Photo: @MayoGAA
We named our team a short while ago for tomorrow’s all-or-nothing Round 2B qualifier clash with Fermanagh. The line-up we’ve named shows three changes from the team that started against Galway in last month’s Connacht semi-final. Here it is:
Mayo (All-Ireland Qualifier Round 2B v Fermanagh 9/7/2016): David Clarke (Ballina Stephenites); Brendan Harrison (Aghamore), Kevin Keane (Westport), Keith Higgins (Ballyhaunis); Lee Keegan (Westport), Colm Boyle (Davitts), Paddy Durcan (Castlebar Mitchels); Seamus O’Shea (Breaffy), Stephen Coen (Hollymount/Carramore); Kevin McLoughlin (Knockmore), Aidan O’Shea (Breaffy), Diarmuid O’Connor (Ballintubber); Evan Regan (Ballina Stephenites),Jason Doherty (Burrishoole), Cillian O’Connor (Ballintubber, captain).
Into the team come David Clarke in goals, Seamus O’Shea in midfield and Diarmuid O’Connor at wing-forward while out go Robbie Hennelly and the injured midfield duo Tom Parsons and Jason Gibbons. As per normal, we’ve opted not to name our subs list at this stage.
Best of luck to Stephen and the lads tomorrow – here’s hoping for a much improved performance and the right result for us at MacHale Park.
Excellent team.
Hard to argue with but no doubt some of you will anyway…..just joking!
Roll on tomorrow
Clarke back is big boost! Good to see coen getting his chance tomor rather than resorting to big Barry.
Seamus needs to help and support him.
Expected Andy Moran to start before any of the selected 3 in the F F line based on the last day otherwise the team is OK.
Best of luck to Stephen and the boys and hoping a return to winning ways.
Ah yeah, no real surprises.
One could argue that it’s a little harsh on Hennelly but Clarke is an excellent goalkeeper too. His kickouts will be eagerly watched mind.
It would have been madness to start Andy. There is a good 25 mins in him but no more and it’s definitely a plus to have that in the last 25 mins as last year proved against Dublin and, to a lesser extent, Donegal. That being said, he does need to get 20 or 25 mins tomorrow. It was far too late to bring him in against Galway with only five or ten minutes left.
The positioning of the team will be one to look out for. I hope to Christ most play as selected. I don’t mind if we have a sweeper, the fact that Doherty and Diarmuid are both playing would lead me to believe we will but I’d hope the experiment of Higgins as an out and out forward and McLaughlin as our sweeper is at an end.
Finally, I do think it’s ridiculous this team is only being announced tonight and that there’s still no squad announced. What the point of it is I don’t know. It will also infuriate me if there are changes made before thrown in. Pick a bloody team and stick to it. Fair enough if, like last year against Donegal when Barry Moran was sprung, you are making a big switch or bringing in a young lad. But there’s no need in a game like tomorrow. I’d nearly go so far as to say it’s disrespectful. So I really hope there’s no more bullshit and that this is the team that starts.
Onwards and Upwards.
I agree, I hope they play as listed.
Hope we don’t see AOS drifting into FF or Higgins going into centre forward.
Great to see Diarmuid back, would like to see Loftus getting a run at some stage.
25 mins? Very few subs come on with 25 mns to go . He should have started. Very harsh
With henelley out ..who will take the last minute long range free to snatch a draw…? perhaps I will have something more considered to say later….Mhaigh Eo abu…..
Yss, i am pleased that Clarke has been given a chance as so many of you wanted it. Also many favoured Coen with S O Shea as complementary.
Hope that Doherty has recovered his goal scoring touch but no doubt this is part of some Sweeper system beypnd my limited understanding. Stilll it is very interesting as to just how they will set up.
I look forward to seeing some od the subs getting some game time. We will be all that little bit wiser tomorrow. Fascinating stuff.
May i wish Roscommon a Connaughr Final this year.
Ciaran 2.
Dublin bring on subs with 25 mins to go all the time and more even. We need to be pro active about our substitutions and not reactive. Hope to see Vaughan, Andy, loftus freeman and nally and big Barry all get game time.
Not a bad team picked. I’m happy Clarke is back between the sticks. Can’t see coen starting in the middle. The Fermanagh midfielders are massive men and coen isn’t the tallest of men. There will be switches beforehand I’ve no doubt. Good luck to the boys.
