Oisín Mullin our MOTM from yesterday’s game

Willie Joe
Photo: @MayoGAA

We’re back in Division One and the votes are in and counted for the Man of the Match poll on the game in which we won promotion. Oisín Mullin has come out on top in the poll and so he’s our MOTM from yesterday’s game. He was also selected as MOTM by TG4 after the game yesterday.

Oisín bagged 25% of the vote in the poll here on the blog, followed by Kevin McLoughlin (13%), Paddy Durcan (12%), Mattie Ruane (10%), Aidan O’Shea (8%) and Lee Keegan (7%). All played important roles our success in yesterday’s rollercoaster win – well done to all of them.

Here’s the full leaderboard for the MOTM poll.

63 thoughts on “Oisín Mullin our MOTM from yesterday’s game”

  1. Oisin is already a star in this team. He is so exciting to watch. He does not make many errors but those that he does -don’t seem to bother him. He just gets on with it.
    He is also a down the middle utility player and could seemingly play any central position. His confidence , his attacking prowess, his fielding , his man marking ,his athleticism ,his energy work rate make him the complete footballer. There will be more MOTM’s for Oisin. Well done.

  2. Well done to Oisin. The accolades continue to roll in and deservedly so.

    I went for Kevin McLoughlin myself. He’s a superb servant to Mayo football and underrated outside of the county. The half forward line is a bit of an issue for us at the moment, but he’s certainly part of the solution.

  3. Agree Rock .. Kevin does the simple things very well with a great vision and ferocious work rate . Well done to Oisin .
    Think we are all in the same boat waiting on injury updates on the O Connor brothers.

  4. @WJ – How many motm awards is that now for mullin in the 18 months or so he has been on the scene? What a talent.
    Incredible baller and athlete, i really want to see him out of the fullback line though, would love to see him at midfield

  6. Oisin is a serious athlete who could do a job in any position on the field. Personally I’d keep him at full back but with a better defensive structure around him. We are doing something no other team are doing with Oisin, he is so dynamic and attacking from such a deep position its unmarkable, teams dont know how to deal with it, opposition ff isn’t going to follow him and if he does he is out of position if move breaks down. He will probably move to mf at some stage and will do well but then he has to deal with the likes of Fenton and will be marked tightly.

  7. Oisín is the only Mayo player on the GAA team of the week. Interestingly, he is named at No. 6.

  8. Well done Oisin. A phrase sometimes over used is that such and such a player or team is a joy to watch. When it comes watching Oisin play, he is definitely a joy to watch. I’d pay a tidy sum for an entrance ticket when a lad like that is on show. Keep it going.

  9. Well deserved award for Oisin, worth it for his goal alone. Just out of interest, how many of our forwards have scored goals since last autumn? I think only Cillian and James Carr have scored 2 or more. Maybe Tommy Conroy as well. It might seem churlish to bring this up considering the incredible number of points we are scoring but it will be goals that will the big games to come especially vs Galway and hopefully Dublin.

  10. Fully deserved Oisin, well done. I was at that game against Monaghan last year Wille Joe and I remember Oisin was marking Conor McManus and it was a right old tussle. McManus was probably getting the better of things in the early stages. I will always remember though when Oisin got possession near the goal mouth and he took off down the field like a bat out of hell and McManus after him at full pelt. The full length of the field they went nearly to the other end line before Oisin laid off the ball to a forward. McManus was completely gassed with the hands on the hips for good while after and as for Oisin he just looked like he wanted to go again. I remember turning to the brother and saying this lad is going to be special. Its for that reason I also think Oisin is playing in the right position and Mayomad has got it absolutely spot on and described it better than I can. From that position Oisin is unmarkable and will cause opposition teams the most damage

  11. That’s right, Toe to Hand, and he also scored a point that day too. Even though we got well beaten it was an uncomfortable day for McManus!

  12. I remember couple of years ago at club under age an opposition manager telling oisins brother “I will be paying to watch you play for mayo in a few years”. He has a lot to live up to following oisin

  13. I would have voted for Kevin Mac myself. He is one of my favourite players of the current generation. Even the last day – he was the player that gave so many of the final passes that led to scores. And when the game was in the mekting pot near the end – he was the player that came out of the pack to catch a crucial kick out by Robbie. Like a lot of unsung heroes – it’s only when he is retired he will be fully appreciated.

  14. “I remember couple of years ago at club under age an opposition manager telling oisins brother “I will be paying to watch you play for mayo in a few years”. He has a lot to live up to following oisin

    Way hey , there’s a brother , lovely jubilee.

