Okay, it’s Wednesday and we’ve already named our team our team to face Donegal on Saturday evening. I’ve also sourced the local joint where I’ll be watching the action from Croke Park live on TV so things are beginning to fall into place for the evening.
One of the things that you’ll need to get sorted if you haven’t done so already is your tickets. The County Board issued a statement yesterday on ticketing arrangements, both for season ticket holders and for everyone else – this is here.
It sounds like I’ll be missing the sight of a large Mayo following turning up at HQ on Saturday. This piece in the Mayo News quotes County Board Chairman Mike Connelly who estimates that we’ll have somewhere between 10,000 and 15,000 supporters there on the day. I’d say the number could be closer, or even above, the latter rather than the former, though having said that the Saturday evening start isn’t likely to suit everyone so maybe that range estimated by Mike is correct.
That piece also confirms that the ‘Dare to be Different’ away jersey is set to make its first appearance at Croke Park this weekend. It won’t be worn by the seniors – despite the clash with them on the green front, the strips are distinctive enough that even I can tell ourselves and Donegal apart – but will be sported by the Juniors for their All-Ireland final against Kerry, a match that throws in at Croker at 2pm.
Does this mean that the same jersey will be worn in the senior All-Ireland if we get there and end up playing the same opposition? I know, that’s being more than a bit previous so best ignore that line of thinking for now.
You’ve probably gorged yourselves on all of the local coverage by now but, if you haven’t, this analysis piece by Seán Rice in the Mayo News is worth a look. This one provides a nice riposte to all that fretting that’s been going on over the last few days about the trouble our poor team of scrawny midgets is likely to have in trying to handle Murphy and all those other supermen from the hills.
The same piece also adds an addendum to a story close to my own heart, that of the destination of the 1910 Connacht final, which I’m delighted to see adds further evidence to the argument that this was one we won. I’ll also have to update the results archive with the team listed in the piece, as this was the one that lined out in that provincial decider against Galway.
Billy Joe Padden, writing in the same paper, provides support to those who’ve been pointing to the great that Murphy poses for our backline. He says we can expect an aerial bombardment on Saturday and he outlines what we need to do to counter this.
Onto this morning’s dailies, where once again there’s not a whole pile to report. Noel Connelly’s plea for Aidan O’Shea to be given more protection from the ref, which first appeared last week in last week’s Mayo Advertiser, is carried in the Irish Independent (here).
The Irish Examiner has a piece with Donegal’s Ryan McHugh who talks us up and says how they’ll have to perform like demons for the whole seventy minutes to live with us. Whatever.
The Irish Times, meanwhile, has a piece with Cillian O’Connor, where most of the discussion is about Aidan O’Shea.
The same paper also has the weekly column from Aidan’s namesake, Kerry’s Darragh Ó Sé who can’t resist blowing about how great Kerry and Dublin and Kerry and Kerry were at the weekend and how they’re now light years ahead of everyone else. As I said earlier in the week, neither county is of concern to us at the minute but for all those of us who might end up locking horns with either or both of these titans before the year is out, this type of slobbering nonsense is surely no harm to read at all.
Let them big up kerry and Dublin, build it up as they always do! I don’t mind reading that stuff in the papers as it’s very lazy journalism. It sells in the capital and In kerry, our lads are used to it, the job is at hand, same for monaghan and Tyrone!
Enjoyed O’Sé’s article.
One game at a time S.J.
I’ve been keeping an eye on gaa.tickets.ie during the week for decent tickets and there seems to be very little availability. Does anyone know if the “remaining tickets” to go on sale on Thursday morning at 10am will be available for purchase online at that time as well? At the moment Cusack stand tickets online are for section 714…
Cheers
Season tickets in section 307. Great stuff!
Jersey washed and ready.
Saturday can’t come fast enough!
Better quality of article from Jim McGuinness
http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/gaelic-games/gaelic-football/jim-mcguinness-croke-park-drubbings-made-me-fear-for-the-game-1.2305707
Disagree with the whole “fear” thing about the gap in quality, these things go in cycles (remember the 70s) – but the rest of the article should be a must read for anyone involved in under age coaching.