Am happy with that team I wish them the best of luck tomorrow and will be there roaring them on and I mean roaring until I’m hoarse so hope your not sitting in front of me lol.
Dublin’s Jim Gavin has actually been known to even bring on subs 25 minutes into a game, which is dead right too. If any player is not doing their stuff and I mean ANY player, he will take them off, no matter what time is on the clock and the player that comes on will always play better than the player taken off, which is what you want to see.
I probably would have preferred to see Alan Freeman start at full-forward as we still don’t seem to be getting the balance right between scorers and workers up front. You would think that Freeman or Andy Moran would have a higher scoring potential than Jason Doc. We’ll see how it goes. If Jason Doc starts then that might signal that we are playing an out and out sweeper. If Freeman or Andy Moran starts then that would probably signal a more attacking approach, which I would prefer to see for this game.
Best of luck to all involved!
Aye…proactive not reactive! I hope the management is in the loop for that!
Midfield is interesting and I wish the young fella all the best. D Clarke is in to restore a bit of order.
As regards 10 to 15 we ll have to wait to see what emerges!
Roll on tomorrow.
Really hope the team lines out as selected. I do fear Kmc will again play sweeper with Jason moving out, really hope that doesnt happen.
Regarding Subs, Dublin regularly sub with 25. To go, Brogan rarely stays on the pitch after the 50 min mark. Right call regarding Andy, better to have him come on when opposing defense is tiring, an Alan Brogan type of strategy.
Doherty the only surprise for me as I thought he struggled badly the last day. I thought we might give Freeman a nod but to be fair he’s been given plenty of opportunities and never really delivered.
I’m happy enough with Coen around the middle. He’s a good foil for O’Shea in that he’s very mobile and will be able to cover the ground.
I think it’s the right call to keep Andy in reserve.
Think team is fine but can’t honestly see Doc at FF. Need to find a target man if not AO’S. No massive pace in the attack which questions using or even developing a sweeper system. Need to find another Conroy if that’s the plan. Want to see proper hunger and make a statement tomorrow
Good team selection. Glad to see Clarke in goal as he seems to carry authority and demands more from his back line. I hope we lay down a maker tomorrow and really go for this. Ferrmanagh will go for broke on this and we need to be prepared for that. Best of luck to the lads tomorrow and looking forward to the trip to Castlebar. We will know a whole lot more about Mayo after tomorrow Hon.
I would give Andy the first 20 mins or so and introduce him for the last 20 mins if necessary just like M.Harte with Peter Canavan to good effect in one of their All Ireland.
Very harsh on Hennelly for what was one bad kickout. Clarke is a very able keeper and I’ll be interested to see how his kickouts are. Little bit worrying that we don’t know our first choice keeper in July.
Really like Coen in midfield with SO’S. He should bring a bit of guile a quick off loading Seamus doesn’t bring. Not much height between the two guys but hopefully all our kickouts are picking men out like they should be.
Looks like a sweeper system again unless they decide to start Freeman instead of Doherty before throw-in.
Anyway, that’s more than good enough to beat Fermanagh if they want it enough.
Same 15 i chose (after my Diarmuid brain fart) so I can have no complaints!
Not a bad team selection at all. It might be the team that starts. Those closest to the squad know best and obviously select accordingly.
Personally, I’d have started Andy rather than bring him on to try and lock the stable door when the horse is half a mile down the road. But, as a previous poster has intimated, it may be wise to hold him until opposition legs are tiring.
I’m disappointed not to see Alan Freeman starting at 14. And I was hoping to see Donie Vaughan ascert him self in the centre half back position with the excellent Patrick Durkan appearing at some stage.
Maigheo abu
Welcome back Clarky, pg Conor loftus (if fit ) and Shane Nally on bench, hon Mayo
Happy with the team selection given the situation with injuries. Would have preferred to see Freeman in at 14 but who knows what the actual starting format will be. Let’s see them go out now and re-ignite the summer and show the country that we are far from a spent force.
Doherty will be in the goals tomorrow, I’ve no doubt about that.
I’d safely say the sweeper experiment is dead and buried.
We will be pouncing on any short ferm kick outs to get turnovers which was our best route to goal pre-Rochford.
Can’t wait for this as I firmly believe we are going to run riot!