  15. Yeah, Oisean is something else alright, I would like to see him at midfield V Sligo, should Diarmuid O’Conner not be 100% ready to go.. It would leave James Horan a problem with who to replace Oisean with in our full back line, against Div 4 Sligo I think we could try Stephen Coen at full back and Eoin O Donohue in the corner, ..It would be a very interesting partnership with Mathew Ruane, when Diarmuid went off in Ennis, I think Mathew had very little help at midfield.. Oisean as an all rounder is probably Mayo’s best player right now.. But for all our faults in a very poor second half V Clare, plenty still performing for Mayo.. Kevin McLoughlin was my MotM, same as a few other posters.. Mathew Ruane is my player of the 4 league Match’s.. Paddy Durcan, Ryan O Donohue, Tommy Conroy, Lee Keegan, Cillian O Connor, and Robbie Hennelly (despite the first goal v Clare) all had very good league. Despite two of the very best player’s Mayo ever has in our full back line, Lee Keegan and Oisean, but also two of the most attacking defenders the game has ever witnessed..We have been absolutely clueless is stopping the opposition scoring pretty soft goals, particularly in the second half for a while now.. I on this Blog have reviewed all of our game’s since the beginning of 2020, amazing how many MothM award’s for Oisean and how many times Oisean has finished in the top 5 of the Mayo GAA Blog public votes.. Our top performer for the last 18 months in so many eyes. Another thing that struck me about all of our games in the last 18 months, was the amount of times that our second half performance wasn’t nearly as good as our first half..I think that’s true of the All Ireland final, the All Ireland semifinal, Connacht Final, and all of our league games this year.. This great combination of pressurising the opposition into a turn over and running football like we witnessed last Sunday is fantastic to watch, but it’s very taxing, we probably need to mix it up a bit with some traditional early long diagonal kicking into our full forward line…We have the player’s to win the ball.. Best wishes to all of our players recovering from injuries,both O’Conner brothers, Jason Doc and the one this particular Mayo team needs the most, Brendan Harrison.

  16. Plunkett is also worth considering in the FB line. He’s obviously a good defender, and isn’t attack minded which is a plus, because we need an outright defender holding the fort. He’d seem a better fit for FB line. Surely if he can play in half forward line he can defend on FB line. Its different for the likes of Lee and Oisin who are very naturally attack minded footballers, and who are clearly out of place at the back.
    Just a thought…

  17. It’s clear Plunkett is in favour as a potential championship starter, and he has undoubted talent as seen by his Ballintuber form, so it’s understandable Horan is giving him opportunities.

  19. @Liberal, I hadn’t taught about Michael Plunket in the Full back line it might be an option, although I have never seen Michael playing in full back line..I don’t think that Michael was on the bench last Sunday, neither was Darren Coen who would have been a much more normal replacement for Cillian when he got injured, and Mayo might not have lost their overall shape as badly, .. Another player that we haven’t seen anything of in this league is Padraig O’Hora, he certainly impressed me last time wore the Green and Red if Mayo, I have the feeling he would make the stickest if man markers, which would be half the battle in full back line.. We cannot continue with the Kamikaze tatics of late, and that’s for sure.. Maybe very heavy training currently has something to do with it in part, but it’s a very short season this year, we need to be finding solutions sooner rather than later.. I would also have liked to see more of Fionn McDonagh, ,Fergal Boland and James Carr in the this year’s league, the little I did see of them I was impressed.

  20. Michael Plunkett played all his underage at centre forward. Has minor and u21 all Ireland medal playing at number 11. As far as i can remember kicked the winning score in the connacht final against Ross. He might work in the full back line but hes never played there for club or county.

  22. Same as ,Sean Burke, I’m hearing various reports on Cillian. But know this isnt the place for me to say what those reports are. Needless to say, there not positive

  23. God we have to be cursed… cillian went off the boil for a season or two but my god did he come back last year with serious display s and continued where he left off this year. Hope and pray he is OK and diarmuid. Two men we cannot replace.

  24. The rumours guys never tend to be positive and never too accurate either so just have to wzit and see. But on the subject of rumours..there is one doing the rounds of a very very prominent retirement from the Dublin panel before championship starts…but like i said rumours never tend to be acvurate..

  26. The independent article is pure “click bait” as they say.
    I’ll sum it up so ye don’t waste ye’re time or give Colm Keys more credit clicks for the ramaish he wrote:
    “Cillian got injured Saturday, he’s GAAs all time leading scorer”

  27. Well put, East Cork.
    Rumour mills. Where do you start?
    Wasn’t it only a few weeks ago I was getting whatsapps telling me Aido was gone for the season. One can see why Horan runs a tight ship.
    Anyway, due to pressures elsewhere, it’s going to be tomorrow before I get to watch the Clare match!