The tickets available yesterday if you opted to bring a friend were lower cusack 301 right beside the hill where are all the hogan tickets going season ticket holders are going to lower cusack more central than 301
maybe this is going to be a sellout 🙂
I can’t see how these Q/Fs are not going to be a huge draw.
Tyrone and Monaghan – all of Monaghan will be there at least. A semi appearance is a must for them. And Tyrone are no slouches in supporting their team.
Donegal? They had a huge following in Castlelbar. Remember not far short of 20,000 at that match.
Are we going to be outnumbered by 3 Nordie teams? We’ve got to get every man and woman jack of us in that stadium on Saturday.
And don’t forget the juniors. Dublin based Kerry supporters may come along and then look at the opposition. Indeed there will be a lot of neutrals there too.
“Bring a friend” and put him / her in 301 or 714! With friends like that who needs enemies?
I’ve dropped “my friend” in favour of sitting in 307!!!!! Loyalty me asre!
Has the hogan stand been demolished or what? I see no sign of HS tickets anywhere.
I think theirs a massive chance we are gunna be bet on Saturday, i honestly cant call this one. One reffereeing decision could swing it either way. If we are bet by Donegal id be fully behind them to beat the Dubs and Kerry. Love to see the smug face wiped of the Kerry faces and Jim Gavin to boot. Now, if we do scrape by on Saturday ill look forward to giving the Dubs a good feckin rattle in Croker. I’ll even stand in the Hill amongst them!!
Quick question. I’ve opted out of my cairde ticket cause I’m bringing the kids. Can I get the tickets in Supervalu today or do I have to wait till tomorrow?
Liam
They are available today. I rang them a while ago.
Hi Liam,
Supervalu have tickets but they are in the corner sections. As I said above Upper Cusack stand tickets are in section 714 and there are no Davin stand tickets or no Lower Cusack stand tickets available online (unless you are looking for 1 ticket, I’m assuming Supervalu have the same tickets as tickets.ie)… I’m hoping that more will become available after 10am tomorrow…
As far as I’m aware the €5 kids tickets are all in the canal/cusack corner. That’s were I’ve always been corralled with the kids anyway and to be honest, it’s a compromise I’m willing to make as the kids tickets are very reasonable at €5. Just wanted to make sure they’re on sale.
Thanks.
Just printed off my CP season tickets,Lower Cusack 304.
Could be worse my neighbour got 303.
Are there still tickets for the special train,can see them on the irishrail.ie site
*can’t*
fw
Just looked and yes plenty of rail tickets still available online for Saturday.
Cosa Bana
Great Jim McGuinness article and thanks for sharing. Jim for next President of the GAA! Let’s hope teams like Mayo, Donegal, Tyrone, Cork etc deny Dublin and Kerry any more All-Irelands during the next few years.
I think its fair to expect an aerial bombardment form Donegal on Saturdays evening. All they have to do is look at footage from last years semi final where Kerry hoofed the high ball into Donaghy and lost us the game effectively. We cant cope with the high ball at the back. Also, our backs unlike previous years are leaking many scores. They will have to tighten up or we will be seriously exposed here. The blanket defence is another area I feel we struggle to break down. Hopefully the quick early ball into O Shea should counter this. Anyhow, the quest for Sam really goes up a notch from here. MAyo Abu!!
I’ve nothing to add here but sour grapes. I’m Sure I’m not the only one who absolutely has to work on Saturdays. Will miss this one again. Even had to miss last years semi (yeah ok I’m sure loads of ye would have preferred to have missed that one). But in all seriousness, surely Saturday games affect attendance negatively.
Is Croke park going to be given over to a concert every year, for a weekend in the middle of championship season? Why not offer a Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday alternative for the concerts and reserve the pitch for what it’s meant for?
And of course to add insult to injury, only available on SKY.
