Team named, two changes

Willie Joe

We’ve just named the team for today. Here it is:

Mayo (All-Ireland SFC semi-final v Dublin, 10/8/2019): Robbie Hennelly (Breaffy), Chris Barrett (Belmullet), Brendan Harrison (Aghamore), Stephen Coen (Hollymount/Carramore); Lee Keegan (Westport), Colm Boyle (Davitts), Paddy Durcan (Castlebar Mitchels, captain); Aidan O’Shea (Breaffy), Seamus O’Shea (Breaffy); Fionn McDonagh (Westport), Kevin McLoughlin (Knockmore), Fergal Boland (Aghamore); Cillian O’Connor (Ballintubber), Darren Coen (Hollymount/Carramore), James Carr (Ardagh).

So it’s two changes from the team that started against Donegal. In come Kevin McLoughlin and Fergal Boland, replacing Keith Higgins and the injured Jason Doherty.

The Minor team to play Cork in today’s curtain-raiser at Croke Park was announced yesterday – full details here.

The ladies team to play Armagh today was also named yesterday. Full details are here.

Best of luck to all three Mayo teams in action today.

175 thoughts on “Team named, two changes”

  2. Wishing all players and management all the best today, keep heads on, and supporters do our thing until the final whistle sounds

    Be very loud.

  4. Today marks the first day since 1982 when a football 5 in a row can be lost.
    There is no safety net left.
    One bad performance and their run goes up in smoke.
    Wishful thinking

  5. Best of luck to both minors and seniors today, not forgetting the ladies also in Longford.
    Wouldn’t be surprised if Diarmuid o Connor is a late change for Boland.

  6. Some mayo crowd about already. We tiptoed into phibsboro for coffee earlier. Groups of mayo jerseys floating about already with big giddy heads on them

    Would expect at least 3 changes to that team named.
    Higgins, ruane will be in for starters. If diarmuid is named we prob need him starting too

  7. Is Diarmuid in the subs does anyone know. It’s easier to find out the ten secrets of Medjugorje than the Mayo panel these days. Anyway beat of luck to all Hon Mayo

  8. And then the game started and everything went still. My mind went to a timeless and unforgettable place where only precious and tragic memories reside. It went to me. It went to us. It went to Mayo. It went to life. It went to love.

  9. As was mentioned in the latest podcast, 3 things needed today…….lots of rain, lots of luck and some bat shit crazy chaos thrown in for good measure!!

  10. From a dub. Good luck to the Mayo team , safe trip for the Mayo supporters. Let’s enjoy the game , support our teams , shake hands afterwards. Don’t let the trolls from either side cause bad blood. If u win , it’s cause u are the better team on the day . Likewise if we win. So let’s enjoy the occasion as two fantastic teams give it their all.

  13. DOC on bench today. Just got a copy of the programme. Vaughan and Clarke back too. James Durcan retains his place ahead of Treacy

  14. The match programme details are now circulating online. Here’s our bench for today: 16. David Clarke; 17. Eoin O’Donoghue; 18. Keith Higgins; 19. Michael Plunkett; 20. Tom Parsons; 21. Donal Vaughan; 22. Matthew Ruane; 23. Conor Loftus; 24. Andy Moran; 25. Diarmuid O’Connor; 26. James Durcan.

  17. Now that’s a SERIOUS bench
    I think we are going to do it

    Clarke back so . Big call by 5pm. He may well just stick with Robbie for his long kickouts .
    Have a feeling there will be 2 changes for sure through
    Ruane for Boland
    Higgins (it should be EOD) for someone …..S Coen or McLoughlin and a bit of rejig maybe with Higgins further forward

  19. 5 Lower Hogan Stnd tickets for sale. Undercover and together. Face value or open to offer for all 5. 087 9102021

  20. Best of luck to our men, do your stuff. Proud of each and every one of you and our county. Maigh Eo Abú

  21. Thanks Willie Joe for bench line up, that’s the last piece of the jigsaw and a very strong bench it is, great to have everyone back for this match. On Galway train here, big Mayo crowd on board and plenty of green and red to be seen. We will be many in Croke Park, loud and proud roaring our fantastic warrior’s on to victory. Up Mayo!

  23. Ciarán Treacy and James McCormack two very good young players who couldn’t make the squad. It’s hard on them but they’re there for the future.

  24. The very best of luck to the Mayo minors amd seniors today. A strong team and subs named and no doubt they will fight to the end, however, unless Dublin have a complete and utter implosion today the winning of this game will most likely be a bridge too far once again. An early red card or injury to a key midfield player may narrow the gap and give us a lifeline today so will be interesting to see how it all unfolds. Safe travelling to all

  26. have 2 available, seated together in the lower Cusack, covered from the rain- 0876772690

  27. Looking like we won’t be doing a Peter Canavan with Andy not starting. Hope Darren Coen does well. He has plenty of talent and capable of bagging a few scores.
    The wind more than the rain should be a factor so clever game management of the elements important. A few goals for us against the wind would be a panacea.
    Happy with the team and strong bench. May need those subs early enough as last week could impact some players. Happy if we can get 45 or 50 strong minutes from SOS. Tell him to go all out for as long as he can.
    Dublin strong 1-15 but just go 100% for them. It ain’t going to be easy but we can do it. So many heroes in our team.

  28. If anyone gets a chance listen to second captains on rte .Mike McCormack had a v emotional piece on mayo football. We can do it

  30. Nice one Swahili.?
    Thanks John for the good Dub wishes.
    THe Drive for Five’ ends at 5 .., today!
    Poor ol AIG!

  32. That’s some bench, where will Paddy Durcan be placed?.
    The starting 15 need to keep the game tight until halftime.

  33. Swahili – well said. Maybe after so many times now, this is the space those lads will get to. And if yes, hold on tight.

  34. Saw some people and pundits talking about Andy starting, taking him off after half an hour, then bring him back on. Madness.

    First off it’s a waste of a sub that you can’t countenance in the modern game, especially with the black card. Secondly, his muscles would be at a huge risk of seizing up if they were left idle for 30 mins.