  28. I’d say the tackle that led to penalty created the damage to his ankle. Though he played on and scored penalty I think damage was done then. Hope it’s not too long term

  29. Keyes is one of the better journalists, he was a handful himself in club football in Meath at FF

  30. Yeah Keys is generally fine but there is nothing in that article worth talking about that we dont already know, ie cillian picked up a knock and may be a doubt for sligo, i wouldnt be losing much sleep over it

    The rumour about a certain dublin player retiring that lahanman refers to seems to be everywhere this weekend alright

  31. It’s not Colm Keys’ fault that his story appeared under that headline, that’s the sub-editor’s job. While the headline and story don’t match up, they might both turn out to be accurate but we’re just going to have to wait for definitive news there.

  32. It’s all so boring! I think I’ll go and read a book. After all its Bloomsday! I’ll check in again on this blog in Saturday week

  33. Paul Mannion has left the Dubs. It’s on RTE there now. Who cares? The more of them bucks that retire the better.

  34. Its not looking good to be fair considering the condensed schedule. We just have to deal with what happens, on the plus side their’ll be two games for us to get confidence into his replacement. It would be Darren Coen for me all day long (provided he’s not injured). He would gain alot from 70mins against Sligo and Leitrim, a very accurate player. He was thrown on in the AI final so can’t be too far down the pecking order. Always a better starter than a sub.

  35. Word is Mannion never got on with Farrell since his minor days. Same with McCaffrey I hear

  37. the rumour mill re big name dublin retirement are not referring to Mannion. Im hearing a different big name.

    Speaking of mannion its a huge mark against dessie farrell that he cant find a place for that lad, nobody can tell me Paddy Small is better than Mannion. Im not convinced by Farrell at all. Think they won the softest of all irelands last year, winning in muscle memory
    I also find them incredibly boring to watch, as impressive as their decision making is they are incredibly robotic and repetitive in their safety first style.
    That tool brolly would have you below they play a joyous free-flowing brand of football

    Id far sooner watch Mayo/Kerry/Donegal etc ahead of the dubs

  38. Paul Mannion has an interview on RTE about his decision to retire. He states that it has nothing to do with motivation or anything in the Dublin setup, he is very complementary about Farrell. Its the day to day commitment required in the modern game that he could no longer commit to which is understandable, but sure the “I hear talk of falling outs etc” is always more interesting.
    This will become a common trend in the coming years, players will tend to step away in their late 20s when career and family become more prominent in players lives and rightly so.

  42. That’s that so
    Short summer in store . Cillian Aido and a few more will be a year older and clock ticking next summer .
    Oisin Mullin might be in Oz .
    And we still won’t have blooded a new keeper or have anything resembling a defensive plan

    Yes I’m in bad form 😀

  44. Yep, there it is.
    Disastrous news, he is without a shadow of a doubt our most important player.
    Sets the tone for everything, i suspect we have depended on him for at least 60% of our scores in big games over the years

    Bloody hell, this is a real kick in the stones. I though it looked really innoccuos and was encouraged by fact he played on for a bit.

    Its not just the fact we depend on him for bulk of scores, its his attitude of perfectionism, probably the hardest worker and tackler on the team too. He sets all the standards.

    Who is next in line for free taking duties then? RoD takes them at Belmullet right?

  45. Cillian out is utterly devastating to our chances of Connacht, let alone a good assault on Dublin. So unfortunate for him. Very down about this news to be honest. Hopefully he makes a full recovery and wish him well.

  46. Not good news. But we gotta look for solutions. Jason doc back in and use him at ff. Good free taker. Or Darren in there if fit enough. No blinding pace but 2 experienced options.

  47. So sorry for Cillian, the best and toughest forward we ever produced. Time for others to stand up. First priority is a reliable free taker in the mould of Cillian, Maurice Sheridan or Fitzmaurice. A good free taker is worth carrying on a team and you should organise to have him in free space for pot shots.

  48. Disaster. We came apart at the seams when he went off against Clare. We might scrape through Connacht without him, but I would be genuinely concerned about a semifinal without him.

  49. Supermac I’ve just had a look at the numbers – he’s not quite 60% – rather just under 38% of all of Mayo’s scores in the All Ireland Series (Quarter’s, Semis, Finals and super 8 nonsense).
    He’s scored around 35% of all of Mayo’s scores from games he’s featured in Championship football. That’s very hard to replace.