BRING BACK THE SUNDAY GAME!!!!!!!!
Disappointing to see us lose again at underage to galway in the Tedd Webb final. 1-10 to 1-4
Yeah Mayonaze, and both Sligo and Galway were beaten in the Minor Championship at the week-end as well which makes our heavy defeat to Galway seem even worse. I heard Jack O’Connor talking about this, he was saying that Mayo had beaten them in a challenge match earlier in the year and he was talking up Sligo’s chances against them, so it’s hard to know what happened to our minor team this year. Any word on who is in line to take over the Mayo U21s, as far as I know the closing date for nominations is the 9th of Aug.
Is it true Connacht is the only province where there is no backdoor for minor teams?
Tickets for family getting worse by the minute on ticket.ie 314 Upper cusack at moment which really should be called the davin as its behind endline Better ones will probably become available later in week but when you have to bring a few youngsters its dodgy to wait any longer Speaking as someone living outside county so don’t have access to club tickets
I’m not worried about Donegal or dublin but I think Kerry should worry about Tyrone. Tyrone know how to handle Kerry. So then it looks like its a mayo/Tyrone final. Who,ll win I don’t know. I don’t make predictions ha ha
@ToWinJustOnce… keep checking.. I just got tickets for section 705 upper Cusack just right of the halfway line… they’re fairly high up (row Y) but give a good view of the pitch… I wouldn’t have the best eyesight!! Only corner tickets had been coming up earlier… For 2013 final I was in the hill and couldn’t see anything that went on at the canal end of the pitch with the bright sunlight! Hope we have that sunlight on Sat… it won’t effect the view from section 705!!
Is anyone else getting annoyed with the GAA season tickets? We’re pushed into 303. I have never been located so far away from the halfway line in Croke Park in my life. We’re being treated terribly for our loyalty. It seems the Cairde Mhaigh Eo season ticket holders got better-307. Were these season ticket holders located on the stone benches in Hyde Park also?
It’s seriously frustrating….
That’s crazy that’s like getting scrapes of tickets does that make sense. Good luck to the lads want a good performance on sat
@ E Mayo
I understand where you coming from and my own ticket is 304.However we have to remember that there is approx 4500 Mayo season ticket holders as well as probably 1000+Donegal season ticket holders plus whatever Monaghan and Tyrone have…I would guess that is another 1000.
So that is approx 6000 seats gone straight away in the lower cusack.
It’s a poor reflection on the Mayo team, when we spend so much time on here discussing team selection and our vulnerabilities in the face of the Donegal challenge on Sunday. There was a time when we were supposed to have the best defence in the country, but couldn’t score for nuts. Now we appear to have solved the forward problem, and sadly since that Murphy fella hammered in that early goal, in the 2013 final, we don’t appear capable of defending to save our lives. And yet, despite all that has gone on since, including the many goals conceded in big games, all we seem to do is shuffle the deck chairs. No new blood has appeared on the scene, capable of fielding a high ball in the square, or no new structures have been put in place to counter the modern game, of the swift attacks out of defence. It seems to me that whatever systems Donegal employ on Sunday, we’re in trouble. Even though I so want us to win this game, I fear the outcome!
Well said, Mayo McHale.
Christ this is depressing at times. You’d swear we had crawled into the quarters on our knees. We’ve won the provincial five times in a row. We’re one of the most consistent teams in the country. Have some level of faith in the lads.
Honestly think it has to be nerves with some of ye and as Anne Marie flynn alluded to in another thread, god help us if we do get to meet the dubs , the negativity will be unreal .
On that note can we just set in stone what will please the doubters, would a 6/7 point win suffice and could that generate a positive vibe for the next hurdle if it came off?
If we cannot beat a tired and aging Donegal team, we’re better off at home.
But we can and we will.
Though I too would like to see horses for courses. Conroy and Barrett should be in from the start.
Up Mayo.
Joe Mc & Mayo McHale, ye remind me of the two owl lads in the Muppets????????
The ???????s were to be smileys!!
