Okay, it’s quizzical monkey time once again, as we contemplate another qualifier draw in the morning. This one is for Round 4 and, as usual, it’ll take place on the RTÉ Radio One Morning Ireland show, just after the 8.30am news bulletin.
This is the final football qualifier draw of the year and the pairings made in the morning also dictate which Round 4 winners go where in the Super Eights. As the tables below show, these placings are pre-determined so for this draw it’s even more the case than hitherto on being careful about what one might wish for.
Here’s the line-up for Group 1:
And here’s Group 2:
Also relevant here is the order in which teams play each other in the two groups.
In Group 1, Meath or the Round 4 winner against them play Donegal away in Phase 1, followed by the Galway/Round 4 winner in Phase 2 at Croke Park and they then play Kerry at home in Phase 3. It follows that the Galway/Round 4 winner have Kerry away in Phase 1 and Donegal at home in Phase 3.
In Group 2, Cork or the Round 4 winner against them play Dublin away in Phase 1, followed by Cavan/Round 4 winner in Phase 2 at Croke Park and then play Roscommon at home in Phase 3. Which means that the Cavan/Round 4 winner have Roscommon away in Phase 1 and Dublin at home in Phase 3.
It may be worth noting here – apropos nothing – that for Rounds 2 and 3 we were paired both times with the county that had attracted the least support in the poll running here. That may, or may not, provide some advance warning about who we might pluck from the bowl this time.
My young lad has a theory on this, based on what teams the two of us have seen in the flesh and where in this year’s Championship. His theory goes thus: we saw Down first play at home and then we drew them in Round 2 to play at Páirc Esler, we first saw Armagh play away and so they got drawn away against us in Round 3. Based on this unassailable logic, it can only be Cavan, whom we first saw play in Clones, a neutral venue as the Round 4 ties have to be. How’s that for predestination?
Right, enough of the preamble – who’d you like to see us paired with bright and early tomorrow morning?
Who do you want us to draw in Round 4?
- Cavan (44%, 356 Votes)
- Meath (32%, 261 Votes)
- Galway (16%, 126 Votes)
- Cork (8%, 66 Votes)
Total Voters: 809
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for anyone interested in conspirecy theories or draw rigging tune into rte news now at 8.35 in the morning to see the teams being pulled out of the bowl. I think the G.A.A want mayo to play cavan and they want meath and tyrone to clash with each other. thats my 5 cents worth anyway.
It has to Meath. They are the weakest of the provincial losers and if we beat them it places us in the group that avoids Dublin. I have a feeling we’ll end up with Cork however.
Had been hoping for Meath but based on WJ’s explaination above will go for the slightly tricker draw against Cavan. For me Group 2 presents the better chance of making it to a semi-final.
Same as that 45
Cavan are beatable and the offer us the best possible route to a semi
Let’s the gods smile on us for once 😉
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Here is tomorrow’s draw:-
Galway v Laois
Cavan v Mayo
Cork v Tyrone
Meath v Clare
You heard it first here.
All the beaten provincial finalists are better than the two teams we just played and we struggled to beat them. Throw the loss now of Diarmuid and Lee (most likeky) and it makes next weekend’s game very tough. Very tough indeed.
It all depends on who draws Tyrone. If cork draw Tyrone and we get Cavan we end up in a group of death with both Dublin and Tyrone should we win. On the other hand if we draw Meath and Galway get Tyrone that wouldn’t be good news for us either – permutations.
Here is my forecast for the draw tomorrow Mayo v Cavan Tyrone v Galway Clarke v Laois Cork v Meath
Hopefully we get Cavan and knock Roscommon out in the Hyde and Qualify for the semis along with Dublin
Cavan……we should win but could be tricky
Cork……..they would be well up for this
Galway….who knows !
Meath……best draw we could get
If I could pick it would probably be Meath. Think their the weakest of the 4. I’ve a feeling it’ll be Cork or Galway.
That draw isn’t possible James Fleming…
Anyone want to hazard a guess at neutral venues, croker is booked up.
