Well, that was fun yesterday.
None of us could be there, of course, but it was still a fine afternoon’s entertainment when viewed from the couch. If this TV mini-series runs all the way to Christmas, with a nice happy ending to conclude, there won’t be too many complaints voiced here.
But, of course, we’ve only won one game and, unless we can back it up next Sunday and complete yet another Round 7 relegation avoidance swerve, we’ll be back down to earth with a considerable bump as we head into the knockout winter Championship.
Today, though, we’re entitled to feel happy and to let thoughts dwell on the football and not spend every waking hour thinking about all the bigger worries with which we have to contend. That’s got to be worth a lot.
Okay, I’d say you’re ready for some media coverage on yesterday’s match so here you go.
Locals: Mayo Advertiser, Connaught Telegraph.
Nationals: Irish Times, Irish Examiner (match report, post-match quotes), Irish Independent, Irish Sun, Irish Mirror (live blog, match report).
Others: GAA, RTÉ, The 42, Sports News Ireland, Galway Bay FM (with post-match audio).
Photos: Ciara Buckley (who captured that incredible photo at the top – it graces the front page of the Irish Examiner’s sport supplement today), Sportsfile, Inpho.
The Mayo News football podcast also went online last night – thanks to some trojan post-match work by Rob on the production and editing side – and is available to listen to via all the usual platforms. You can catch it on SoundCloud here.
That’s your lot – enjoy!
It was a very interesting thing to watch the confidence that mclaughlin, conroy and moran had on the ball, usually a newer player is full of nerves and makes mistakes but these lads appeared very comfortable. Horan deserves a bit of credit here, so well done to him for getting lads prepared to that level of composure. Hopefully this wasn’t the last we will see of Mayo in 2020.
Great photo.
How Aido has kept and continues to keep the cool amazes me. Sean Andy no match for him yesterday.
Great win.
I wouldnt be getting to carried away about yesterdays performance.
Galways Keeper and FB line where awful. They lost their center back & center forward after 10-15 mins
i could name another Galway team that was missing yesterday
But hey beating your neighbours out the gate in their field & getting 2 valuable league points hey take that any day
How about this “the new departure ” for absent mayo players. Hennelly Barrett Harrison Higgins Vaughan boyle McCormack seamie parson McLoughlin Boland Doherty carr Conor ó shea James durcan. None of those played yesterday and not a bad team on their own though I take your point about galway under strength. The main thing is to keep the head down and work hard
Thanks WJ for the early morning round-up.
What a Sunday afternoon. The game reminded me a bit of the replay against Roscommon some years ago. Everyone was gearing up for a tough battle.
As documented the great encouragement are the new blood and their are even more ready to come in. JH is special and Ciaran Mc must be a powerful influence. Maybe Andy’s Gym has a part and all that goes on quietly.
Yesterday overlooked that Donegal were on 7pts after win and not in a tie of 3 on 5pts.
A win against Tyrone is almost a must. Only if Meath win would a Draw do. Hope I am right this time.
It will be like a week for that team. The subs next time will probably be the more experienced? Have no idea.
While it was an excellent result, its always great to beat Galway, it does need to be taken in context. Galway were hopeless, really really bad. Mayo played some excellent attacking football but they were given the space to do so. This will be a massive confidence boost to Mayo and in particular the young players who did so well, Tyrone will be a different proposition but I’d be confident now of getting a result.
On another note, Tommy Conroy had an excellent game and looks the real deal but can people stop referring to him as Tommy Goals, it shows a lack of knowledge of Mayo Football. Tommy Goals is Tommy Conroy from Kiltane who I believe was given the nickname during the 2013 minor campaign, not Tommy from The Neale.
Great result yesterday but we will need to tighten up at the back against Tyrone and in the championship if it goes ahead. I’m a big fan of Clarke but some of his kick outs worried me yesterday and Diarmuid O Connor was very quiet but other than that great performance
Thought Fionn was a bit quiet but Diarmaid was fine, neither did anything wrong just ball didn’t come their way so much and others shone. Both did plenty of graft. Matthew Ruane was 80% and 20% bad running in to Cul de Sacs twice. Needs to learn from this, intercounty defences 2 on 1 usually stop attackers.
My few big takeaways.
1. Leave Aidan and Cillian inside and let those young lads play with pace and freedom.
2. We’re not quite there positions 2-8.
It needs a bit of adjustment, endless combinations of how that may be.
But I feel a big powerful Kerry or Dublin would get a grip on us and be able to power through us.