On team selection , if regan is showing well in AvB games as Mike Connolly said pre Connacht final , I will find it ridiculous if there is not a spot on the bench for him.
looking back on the 2012 final interesting how Donegal kept kicking the ball in long right from the off. I expect this on Sun again. they will try to get ahead early and goal early. I also expect Neil Gallagher to float into full forward and stay there for a while. Are we going to have a midfielder stick with him in there?
One thing I have noticed with Donegal (and most northern counties), they really dont fancy the physical stuff. They mouth and pretend northern football is tough, but when a team gets stuck into them they don’t fancy it. Apart from Murphy and Gallagher and the two Gees at the back Donegal are not that physically strong. And even when Murphy was closely tracked by Corey and O’Mahoney he was obsolete. The McGees will try and bully the Mayo forwards but the thing is you cant leave the mcgees back there on their own, they have to have at least 2 guys helping them. they are not good enough to go man on man and donegal are not good anough to have 3 backs marking 2 forwards. If O’shea and O’Connor don’t even touch the ball there will be space in that backline for the other mayo forwards and the runners coming through.
Do some of us expect mayo management to find players that don’t exist?! Maybe just maybe we have to accept that this is the deck that we have to play with..so many variables to consider for sat..team line up,ref,weather..short turnaround for Donegal..great test.great confidence in team who give EVERYTHING for their county colours..mayo by 4
Good luck on Saturday to the finest team to represent us since 1951, I must say I doubted their ability to come again this year, but hopefully they will continue on Saturday
Good luck to this Mayo team on Saturday and I do hope I see Kevin Keane getting his place from the start. He has well proved himself this year.
Some here very negative. We won 5 in a row defeated AI Champs in 2011, 2012 2013 were beaten by eventual champs in 2012 2013 and 2014 so we cant be all that bad. These players have been excellent under JH and new management have not seen fit to make any major changes. Of course I am concerned about our defence and Donegal have been an excellent team for 5 years and don’t deserve to be labelled tired and old in my opinion but look at it this way. We are going to Croker on Saturday with a decent chance of success and if we win we will then have a chance against the mighty dubs and as a person who has gone to croke park in years gone by knowing that we often had little chance of success I will settle for our current status
One thing that I like about the team this year, they are talking much more openly about winning the All-Ireland title and All-Ireland medals. The last few years they went for the mantra of Game 1, Game 2 etc. You could see where they were coming from too but I liked it that once they won the five in a row they were saying the only medal they are interested in is an All-Ireland medal and not the five in a row medal. Alan Dillon was saying that our last performance was our most complete one in his time so that bodes well for the future if we can keep it going! Best of luck to the Junior and the Senior team on Saturday.
Opt2missteek, We’re better looking than them. I know i am anyway!!! 😉
to win just once, are you confusing negativity with reality?? I was there in 1951and i don’t want the current status. I am sick and tired of nearly winning and being finalists, etc, etc. At this stage i just want to win the fucking thing!!
There seems 2 b at bit of pre games nerves on here.. These players have had a full year to dwell on the Kerry game in Croker and the replay in Limerick, they have had time to analyise what went wrong, how to prevent it happening again and put all their time and enegry into perfecting it… whatever it turns out to be we do not fully know yet but I expect to see it on Sat evening. We have to trust that the players, team and management will make the best use of the resources they have available to them by putting the best combination of players to together to deliver it.. Believe.. keep the faith
Well said Reg! And the two boys know best at this point who is on song. And you can be sure at this time that plans are in place for bombs into square…for little mchughs darts …the big fellas movin in and out…the D wave up the field. It’s their landmark , that wave, and we showed we were more than able to deal with it in C bar in league. Likewise Ty have it and we’ll look after them too if they happen to cross our track. Our precise disciplined tackling will see to that. That’s what’s stood by us so well these years. T’were a few other aspects that let us down and I know that they have been worked on seriously this year.