I reckon…
If its cavan…. Hyde park
Meath….breffni park
Galway.. Hyde Park
Cork… The gaelic grounds in Limerick (its meant to be!)
Why Supermac
Its going to be tough who ever it is and they will all feel they have a good chance of taking us. We could end up in group with Kerry Donegal Tyrone and on current form could be whitewashed by it would be character building!
Clare can’t draw Laois, James – it’s the Round 3 winners in one pot and the beaten provincial finalists in the other one. Clare and Laois are both R3 winners so can’t be drawn against each other.
So who can Clare draw could Galway draw Tyrone
James. Clare can draw meath Galway cork or Cavan and yes Galway can draw Tyrone
Hope we get Meath. I don’t think we are ready for Cork yet. We should beat Cavan because of pedigree and other stuff. Galway don’t want Mayo. Mayo don’t want Galway. Mayo v Galway. Must win again.
Anyone know when the U20s are playing?
I hope we get Galway in R4, being realistic neither of us have a hope of winning the the AI. Imagine having a full house in The Hyde on a scorching Saturday evening against our greatest enemy, that’s what Championship is all about.
Let them go at it and whoever wins, wins
Under 20s on Wednesday aidan
Want meath please kevin
It is better for us to get Cork to have a chance of qualifying from Super 8’s. Essentially you need two wins out of 3 to get through group. Cork draw, IF we beat them, would have us playing Dublin first in Croker (which we can write off), then the other qualifying team in Croker again and finally Roscommon at home. I think we have a better chance of winning those two games than any other combination possible.
Didn’t realize Clarke saved the second shot , two brilliant saves .
If we had Diarmuid and Lee I’d say Meath simply cos we owe them several beatings.
But we’ve lost two key middle sector and highly influential players. Add the other injuries to this and we are like a war weary army. Yes, battle hardened in some respects but tired in many others. Just watched the game back there after being at it yesterday. God we were really all over the place in defence for the final quarter and indeed for the opening quarter, but for different reasons.
We lost midfield. Only for Darren Coen scoring from acute angles we would have been in bother.
That’s two weekends running where the opposition has created greater scoring chances than us (stats). Let’s not hype up Armagh that much. They just about got past Down and lost to Cavan in the Ulster championship. Yes they are up and coming but there are 7-10 teams in the country better than them.
So I have no preference about the draw tomorrow cos regardless of who we draw, the way we are playing, we’ll make hard work of it. Sure I hope like we all do that our defence can tighten up. Catcol rightly asked today what Horans ‘easy fix’ was to our defensive frailties in Newry because the improvement from last week was very minimal. I also hope Aido has a big game and we can start winning breaks around the middle.(Kevin and Doc key here). And finally that Cillian plays a key role as well as Darren continuing where he left off.
In my opinion, a repeat of yesterday’s performance won’t be good enough to progress to the 8’s. We need a shake up at the back. Start EOD or S Coen. And employ a full time sweeper.
Order Doc and Kev to sweep breaks at midfield under Aido and keep Cillian and Darren insude. Darren will be very closely marshalled next wknd regardless of who we play so we will need other to find their shooting boots.
Have no doubt, next weekend is gonna be tough..and will take a big performance to win.
I hope for mayo sake it’s Cork , To me their the best in that group ,
Yeah Joe
I think that might quite a few trying to reopen the keeper “debate “ Cos his kickouts are not as pleasing on the eye
Hennellys kickouts directly cost us 1-1 vs the rossies
Clarke only had Aido to aim at yday and he understandably tired as did others
We have problem positions
Goalkeeper is NOT ONE OF THEM
We are lucky in that we have one of the best Keepers in the country and an excellent back up
But that’s what he should be
A back up
Rte lauding the Clare midfielder who caught the last kickout of the game
It hung in the air for ages ……..
We are well capable of beating any of those teams even with our injury problems if we sort out a few basic things. Stop running into contact / traffic – move the ball just in time and I mean JUST so as to commit the defender without taking the hit. Play McLoughlin and Doherty on the half forward line. They are willing and able to defend tigerishly and disrupt any build up of momentum from the opposing backs. Remember the damage the Armagh No.7 did as he broke forward on several occasions. Start Cillian if only for frees.