I think it’s hard on Hennellys, but Clarke is a very good keeper as well. Kickout’s have evolved this last few years. It will be interesting, I reckon Clarke can deliver fast accurate ball as well. So wishing Clarke and the rest of the team all the best tomorrow.
[Deleted].
Come On Mayo, minors as well,!
So glad to see Coen, with his mobility and leadership qualities, at midfield.
The abiding image I have from the Galway debacle is a Mayo player barrelling his way into a bunch of Galway defenders, losing the ball, and then standing with his hands on his hips as the defender speeds upfield to lay on another score. That’s why we need players like Coen who won’t give up no matter what — as he proved with the under-21s.
I’m old enough to remember the leadership John Morley provided in the 1960s. He had an appendix operation less than two weeks before the 1967 All-Ireland semi-final, but insisted, when the team was trailing in the second half, in coming on to try to shore up our defence. We didn’t win but John Morley showed the spirit that should imbue the players this week-end. That spirit permeated every facet of his life. In 1980, as a member of Garda Siochana he gave up his life trying to apprehend three bank robbers near Ballaghaderreen. Take a leaf out of his example and we’ll easily win tomorrow.
I like the shape of this team. Let’s hope there’s no tinkering with it before the game.Clarke has the authority to command the square, and Doherty is due a couple of goals. If not, there’s Andy Moran waiting to come on for at least 25 minutes, providing us with more leadership PLUS a goal and more!
If it gets dirty, messy and really physical I don’t think Donie Vaughan will have the tracksuit on for too long. Still, the team looks balanced enough on paper at least…..Will start a bit differently I’d guess. Hard call on RH but that’s the nature of the game. I’d say we’ll have enough and a bit left over. Hon Mayo.
Leantimes – I’ve deleted that bit from your comment where you refer in frankly idiotic terms to a particular player. Please don’t repeat that kind of stuff here again – if you want to criticise any player you’ll need to engage your brain a bit better than that.
Personally think Freeman will start.
It’s a solid team but very reliant on Regan and Cillian for scores.
Fermanagh will play defensive, give them three men to mind inside and pin them deep.
I like the look of that 15 and the black jersey is the job too. I would have had freeman at 14 but doc is due to catch fire again near goal, he has the eye and could be the tonic in there tomorrow.
Please let aos stay at chf and not be trying to be everything to everyone, and that we put pressure on the Fermanagh kickouts at every chance.
My magical future reading mind tells me
Mayo 3-14
Fermanagh 1-12
[Deleted]. The one constant for all county teams is the fans, players come and go and no one is indispensable. PD Iis lucky to survive also. Felt this was a great chance to anchor the team with DV or SC at chb. Happy with Clarke but Hennelly a bit unlucky. 10 to 15 lucky to survive more or less intact. I think AM AF CL and SN are unlucky to lose out but maybe the management know what they are doing. Big P on SR to extract a performance from his players as he has not managed it throughout the league and c’ship to date and for me the signs are ominous. I sincerely hope he reverts to style that players know best and which has brought us so close. If he hands the initiative to Fermanagh as he did to Galway then we could be heading for the turnstiles with 10 to go – sincerely hope I’m wrong. It’ll be next stop Peter Canavan if I’m right after his latest mutterings.
I like this selection a lot. Stephen Coen at MF is brave and will likely swap positions from time to time with AOS.
A win in any fashion is needed now! Good luck to the lads!
Tough on Hennelly but I like Clarke in goal also. I do not understand peoples thing about knowing the team in advance before the game, what ever its about I just don’t get it. If you get to McHale Park early and pick up your program, you will be one of the first to know, and that should suffice. Different thing when we have an underage game where I might not be familiar with all the front runners, in the squad. I have no problem with switches and changes before the game, what is the issue here? We are very familiar with these players, in fact a lot of our posters got the team that is announced exactly right early in the week. If I were picking this team, I would bring Andy in mid way through the second half. My choice would be a strategic one. Nobody commands more respect either side of the white lines than Andy. If things are going well Andy is a big nail in the coffin for the opposition.. If things are going poorly, then Andy has the leadership and inspiration to turn the boat around. It is a big responsibility, so it just as well he possesses broad shoulders.The way the modern game has evolved there is no such thing as the first 15 anymore. Its all about the first 20 now, as some people have alluded to here. Look at Kerry last September or Dublin any day of the week.
