Doing a post on our Man of the Match always jars a bit when it involves a game we’ve lost and the feeling is all the more pronounced on this occasion seeing as yesterday’s defeat meant our relegation from Division One of the National League. The basic premise of the exercise remains valid, however, in that it helps to illuminate strong performers within our ranks and, despite the result yesterday, a number of lads stood strong for us.
Of particular note in that respect was the performance put in by our flying corner-forward Tommy Conroy. He was prominent throughout and his dazzling speed caused trouble in the Tyrone ranks every time he got possession. He finished with a personal tally of 1-3, all of it from play, and, with 42% of the vote, he’s our Man of the Match from yesterday’s game.
Others who did well for us yesterday and who feature strongly in the MOTM poll were Ryan O’Donoghue (13% of the votes), Eoghan McLaughlin (7%), Paddy Durcan (7%), Oisín Mullin (4%) and Darren Coen (4%). Well done to all of them.
Congratulations Tommy
A star in the making!!
Future is good and time to forget yesterday’s result.
Well deserved Tommy. Roll on to Leitrim for to see Tommy Conroy in action
Shaping up to become a Mayo star of the future!
Possibly but you become a star when you prove yourself in championship football . Talking about possible stars of the future , can anyone shed any light on James Carr , is he injured ?
Ha ha, Seán…I’m asking that same question for weeks now and ZERO response from anyone. It’s a bit weird at this point.
A fit and in form Carr and Conroy in the corners would be nice but I agree with you. Championship is how you really tell. A totally different challenge.
Anyone on the blog remember Joe Mc Grath from yesteryear, from around Tommy’s neck of the woods and very similar style ,direct and with an eye for goal. Our second ever allstar I think. If Tommy can stay fit & healthy he has a big future for us I feel. Roll on the championship.
Yes 2hops. I remember Joe mcgrath a great goalscorer and from the same club as oisin Mullin. He did great scoring in the 79 connaught championship got 5_6 or 5_7 in two games and the story goes John o Mahony went looking for him for the 89 campaign but his best days were over by then.
Not a star of the future anymore he’s arrived well done Tommy
Well done to Tommy Conroy. Deserves MOTM I remember Joe McGrath. Tried to mark him a few times.Looking forward to the Championship now. No point in looking back at what might have been yesterday.Thats gone now. Division 2 next year.Maybe a good thing.
Thanks No Doubt, ya a stand out performer on a poorish team. Allstar in 79? Or thereabouts.
Joe McGrath from Kilmaine scored 2-5 on all-star Harry Keegan in the 1979 Connaught final in castlebar..He won our 2nd ever all-star first been Johnny Carey..Joe ran in straight lines..strong and powerful with an eye for goals.. Tommy is more stylish and can sidestep defenders..with that same eye for goal…
Mayonaze
We have to assume Carr is injured. He is a great prospect but seems to pick up alot of injuries.
Great to see for the 2nd week in a row it’s a young player who got man of match. Conroy looks a great prospect. What disturbs me is the way some people think Mark Moran last week’s man of the match performance was a flash in the pan. Yes he didn’t set the world alight last Sunday. But we were playing against a gale force wind. Very difficult for a play maker. He’ll be back and conducting the show in the next few weeks.
Justonemoreyear , don’t think anyone is writing him off at all but is there still such thing as a summer footballer , that would be my concern that this winter championship might not suit him at all , hope I’m wrong .
Everytime I see the cover photo on the blog I realise how much change there has been to the squad over the course of 2 league campaigns.
The vast bulk of the team in the photo, the multiple All-stars, all Ireland semi or final appearances they were in versus the players that appeared against Galway and Tyrone. It all new. Any team missing those guys will have weak moments.
Time moves on, can’t stop it. New crop now.
Expectations are always sky high in Mayo, this team is finding it’s balance. Mistakes and losses will happen but it’s patience that is needed.
Some players will step up and progress, some won’t.
1st half v Galway was brilliant, 1st half v Tyrone was poor. 2nd half v Galway was quiet 2nd half of Tyrone much better. It’s finding the consistency.
Leitrim are a proud county, Mayo will win but need to be sharp. We’ve come undone away from home against smaller teams before.
Get past this and then step into the Hyde. Ros absolutely have the mark on Mayo for the past while…..
Heres hoping.
For reference Keegan needs to play at 6.
Interesting article by Colm Keys in today’s independent. Could be that Mayo getting Relegated to Division 2 will become a moot point in 2021.Sounds like the whole league could be restructured in 2021 into 4 regional groups of eight teams to take travel out of the equation due to Covid!
Yes I well remember Joe McGrath and the 2-5 he scored in the 1979 Connaught Final in Castlebar. That was Mayo’s last chance to claim a Connaught crown in the 1970s but we lost to Roscommon who were on their way to a 4 in a row in Connaught, the best Roscommon team I’ve ever seen and one that would push Kerry all the way in the 1980 All Ireland Final.