The real problem we will have to worry about is managing our energy levels. We no longer seem to play with the same intensity as we used to and this is understandable. And when we get 4/5 points up we tend to go into cruise control because there is a certain amount of weariness there. Our style of play is really severe on petrol! I’m not sure what the answer is other than bringing in fresh legs from the start or early in the second half. Perhaps let the older lads burn themselves for 30/40 minutes and they whip them off when they are spent?
Sorry I mean I hope its any one but Cork ,
I believe Cork will be the hardest to beat,
Cork would be very dangerous, their lightning quick. Brian Hurley has destroyed us in the past, and he looked back to his best against Kerry. Any verified info on Lee’s injury??.
If we draw Cavan and bet them, by christ the Rossies would be sh*****g themselves…(but they won’t admit it). Galway are the main team to avoid, their big around the middle, and we’ve just had too many injuries in that sector.
I voted for Cavan.
If there was a vote on what questions you can ask a manager, I would vote.
Ask him any question you bucken want to ask him.
So what if it was suggested that tough training might have caused injuries.
Are some topics now going to be off the table as regards asking the manager about ?
Last week all I heard was, that it was up to the manager on whether he gives an update on Cillians fitness and availability, or indeed any other player.
Will it be okay this week to ask for an update on Leroys fitness ?
Do we have to verify first now if it’s okay to ask the question before the question is asked ?
Maybe there should be a set list of questions published that it’s okay to ask the manager about.
Questions are good ?
I don’t think there is any easy draw in the next round. Any team could beat us on their day based on our current form and we are viewed as a potential scalp by most of the country, let’s face it.
I thought we looked very weary at times the last evening and there is no quick fix for the problems we have at the back. It didn’t look any better on television. Absolute carnage in the fullback line at times.
Add to that the litany of injuries and I don’t think any of our current problems are easily or quickly solved. Any one of those teams out of the hat could bother us the next day, and probably will.
@Revellino…i have had a laugh at your posts over the years and like your sense of humour. However you need to realise youre a fan and not part of the backroom team. You dont have some god given right to know to personal injury updates of anyone.Drop the weird sense of entitlement and support the lads.
@ FW. Thanks for pointing out that I’m not part of the backroom team.
Don’t worry about me not supporting the team or indeed the manager. I do.
I don’t feel entitled to information and strangely enough I’m not looking for inside information either.
Thanks anyway for pointing out what you thought were my failings to me and also for explaining my God given rights to me.
I will consult you immediately if I need some more direction.
Yours respectfully.
Revellino.
I thought Horan’s response was okay. A lot of the “bullshit” in Mayo football was/is caused by alleged fans and James is sick to his teeth of it. You can sense it in his response. The shite that was going around last couple of weeks was embarrassing. The amount of bullshit Horan and others have had to endure over the years is frightening. Rumours started by oul piss heads in a pub who probley never kicked a ball in their life. But the worst thing is, intelligent reasonable ppl take these stories as truths and spread them on again, its time for this shite to stop.
Let the manager manage, nobody has any right to the personal medical records of any one player on that team, if we get updates great, if we don’t…tough shit.
Finally, Im starting to wonder if many posters here actually played or play the game, because if you have or do, you’ll understand that you can get injured in the most innocuous of ways on the training pitch, for example…a divot or uneven patch of ground can send you tumbling down rapidly, resulting in wrists, shoulders, ankles, ligaments etc getting injured. Just chill out, let the people who know what their doing train the team, and enjoy the wins while we can, could be all over this day week.
Cavan is absolutely the draw to get. Group 2 has the easier path to the semis and it also means you avoid Dublin at that stage.
Best games come from the Cavan route also. Can you imagine the fervour and atmosphere of the first Super 8s game against the Rossies in the Hyde? All the pressure would be on them. A trip to Croker to do the business against Cork or whoever beats them. Then the granddaddy of them all, Dublin in McHale Park. Safe to say it would be the biggest championship match ever on Mayo soil, a brilliant occasion. Imagine if both Mayo and Dublin needed a win and it was essentially a knockout game, Jesus you’d fill the place twice over.