We have a serious bunch representing the county this weekend and it’s a very special treat for us all to be present at this time . Can you cast yer minds back to the times when fragility, spiritless, lacking conviction, fancy style football, gutless ,were some words and phrases that might have described Mayo football. That was another age the memory of which shows us just how far we ve come. Imagine being where Galway are or Ros or so many others.
So, whatever happens this weekend and the next day and the day following I like to think of how privileged we are to be here to witness it all. And a big thanks to all those responsible!
I read Darragh O’Shea’s piece. Loved it .I don’t think Dublin are is in as good a place as Kerry. Cant wait for Saturday to come. I still believe we have more options than Donegal and confident we will come out on top.You can be sure the Donegal lads will try catching us cold and will try hitting us where it hurts early. Our lads can expect words in the ear and physical battle. Mayo by 6
In the dublin fermanagh game at the weekend one of the things I noticed was the man marking job fermanagh done on diarmuid Connolly, even though he got two brilliant points he was kept quiet otherwise, now Marty o brien isn’t the biggest but he’s got a great engine, surely donnie or lee could do a similar job on Murphy, if we can keep Murphy out of the game then donegal are not the same potent force.
CostsaBana Many thanks for posting the link. Great reading from JM. How I really hate those Natural Talent believers.
I didn’t think we could challenge again this year especially after some of the league displays. I thought our hunger and energy would be diminished by the many disappointments.
Not so! If anything this team is getting hungrier and thicker in their determination to win an All Ireland. I reckon they will be a very mean and ferocious gang come 6 on Saturday. I also know Donegal won’t hold back. Expect one hell of a battle and it could turn nasty. I don’t think they like each other very much!
I expect us to win and possibly by a convincing margin.
This poor Mayo team are damned if they do and damned if they don’t.
Someone has mentioned already that if they beat Donegal it will be because Donegal are a spent force without McGuinness. Loose and it’s because they came to the well untested.
It must be so hard for these guys when their own doubt them??
I was in Croker for the Donegal v Galway game and if that performance is anything to go by we will have no trouble. Mayo by 5. Roll on Saturday.
Joe Mc at least you were lucky enough to be there in 1951 I was not. But Id have loved an ould trip to Coker for an AI Semi in the 1970s But no such luck. I was there in 1981 though when we were whacked by Kerry and failed to score in 2nd half and also saw our 5 15 to 0 10 defeat to Cork in 1993. I wont go into 2004 and 2006 but I saw them too. So yes I rate these present lads very highly and would absolutely love it if they won the AI not just for guys like me and you but more especially for themselves as a reward for all the effort they put in.
Just read a piece in 42 where Noel Connelly is talking about As and how Donegal may double or triple mark him. He hopes the ref gives him a fair cracking and doesn’t let Aiding size prevent him from getting the frees he will be due. Well done Noel, first shots fired.
The team and the management are ready, have no fear. Expect a win, but if it doesn’t happen I’ll be supporting Donegal. Tyrone will be tearing at the traces if they can get past Monaghan.
to win just once, well said. We’re all in this together!!!
Joe Burke if Mayo have any ambitions to get to the top this year they will have to have Evan Regan on the bench the next night.
I think we need every bit of talent in the county on the first 26 for the next 3 games, if we get that far!
It looks to me now that we need to be 3 to 4 points better than the best team in the country before we could possibly dream about winning Sam.
How the fuck did we end up having to beat the three best teams in the country for our last three games and Dublin get Fermanagh and Kerry get Sligo!
Where was everyone when the quarter finals should have at least been an open draw and maybe Donegal be given over to Kerry !
As far a I can see the ‘two great rivals’ were kept nicely apart so that the masses could have their glamour all Ireland!Fuck that for a game of cowboys../!
Ok, so now Evan Regan has to be on the squad for us if we are to win the All-Ireland. The lad hasn’t made his championship debut yet, and he’s the missing link.
Catch a grip lads.
I think you’re right mm we’ll need more than Evan regan to win an all Ireland..*
Forums are mighty especially for stuff you wouldn’t of known a lot about but one thing I’ve learned is don’t pass no heed of a castlebar man when it comes to ballina players .