No major complaints about that team. Clarke being back will please a lot of posters here, though personally I think there is little to choose between himself and Hennelly and Robbie has had to take a lot of flak for one bad kickout which was then defended very poorly.My big wish for tomorrow is that Mayo go out and play attacking football. Play to their strengths which is to go out 15 v 15 and show that man to man they are a better team than Fermanagh. If they did that v Galway we would now be talking about Roscommon and a potential six in a row. Play the players in their best and natural positions, not a class corner back as corner forward and a class wing forward as sweeper, and if things are not going well, then make the changes early. No point bringing on Andy with five minutes left and giving Freeman a run in injury time. Its a big test for management, but then the players have to step up to the mark tomorrow as well . Best of luck to all involved. Up Mayo
This is a very strong team and I hope lines out as such.
I would have to disagree with alot of posts on here picking holes in the selection.
Doherty is well able to play ff and can win his own ball. ff is actually his preferred position andlike a previous poster I can see him in the goals.
There is plenty of pace in the forwards, regan, Diarmuid, Kevin can move and Jason is now slouch either. Lots of movement in that forward unit.
Jason, Kevin, Diarmuid well capable of chipping in with scores so shouldnt have an isolated two man forward line like Galway game.
Coen is an excellent choice at mf. Similar to Parsons and imo will be a better distributor of the ball. For me there is question marks about Parsons kick passing ability, he seems to go full games without kicking the ball. Coen may have a better range of passing.
Borderboy, winning or loosing I sincerely hope no one is heading to the turnstiles with 10 to go, I find that an insult the the players on the field. Stay to the end and clap them off wil or loose.
Robbie henelly did not make a bad kickout, it was a 50/50 ball that we lost and did not defend it on its way in towards our goal. Robbie even got a hand on the shot but this time luck deserted him and the ball went down and in off his hand where another day it would have hit his hand and stopped on the spot or bounced away to a mayo defender.
Excellent posts above. I especially agree with Rochford’s Brigade comments. Well said.
And who wouldn’t want Peter Canavan in ones corner, borderboy.
But hopefully Rochford will do the business for us, starting tomorrow.
He deserves time and space.
Great call re Clarke ,the old reliable back in goals
Good team,think coen will do well with big Aiden prob coming back to middle for kickouts but still would rather see him with Seamus in the middle,coen at 11,aidens not a no 11 in my eyes,a beast in the middle,we need to bring andy sooner regardless how we’re doin,a fit d o Connor is massive with cillian hopefully gettin sharper after injuries,overall I think we will be hungrier than ever,after 5 years of connught titles I think the boys are allowed a little complacency
time to show Ireland when you get knocked down us mayo lads get back up again
Borderboy
I really think that comment is offensive to Aidan and that you will apologise for it after the game tomorrow.
Aidan was excellent in most games winning man of the match awards .He was excellent v Ros in the league when it mattered and indeed through the league in general.He could do a lot worse in his spare time.Unnecessary and unfair comment in my view .
Borderboy that’s some scutter you talk.
Why anyone would be talking about Peter Canavan on the eve of this game is beyond me.
Some of our supporters are baffling at times. I
Mayomad & Upmayo
Rest assured that I have never left a game early in my life,not even the debacles of 04 and 06.
I sincerely wish the team and SR all of the very best and I intend to be with them to the final whistle as will my family. The last 5 years we have dared to dream with an absolutely fabulous bunch who have served the county well.
Mayo Abu.
Best wishes to our minors who I plan to see on Sunday and also best wishes to Galway and Ros in the senior.
borderboy – I’ve only now seen that scurrilous reference to AOS which I’ve removed from your comment. Please don’t repeat that kind of crap here again.
All – while I’m used to having to wave the comment moderation stick around the place after some games, having to wade in the night before a match is a new one on me. You’re all meant to be supporters: your job tomorrow is to support the team, not take pot-shots at players the night before. It’s zero tolerance from me on that front from here on. A bit of cop-on all round wouldn’t go amiss.
Here here WJ. It’s a pity that has to be spelled out. I hope that the team shut a lot of people up tomorrow and feel if they line out as selected they will.
If they don’t though I’ll be clapping them off all the same. If ya can’t support them when they’re losing don’t support them when they’re winning.
Reading some of the comments tonight one might think that some are hoping we get beat tomorrow.