Most important thing from the draw really though is to avoid getting in the same group as Tyrone. They’d be the only Round 4 team to fill, so Mayo plus them in either group would be a bearpit to get out of.
Anyone but Galway. They probably have the strongest midfield of the 4 and are division 1 team. Also they’re probably physically the toughest of the 4. Cork got a good run against Kerry and maybe on the rise as it makes no sense for a County of that size to be languishing but not convinced they have a big enough panel yet.
@Supermac. . I reckon if we Draw Cavan it should be Dr Hyde Park…Meath. Dr Hyde Park… Cork , Pearce Stadium Salthill/ unless they want to come to Dr Hyde Park…. and if it’s Galway, yes you guessed it again Dr Hyde Park….Bar those grounds MacHale Park Castlebar would do just fine… it’s just as neutral for Mayo as we witnessed on Saturday evening, with our still intact 100% success in qualifer’s as Croke Park is neutral for Dublin.. What do you think are the chances of that happening?
As for the defensive fix which didn’t properly happen the last day, the most obvious solution would be move Higgins out to fill the void left by Keegan’s injury, play one of Coen Drake or EOD in the FB line and employ a sweeper. Hope Vaughan fit to play midfield now as Murray doesn’t have enough experience and indeed would be great if SOS could make the 26. Aido hasn’t had enough support for breaks for 2 games now which is why Horan insisted on short kickouts for the 2nd half to guarantee possession. Ps Doherty won’t be fit so need McLoughlin in middle third for breaks and as attacking sweeper. Higgins will do enough deeper sweeping between FB and HB line if named at 6. McLoughlin can cover from behind midfield to his normal role in HF line. COC should be started 11 instead of Loftus with either Loftus or Regan coming on should Cillian tire.
@Rasta Joe, you have that wrong.. Roscommon, are already in the same Super Eight’s group as Dublin and as they already having beaten Galway, the winner of the final round 4 qualifer Whoever versus Galway , cannot be in the Dublin, Roscommon Super Eight’s group…. Likewise Meath, Whoever come’s out on Top in their final round 4 qualifer game cannot be in the same Super Eight’s group as Dublin and Roscommon… So Cork and Cavan are the team’s to avoid if we happened to be victorious against either of those two… Dublin and Roscommon would be in our Super Eight’s group!
@Rasta Joe , you may not be wrong After All, it depends on the way you look at it…We could make the Semifinal even if we were in the same group as Dublin and Roscommon…. but with our injury worries right now, and I am pretty certain that we would be playing Dublin in Croke Park…. serious serious concerns .. I wouldn’t like us to take a hammering…. it’s all in the lap of the GAA God’s…. and there is no garuntee of a victory next Saturday at all. .. I genuinely think that we could on a very good day beat anyone, if we had a full team… so for me, if we were to progress the later in the year the better chance of recovery for our injured Player’s!
Easiest draw possible needed this morning.Meath or Cavan for me.We badly need to get to super 8 in either group for the younger lads to get games and we may have a near clean bill of health in a few weeks.
We never learn, fell over the line against a D3 side at home and ppl on here are talking about who we may or not meet in an AI semi.
Cop on, next ball, next score, next game that’s all that matters now
Any update on injuries?
Davitt 51 who you would meet In prospective super 8s group is an integral part of his draw and as such people are more than entitled to speculate .
You’ve got to have a dream. If you don’t have a dream , how’re you going to have a dream come true ?
The most important part of this draw for me is that mayo and Tyrone are seeded apart . I don’t care which group we get but we can’t end up with them and two provincial champions . That really would be the group of death.
I know there’s only one show in town this morning but if people get a chance read Aidan O’Rourkes Coaching Column piece on us on RTE website. Excellent, and gives plenty hope.
It’s Galway
Galway.
Liberal role in the tie read that article this morning too. Very good!! So its Galway well well well. Gutted I’m going to miss this game. Is Comer back fit does anyone know?