Pj with respect Kerry would have been playing donegal if they hadn’t lost the ulster final to Monaghan. Now maybe all the donegal players took a one off payment from HQ to throw the game in anticipation of a Kerry Dublin final, aah but I doubt it. Kerry still have a little matter of beating either Tyrone or Monaghan to progress to a final where they will play wether of Dublin, Mayo or donegal should they succeed in the semifinal.. Easy up there on the paranoia for Gods sake
Game day is creeping up very fast. I think the fact Monday was a bank holiday and the game is Sat has a lot to do with it but this week is flying.
Our 5th quarter final in a row….winning our previous four…we have become a regular but should also demand this is the min standard for Mayo football from now on. Many thanks to Horan and this team for setting this new standard. Hopefully the new guys can take us over the line.
John Fogarty has a small piece in today’s paper about us. He poses 10 questions for Mayo people to think about. Here’s the link.
http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/gaa/10-questions-mayo-must-now-answer-346573.html
With Dublin and Kerry so far ahead of us, With us and Donegal Monaghan and Tyrone all past it, does Our game with Donegal really matter?
There is a solution, even at this stage.
After Saturday, reschedule the up coming gamesfor Final day. Dublin V Kerry for SM Cup. Mayo/Donegal V Monaghan/Tyrone for SM Plate
You play who is in front of you of you, one game at a time. if Donegal is a spent force, Lets hope they wont be “the Dog in the manger” for us. They came alive in second half against Galway. (albeit, allowed to do so IMO) no doubt they will be reminded in the locker room about the 16 point defeat that was inflicted on them on our last meeting. whether Donegal is a spent force, or tired, or under pressure, first and foremost they are through Gaa players. proud county, They will not lie down, the drumming we gave them is worth 20 minutes of intensity. will that be enough from them?
Think Fogarty poses some relevant questions. The one that has got me thinking most is the final question regarding Mayo people in the press rowing in behind the team. We all know the amount of sway Kerry hold in the media but that factor affects everyone. It was obvious what Brolly was up to in the build up to the 2012 final. Given that we have one high profile ex player in the national media, is he having a go at McStay?
I can’t say I ever picked up on any ill will from him in the past and I don’t believe he would let the disappointment of missing out on the job earlier this year change that (and he’s fully entitled to feel bitter towards the CB for their shambolic handling of the appointment).
Who is that comment aimed towards do you think?
If Cunniffe goes to full back we are goosed .Vaughan on Murphy and play at least 1 sweeper
Post of the week Toohollow!
I love how Kerry are now suddenly so far ahead of us anyway, they fairly hammered us last August to be fair didn’t they? :p And the ref was completely in our favour and everything…
Even Kerry are miles ahead of Donegal too sure, didn’t they demolish them and all last September in the final, they weren’t a post away from extra time or anything..
Love all this lazy analysis from some ‘pundits’ in the media. Are this Kerry side the most overhyped team ever? Pity the Dubs didn’t feckin bate Donegal last year they would have well beaten Kerry in the final, would have waltzed through that defence.
Gamechanger that’s not true. Kerry would have still played kildare and Donegal would have their own q-final against a qualifier, just as Monaghan do. I don’t like all this prearranged a side and b side qualifiers. What was wrong with the old open draw at q final stage? 4 provincial winners v 4 qualifiers?
It’s the Curse gamechanger it has us all driven demented. Remember last year what were the chances of our two best players banging their heads together and having to come off for ten minutes.
It wouldn’t happen to Donaghy and O’donoghue!
David Gough is the ref on Saturday. I seen him ref the Cavan V Roscommon qualifier. Thought he had a good match, was consistent and caught a lot of off the ball stuff as well. He also sent off one of the Cavan players for throwing a punch. He did not see the incident but used his umpires to make the decision. so hopefully any messing on Saturday will be caught.