Diarmuid doesn’t seem to go well on the wing so maybe better at midfield.
Leeroy doesn’t on balance work in our favour in the full backline.
Leeroys best football this year was at 6.
If we can more solidify from 2-8 overall we could have a really strong team/panel this year.
Something not right about the win. Galway woeful, some here taking bout hard training. Don’t know what it was, but it was certainly remarkable that overnight last week, galway went from stong favourites to underdogs in the betting market. Think that was mentioned here last week at the time.
However, there was still a team to be beaten and by god did our lads give them a beating. No only a beating but a beating with a team that no one here (myself included) thought would be our starting team.
This was a magnificent team performance and keeps our div 1 status in our own hands. Couldn’t ask for more from yesterday. Happy out.
Great confidence booster ahead of another must win game against Tyrone.
Galway, undeniably were fairly weakened to begin with and more so when Duane and Comer went off injured. I would question Joyces judgement on selecting Comer to start in the first place while he was very obviously not 100% fit. Comer is a big, powerful unit and needs good, solid ground underfoot for him to operate at his best. There were doubts about him leading into the game and why Joyce risked him in, what for Galway anyway, was NOT a do or die game for them, would make me wonder what the hell was he thinking. Going in to cooler winter weather and winter pitches with softer ground is not where you want to be putting such an important player, carrying a twinge, at risk. Joyce and his medical team should not be surprised Comers hammer went.
A lot of positives for Mayo…..
It’s been a while since I have seen Cillian O’Connor so fresh and mobile – it undoubtedly helped him having Conroy and O’Shea in around him to lessen the load.
Conroy, Mullin and McLaughlin are gems in the making, watch this space! Any county would love to have three young lads of their ability and belief coming into their senior set-up.
The Mayo S&C team and backroom medical boys had the team locked, loaded and ready for launch. Not a muscle twinge or cramp in sight. Huge credit goes to them for getting the lads in such tremendous shape after 7 months out.
Now, let the hare sit, and same again for the Nordies at the weekend.
Yes, Galway were hopeless and worse but more often than not that just leads to a woeful football match. Mayo played excellent football yesterday and the newcomers certainly showed their ability. Mark Moran could be the answer to an awful lot of our forward problems.
Probably the performance of the day, though, was the taker of that magnificent photo of Aiden O’Shea flying over Sean Andy O’C. Well done Ciara Buckley, amateur photographer and, I believe, PRO for our hurlers. Where would Aiden be if Sean Andy hadn’t been hanging on so grimly? In orbit?
Does anybody know the full Mayo Panel?
Yes, a great feeling today after that result. It clearly has to be taken in context, but great all the same.
A win now against Tyrone and we’ll be heading into the Connacht Championship in great shape.
A few more experienced lads might be needed next week. This will be an almighty battle and we just need to grind out any kind of a win.
I think knockout football suits us. We seem at our best with our backs to the wall. Do or die football is the oxygen these players seem to thrive on. So the next few weeks could be very interesting indeed.
I just pray that the Championship goes ahead now.
It would be such a boost for so many in the country. It’ll be something to look forward to in what has been a pretty shite year.
It was only after this weekend that I realised how important these games are to us. Even a simple league win has lifted the mood so much. It’s great to see so many comments here as well over the past couple of days, which just goes to show what it means to so many.
Very good win if they play as well next week I cant see Tyrone come near us
Just gone through the pictures on sportsfile.. Some day future generations of people, not yet even born will look at them in wonder, maybe in the ‘Museum of Country Life’ in Turlough Castlebar, or some such place…One thing that struck me, the collective effort by both of those great rivals, to do everything humanly possible to stop the spread of virus…The Masks, the Social Distancing of the subs and mentors in the Stand, the fist touching after the match, the individual lunch boxes with each player’s water.. Patriotic, If everyone in society done as much, the Virus graph would very soon go in the right direction!…Mayo were absolutely Magic yesterday, fantastic entertainment and a great distraction in these worried days.
I have noticed that james carr name hasn’t been mentioned in the list of players missing, wondering is he injured, he would be a great addition to be brought on as a sub especially with his physicality and pace
Aido looks to be in great shape..as does Cillian…real important for us. Very happy with that yesterday.
Levle 5 for 6 weeks 🙁
Looks like inter-county ball will go ahead regardless Turnip Head.
At least there’s something that will help us get through the grey winter.
It said in the news that the championship will go ahead, but no mention for the last game of the league. Are we assuming the league is covered in the championship?