  35. Higgins I only hope is given licence to thrill not defend. He scares the bjasussss out of the dubs. By the way young carr to make a statement today

  36. If its tight with 20 to go and Dublin bring on diarmuid Connolly they are throwing the kitchen sink at us and showing obvious desperation from the sideline. I’m sure our lads will pick up on this and drive on even harder for the win. Hope Pope Francis is saying a decade for us today!

  37. Continued good discipline important today. You can tell Horan demands ruthless tackling but no red/blacks. D.Coen and Keith have been given the msg although Horan not willing to risk Keith at the back too. Time for a little luck against the Dubs this time around too. Best of luck to the team, let’s keep 15 on the field, no injuries, empty the bench and a good game on the sidelines. Up Mayo!!

  39. Mayo ladies a goal up.with just over 10 mins left.
    Everything has been said that can be said.
    Hope game mgmt is solid and for the love of God let us keep the discipline..We cant afford reds today.

  40. Get in early and support the minors … These days don’t last forever .. Let’s go to War today

  42. Best of luck to all the match day players plus the lads in the stand that put time in during the year due to our injuries most have made matchday panels during the championships a few even got game time Slingerman McCormack Drake Crowe Cafferkey Mullin Murray Regan Treacy Diskin Reape and wishing a speedy recovery for Jason Doherty, sad that Ger Cafferkey has been able to get back in believe it was against Dublin in the league we last seen him, maybe even his last appearance the way some of the young lads have developed this year. James Horan has to be well satisfied with what he achieved this year with all the young players that have came thru after such a downer last year.

  43. Two hours to go and excitement building. Weather conditions definitely favour us. Wet and windy. Expect Keegan on Kilkenny, Durcan on McCaffrey, Harrison on Mannion, Barrett on O’Callaghan, Boyle on Scully, Higgins on Rock and Coen on Howard. Worried about Coen’s lack of pace. Not sure if we can afford the luxury of Durcan in forwards Maybe push Higgins forward. Intriguing!

  44. Best wishes to Martin the Dub, Jaden, Loreto Rd and other fair minded Dublin fans obviously we will try our best to Bate ye but enjoy the match

  45. Dublin Stewards in Nally trying to put the Mayo supporters in the corner Nally area, we are here directly behind the goal alit of Dubs in already.

  46. I couldn’t travel today so will be roaring at the telly…No sky so forced to watch RTE..you would not believe the patronising bullshit they are coming out with…on a whole new level…I hope we batter them and RTE and stick their montages up their hole. COME ON MAYO.

  50. Vaughan. Ruane. Diarmuid all in to start
    Jesus some height and power in the middke 3rd now!
    Hennelly will be sending everything long

  52. If we can stay in there for 50 or so we have a bench like we like never before..COME ON MAYO.

  54. Jonny cooper isolated on cillian in the square and we’re not kicking ball in.
    Might stuff besides

  55. Halftime, Mayo to finally beat the Dubs
    Should be 4 or 5 ahead, kicking into hill for 2nd half, strong cross field wind, need to rake scores from the Cusack stand side in 2nd.

  56. Could not have asked for a better 1st half. Durkin, AOS Keegan immense. We must weather the inevitable Dublin storm after half time.

  58. Durcan immense again today and on his way to man of the match again. Please let us do this!! ?????????

  61. Along expected lines really. Sad to see the journey end for some of the more senior members of the team.

  63. That’s the end of the keeper debate anyway
    Clarke and his silly old kickouts and clean sheets will retire now

  64. Dublin are getting better year on year.
    It’s scary. Let Kerry or Tyrone do any better than us.

  65. Galway only lost to them by 9 and ye laughed at us. Con O’Callaghan though, different gravy, well reffed as well in fairness to Conor Lane

  66. Let’s calm down on the 3 empty years shite. the 1st half shows we can put it up to them. The 2nd half shows Dublin’s skill, but we also had a meltdown early from restarts. The year ends with a league title and a defeat to the best team in the country. We go again.

  68. The lack of a kick out strategy killed Mayo in the first 10 mins of the second half. Can’t understand how Horan didn’t expect the kind of pressure they were going to be exerting with the wind at their backs.

    Highlight of the day for me was to see parsons take the field today. What a man, simple as. Heard a lad talk about the super six and magnificent seven a few mins ago !!!! Jaasus

  69. For fuck sake lads you are honestly laying this at Robbie Hennelly’s door…Get a fucking grip. Con O Callaghan destroyed Leeroy..got in and scored two goals…plain and simple. They may as well just hand Dublin sam now…nobody will touch them. All the advantages are just too great..the future is blue…the future of is grim

  71. Not sure that Murf is a dub. Definitely a troll but from where is anybody’s guess.
    Great first half by u but we just had the legs n skills to kick on in the 2nd. Off for a few pints now with dubs n some Mayo friends.Nobody died and what Mayo did this year deserves credit. Also in fairness I think Dublin showed why they are champions. Safe home Mayo fans.

  72. Lets be cool now.No rash calls.Those players are heroes, end of the story.
    Next year we re-calibrate.
    Celebrate a great year of football served up every week by the Green and Red.
    Great to see the young guys get some experience.
    I’m a proud Mayoman tonight.Why wouldn’t I be after watching my team.
    Up Mayo.
    Ed

  73. Proud of this team. Seven games in eight weeks. They are amazing men. Critics, those pointing fingers – I’m not interested in any of that. Green and red proud.

  74. Murf, your clearly an idiot and I’m sure I’ll echo others here when I say you’re not welcome here as others are with reasoned and fair comments. I’m sure WJ will deal with you accordingly for the clown you clearly are.

    Just want to thank our warriors for the journey, no shame in losing to the greatest team ever

  75. They tried their best ,not good enough,many retirements likely,don’t see us been competitive for a few years

  76. Still a bit raw but my overriding feeling here is that I’m so proud of this team. They had clearly run on empty by half time. The 6 day turnaround did for us so there was nothing our lads could do. If we were lucky enough to have had proper rest id say we would have stayed going. Mayo Abu forever. Hard luck to the minors also

  77. One week turnaround makes it hard to prepare. We saw that with a two week break between Meath and Donegal games. Horan said week on week gives no time for real prep.
    However you turn it Dublin didn’t have to worry about a one week turnaround. Our men are some team – turned up. Didn’t complain. Up Mayo wherever you go.