It was a tough decade following Mayo seniors with Joe McGraths All Star in 1979 added to Johnny Carey’s in 1970 ( we also won the league that year ) about all we had to show for the ten years. Definitely famine times compared to the last decade.
And now that the dust has settled on the narrow and very frustrating loss to Tyrone on Sunday, I think it may turn out to be a blessing in disguise. I think it has been a very timely kick up the arse that will put our feet firmly back on the ground after our demolition of a woefully poor Galway side.
It’s going to be much easier address our obvious defensive frailties in the light of that defeat than it would be if we’d snuck past Tyrone. Any cockiness has been well knocked out of us and the chance of being ambushed by any of the neighbours has certainly diminished.
Roll on Carrick !!
Very disappointing to see Mayo slip into division 2 from a footballing perspective in my opinion. I would be very afraid that they could stay there for several seasons as for some reason they are a very inconsistent in league games. In division two you have some serious teams and getting back to the top tier will be difficult.
I felt ye were the better team against Tyrone and apart from two fortunate goals from them ye played well. To put 1.19 on the scoreboard against a defensive team like them was a very impressive and on most days would have been enough.
I hope you are all safe and well and I am looking forward to the championship in this shockingly difficult year for so many. I am hoping we manage to get by Cork in this knockout meeting and hope ye progress to the knockouts as well but there are many hidden mines in this campaign.
Good hunting
In my view our u21/u20 talent pipeline since 2016 far outstrips at least six teams in division 2. So I don’t see anymore than at most two seasons there with plenty of exciting young talent like Frank Irwin for example and 2-3 more young or current fringe players per year.
It has been good to be forced to stand our own two feet without most of the 2011 team.
Well done Tommy. That’s two newbie MOTM in two weeks!
On a different note Aidan O’Rourke has some interesting things to say about Mayo and others in his RTE column.
Critical of the defending in the first half, but quite positive on Mayo otherwise: https://tinyurl.com/y4aopftt
@Kmclegend – I don’t have an Irish independent subscription. Is colm keys saying that leagues will be put on hold for a year, with local leagues in 2021, and then resume in its current format In 2022? I’d prefer to play Div 2 next year while no crowds are allowed and then be back in division 1 for when the crowds are allowed back in 2022.
I seen Darren mchale name amongst the subs on Sunday. I wonder will he get a run v Leitrim. Was very good in club championship. What’s the story with naughton?
@Cod What he believes will happen is a total reset and based on 2021 standings you will end up in the appropriate division in 2022. I believe that happened once before around 23 years ago!
Unlike most others I believe being relegated is a disaster, it wont impact the coming championship but we will feel it next year. Div 2 is shaping up to be very competitive, Cork, Kildare and Meath are good sides who will be prioritizing promotion next year so mayo will need to be ready to go early, no slow build up to summer. There is no guarantee of promotion.
Regarding the up coming championship if there isn’t a serious rethink on how we set up the team then we haven’t a hope in hell. We are too open at the back plain and simple, it’s not the personnel, it’s the way they are set up, too much space between the back lines is exposing the FB line. This is an old failing of Horans, one he has never rectified. Halfbacks need to be more disciplined and need a no 6 who can pass early to the pace we now have in the forwards.
There looks to be a plan for AOS at ff this year, while it looks promising it now needs to be abandoned. Clarke’s kickout are a liability with serious pressure being put on the short kickout, everyone knows he cant go long especially with no recognised fielder in the middle. AOS is needed at mf to provide long range outlet If he isn’t in mf then expect more fuckups and scores conceded at the restarts.
cheers for that catcol,
Usually enjoy those Aidan O’Rourke articles, very good analysis
Guys on the GAA hour podcast was sounding a similar theme also, that Galway would have a lot more worries than Mayo going into a championship (Comer has been ruled out for 6 weeks, Ian Burke on crutches, bedding in a new goalie again etc). I think Mayos problems can be fixed quite quickly with a sweeper. Im incredibly frustrated with the goalkeeping situation that we have gotten through an entire league campaign without trying a new keeper but thats not gonna change now a week out from champo
….also on the subject of pundits i do wonder if some are setting us up to fail. We fans can sometimes rightfully be accused of getting carried away with any Mayo victory (and the inevitable ‘Mayo4sam’ campaigns that follow) but then i see someone like Eamonn sweeney writing in the independent on sunday that ‘the only thing that can stop Dublin is Mayo or the disease’.
There is absolutely no recent evidence to support that claim.
We havent won a connacht title in 5 years, we have just been relegated after a very poor league campaign and a lot of the guys who got us so close in 2017 arent in the frame now at all.
Talk of a ‘rivalry’ with dublin is laughable when we haven’t beaten them since 2012.
Talk of all-irelands should be parked, connacht is definitely winnable and that should be the immediate goal, will be tough but we have a good chance of winning that if we can hit the levels we know. Anything beyond that is foolish talk for now
Unnamed member of Tyrone squad confirmed as tested positive with Covid-19 and none of the rest of the squad impacted!!!