Delighted with that performance yesterday, it was real backs to the wall and they came out fighting. Also lovely to pop the balloon of Galway hype. Some nice additions to the panel who will be very close to 1st team action by the looks of it. The one thing that struck me was the amount of pace we had around the field. Soft winter ground will definitely not suit these boys.
Yeah, I’ve asked here a few times about James Carr but no one has responded. Does anyone know?
Here’s a fun fact – of the 26 players included in that 2019 League final banner photo here on the site, only seven played any part yesterday.
Great win, hard to pick faults bar a few of Clarke’s kickouts. Young lads excellent as already been said here. I do think the deprecated Leitrim team would have given us a better game yesterday….we aren’t that good and Galway aren’t as bad as showed yesterday.
Tyrone next and that will be a real indicator of where we are as they can actually defend and will look to nullify AOS, Moran and Conroy, but suddenly the future looks a little brighter and talk of Mayo heading for the doldrums looks to be wide of the mark.
that’s quite a remarkable stat there Willie Joe. And that’s a picture that’s missing Seamie O’Shea, Tom Parson and Cillian too.
I got the feeling yesterday if Galway put real pressure on our kickout – we would struggle. Longer term we need some bigger/stronger player at midfield that can catch kickouts. Otherwise better teams will shut down our short kickout and force us to go long where we will struggle. Still no sign of a reliable left footed free taker. But a good promising start for a lot of players. We will know a lot more about the new players after next Sunday – especially if it a wet day
Just watching the game back again. It was a rare day but I’ll give Maurice Deegan credit for not allowing Aido to be continually fouled as is usually the case. He did call a lot of the fouls that are normally allowed on Aido – you know the usual pulling and dragging but because he’s a big lad, they are never given.
Now if other refs will apply the rules similarly, it would certainly improve our chances against any opposition.
No wonder Horan was talking about great competition for places.
An alternative 15
Hennelly
O’Donaghue, Harrison, Barrett
Vaughan, Boyle, Higgins
Parsons, Murray
McLaughlin, McHale, Boland
Towey, Orme, James Durcan
-Subs, S o’Shea, C O’Shea, McCormack, Carr
-anyone know status Cathal Horan? was a great prospect.
Crazy decision that we cant watch the game live on sunday, when they can watch live overseas on gaa go
Well done to Mayo yesterday, and especially to the young players who showed great attitude and teamwork. Tyrone will be a different prospect, so it’s important to start a few of the more experienced heads to get an initial foothold. It would be a shame to lose out now, and for those young warriors to miss out on Div1 football next year. Can’t beat the youth – stay safe..
Is the game available to us on gaa go this weekend. It’s not on live on tg4. My understanding was that if it wasnt on rte or tg4 – it would be available to purchase on gaa go.
According to the website it can only be watched live overseas, it would be better if tg4 weren’t shown it at all , we could then have it on gaago, crazy stuff
To get the best out of Diarmuid O’Connor he needs to be in the thick of it Either at 8/9 or 11. Two of his best performances (that I can remember off the top of my head) were away in Kerry in the league last year and the infamous day in Newbridge.
He has a Rolls Royce engine. He is utterly wasted hugging the touching. Using soccer terminology he is the ultimate box to box player. He can run all day (even when he looks f#cked!) He can defend and he can score, points and goals.
Also, I’ve been going on for about 2 years on this blog about AOS at 14 for Mayo, for anyone who would listen. If utilized correctly it’s the position where he can be of most benefit to us and a menace & nuisance in the heart of the opposition defence. Dont expect it to work every day out and better defences will look to snuff him out but if done correctly, and practiced on the training ground it will prove a real asset to us over the next 3 to 4 seasons. He could still help out in the middle of the park or even in our defence when required but to expect him to compete in Croke Park at midfield against a younger, faster and more mobile opponent is doing us and Aidan no favours. Slightly different on a narrower provincial venue against lower ranked teams.
Lots of positions up for grabs on our team, particularly in our defence. We conceded 17 points yesterday. That’s a lot!!! In fact, given how we dominated the game it is a concerning statistic. Work to be done there.
I’m going to lose the plot if the Tyrone game isn’t available live, be it on Tg4.ie or GaaGo.
What a photo! Surely one to place alongside Willie Joe’s blood -soaked bandage or the ‘Turin Shroud’ (as Frank MacDonald called it), when he returned to play against Tyrone in the ‘89 semi-final. Maybe you could root that one out WJ?
No problem, Catcol – a pic of the great man in that iconic headgear is here.
Thanks Willie Joe. It really has stood the test of time!