  78. Waiting for the pile on on Hennelly when it wasn’t his fault. Why was Diarmuid O’Connor played when he wasn’t fit? Lee Keegan cleaned TWICE – what’s the story there, hasn’t been right all year. Horan thought he could outsmart Gavin and failed.

  80. Murf you tool.

    Hard luck Mayo, start of second half was the best football I’ve seen from Dublin in over 30 years supporting them. Just blitzed ye….. Be tough to come back from this one but you always do.

    Well done Tom Parsons to make it back, great reception from both sets of supporters was fully deserved

  81. Just to confirm – a collapse in restarts doesn’t = any one players fault. I really hope that the number of retirements is less than people think. A number of those players have plenty to give. If we have better luck re injuries (avoiding the qualifiers being key for that) we could still have a very strong panel. but for now – full credit to our lads for a fantastic effort whilst dealing with really challenging circumstances

  82. Be competitive with what Corrick Bridge?…we are fucking competitive…just not with Dublin..nobody else is either…Tyrone or Kerry haven’t a fucking notion of beating them . It’s hard enough compete with them but throw a six day turnaround into the mix while the dubs roll out the b team last weekend and it’s just too big an ask…Fair play to the dubs and all the genuine dubs out there…they are immense but if they don’t soon level the playing field it will kill the game.

  83. I hope WJ quickly deletes that nonsense from “Murf” ASAP. Doesn’t speak for anyone with an ounce of decency, Dub or otherwise.

    To Mayo fans, commiserations on the result. The first half Mayo performance was excellent. After a summer of nothing games for Dublin it just reminded the Dubs what it means to be in Championship and the appropriate gears were selected in the 2nd half.

  84. I’m a Dub myself I really thought Mayo would do it this time especially after that first half. Nobody expected that too happen in the first ten minutes of the second half especially me. Wishing you all a safe journey home.

  85. We will most certainly will be back next year. No finger pointing today. Let’s all stand tall and proud with our heroes. No shame in losing to such a brilliant team. Up Mayo!!!

  86. Nothing Mayo or anyone else can do when Dublin go at teams like that. Forget five in a row, will it be 10? Literally semi professionals against amateurs whenever Dublin play now.

    The game is dying a slow death but instead of trying to fix things the powers that be are pouring petrol on the fire.

    They’ve sold out the average fans around the country so that the Murfs of the world can have a day out and a few pints whole watching the dubs stroll to another victory. If they don’t care about making it a competition, why should we? The sooner we as fans vote with our feet and our wallets the sooner things will change.

    We shouldn’t forget our great league win earlier in the year and thanks to the lads for giving their all again all season.

  87. We simply had no answer to them 10 minutes, we were brilliant in the first half, best i have seen them in a long time, brilliant discipline in defense, great scores from play.
    I doubt even anything was said to the dublin lads at half time, all they had to do was look around the dressing room and see all their replacements itching to show management what they could do, that was enough of a scare to get them going.
    Will be very surprised if tyrone or kerry are able to leave a hand on them.

  88. Hard luck to the lads. Really would love someone to give a plausible analysis of how Dublin blitzed us so effectively in the third quarter. Maybe one for another day when the heads are clearer. Overall a great first season for Horan Mark II, wining the league and getting to the semis but my heart sinks to be honest wondering how we can compete with Dublin at full flow and put it up to them next year…or the year after…!

  89. @Exile…you think a collapse in restarts is why we lost that game…fuck me. Dublin upped the ante big time and Lee was left for dead twice…2 goals..game practically over…we left 5 or 6 points after us after we went 10 down..heads were gone..Dublin do that to teams..I hope Kerry win tomorrow as they may actually have a go against them…if Tyrone win it will be a complete snoozefest like ladt year’s final.

  90. Murf, you waited until the master was out of the class room and posted your sly comment knowing it would get by. I hope the master leaves it up there as a reminder to what some people think of us. Deleting it at this stage is a waste. You accuse Mayo of being bottlers. Come back to the site and lay out your case along with your real name. I couldn’t care if you are a Dub or not, it’s immaterial. Mayo are many things, but bottlers or chokers they ain’t. And in you painting them as such, and if you are in fact a Dublin supporter, you are tainting your own counties three All Ireland wins against Mayo.

  92. Well done lads. Yee did yeer best. Their different jazz though. Hopefully Kerry or Tyrone will beat them.

  93. League winners. All-Ireland semifinalists. Plunkett, Ruane, Carr, McDonagh brought through. Stephen and Darren Coen impressing and showing themselves capable of a place in the team. Tom Parsons coming back. A vintage summer from Colm Boyle. There’s a lot of positives to take from the year, once we get over the first 15 minutes of tonight’s second half. Whether it was the number of games in recent weeks, as well as a great and clinical Dublin team, that did for us we’ll never know. Definite room for further improvement but we’ll challenge again. 4 semis and 4 finals this decade, these lads owe us nothing and they didn’t give up as other teams have once the game was gone from them.

  94. Murf may not be a Dub Probably doesn’t even know where he is from or how he got on this earth Possibly a mistake from a good night out

  95. Disappointing result after such a great first half. I mean we were immense for 35 mins. We just weren’t able to sustain it and maybe the run of games caught up with us.

    I’m not sure this is the time to summarize anything but overall we can have few complaints. I would say that we’re out of proceedings for this year but I’ve seen enough progress to look forward with some optimism.

    Never easy to finish on a loss in Croker but we need to move on and we will.

  96. You gotta hand it to Dublin. When they were under savage pressure they kept there cool. There second half performance was exquisite considering the pressure our men were putting on. It’s tough saying that. I am a proud Mayo man tonight and will be again tomorrow. Tomorrows match is deader than rubber. Dublin will win for as long they want. Too much emphasis is put on game strategy. Dublin are psychologically stronger than any other team . The reason they have lost only once in championship football is because they know they cannot lose. They are great footballers too and so are Mayo. Dublin know they will win no matter what.