Hueyandlouis and Willie Joe
LOL sincerest apologies to all for any upset caused. I think we’re all appreciative of where this team have brought us. Perhaps I could have made my point a bit more carefully. The comment on PC related to an article in one of the dailys. It wasn’t a rallying call for heads to be taken.
Sure we all suffer from a bit of verbal diarrhea from time to time.
Fair enough, borderboy, apology accepted, though I’m not sure it’s anything approaching LOL territory.
Hon Mayo. Show us the pride and passion of the jersey and victory will follow.
We can be saying its a good selection if they and the extras produce the goods aplenty tomorrow.Theyve had their warning and the time to straighten themselves out. I’m going tomorrow to see a pep in the step that we haven’t seen since that wet night V the Dubs. They were on the ball then with a bit of awareness and urgency that should have given us the game on the night.
Tomorrow they ll offload to bate the band.The first man to run into a wall will have the ash plant taken to him. They ll only take shots when they’re ready and sure.They ll give no stupid balls away.
The lot will defend with their lives.Yhey ll push up when needs be. They ll mop up goodo around the middle…McL,Coen,Aiden.Theyll be lookin to move the ball at speed at all times as Clarke does.Wwhen anyone comes up from behind it will be a positive result. They will not play predictable football to make the Fers feel at home.Rather will they be inventive and intelligent with a good dose of ferocity thrown in to frighten them back up to the lakes. And when the scores are totted up at the end of the day there will be a fair and worthy surplus on our side.
It looks like a good team on paper at least but one that is not in form so while unlikely another shock cannot be completely ruled out on the day. Fermanagh might take a Galway approach and keep us out of the scoring zone and capitalise on our poor shooting ability. Fermanagh have a good running game if they choose to deploy it but that would suit Mayo better as we would out run them eventually. A few reflections on the previous games. . I said at the time of his appointment as captain that it was not the right time for COC and think Boyler would be a better choice. It putting an extra presume on COC and affecting his game he is trying to hard. He also needs to watch his discipline and not get black card again.
I would play one of Dillion Moran or freeman and all during the game as they are more natural scorers then some of the forwards picked.
Tactically we have been poor and that is starting to become an elephant in the room.. I was top of the left stand during the second of the Galway game and I think the ball came to that corner twice. There was no variations or intelligent diagonal balls being played to open up Galway. Our inside line was left isolated and un supported for most of the game. On one occasion KH was getting pushed around by 4 defenders and it took ages for any colleague to wade in. Not a good sign either in terms of fire in the belly. We need a performance on and off the field tomorrow and while I’m fairly sure we will win we will have a good idea if we are going to make business end of championship by 5pm tomorrow.
Finally tipping roscommon to lift nestor cup on Sunday.
Very harsh on Robbie. All keepers make mistakes, it goes with the territory. Would have preferred management to back him. Clarke is great keeper also so let’s get behind him now.
Can’t complain about rest of the team, let the players who lost against Galway show they are hurting. Experienced and youthful players ready in wings to come in.
HanL and Willie Joe
Apologies to all for any offence caused. The point could have been made better.
Reference to PC was tongue in cheek to his article in one of the dailys and certainly was no rallying call for heads on sticks.
And of course I’ll be shouting them on as loud if not louder than most tomorrow. Anyone wishing them bad should stay at home.
Bottom line is that we’d all pick a pretty diverse first fifteen and even first twenty six.
What we sometimes forget is they’re all Mayomen.
They’re all killing themselves to represent us so forget the parochial and biased bullshit.
Not a bad line up and probably best we got given circumstances. If diarmuid is fully fit i feel his energy should lift the team and the fans. People were saying before the galway game that nullifying the threat of comer and walsh was the key to success. They were kept quiet enough but we still lost. Tomorrow we need to bring intensity to kerb all threats not just corrigan and the full forward. Everyone is a threat and must be given maximum respect. Our approach the last day nullified our own threat as i feel we showed far to much respect to our opponents. Dont let fermanagh settle. Hit them hard and fair. And hit them early. Push up on them put them under pressure. An early goal and were on our way. I prefer that our best players should be in their best positions. Doherty at ff is good pick. He can play the position. Aiden at middle of field will be needed to kerb the physical threat of fermanagh. Higgins reads game well so backs is place for him as caff is major loss. Coen has great mindset and fair play to him for his development. Kmac speed and guile needed at hf and his ball carrying skills can cause havoc. They will defend hard so be patient. recycle possession get right man on the ball from reasonable shooting position. Surely to god we cant play as bad again?