There’s a lot off negative talk going on here at the moment, and unless you guys come on board and only make positive soundings, you could be classed as Muppets. 🙂
I assume Fogarty is referring to the likes of Maughan’s and McHale’s comments in the media where they have talked down our chances against opposition.
As opposed to the Kerry folk, Dublin boys and Northern men who all big up the chances of the county representing the province or their individual counties.
Of course there was uproar then before when people were giving out that there was too much hype !!
I think it’s more that the Kerry fellas in the media are much cuter than blowing their own trumpet.
Depending on Kerry’s situation, they’ll do what they think necessary to aid the cause – be it building up the opposition, highlighting weaknesses in the opposition, highlight some controversial tactics by the opposition in an attempt to sway the ref while ignoring Kerry’s own cynicism.
Mayo pundits tend to be more balanced and less biased.
Very good piece in today’s Daily Star by James Horan. He seems to think Donegal will need to score 2 goals to beat us . I have a worry Donegal will score 2 goals against us on Saturday , BUT I BELIEVE THIS BUNCH OF MAYO PLAYERS WILL OUTSCORE DONEGAL. It is vital for us Mayo supporters to show no fear of Donegal on Saturday and to outshout them in Croke park . WE CANNOT to afford to let our team, feel we supporters are afraid or nervous . A lot of fear and negative posts this last few days here .GOD this is only Donegal yet , we still have to face Dublin , and TYRONE maby Kerry. LETS BE THAT EXTRA MAN IN CROKE PARK ON Saturday ..
Mayo pundits :- only my humble ( and perhaps abrasive ) opinion here
Excellent pundits :- Billy joe Padden and James Horan.
Great entertainers :- David Brady and depending on his mood , John Maughan.
massively over-rated :- The RTE pair of McStay and Carney
Excellent/soul-destroying depending on if he is talking about 89/96 or not :- Liam McHale.
Really looking forward to this game. If nothing else it should show us where we really are. Up until now we’ve had it relatively easy against Galway and Sligo, with neither game really requiring us to show our hand in terms of defensive tactics or skills, passion, fitness and mental strength.
This can be a good thing in that we’ll know a lot more about Donegal than they will about us. Murphy seems to be playing more in a FF role, the two McHughs and McGlynn (and too a lesser extent Lacey) are they’re transition, they still have the mental strength and belief in them and they seem to be kicking a helluva lot of wides under pressure this year. They also have gone large periods without scoring in their games.
Traditionally Donegal go for the kill early on but as we’ve seen against Dublin last year and Monaghan and Galway this year they can battle back from adversity too. So what lessons does this give us?
IMO we need to also show our mental strength and play the game over the 70 mins, accept there may be periods when we’re on top and up against, limit the scores (especially the majors) when they have dominance and fill our boots when we have the chance. Mark Murphy tightly to be sure but also limit balls into him by disrupting their transition (a big job for DO’C, Doc and Kevin Mc) and dominate midfield.
Personally I think we’ve the players to do these jobs, with the possible exception of keeping Murphy out of the game completely. But if we limit the supply in to him (as we did in 2013) we’ll wander out, this may possibly indicate the Donie could be the man to follow him with Caff/Keane taking McFadden, Zippy on McBrearty and Cunniffe filling the holes that Donie might leave (although I think Barret has the versatility for this job).
I’d give us a real decent chance of this one, I think the form lines of both teams are similar to 2013 and we took them then.
I like McStay
Jeez Poor aul Martin Carney pretty much gets lambasted nationwide throughout the championship. You must have an awful low opinion of him if he’s ‘overrated’ in your eyes, Roger 😉
Na only slagging, I agree and think he’s very substandard tbh. JOD getting MOTM v Cork was the final nail in the coffin I think. Lovely man though
What about Conor Mortimer on game on 2Fm? :p
Shoot me, but there’s worse out there imo…
Mac’s left Boot-
Amen, one of my favourite parts of the championship was sitting down the Sunday before Race week, beer in hand, listening to/watching the Quarter Final draw with such anticipation as to who would get who (who’d get Kerry coming through the back door, who would get whipping boys cavan, who would momentum team Kildare draw etc.)