    I can not wait until we go again until next year. We need to strengthen our minds more than our bodies. Thank you Mayo for everything

  97. The first half was brilliant and Mayo really gave it everything. The second half injuries and all those games caught up with us. I wouldn’t be too dispondent we went into this game with a 6 day turnaround Diarmuid and Ruane and Parsons only back from injury and not fully match fit and then lose Doherty last week as well. I think next year target winning 3 or 4 games in the league target winning the Connacht championship and going in the front door super 8’s nice and fresh. We’ll prob have a few lads retiring no one goes on forever but I think Horan will eventually get it right.

  98. @CoillDubh Man – I genuinely hope the Dubs win the final by 15 points plus. Anything less than 10 just creates the pretence that it’s still a competition every year.

  99. A pretty sobering experience. I’m not sure I can take too much positive from that. Dublin seem to be cantering away from the rest and producing top class players year on year. I’m not sure some of our new lads are the same calibre as some of the lads at the latter end of their career.

    Excellent first half but I think Dublin sucked us in and knew we’d blow ourselves out before changing gear at half time and blowing us away in ten minutes.

    Kick outs killed us but that’s not one mans fault. When the press came on, the balls were kicked out 50/50 and we lost all of them.

  100. @moose79. can i ask what a change of management would do right now. horan obviously took the job with a few years in mind. what would a new manager do if they took over tomorrow. the dubs are on a different level and will beat the winner of the other semi final with the same ease as they beat Mayo today.

  101. @declan. I love football and il go to tomorrow’s game and shout on tyrone. But will I watch the final this year? I probably won’t. For the first time in many years

  103. Great performance by Mayo in 1st half.
    Dubs got up to pace of the game in second half.
    That 10 min period after half time was execution.
    Mayo will be back, plenty young players coming through.
    Tyrone will beat Kerry tomorrow.
    Dubs will beat Tyrone in a defensive struggle.

  105. I’ll grant he might not be a Dub, but this sounds suspiciously like the kind of stuff I was discussing during the week when I was assured it was ‘a few idiots’. It’s a lot more than that and already the pile-on has started on FB. I believe this is a young person thing. I’m on the record as saying that I don’t buy into this millennial/snowflake narrative, and I believe this to be the finest generation we’ve ever produced, but one thing they haven’t mastered is basic respect. This is because you can now spout the vilest of abuse from behind a keyboard and never have to have the courage to look the recipient in the eye. It’s a sign of the breakdown of society. We really need to win Sam soon, because the End of Days isn’t far away.

  106. Ah well! That’s what I feared might happen. Dublin are a superb team who were able to deliver a huge performance when needed. No disgrace to our lads who did their level best. Con O Callaghan is a rare talent.
    Beaten but still proud.

  107. A struggle you say Carraig Dubh…it will be no struggle and it will bore us all to death…

  108. @walterwhite – I think we were blitzed at the beginning of the first half – an uncontroversial view. I think that Dublin are deadly in possession and were able to start their attacking platform no further back than the halfway line in that 3rd quarter. I think that was due to the fact they hammered our restarts – winning breaking ball when they didn’t catch it clean. I refer to restarts as being a big part of the blitzing because I think it was, but clearly what they did with the ball was key and truly impressive. I deliberately didn’t refer to any one player because no one person was the cause of that in my view. Also, now really isn’t the time to give out about a single player. If I had to make a specific comment on Robbie this game (who gets far too much stick – see my previous comments on that point) it would be that he only made one clearly bad kick out which was in the 1st half and followed up with a great long kick out straight after, which was great to see

  109. And as for my comment as soon as the game was over, i apologise. But christ its disheartening. i have followed this team through thick and thin and been involved in more arguments than i care to mention when anyone dissed them. But today was a milestone day in my opinion. A changing of the guard in a way. A lot of Mayo legends may retire after this year who have given their life to the jersey for a decade and a half and we somehow have failed to reach the holy grail. But anyway. il stop commenting now and leave the arena to the optimists of the forum. Maigheo Abu.

  111. Murph, you are getting exactly what you are looking for, negative attention.
    Please go back to your house, have a few beers and relax.
    Go onto the Kerry/ Tyrone Blogs and get all your frustrations out.

  113. At least this will put an end to “The Dubs fear us” and “The only team that can give Dublin a game is Mayo” nonsense. 2016 and 2017 are distant memories now. We had our chances and gave it everything but sadly it just wasn’t to be. No shame whatsoever in losing but we must now accept that we are well behind being serious contenders for Sam and it will take a huge effort and a lot of things to go right for us and go wrong for Dublin before we can even begin to close the gap. We must focus on regaining our form in Connacht because it’s just too big of an ask to mount a serious assault on Sam from deep inside the qualifiers. We are realistically looking at retirements and who can say if the new generation will reach the same levels as the seasoned warriors who have given so much for the cause.

    Overall not a bad year at all considering the injuries and the punishing schedule inflicted on us. We go again next year. We will rise again

  114. @dave j I just think a lot of things need to change in the county. I’m not having a go. We had two games we needed to win this year. Galway in the league and the Rossies. We didn’t win either and that lead us down the long road. Yeah we won the league but that was a bonus. It must be a very intense environment for the new lads to come in to and find a voice with so many scars… I just think a new voice might make a change. But this is talk for another day.

  115. Many thanks walterwhite – I cant wait to see these lads go again and really do think the 1st half is a truer reflection of what we can do than the 2nd!

    Congrats again to the Dub posters on here who make positive contributions to the blog.

  116. Dublin management would have done their homework and seen the Kerry game. Our kickout plus midfield trouble would have been noted as a weakness in that game.
    As posters pointed out, that trouble was due to the kickout AND the collection in midfield. We improved our kickouts – good. But our collection was a problem when Dublin went after our long kickouts. They won several and that was the platform for the early second half blitz.
    Gavin would have recalibrated at the interval, as he always does. Éamonn Fitzmaurice noted that in an article this week. He said if he was Mayo manager playing the Dubs he’d keep an ace up his sleeve for the second half and rob the Dublin manager of the chance to reset so comfortably. We saw this in 2017 Final where Dublin learned lessons at half time.
    They also decided to go for the jugular for goals not points. I wasn’t keen on this I must say.
    I do believe if we had more time to prepare the result would have been a good but different.

    O’Callaghan looking v impressive.