The team that will win tomorrow will be the team that wants it more. Are we hungry enough to reignite our challenge. I think in recent years we had it too soft early in the championship and that was not our fault. Now lies ahead our biggest challenge. 3 competitive games in a row to reach the quarters will make us or break us. Attitude is key. best of luck to all involved.
Rock, your dead right!
I would say that I am one of the oldest bloggers on this site. In my time usually if Mayo are hot favourites you should always back the other team. Take Galway the last day for example . Since 1996 (John Maughans team ) the higher the profile of who we are playing so long as we are underdogs usually no problem. We are not great if we are hot favourites. There are People on here who suggest playing Half Backs in the full back line at this level, I don’t know if they have ever played the game but there is a huge difference between both positions. Also Full Back and both corner backs are specialist positions especially full back , i think Cafferty will not be replaced. Half Forwards and Half Backs can mix positions but ideally this should not happen . CHB and CHF are specialist positions . CHF you need vision when in this position on the pass which splits the opposition defence . Petty Dillon is not 7 years younger.
The description Pàidi Ò Shèa used to describe some supporters in Kerry could just as easily transfer to our own Yew Plains.
I know its hard on Hennelly, but over the years he has made to many mistakes and hadn’t learned. It’s not just kick out from Galway game, I can recall a lot of costly errors that he unfortunately caused. it’s right decision with clarke for sure.
Skylineirl , I also think Clarke deserves a chance, But Hennelly was under instruction to go short with his kick outs from the management team,
Delighted to see clarke in goal, although Hennelly has done us proud everytime he puts on that jersey, he’s a great lad on and off the pitch. Aido, diarmuid, cillian and regan are up there with some of the best footballers in the country, maybe a bit early to say that about regan, but this lad is the real deal. Add to this Loftus and other young lads coming through, it’s exciting times in the forward division. just hope one of doherty and freeman can give us a consistent high level performance from the full forward positon for now until the end of the season. two talented lads with massive ability. Cafferkey a huge loss for us, need barrett asap.
Its very strange to be changing the keeper at this stage. I feel sorry for Robbie. I am happy enough with the rest of the team. Why are the subs not named ?
We won’t know whether the Mayo head and heart are in full unison until that first 50/50 ball or until that first contested breaking ball. If we win those we are well on our way on the road to redemption. Whatever about us as supporters, the players need to prove to themselves that they are still in this years hunt. Yes they need to silence the critics and the naysayers but, most importantly, they need to silence any doubts in their own minds.
Tomorrow needs to be about total belief in themselves. TOTAL BELIEF. Even if they have to kid themselves into believing it, so what? No matter how sad you may feel if you force yourself to smile, you end up smiling 🙂 If our lads truly believe in themselves, after all they have been through, and take that belief into every challenge of the game, every hit, every pass, every score, then they themselves are on the road to redemption.
Hon Mayo.
All we can do now is wish them the very best of luck tomorrow, that said, I’m worried about the outcome. Going into the Galway match I was feeling very confident of victory and more than likely so were the team. The fact that they seemed to get their tactics so wrong on the day, makes me wonder if this team can play a different type of game to the one they became accustomed to under James Horan.
All during the League we waited for some new tactics to be introduced by Management that would make this team tick, it never happened then and against Galway was definitely not the place to be trying something new
Even though the big prize eluded us in recent years we kinda knew what to expect from this team – a very high energy game where half-backs drove forward at pace to support the forwards and in most cases were well capable of taking their own score. It was sure exciting to watch and for the most part produced results. The team now seem to be at a crossroads and unless we have a definite game plan that suits the players we could be in trouble again in MacHale Park again tomorrow.
GOOD LUCK ON SATURDAY AGAINST FERMANAGH
I really do hope that Jason Doc plays as an out and out forward, if he starts. I think he plays better when he is picked in that position when Cillian is in the team as well, as he doesn’t have the added responsibility of taking the frees, which can weight a bit heavily on him at times.
If you look back to the team that we picked in the two Dublin games last year, where we were very blunt up front, we have added one more out and out scoring threat in Evan Regan and if Jason Doc plays as an out and out attacker too, then that’s another scoring threat added, which is exactly what you want to see.
Having Clarke in goal, you’d hope should make us more solid at the back too. It’s a big game for Stephen Coen, best wishes to him especially. You’d love to see Harrison, Keane and Durcan have big games too as they are the other players that are looking to nail down their positions in the team this year. Roll on the game!