Good article by O’Rourke. Mayo defense torn to shreds up the centre in first half. Winter Championship will suit physically strong teams like Tyrone. Keegan looks our obvious choice at 6, DOC and Ruane the best midfield partnership?
Ontheditch, I’m not sure about this Winter championship business. OK pitches will be a bit heavier, but the weather can be mild, calm and dry in November. Can be, but think of that game in CF in 2011, when Mayo beat Rossies. It was so bad the Mayos weren’t even hollering’ after batin the Rossies. Last 2 matches (if we get there, a big if), will be in Croker, so I think the Mayo squad is well primed.
All theoretical of course, and Leitrim themselves will be a wake up call. Terry Hyland is no mug. But surely Rory Byrne could get a chance here for a half at least.
There is no recent evidence that anyone can beat Dublin in fairness. The media are absolutely praying that Kerry can give them a game but last year against 14 men for the majority for the game all they could manage is a draw. Then theres other darlings anointed every year. Most recently Galway but there was also a lot of hype over Donegal. A lot of pundits were bigging them up before we knocked them out last year. A Connacht championship would be massive for this Mayo team(as long as horan keeps going with the young lads) but I expect Dublin dominance to continue for the foreseeable future unabated.
I read Aidan O’Rourke’s piece – agree with re the lack of defensive plan and how we were caught out. My relations in Kerry tell me there would be ‘anarchy’ if Kerry went down to Division 2 – we seem to just accept it. We need to be playing against the top teams in the country and to have players up against the best. It is so disappointing. Conor McKenna on BBC Sport stated that Tyrone hasn’t used the rapid testing even though one of the players has tested positive. No one else is isolating. He says he has no symptoms – so he dosen’t see the point in being tested!!! For goodness sake – where are the GAA and GPA?? And surely this is a concern for Mayo GAA after Tyrone being in Castlebar on Sunday.
.
Mayofan I’m sure the same Kerry relations would say it’s only the League if it were themselves being relegated. Sure wasn’t that what we were told when we were league champions?.
I wouldn’t be paying a lot of heed in what fans from other counties have to say to be honest.
It’s certainly a shame that we have been relegated and it will mean a season of against the next tier, but Division 2 is no cakewalk and there will be 7 other teams looking to take a scalp against Mayo then the league does start up again. Anyway – it is what it is now and we need to get on with it. There’s Championship games coming thick and fast and that has to be the focus for now.
If a county player tests positive – there should be a protocol in place that all players in the squad undergo rapid testing.
This thing about players only been tested if they are regarded as close contacts is wide open to interpretation by the contact tracer. For example all the Offaly hurling panel were deemed close contacts. It looks like very few players in other county panels were deemed close contacts.
My understanding now is that county teams are using dressing rooms before and after games – this should be enough to deem it necessary to rapid test all the players. I am surprised the GPA are not insisting on this. Remember players can have the virus and be spreading it without showing symptoms.
Mayofan,
Kerry have been relegated since Mayo were last in Div 2 and I don’t recall any anarchy. I think your Kerry relations were taking a rise out of you. Fact is that Mayo were the only county not relegated since the leagues were last restructured until Sunday.
I too recall Joe McGrath. He was something of a shooting star in more ways than one. His Mayo career was a fairly short one and 1979 was the only year where he stood out a star. I hope Tommy Conroy lasts longer that the bould Joe.
Southmayo exile, in fairness the GPA have demanded testing of all panels and the GAA have agreed to this, base testing was to be carried out before the championship commences. However I dont think the GAA are going to like the results of that testing. I’d be amazed if there isn’t a fairly high level of positive results.
I’ve done a bit of research on WJ’s wonderful results archive on Joe McGrath’s Mayo career. He came into the team for the autumn league matches in 1978 and his last game was championship v Leitrim in 1982. He did not play in the Connacht Final v Galway, that horrendous day in Tuam [3 = 17 to 0 = 7?] In our Connacht winning year of 1981 he played all the games without setting the world alight, one or to points per game.
If the Tyrone player tested positive as reported is it not incumbent of the Gaa to award the points to mayo and relegate Tyrone. The situation is not the same as the one in Waterford but is quite similar. That club was stripped of a county title. There surely has to be some sanction for not following guidelines.
The Tyrone player who tested positive didn’t play on Sunday so completely different to the Waterford case.
Anybody in close contact with a possible case must isolate for 14 days,
Excellent display by Conroy on Sunday, great to have a proven finisher on the team.
Just one watch out, he takes an awful lot of steps, a more picky ref could have pulled him for over carrying on numerous occasions last Sunday.
Davitt51 you are very right. His pace and power is unreal but it is his balance when in full stride that is most impressive to me. He takes hi “4” steps before ever hopping or soloing and with his pace if the defender hasnt him wrapped up, then they wont catch him. Excellent prospect and hoping he can stay injury free.