  118. @Magic Mayo…I would argue Leeroy is not our best offensive halfback anymore…I would have said if asked that he was our best manmarker..o callaghan is probably their biggest goal threat..he was given the job of stopping him…he failed…this is Jame’s Horan’s fault I suppose…Fuck me . This is not a pop at Leeroy…he is a brilliant footballer but o Callaghan left him for dead twice today..o Callaghan is s special talent and Leeroy won’t be the last he destroys.

  119. I want to say a couple of things to all Mayo fans.
    1. You have had a good year, I would say you would have taken a league title and a semi at the start.
    2. The amount of cars travelling up today should make mayo people and team proud. I’m from Galway but wanted ye to do it.
    3. How unbelievable was it to see Tom Parsons running out in Croker, unbelievable is the only word for it.
    4. Tonight is when the players need support, you only have to remember what they served up one week ago.
    5. I wouldn’t write off any older players, they are, today, as good as what’s playing county football anywhere, Clarke, Moran, Boyle..nowhere even near the scrap heap.

    Thanks WJ for your work here

  120. Dont think its football skills supremacy at all……..just, for the Dubs, an amazing resource pool and apparently sharper fitness levels…..ability to sustain serious stop/start running for 75 mins……also 6 day turnaround after 8 games for our lads was a serious factor….fatigue etc. I thought style of first half – both teams crowding midfield – didnt appear to wear us out, running wise, and that that would suit us for the second half…….but the 2 quick goals by the Dubs sucked the energy and spirit sand they capitalised on that…….

  121. Actually @Waltererwhite I’d like to give him a bit more oxygen. If he opens up properly it might serve to challenge the cosy concensus on here that we’re this great bunch of rival supporters who respect each other. Ya right. On that topic there was a young, drunken Mayo supporter a few seats away from me in the Hogan shouting shocking abuse at the Dublin players and ref. Embarrassed us and let the side down. So it ain’t just young Dub supporters, it cuts both ways.

  122. okay, I’m back online now and can see I’ve some work to do on the comments. Please don’t rise to the trolling, I’m dealing with it and it’ll all be in the bin shortly. It takes a particularly warped mind to engage in this kind of stuff, rather than celebrate what your team has done, but there are, of course, plenty of sick people in the world today.

    I’m also dealing, as I come across them, comments with people going in studs-up on players and management. If I delete a comment of yours, you’re in moderation, most likely until some time in 2020. Don’t blame me for this, blame your own stupidity.

    Everyone else, please carry on.

  123. @Fearbolg For fuck sake every county in Ireland have supporters who are complete dickhead…sad but true…Continuing to rise to the sort of shite that add is peddling is exactly what he wants the poor sad bastard that he is.

  124. Moose in fairness the noisy neighbour thing works both ways. Plenty laughed at Galway last year who had the Dubs by the throat until half time like Mayo today. But what that Murf poster said is a disgrace. Presume a Dub fan but shocking. Magnanimity is far easier when you win.

  125. I’m amazed by some of the comments blaming individual players and management. They battled manfully, all of them but its a team of amateurs with 6 days rest against a team of professionals. Kerry or Tyrone won’t lay a hand on them. I’ve said it before it would be a great competition if Dublin wasn’t in it. Sad to see some of the lads go out on a beating like that but thems the breaks. The future of the all Ireland is blue I’m afraid, the league and Connacht are the two trophy’s available to us.

  126. Lads and ladies it didn’t go our way today but remember we won the league, were cursed with injuries, blooded young players and reached a semi final against the odds. Congrats to the Dubs a phenomenal team and manager and good luck to them for the 5 in a row. Now let’s enjoy our Club competitions and look forward to following our boys again in Jan 2020. Also well done to the Mayo ladies today.

  127. My heart said yes, sports science said no. A 1 week turnaround really caught up to us in the second half. I mean Dublin have all the advantages and then the GAA decide to give them one more!? It’s a complete joke

  128. Those comments from that troll remind me exactly why I stay away from social media and any other blogs.
    Fair play for your moderation here WJ, we can all see now why it’s required and what this place would be like without it.

    As for the game. Hard to argue with that 2nd half from Dublin. They’ll win the final at a canter.
    A big thanks to all our players for their efforts this year. They have never let us down and never will. I’m sure there will be a couple of retirements, but we’ll be back again next year stronger than ever.
    Our younger lads will be all the better for the experiences of this season, good and bad.

    Hard luck to the minors as well and congrats to the ladies.

  129. Well ………….. I for one am grateful for all the entertainment they gave us this calendar year. The highs

    and lows. Traveled the country. Met some lovely down to earth people. Had a few pints of course with

    friend and foe. Luckily these are the real people who inhabit our land. Not the hollow gobshite who posted

    above. After the Newry game I went out onto the pitch and spoke to some of the players. Its part of the easy

    atmosphere of GAA games that is so nice. One of the lads I spoke to was Caolan Mooney a Down player.

    What a lovely fellow. He had scored a superb goal in the game and I just wanted to wish him well for the future.

    Despite having lost a championship game he took a little time there and then to chat with an opposition

    supporter like me . Thank god these are the real people who inhabit our land.

  130. I thought at half time that ye were putting in such an effort that Dublin were waiting to pounce, the half time break killed any momentum ye had.
    Having said that Dublin were a joy to watch, they are some team and they left Mayo in tatters.
    I thought Con o Callaghan cleaned Lee, not a position back there for him.
    Look it wont last forever, they purposely took the league handy to put a serious push for 5 and they dont have massive talent coming through.
    We will all regroup and back at it in Jan.

  131. Can everyone please stop talking about that idiot, whose comments have now been deleted? He slipped through the net earlier but he’s gone now. I’m not even sure he is a Dublin supporter. Thanks, by the way, all the decent Dublin contributors who have come on to express their views on the muck that was posted.