There is no harm in being described like Paidi O Se described Kerry fans. Sport is after all the survival of the fittest, those close to nature will tell you that that’s animal instincts. Up Mayo. Hopefully they will kill today and not be killed!
Can’t understand people feeling sorry for Robbie, he has made mistake after mistake going back to the minor all Ireland years ago.
Don’t see people feeling sorry for Vaughan a great servant who can’t get his place.
Dave i dont know if you watched the game back but that was by no means a 50-50 ball. It was a terrible kickout which went straight to Flynn and they got a goal from it.He than had a clear run I’m which beggars belief why would Hennelly put his defence under so much pressure by taking a silly option like that.Personally I’m in the Clarke camp.He has been the best keeper we have produced since Burke.Hes commanding in the air and a great shot stopper.Perhaps Hennelly has a better kickout but well after the last day there’s question marks there. Now it’s obvious he was under instructions from sideline because for some bizarre reason we didn’t want to use our midfielders for our own kickout.
What a horrible day for a match.I dont think this rain suits Mayo do dont be expecting huge winning margins.
To win will have to be enough.Remember Kerry and Sligo a few years ago?
The Fermanagh Boss will surely have zoned in on how poorly we behaved in our efforts to penetrate the G defence the last day.We won’t let it happen again.If/ when they deploy the bog defence we ll be more patient,look up and around with confidence,recycle with precision and style and take our scores as the oppertunities arise.
It’s going to be a great day out. Hup!
That weather will clear for the afternoon. Anyway you deal with what you have….look at how they did V Dubs on that shocking night!
Wasn’t sure if I would make this one, but things are looking good… Will I be OK to pay at the gate… Online tickets are no longer available which I presume rules Supervalu out also??
Yes tickets will be on sale at the ground.
Cheers!! Thanks for that..
Tickets on sale in Centra shops also, up Mayo!
I’m sorry, Willie Joe, for the latter part of my last post. I’m glad you deleted it, we’re all on the same side today. I actually do and will support the particular player today and hope he plays well today. Of course you wouldn’t gather that from reading the entire post…………………………. . I hope the Mayo management is quick to act on the sideline today. There’s nothing wrong with withdrawing a player with 20 or 25 minutes played if necessary… Mayo will have a plan no doubt, but so will be Fermanagh and neither Team will know for sure what the others plan will be before the match. So in. reacting and counteracting the Fermanagh teams plan needs to be done in the first 15 to 20 minutes. That is where Pete McGraths experience comes in, he’s been around for a while and very able.. As most Ulster teams tend to be very tactility aware , Mayo need to be sharp!. Against Galway in the early part of the second half, we almost sleep walked into a 4 point lead, without playing well, most of these scores came from poor Galway play and , we got a new few soft frees… I ask this question, because I don’t know the answer for sure.. Were the team and management complacent at that stage of the match?.. It looked that way from the stand… There are no more second chances today, Let’s hope it doesn’t come to this, but if at any stage during the match we are a few points down, we got to be trust our players, let our hard running half backs drive at Fermanagh. Give the ball quick to the man in best position and go for the score. Redemption Day for Mayo!
Best of luck to Mayo today. A few things needed today not in evidence vs Galway
1. players to win their individual battles
2. High tempo and fast transition from backs to scoring forwards
3. Create 30 to 35 scoring chances and convert scores simply by giving ball to the correct option. No Hail Mary or outside of the boot stuff today please
4. Aggressive tackling to win back possession and minimise turnovers
5. Replace 3 to 4 of the starting team around the ’45 th minute to keep the tempo high and starting lads honest in efforts
No sacred cows from now on, it’s a team effort
It’s a different prospect potentially playing extra games, discipline is going to be key and avoiding big collisions to remain available to the squad.
It can be done , but have yet to see iall of the above on the field
Best of luck to players and management to day . Really looking forward to the challenge ahead . To be honest I’m nervous . Like most of ye I’m more looking for response and hunger from players and management to Galway defeat . Coen a big call and good luck to him . Would take a hard fought 1 point win . Safe journey to all , . This special group of players has given us soo much over the last 5/6 years and think mchale park will be something special this evening as I feel as supporters we too need to show the hunger and support that these lads deserve ! Hon MAYO !