This A/B shite is a load of nonsense imo. Open draw is the only feckin way. That said I like the ‘seeded’ semi-finals each year and fully agree with them. A bit off topic but I do wonder if some long way into the future we’ll ever have 2-legged semis/quarters or a 3-series semis. I’d love it tbh and it can be accommodated logistically for sure. Would eliminate the aspect of certain teams getting no second chance and prevents the ref from having a major say. Won’t happen anytime soon though even if it’d be great $$$ for the GAA
Former Kerry player Eoin Liston writing in the Indo on Monday made sure that he said that Dublin were still the favourites for the All-Ireland title, so there was the bigging up of the opposition and playing down Kerry’s chances. He also congratulated the referee David Coldrick for NOT awarding a penalty to Kerry for the challenge on James O’Donoghue when he got injured. Could there be a hint of the Kerry boys trying to keep on the good side of the referees. They’re probably worried now that so many penalty decisions etc. have gone for them lately, that they might get some decisions going against them in future matches.
HopeSpringsEternal – I seen that. Liston a cute hoor….he also writes us off against Donegal, which probably means he wants us to win.
On the issue of pundits etc…what about John Casey who does now be on RTE 1 radio when not with Mike and the boys on midwest….I think he is very good.
Yeah Steve, it’s hard to keep up with them Kerry boys alright! I’d agree with you there about John Casey as well.
We will see how sharp those Kerry boys are on Saturday night at 8pm, Liston is a better judge than many give him credit for. I met him last year and he spoke of a few scenarios that could unfold in the latter games in the Championship and I can tell you I was wondering if he prays to the devil or has a very accurate christal ball as his predictions unfolded with remarkable accuracy. If I had him and david Brady in my ear at a bookies I can absolutely guarantee you I would thank David politely and bet on Listons advice. Genuinely I personally think Mayo will have too much for the Clingons but are they capable of catching ye cold after two championship games that never required ye testing he higher gears, absolutely and mayo will be that little bit cold after two tepid games.
Donegal are dangerous and can turn anyone left in the pit but their system is now suitably scrutinised and on a football basis you need more strings to your bow than they have. Don’t get me wrong they have fine footballers but collectively they have become too loyal to a system that engages in stifling talent and have paid too little attention to encouraging the wonderful skills that hey have as a team.
I think it will be a Kerry Tyrone and a Dublin Mayo semi,, some craic from now on
Ciaran, Conor Mortimer’s feeble attempt to stir shit on 2fm the week before the Connacht final was very telling, likewise his constant swipes over on twitter the only purpose of which I can think is to garner him some attention, and he is the obvious example that springs to mind for me regarding that last question of Fogarty’s. I liked Mort as a player and I don’t have an issue with him in his current status but I don’t think what he is doing is gaining him any credibility in the pundit stakes. I generally enjoy hearing past players in the media although sometimes there is a bit of eye-rolling involved. I’d rate John Casey pretty highly and I like hearing him on RTE, he is a welcome antidote to the nauseating commentary of Canning. And in my experience there are very few that do not want the county to win an All-Ireland, even among the ones that didn’t reach the holy grail themselves, bittersweet as the thought might be.
Liston might have reached spectacular heights in his time but I don’t rate his punditry either.
I always enjoy John Fogarty even when he is taking a pop at us, and this article was no exception even if there is a good answer to each and every question he poses in it. He said earlier on over on twitter about us: “At this stage, they don’t so much have a chip on their shoulder as a chip van. Suits them too.”
Maybe we do – and if the pain of past defeat and last year in particular gives an edge that we didn’t have previously and a bit more bite, some more street smarts, all the better.
Just wondering if anyone has heard what the bench will be on Saturday? Surely it has to have been named at this stage?
2winjustonce – the bench won’t be announced beforehand, the first you’ll see of it is in the programme on the day. At least we’ve named a starting fifteen, there’s still no sign of a team announcement from them!