  132. No complaints!
    In terms of the complete package, the Dubs are as far ahead of us in when it matters (August/September), as we are ahead of some others. The ambition remains to close that gap – after all, we are a team in transition…
    After a real aggressive hard working first half, our miles on the clock in the last 8 weeks gave a more revitalised Dublin a few yards space for them to score goals and points. Its call the ‘moving quarter’ – but Jez today it was unbelievable and another lesson for our lads that there was no way back from!
    Great to see Mattie Ruane, Tom Parsons, and Diarmuid O’Connor back plus further blooding for Eoin O’Donohue, James Carr, Fionn McDonagh, and Fergal Boland. I suppose I would like to have seen Darren Coen get some time today too.?
    Time now for JH, his management team and our great warriors to have a good break other than some club championship games.
    Time too for the GAA to look again at the back-door and the Super 8s timetable – and while they are warriors, they are amateurs!
    I suspect we may have seen Andy’s last appearance and he deserves to enjoy a great retirement. Others being mention too but that’s for another day.
    My thanks to our warriors for a great entertaining and heart attack roller coaster of a spring and summer.
    And a big salute for winning the National League and adding a lot of new young warriors to our war party! Thoughts with the Doc too – wishing him a good recovery!
    Pints now and loosen the release valve…

  133. It kind of feels that it will last forever. They had 3 players over 30 start today.

  134. If you don’t go with the flow in here you are ostracised . What that dub supporter said was what the vast majority of dubs supporters think and so bloody what anyway , I didn’t see anything major in his post to be offended by .

    Anyway , was a decent year , some nice finds but we will never win an all Ireland for the foreseeable , we just don’t have the quality for that level.

    What a team we have had the last half dozen years , the enjoyment they have given county Mayo has been wonderful . Ultimately though it ends in failure like all other eras since 1951. That’s the reality , my fathers generation now will be put in the ground without seeing it and let’s face it there’s not much hope for the next either .

  135. Completely unfair to have to play a week after Donegal game. First half performance showed we can compete with the Dubs. Just did not have legs 2nd half. Good season considering all set backs and no reason we cannot have another good tilt at it next year.

  136. Congratulations to Dublin and to their genuine fans who visit the blog. Yea were exveptional in that 2nd half.

    Thanks to all the mayo players and panel members for another great year and to the managment and backroom for your efforts.

    We’ll all still be supporting Mayo when it all starts again.

    Spare a thought for all our players. They did their damndest out there today and that is all we can ever ask for.

    When we win we win together

    And

    When we lose we lose together.

    We’ll rest awhile and then we’ll Rise again.

  137. What a rollercoaster ride we have had …not only today but this year. What a journey….still haven’t reached our destination but nobody wants to get off, even on days that end like today.

    Remember Tom P saying ‘his comeback will be stronger than his set back’. What a hero among heroes? The journey will continue. We will be back stronger than this setback. Today was bonus territory after a torturous Championship schedule.. we will be all back on the ride in January. Our journey continues. Thanks guys for a fabulous year.

  138. If this is the end of an era, and it has that feel about it this evening, all I can say this has been the greatest Mayo team I have ever had the pleasure to support. It is unfortunate that they happen to come along at a time when Dublin produced a team the likes of which none of us have ever witnessed before. Otherwise Mayo would have won a couple of All Ireland. It is all the more admirable when you consider the awful logistics involved in preparing the team what with a lot of our players living and working away from home. And yes we have had some awful luck along the way.
    These players may not have Celtic crosses but they will be forever remembered as great – truly great. And of course there is a future to look forward to. We still have great players and we will compete at the highest level for quite a while yet. I expect Dublin will be at the top for the foreseeable future and that is a disheartening prospect but that won’t stop me from following and supporting our lads and enjoying the ride – one game at a time!

  139. Second that Bugsy! Well done to all. That first half was epic but proved to be not enough. These players owe us nothing and did Trojan work this year. I will forever admire this and every Mayo team. James carr is some find and is a joy to watch when he’s motoring. Stay positive and we will get together again in early 2020.

    Many thanks WJ for all of your posts and up keep of the blog. It such a great place to check in as a mayo GAA fan. Also the podcasts are an absolute pleasure to listen to pre and post a big game (that goes our way!) Well done to Rob and team for this.

    Enjoy the well earned break everyone and rise above the trolling rubbish. Its systematic of everything that is on line and why im glad my only social media activity is limited to a few watts app groups.!

    My aim is to take a break from all things Mayo but the likelihood is that I will check in here again later tonight:-)

  140. Just on bus now heading to Galway, a few Mayo and Dublin supporters on board. Great first half by our lads, not sure how I feel yet about the second half. A bit of a melt down, guess all the games we had this year on the trot and then the short turn around from Donegal game caught up with some of our lads. I thought McCauley should have got a straight red early in the first half, he flung a punch and connected, it was right in front of the Hogan Stand where I was seated. We also had a few bad wides in the first half when we were on top. Whither these things would have made any difference to the outcome I’m not sure. Also it was great to see the injured players back in action especially Tom Parsons. I wonder would having Jason Doherty on the field today have made a difference. I’m now looking forward to next year and a full selection of fit players available, there will be new young guys coming through. All in all it was a reasonable year, League Champions and new talent discovered. We will go again. Up Mayo!

  141. Those men out there gave everything but they could not make a real dent onto the machine that is Dublin. Whoever wins tomorrow, no disrespect will be beaten by Dublin on a score of their choosing.

    I smell rats in Dublins locker and the rats will devour this game I love. The advantages Dublin have been giving have come to bloom and will bloom again and again. I think the GAA has devoured itself.

    The GAA needed Dublin to perform but from 1995 until 2011 they couldn’t manage it by themselves. They had some great honest days out. 2006 springs to mind. Something has changed that can’t be tested for. Somebody needs to really knuckle down on all the advantages the dubs have and hold them to account. What is happening now has never happened before. Some team to come from the doldrums and dominate . Kerry have almost done that. Kerry have put in the hard yards. Unearthed players the calibre of Cooper and Clifford, organically. Dublin have the luxury of being professional in an amateur sport. That much is clear to me now. This is not sour grapes. This is the truth. There needs to be an honest microscope focussed in on Dublin and there advantages must be held up flush into the light. Then we can judge them on their merits, if any remain. This was not nice to watch today. not because we lost but because we never had a fair chance to win.

    I

  142. we concede too many goals in big games to ever win anything this dates back to 2004.

