Well, you’ll all no doubt have seen what you need to see by now about last night’s challenge match win over the Dubs down in Hollymount. In case you haven’t, however, there are match reports in the Mayo News, Mayo Advertiser and Hogan Stand which will provide you with all the details you need.
It was just a challenge match so licking the Dubs by eight points is not going to get anyone excited but it’s good to see the lads get back into a nice run of form again following our latest Croke Park flop, a run which should mean that we now face into the Sligo match in a good mental state. The starting line-up is beginning to firm up too, with the 2006 U21 full-back line of Howley, Cafferkey and Higgins now apparently reunited at senior level, Tom Cunniffe a definite for centre-back and plenty of options all over the place further forward. The league final was, to be sure, a huge reality check for us but the weeks since then have been productive ones and we shouldn’t be too downhearted about the state we’re in as our first championship outing approaches.
My thanks to PJ for all the updates from the ground last night, some of which I managed to relay to the wider world via Twitter. I got a veritable tsunami of texts from him over the course of the evening but I was out at a dinner at the time and so I got the first twenty or so all of a shot together. Dinner then gave way to pints and then more pints and so my idea of doing a quick piece about the match later on last night went south when yet another glass of porter was thrust into my hand well after midnight.
It’s little wonder, then, that I thought the sun was shining a tad too bright when I woke from my slumbers this morning, by which time last night’s decision to hang around for all that post-dinner porter now seemed far from bright too. And that was before the reality dawned on my that I’d shortly be heading down to Vinnie’s with the kids for the mini-leagues. Sweet Jesus and His Holy Mother – hangovers and mini-leagues just don’t go well together but a more relaxing time out in the garden this afternoon eventually restored some equilibrium to the day. The cure wouldn’t go amiss now, though…
Hi does any one know if Mayo are playing a match this week?.
And did the Mayo club draw take place last week?. I bought a €100 ticket last week from my club and was told that the draw was to take place last Wends but I can`t find any results any where
Hi Mossy – I think there’s a match against Kildare this week but it might be a hush-hush one so we may not hear too much about it until it’s over.
I’ve no idea what the story is with the draw.
Jeez they will be worn out with all the challenges. Maybe they might give the ladies a game, their own county board dont seem to want to.
This is off topic but what does everyone think about the withdrawal of the senior ladies team from the all ireland football championship. Some serious mudslinging from both sides today in the Mayo news. Hard to know whether to laugh or cry.
It’s hard to know what to think, Peter, but the ladies’ county board have in the past given clear signs of a lack of competence so I’d be surprised if they weren’t mainly (though maybe not wholly) responsible for what’s happened. What struck me in reading about it was the board’s failure to move with any speed when it became obvious some weeks ago that the shit was about to hit the fan but instead they just let the whole thing spin out of control and then pulled the team when it reached the point that they could see no other option open to them. It’s a fairly sorry state of affairs and, given that we’ve been one of the leading counties in ladies’ football down the years, it’s more than a little embarrassing all round. You’d hope they’d all have the cop-on to sort it out so that the team can take part in the championship but I have my doubts as to whether or not they will.
Willie Joe I see in the Mayo News that the Kildare game is on and that they are staying in Cartin House.
Any word on when/where the game is?
I saw that – I assume the match is there and it’s probably a behind-closed-doors job but I’m not sure if that is the case nor do I know when it’s on.
I live not too far from Carton House, so do lots of Mayo followers. Never knew until this a.m that Carton was the venue. Its a disgrace the way the ordinary follower is treated. Only for sites like yours WJ and a few other outlets , Mayo the football team would be the personal gift of the county board. I have travelled down to Ballyhaunis, Castlebar, Tuam etc in the depths of a shit winter day to see them and when they play locally its a well kept secret even if its only a challenge. We get what we deserve sometimes.
I think, to be fair, that this wasn’t ever meant to be a public event, more like a behind-the-scenes training session for both teams. According to gaaboard.com, we lost the game by a point but everyone on the panel got a run-out.