  50. What a blow, Cillian is up there as one of the top forwards in the country with Con O’ Callaghan, David Clifford, Michael Murphy, Conor McManus, Eoin Cleary, Conor Sweeney etc…
    Time for somebody to step up like Cillian did in 2012 after Andy was ruled out with his cruciate injury against Down or Freeman in 2013 semi against Tyrone when Cillian popped his shoulder!!!
    At the moment it feels like that is it but we can still win Connacht without Cillian although Galway are surely favourites now.
    Apart from goalkeeper Horan has always found the ability to unearth/promote a gem during the championship so hopefully somebody will come through and my gut tells me that Paul Towey will step up to the first team and bomb over a few monster frees in the Connacht final. We cannot replace Cillian with one player but a combination of Towey’s free taking, the improvement of O’Donoughue, and Tommy Conroy along with the experience of Jason Doc & Darren Coen I think we have enough time to get this right and earn a shot at the big bad Dubs in Croker!!!
    One thing I would like to see is let Diarmuid or Jason Doc or Towey take the long range frees/45’s cause Robbie has a poor return from frees/45’s and his confidence/composure/concentration is fragile and we don’t need to add more to his workload to damage that!!!!

  51. Gutting news, especially given the amazing form he’s been in without injuries. Does go a long way to setting expectations for the campaign, but very best of luck to whoever gets to come into the starting lineup – hopefully whoever it is gets a run of games that can be used to build for the future.

  52. Well christ that’s just the worst news we could have got. He’s the one player we can’t do without.

    Do we know if it’s a ruptured achilles tendon? If so, he’s gone for months and out for the championship.
    I don’t know if there are other more “minor” types of achilles injuries (pretty much clutching at straws here).

  53. I was thinking that too Dan. He wasn’t in huge pain coming off the pitch which made me think it wasn’t the full rupture. Usually players are in agony after tearing an Achilles and have to be stretchered off.

    Having said that, the fact he’s getting an operation means there will be no quick recovery. 3 or 4 months minimum I’d say.

  54. Echo all above , actually feel like crying. We are cursed ,I’m convinced at this stage .

    Get well soon cillian , imo the greatest to ever wear the jersey , definitely the most important.

  55. Very disappointing news. I’d be surprised if it’s a full rupture given the fact he played on a bit. But as someone pointed out above, getting surgery equates to a substantial layoff. He will likely be in a moonboot cast for several weeks, then would need another few weeks to build up the muscles around the ankle again.
    Best case scenario for Cillian is some club football later this year.
    If it’s a full tear – probably one of the worst injuries in Gaelic football apart from an ACL in terms of recovery time.

  56. Folks, I’m just thinking about what these players give to play for Mayo. Think of the injuries the main 15 have sustained over the last few seasons, especially (Jason Doc, Cillian, Tom Parsons, Brendan H, Paddy Durcan).
    It’s an awful ask as it goes on.
    We have to spread the load across new and more players, it only seems right, regardless of our aspirations to win an All-Ireland or not.
    That’s how I’m feeling right now.

  57. Its a huge huge loss, no question but I think we have enough of a panel where someone can step up. Remember J Doc doing it before when many thought he couldn’t. Not saying him specifically anymore but lets trust James & company to figure it out.

    You cant replace excellence like Cillian and I’m not suggesting like for like, but its a little like the team a man down, everyone ups their game by 10% and they often play even better.

  58. A big blow for all. Team mates, management, supporters but most of all to himself.

    Wishing Cillian a full and healthy recovery. Someone else will have to do the driving until he’s fit to return.

  59. Dublin unlike mayo have always been a step ahead when it comes to replacing players. They don’t wait until there is a problem. In the last few weeks rock’s replacement on free duty has emerged in the face of costello..whats our plan for a free taker now that cillian is out?. Towy is not experienced enough. Same goes for the keeper henelly. What if he gets injured. Byrne no game time..

  60. Costello has missed several easy frees in the last few weeks, did you not watch Dublin against Kerry? He’s not near Rock’s standard in that regard.

    Cillian has missed plenty of football over the years so it’s not like we haven’t tried other free takers. Others just cannot meet the standards he has set.

  62. Yes I did watch Dublin v kerry wide ball and plenty time s in the 70s and 80s too.we did try other free takers .Jason was the best but he is injured. Costello is ahead of alot at free taking

  63. A terrible bow to our ambitions the mayo team without Cillian is like kerry without Clifford. Hopefully someone will take the bull by the horns and manage to fill cillians boots who knows we might unearth a gem after all he won’t be around for ever Mayo Abu.

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