    I said it all week that if we stopped goals going in we had a chance if not we didn’t.
    its simple numbers if they score 2-3 goals they’ll score enough points along with it to make there total unreachable.

    we’ve conceded 14 goals in the last 7 championship matches against the Dubs
    avg 2 per game

  143. “Hopefully Kerry or Tyrone will beat them”

    There’s a greater chance of Celtic not winning the Scottish league

    Dublin will absolutely cruise the final

    Anyway, savage first half effort tonight. Well beaten in the 2nd half but no shame against this juggernaut. Would have taken a semi appearance after the Roscommon loss that’s for sure. Won’t be winning an AI (nor will anyone else) in the forseeable with that Dublin side around, but its still mighty to be getting great days out following this side

  144. Willie Joe, I put up a post about 8.20 and didn’t think there was anything in it that would rule it
    out? Maybe you’re backed up?

  145. Well done Dublin.
    Best team won today.
    Well done to Mayo for the great effort.
    All you can do is your best
    And you did that today.
    Until Jan 2020

  146. Joe Ruane your post comes across awfully. Do you think the Dubs make players in a factory somewhere and that Kerry players come out of the womb being able to play? Always irritates me when people say that about Kerry footballers.

  147. Kerry might surprise a few in here although I’d guess they get surprised a lot . Dublin are an absolute rolls Royce of a team no doubt about it but Kerry are coming , might not be this year but they will get there .

    If there is one thing we need to learn in Mayo is we have to look at getting a club model the same as Kerry’s . I look at Cathal horan and think he has the stuff to be a county player but then I fear he will just be another lad in Mayo from junior club never getting the chance to excel at senior grade , we need malgamated sides . I really believe it’s necessary in Mayo .

  148. Well the bookies are never wrong I guess..Those lads couldnt give anymore than they have..Time and time again..
    Sean..you should hold onto that laissez faire attitude you hold for that troll earlier. It suits you.

  149. Ah well, not much nitpicking with ifs and buts and playing this fella or that fella after that. Outcome would have been the same

    Kudos to the lads on another entertaining summer

    Not as deflated as 2017,that was the one that got away on us

    Tip of the cap to dublin, that 15 minute burst after halftime was best period of play I’ve ever seen from a football team

    A more wider depressing issue is the fact nobody is going to lay a glove on this dublin team for the foreseeable future. Would be a mighty championship if they weren’t in it

    Anyway off for a bellyful of pints now

  150. That’s not what I said Ocides 1, whoever you are. Read my post again and come back with an intelligent question.

  151. Inter county football is unfair all round. What chance have Leitrim got of winning. Yes Dublin can remain dominant for years. To level the playing pitch counties should be divided up under some agreed regime. It could be argued that Kerry should have been split some years ago.
    Today was very disappointing given we did so well in the first half. It is hard to see how we went so far down hill after the restart. Nothing seemed to work for us in the second half. Could not kick or pass the ball. Could not win ball at midfield. We had a keeper who could not go short. Notice how Cluxton can kick out left and right.

  152. There will be no one hurting tonight more than than the mayo squad and management.
    Any talk of retirements at this stage is ridiculous.
    The players today will know that they pushed Dublin harder than any other team since we last played them. Count alone the number of turnovers we had against them in the 1st half. To some degree in the 2nd half we weathered the storm for the 1st 10 mins but we just didn’t take our chances , if we had , and remained within touching distance, we could have steadied the ship. Andy was brought on at least 5 mins too late. At this stage we were chasing the game and a Dublin team who haven’t lost a championship game In 4 and a half years.
    Goalkeeper discussion is null and void really, two mistakes in 1st half gave away 2 points. For long periods Fenton was kept out of the game because of the distance of hennellys kick outs. What will hurt most for players and management is the controllable was not controlled. Aido kicking a wide from 30 metres out in the 1st half, cillian kicking the ball into Cluxtons hands, the mix up from hennellys hand pass out the field in the 1st half.

  153. Firstly a huge thanks to Willie Joe and the podcast team for such a fantastic platform….
    Deflated but we are all part of the Mayo family, congrats to Dublin an amazing team but our lads what can I say ?, injury after injuries, battled week in week out..league champions, blooded future Mayo stars… ended the Galway hoodoo… as a fan I am emotional but incredibly blessed and proud to be a Mayo person following our heroes…
    congrats to our ladies team!!!
    again Willie Joe…Thanks!!

  154. We all new this was going to be a tough ask, they burnt are legs in the second half,
    I think JH needs to do what Fitzmaurice did and build around youth.
    We need to start again

  155. I follow this blog all the time, a day doesn’t go by without me checking is there a post or a comment to read. At times like this it really helps with the mourning of a loss like this, my only consolation is that we have been beat by a once in a lifetime team. This team of ours makes me proud to be a Mayo man and we will rise again. As the song from Chumbawamba says we get knock down but we get up again they ain’t ever going to keep us down.

  156. Dublin may not be dominant for years Gavin May call it’s day if they win the 5 and once history is made will they all have the appetite and hunger they now have Would not be rubbishing chances of Kerry-Tyrone either There will be massive pressure on dubs in final Which Dublin team will turn up The one that struggled badly in first half or the one who were brilliant in the second half

  157. My point is that there is a vast difference between professional and amateur. Breaking it down to its most simplistic model, I’m fairly positive that if Man United team played Dungannon swifts, the Man United team could be relaxed and prance onto the field of play confident that they will win. Every whim taking care of. Dublin are so far ahead of every other county, it’s beyond a joke. Dublin have been built up and given benifets that other counties don’t get a sniff off. . A monster has being created. Give every other county the same advantage and see how they grow. See how they dance. To try and analysis this match without addressing the above issues is a great disservice to Mayo and all other 31 counties who live and train by the amateur ethos.

  158. Thank you WJ et al for this superb blog. This team have given us so many great memories. It was hard to watch that second half. I’m afraid Dublin will have won 10 in a row before everyone faces up to the inequality.

  159. Thank you Willie Joe. I don’t know if you realise what you mean to us out here. On dark January mornings I’ll log on. I hear the voices of my people fair and balanced and full of spirit. What a credit to you. Thank you for giving us a place to speak safely . Once this debacle is over this year people need to address the imbalance. No sour grapes. Grapes will always be sour if they don’t get the right sunlight. Moving forward we either go full professional or let Dublin continue to masquerade as a professional team in an amateur sport. That’s the reality right now.

