize Akram.
    If you are to look at the FBD games, a whole bunch have been given the jersey. To be fair to Rochford I believe he’s minding the fitness of the younger lads – look at Clifford for Kerry – played a rake of games at intercounty and Sigerson and went off injured on Sunday.
    What would peoples reactions have been if Rochford had played some of the lads that have been busting a gut at Sigerson and then had to leave the field with an Injury?

70. Agree 100% on Hassett. This ass has to be taken off the field ASAP when we meet them in summer. He’s supposed to be a runner giving water and instructions? He’s going around goading opposition players and acting like a complete bollox. The spineless ref hadn’t the balls to tell him to fuck off till the 73rd min.
    Who is the Mayo equivalent? He needs to start a row with Hassett on the field and any ref worth his salt will then send both to the stand.
    It’s a perfect example of how all the top teams are willing to bend rules and push boundaries anyway. In my view none of these idiots should be allowed on the field. Players and match officials only. Just another example of something that crept in from American football or Aussie rules and it’s not adding to the spectacle at all.

71. We must be the county with the least amount of minutes played by any player making Is debut in this years league, probably last year as well. Sharoize a few minuets. Stephen Coen played under Holmes

72. With regards to the challenge on Evan Regan – I wasn’t at the game but I watched it on TV and I couldn’t say with certainty that the tackler intended to injure him. That is a very serious allegation to make. I have read, on this forum, posters stating they saw him being hit by a fist, a shoulder, and an elbow! Now, all three can’t be correct. Clearly, there had to be a hefty impact, but a player is being vilified unfairly without any apparent ‘accurate’ evidence. I am not in any way, shape or form attempting to condone what is red card territory if it was intentional – but equally, I have not spoken to anyone who can say for certain that it was a deliberate strike.

73. Here, Tom, try this bit of video here for size – https://www.facebook.com/enda.coyne/videos/10213279999607312/.

    If you concentrate on 35 seconds or so onwards you’ll see that it’s a strike by the fist to the head. If that can’t be classified as a deliberate strike – cos he sure wasn’t trying to strike the ball – I don’t know what can. And if he was aiming to hit him then of course he was looking to hurt him. Which he did, very badly.