  160. Privledged fan. Agree wholeheartedly 100%
    What a group, what a summer we’ve had on the road. They are super human to face game after game week in week out and so many injuries along the way.
    We must always hope. We know from that brillant 1st half what they capable of, but the tiredness of all those games caught up bigtime.
    Congrats to dubs. Great team for sure.
    We will always be proud of our Mayo warriors.
    Legends all. We will be back but for now rest up guys and mind your injuries.
    And Tom P some man. The start of being back.
    Best thing to see today. Phenomenal achievement.

  162. No finger pointing please. The team today did their best bit was not good enough! McStay in article during the week stated at some stage 7 out if 8 would catch us and cause a collapse, well fuck it, it came in the first 12 minutes of the second half.

    Yes, we may not have won today but without the the last 7 week slog we may have run them closer.

    I’m sure in time the five in a row will come down to those 12 minutes after half time. Unfortunately, our mid field just simply collapsed and they ran through the door on us.

    Fair play Hennelly stopped a certain fourth goal.

    Hope to jesus the exodus from the panel ain’t too big.

  164. Mayo tired in the 2nd half , Too many games each
    year , why they don’t take the Connaught championship more seriously I’ll never understand especially with an ageing team ,The Donegal game with 2weeks rest was proof of that ,Hope to see ye back next year ,

  165. Sean Burke – I’m not sure what you mean by that claim you could be ostracised for not going with the flow here. That kind of self-pitying talk is a bit sad, to be honest, all the more so because you know it simply isn’t true.

    Also, as I said earlier, I wouldn’t be so sure that that ass is a Dublin supporter at all. He’s still braying away, by the way, trying to post more comments, but they’re all heading straight to the bin without annoying others here. And they were offensive but I guess you don’t clean up any of the mess made round here so can afford to take a different view. And you won’t be ostracised for doing so either …

  166. Thank you Sean Rossie and fair minded posters from other counties. I appreciate your support. On a day like this it means a lot to me to know neutrals were behind us.

  167. Thanks Willie Joe. Keep up the great work work!
    Started on the ‘unwinding creamy pints!’ Pain easing because realisation that we were helpless in that third quarter!

  170. Mayo were totally outplayed in 2nd half. I thought they gave it their all but scores were hard to come by and some bad wides made the gap unsurmountable. Dublin are at another level and can destroy a team in 10-15 and then fall back to contain again until the optimum time to strike. Its pure class and no team can live with it for 75-80 minutes. I thought Horan was very slow to make subs but it was too late anyway. Inability to get enough scores when dominating possession haunts Mayo and surely in this generation has cost them at least 1 All Ireland. Dub fans I know are praying for a Kerry final as to bate Kerry out the gate to win 5 in a row is the stuff of the Dubs dreams.

  171. We are in this together. We stand and we fall together and we will stand again together. We are Mayo.. We are something special. We will never rage against the dying of the light. We will rage against the light first gleaming.

    LET THE LIGHT SHINE ON ALL COUNTIES .

  172. First of all, Congratulations to Dublin absolutely blitzed us early in the second half… Just back in Mayo after a long drive in non stop rain , hope everyone makes it home safely, horrendous driving conditions, be safe anyway..I will watch the whole thing again, maybe a calmer and a full examination…it really went away from us very early and easy for the Dub’s’, but if you remember last week just after Jason Doc got injured, Donegal put a press on us, won a number of restarts, only Donegal kicked 6 wides in a row and one short…We weren’t as fourtious today, in fact it was the complete opposite of Donegal’s wayward shooting, Dublin took every chance including 2 Goals and the Match as a Competition was over… Still Mayo bravely came forward time after time, looking for Goals, got a very good one from Keegan, maybe take your point’s might be the better option…Had Andy been on earlier, I think we would have taken the right options… Andy always seems to make the right decision’s and demands the same for others.. After the attritional Game V Donegal last week, Multitude Injurys some back, but you would have to say not yet back to their best…It eventually took it’s inevitable heavy toll… Do any of ye remember 2013, Donegal lost the Ulster Final to a very good Monaghan Team, I think their next was V Laois (hardly a heavyweigh) and Victory set them up for a tilt at us Mayo..We pummelled them to a 17 point defeat, that’s what what a number of hard game’s in a short space of time does to a good team…Mayo had played 7 game’s in 8 week’s… Today’s Victor’s didn’t play a game for 3 week’s, after the sham that was the ‘Coma in Omagh’. …. but Despite the many advantages bequeathed to the Dub’s’ by the Disgraceful Mandrins running the GAA you still have to admit that they Dublin played absolutely brilliantly in the second half today… I was talking to a worried Dublin Supporter at half time, he righty believed that Dublin would do enough to win in the second half, but that if Mayo were to prevail that Paddy Durcan was a shoe in for Player of the Year… Another brilliant first half marking another stand out Player and scoring Two wonderful point’s…He should be a shoe in for an All Star tough!

  173. Kildare fan here. Have enjoyed ur campaign through the championship so far. Fell short tosay but plenty to come in the future. For those complaining the 7 games in 8 weeks…to be honest if you lose two cahmpionship games in a season and are still competing in a semi final of an all ireland you should be grateful. Scheduling needs to be revised but maybe thats for another day. Perspective is needed. A national league, all ireland semi and olenty of ypung players blooded. A successful season overall.

  175. Hard to take that defeat but Father Time, along with the immense physical effort undertaken over the last two months, caught up with us today. The GAA desperately need to review their scheduling if they want to avoid every game ending up like that, but with the incumbent in charge I don’t see it happening in the next couple of years anyway.

    These lads gave it everything and never give up. This was exemplified by Lee bursting through tackles for a goal even after he had been taken for two goals himself by the amazing Con O’Callaghan.

    This may be the last we see of several warriors. If and when they do call it quits they deserve immense acclaim from the Mayo public and I am sure they will get it.

    Finally, the kickouts were very ropey today, especially in the period that Dublin blitzed us. Not that this can explain our defeat entirely (fatigue, Dublin excellence and the need to force goal chances also) but if the alternate keeper had done that he would be hammered on here by some, as indeed he was following the Kerry game.

    Looking forward to a review of the year, pluses and minuses overall. The need to reclaim Nestor is paramount next year, forget Sam as it is beyond our reach at the moment.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *