Photo: MichaelMaye.com
We’re not safe yet but, whatever about that, the lads showed – like they did in Round 6 last year – that they’re far from finished. On a day borrowed from summer up in Healy Park, Stephen Rochford’s team put in their best performance of the year to prevail over the home team by the narrowest of margins. As well as the encouraging display, the lads came away from Omagh today with two precious League points.
For the second Sunday in a row my own commitments up here on the day meant that I had to watch this one on the box. That was a nerve-jangling enough experience and I can only imagine what it would have been like for the faithful who did get to Omagh. Which, I’m hearing, they did in large numbers and the win they got to savour no doubt made the journey fully worthwhile.
Even before throw-in today it was clear we were going to be a changed animal compared to last weekend. I’d heard whispers yesterday about the two changes to our named team that we unveiled before throw-in – with Shane Nally and David Drake starting in place of Conor O’Shea and Evan Regan – and so was expecting to see an approach at the other end of the spectrum to the devil-may-care outlook we’d adopted against Cavan.
Over the course of a cagey opening twenty minutes – in which the TV stats showed we had 60% possession – it was already obvious that this was going to be a very tactical tussle. We moved the ball around with authority, probing patiently for openings, while the home team were largely content to soak up the pressure and then hit us on the break.
Paddy Durcan burst through for the game’s opening point but they hit back with points from play from McCurry and Bradley. Shane Nally, off that sweet left peg of his, smacked over a cracker off the outside of his boot wide on the left to level things up.
Kevin McLoughlin and Niall Sludden then traded points but soon after the Tyrone’s centre-forward’s day came to a sudden end when he was ordered off on a black card for a drag down. It looked a bit harsh, to be honest, and he was a big loss for them.
Cillian pointed the resultant free from long-range but Tyrone had the better of the exchanges for the next while. Two more points from play – from McGeary and McCurry – put them back in front and then we suffered a significant blow when Lee Keegan got his marching orders on a black card.
You could, I suppose, argue that what he did wasn’t really a black card offence at all but a player as prominent as Lee should have known better to commit himself in the way that he did. As happened in the replayed All-Ireland final last year, Stephen Coen came on for the banished Westport player.
Sean Cavanagh knocked over the free awarded for Lee’s black card foul, Tyrone’s first placed ball score of the day. Two to the good now, the Red Hands appeared to be gaining ascendancy in this contest.
We altered that narrative, however, with a superb goal. Cillian picked out Andy Moran with a glorious long ball and Andy – who frequently, often with justification, is criticised for trying to do it all himself – offloaded sharply to the in-rushing Tom Parsons. The midfielder steadied himself and lashed the ball into the corner of the net.
We followed this up with a point from play from Cillian, who gathered the ball, turned and boomed it over the bar. Now we were the ones with our tails up.
Bradley cut the gap back to one, selling Colm Boyle with a glorious dummy before firing over. Paddy replied in short order at the other end before Sean Cavanagh closed out a frantic few minutes with a quality score on the run to leave a point between the sides at the break.
We left the Tyrone lads cooling their heels for a while before we came back out for the second half. Once the game got underway again it was Tyrone who had the greater urgency, our lads now the ones who were happy to put up the defensive shield and let the home team take the contest to us.
Almost nine minutes would pass before the first white flag was waved after the break. Both teams missed scoring chances before eventually McGeary pointed from distance to level the game.
By now, we’d made our first non-enforced switch. Fergal Boland, who struggled to get into the game and had the ball turned over on him a few times after the break, was wisely taken out of the firing line. Diarmuid O’Connor (surely not 100% fit?) came on for the Aghamore man.
Chris Barrett’s perseverance in chasing down a ball that was no better than a 40:60 one won a ’45 for us. Cillian – far better today from placed balls – nailed it to edge us back in front.
We suffered a second black card blow when Danny Kirby, chopping down forcefully with the hand, brought one of the Tyrone lads to the floor. We could have no real complaints about that one either. Donal Vaughan joined the fray in place of Danny.
Niall Morgan trotted up from the far end to slot over the free to level the match up once again. Tyrone got the next score too, from Tiernan McCann, to get their noses back in front.
Our next switch saw Andy called ashore, with Aidan O’Shea – making his first appearance of the year – coming on to give McCarron something new to think about. McCarron had been all over Andy like a rash – incredibly avoiding any sanction from card-happy ref Conor Lane in the process – and it was a clever move, despite Andy’s ball-winning skills, to try a new outlet in there.
A free from out on the right by Cillian drew us level. Mattie Donnelly should really have gone on black soon after when a nice crossfield move, Aidan recycling the ball which was then fed to the left, ended with David Drake bursting goalwards before being hauled to the floor. No card of any kind ensued but Cillian pointed the fourteen yard free and we were back in front.
Tyrone poured forward in search of the equaliser. They missed a few chances before Bradley, coming round on the loop, fired over to square the game up with 13 minutes left on the clock.
From there to the end, it was tight and tough, the tension ratcheting up that little bit more with each passing minute. Tyrone looked to have greater purpose about them and seemed destined to land the score (or scores) that would see them home. Having put in an enormous shift, our lads looked out on their feet and seemed to be hanging on for dear life.
Into injury time, though, and we were still hanging in there. Then, with three minutes of added time played, we sunk the dagger with Kevin McLoughlin breaking free and firing over the game’s winning score.
In the game’s dying moments, it all got messy, madcap and more than a little ugly. Tom Parsons won a monstrous turnover off Sean Cavanagh and then Cilllian O’Connor got taken out by a sly, cowardly and truly vicious hit by sub Harry Loughran.
Cillian didn’t seem to know what day of the week it was, Donie – the victim of an earlier off-the-ball hit – was similarly in La-La Land. Conor Lane – so content all day to dish out the cards – now failed to deal with this home town thuggery in the way that it merited.
Eventually things calmed down again and Tyrone made one last attempt to grab something tangible from the game. David Clarke claimed with authority a shot in that might have been a pass or an attempt at the posts and, as he cleared his lines with no little aplomb, the final whistle sounded. Yet another important win over Tyrone was in the bag, our first at Healy Park in the League since back in 2010.
In the lead-up to today’s game, I felt that the performance we were able to put on would be of equal, if not greater, important to the result. It’s fairly satisfying, then, to look back on what was undoubtedly our best display of the year, one that was – just about – good enough to take the spoils as well.
While far from a perfect showing, there was much to be encouraged about today. Tactically we finally showed a bit of cop-on – we came with a clear game-plan, one that gave us the best possible chance of taking something from this match. Defensively we were solid and, for the most part, well disciplined and in attack we did well to take most of the chances that came our way.
Set against that, many of our attacking thrusts broke down, with plenty of ball coughed up and forwards forced down cul-de-sacs out wide. Then again, we gave their attack a tough time too, forcing them to shoot rather wildly from bad positions, and they racked up seventeen wides in the process.
So on we go to next Sunday’s final round of games with our destiny firmly in our own hands. We could still go down – and will if we lose to Donegal and Cavan beat Roscommon – but if we draw with or beat Donegal at MacHale Park we’ll be safe, regardless of how Cavan fare at Hyde Park.
After what has been in large part a turbulent League campaign for us, a win over Rory Gallagher’s resurgent team would – as well as guaranteeing top tier survival – be the perfect way for us to sign off for the spring and point the way towards the peaks that once again await to be scaled in the summer.
Mayo: David Clarke; Brendan Harrison, Keith Higgins, Chris Barrett; Colm Boyle, Lee Keegan, Paddy Durcan (0-2); Tom Parsons (1-0), Danny Kirby; Fergal Boland, Cillian O’Connor (0-5, three free and a ’45), Shane Nally (0-1); Kevin McLoughlin (0-2), Andy Moran, David Drake. Subs: Stephen Coen for Keegan (black card), Diarmuid O’Connor for Boland, Donal Vaughan for Kirby (black card), Aidan O’Shea for Moran, Jason Doherty for Drake, Conor O’Shea for Nally.
Man of the Match poll:
Who was our MOTM against Tyrone?
- Tom Parsons (40%, 326 Votes)
- David Clarke (20%, 163 Votes)
- Paddy Durcan (10%, 80 Votes)
- Shane Nally (9%, 71 Votes)
- Kevin McLoughlin (6%, 52 Votes)
- Chris Barrett (4%, 33 Votes)
- Cillian O'Connor (4%, 31 Votes)
- Colm Boyle (2%, 19 Votes)
- Brendan Harrison (1%, 10 Votes)
- Keith Higgins (1%, 10 Votes)
- David Drake (1%, 6 Votes)
- Aidan O'Shea (1%, 6 Votes)
- Fergal Boland (0%, 4 Votes)
- Danny Kirby (0%, 3 Votes)
- Stephen Coen (0%, 3 Votes)
- Lee Keegan (0%, 2 Votes)
- Andy Moran (0%, 2 Votes)
- Jason Doherty (0%, 2 Votes)
- Diarmuid O'Connor (0%, 1 Votes)
- Donal Vaughan (0%, 1 Votes)
Total Voters: 825
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We are safe. We are 6 points , Cavan can only get 5
Thank god a mayo win and a performance that will count
I stand corrected WJ, forgot Cavan were on 4
No unfortunately Cavan have four points
Mayoman, Cavan got a draw, they are on 4 pts, Mayo need a pt next week.
Well well well after all the talk bout performances in last while here, hope ye all happy now. When the backs to the wall they are just amazing as I always say. Great to see Aiden, Diarmuid, and Jason onn too. Terrific from David again, and Shane Nally was super too. Great team effort overall.Just hope Cillian and Donie are ok, nasty stuff from Tyrone.
Fair play to mayo
Just read Colm o rourke piece on the hogan stand instead of putting our county down at every given opportunity he should focus on his own county who can’t get within 20 points of the dubs
Pure dirt in the end by Tyrone, makes beating them all the sweeter, there really is a nasty streak in the yokes. I’ll avoid the rollercoaster of emotions that inhabit the blog of late, lower than whale shit last week, high as kite this week. However, most people asked for two things from today.
1. Performance: check
2. Fight: check
We got two points as well.
Good win badly needed after Cavan vs Kerry result.
Tom parsons very good.
Brendan Harrison played very good keeping Cavanagh to one point from play.
Now let’s finish with a win against Donegal
Very happy to take the 2 points on those dirty yokes. Go Mayo!
Two of our players assaulted right at the end. I think it was Vaughan punched twice in the face. Cillian taken out too. Keegan making his way off after the black card received serious sledging from some animal that made a B line directly towards him. Just as well that we won.
A gutsy performance when the backs were to the wall. Some great individual performances and evidence of good teamwork, especially for the goal. A disgraceful refereeing performance from Conor Lane who was throwing cards all over the place for nothing tackles and then bottled it when it came to the big decisions at the end. Strike on Cilllian at the end was a clear red and punches thrown at Aiden too.
Durcan superb. If we’re good enough, worthy of staying in Division 1, we’ll beat Donegal next week. Hon Mayo!
Does it go head to head or scoring difference ?
It was a good performance, the intensity was raised from last week and some good quick kick passing particularly in the first half. Im not getting to carried away though, if Tyrone had a forward they would have won by a nice margin, they kicked some poor wides from scorable positions.
Donegal are a far superior side to Tyrone so a much improved effort is required particularly in the forwards.
Disgusting stuff from Tyrone at the end and Ronan ONeill deserves to be banned for a lengthy period for that cowardly assault on Cillian. Im also very disappointed in the Mayo Medical team who let a clearly concussed Cillian continue playing, there is no excuse what so ever for endangering a players health and safety.
It’s head-to-head, Mayoman, if it’s two counties on the same number of points, points difference if it’s three or more. So if Kerry and Cavan win next Sunday (which is probable rather than possible) we’ll need to get something (a point will do) off Donegal, otherwise we’ll go down on the basis of our head-to-head record against Cavan. Kerry could still go down but I don’t fancy Tyrone’s chances in Fitzgerald Stadium. Bottom line, though, is that our fate remains in our own hands going into the final round.
Great win but more work to be done next week as we can expect Cavan to beat Roscommon. Kerry now also looking over their shoulders at the drop. With our very poor record at home its a pity we are not away but now is the time to turn Castlebar into a fortress. Donegal if they are interested are on course for a final with Dublin. As for the match today it was a much improved performance and a great winning point. Nice to score a goal from open play and in the end it proved decisive. Having said that there is no doubt that Tyrone left the game behind them with some terrible shooting Shades of last August in that. Great to see Cillian’s shooting boots back on. Parsons was immense and a fully deserved man of the match while the assurance that Clarke gives to the whole backline is immeasurable.
Finally Conor lane was a disgrace today. Some very soft cards both yellow and black handed out whilst at he same time some very serious fouls by Tyrone especially towards the end ignored. When are we going to see referees clamp down on sledging.
Great result well done.tyrone are an absolute dirty vicious team!
A great win all the same and now we need to back it up by beating Donegal next weekend.
Durcan in half back line massive difference.nally and parsons excellent to and what a finish by mcloughlin at the end.
Thanks for the update WJ, Clarke was superb today and has been our best player in the league
Great hits by him and parsons on Sean cavanagh
A quick look at league table there and it’s very unlikely Kerry would get relegated even if they lost and Cavan won.cavan scoring difference is -6 and Kerry is +20
Well said Mayomad, if Tyrone had a middling forward they would have won. They don’t and the goalie taking 45s is a serious indictment because he’s poor at that from what I know of him. Donegal are a better team and even harder physically than tyrone, we will need seamie O’Shea back for that one but I think Mayo are well able for them too. There’s not many that can beat this Mayo team when Mayo are fully tuned in, maybe even less than” not many”.
Roscommon were never beating Dublin, and for all mcstays tactical know how he allowed his team to be hit for 2.29? It beggars belief.
I would have packed the defense and took a score line loss of 5-8 to something like 12-14 points and left it at that. A hiding like last nights is not good for morale, but sure it’s great for the media to praise the province of Dublin.
Super stuff , mayo supporters were fantastic . It’s amazing what a win will do . Serious amount of negative stuff last week but as I said in previous post , we owe more to this group of players than they owe us . Off the point , as a buck living away from home it really strikes me when I go home the amount of kids wearing mayo jerseys . This is due to this special group of players ! And all these young boys and girls want to play Gaelic . Well done to the lads and management , not saying we will win an all Ireland this year but that was a good ballsy win and something we can build on .
A lot more bite in performance today okay. A very fine goal by Parsons in a sequence when the runs went right for once. There were some minor heroics enacted here and there but some of the most naive bloomers as well…. need to drop them in the bin before the next game or else!….but sure they know themselves. Tom Parsons expressed it well afterwards … good man! If Tyrone had a bit of cop today the story would have had a v different ending.
Of course Donegal will be a much more difficult bunch to handle… credit to them, but we can be there in the end if we can cut out the daft stuff.
Kerry can only go down if Cavan can overturn a 26 point scoring difference i think.
Since they drew with each other. So their head to head wont count.
Whether its 2 or 3 teams that finish on 6 pints, Kerry cant drop unless there is a huge score somewhere. Really its between Cavan and Mayo. We could stay up on 6 pints if Tyrone beat Kerry and Cavan win. As long as Cavan dont put up a huge score in the Hyde. A kerry loss next week could make all the difference if we calf against the men from the hills.
So if Mayo were to lose next week and Cavan were to win, but the scoring difference remained similar to the way it is now (Mayo around 15 points better off) we’d still go down due to head-to-head?
Attacking play pretty abject yet again. The amount of basic skill errors was worrying. Fumbled so many balls played into the forward lines…COS soloing the ball out over the side line at a key time. Too many more to list.
Don’t worry WJ, we’ll give you a point or two next week no bother! Last thing Donegal needs or wants is a league final against Dublin in the run up to the Ulster championship. Didn’t like the look of how Ryan McHugh hobbled off today so we’ll likely be without him. Looking forward to a wee trip to castlebar all the same.
Yes.Jammercee if Kerry win or draw v Tyrone.
Well, that was a tough one to watch near the end!
We were potentially in big trouble at half-time with Cavan drawing against Kerry, so to come away with a win is massive.
We were definitely playing for a draw near the end, a lot of player’s were out on their feet. For Tyrone to miss their chances and Kev Mc to go up and score the decisive point was welcome to say the least. Not the greatest of performances, we were fairly poor going forward in the second. A lot of sloppy turnovers again but we were solid enough when it counted. Clarke had another big game, Parsons and Cillian turned up when it mattered too.
With the likes of Doherty, Barrett, Diarmuid and Aidan making their return, we have a very good chance of beating the drop now. At least it’s in our own hands – we would have settled for that at 3pm today. Let’s get a big crowd into Castlebar next Sunday for one final push for safety.
Thanks for that Jim Flag. I’d be optimistic of a draw against Donegal, looking at the table just there and it seems to be a result that’d favour both teams.
Alf,
Do you mind me asking, what exactly are you looking for in a league game in late March against a hardened, cynical outfit? According to the narrative we were to go up to Tyrone and get beaten out the gate, well we didn’t.
Was it a flawless performance? far from it
Did we make mistakes? yes
Did we show a bit of heart after the last day? for sure
Did we win? yes.
Our County Board need to address what happened at the end of that game. Taking out players like tyrone did is downright dangerous and we should all put pressure onn for it to be addressed. Black card a joke compared to that.
That behaviour really gets me so angry.
Alf Stewart, I was pulling my hair out when COS went out over the line with the ball. Prior to that we were literally handing possession back to Tyrone. I think they hit 10 wides in that 2nd half, whereas we had 5 shots, 4 of which went over.
Battle, guts, a more structured defensive set up and Tyrone’s wayward shooting (some were very kickable) got us over the line today. Going forward we were poor in the 2nd half. Huge scope for improvement here.
Good to see Aido back on the pitch even if he looked like the bomber Liston after a winter break! He’ll be just right come the championship provided he stays injury free. Vaughan too looked sluggish. But his bravery cannot be faulted after staying on his feet after being punched off the ball near the very end.
My advice to Mayo supporters is to keep the assaults on Cilllian and Vaughan low key. If the GAA want to do something about it, let them. Meanwhile our boys can keep these in the locker should we need fuel against Tyrone later in the year. McNabb chased after Keegan too after he was black carded no doubt to wish him well!!!
Mayo need to play this defensive, counter attack style to beat the other high ranking sides and it’s something management should practice. We have the ideal personnel for it.
Still want to see McLoughlin in a sweeper role. Nally is going to be pushing hard for a starting place come summer.
Let’s beat Donegal. They took us last season up there. Time for us to get the win and it won’t matter what happens in the Hyde.
We have some of the best defenders in the country. We need to play to our strengths. Choke out the opposition, make it really hard for them to score…counter attack with Keegan, Durcan, Higgins etc and master this style of play. You don’t need a heap of scoring forwards to win this way.
I don’t see why we shouldn’t mention what went on at the end of that match. If the Mayo lads had done the same to the Tyrone lads, you can be sure Mickey Harte wouldn’t be long letting the world and its mother know about it, all with a view to keeping it in the back of referees’ minds going into the summer. Gavin did the exact same with Diarmuid Connolly all last year by constantly insinuating that Connolly and indeed the Dublin team as a whole were being victimised by opposition and that referees needed to protect them more. A concerted effort was made to mention any and every transgression by the opposition in order to influence refs and guess what, it worked.
Great win after the 2 previous results.
Backs to the wall stuff and possibly got a bit lucky with all the missed Tyrone chances but more power to the team for having the guts to answer the critics (myself included) when the chips are down. Hopefully can build on that and get another result against Donegal.
There was plenty sledging in the stands too let me tell you there was an ignoramus in front of me criticising our “chokers” I gave it to the prick and danced a jig Michael Flatley would be proud of at the full time whistle. Mayo forever.
Well said Mairead but you’ll be whistling into the wind if you re calling for some sense to appear on the question of the black and yellow card! It is a constant disgrace and a great smear on what could be such a fine game! This stuff takes so much from the enjoyment and as far as I can see the inaccuracies shown by officials only nurtures and encourages the rot.
The class of K McL shone forth again today to remind us of how important he is in scoring areas!
Yes leave that Craic to the GAA to sort. Not into players whinging about assaults, RTE will probably pick it up tonight anyway.
Nice win and real backs against the wall stuff. Let’s not get carried away though and see how next weekend goes. Tyrone are way overrated and don’t have the forwards anymore to win Sam. They also have a dirty streak which we say towards the end but I decided to back Mayo and we have the measure of them over the last few years. Cavan drawing with Kerry throws a spanner in the works but it’s in our own hands….a win against Donegal is required. Very measured and calm interview by Parsons at the end…like his performance.
A according to Ger Loughnane on TG4 Friday night Mayo are in some sort of training regeime which means the league is basically being ignored….let’s hope he is right.
I would be happy with a draw next week it would keep the women happy to can not see cavan getting the win
AOS has wintered v well , he was like the bomber Liston coming on, couldn’t get over the size of him
He needs a lot of hard training , but he will be fine
Stayed on the bench (or rather the couch) today and of course I missed the best performance of the league so far.
Firstly, are we exaggerating the Tyrone dirt? Lane was awful today and infuriated Tyrone with the first black card. This was so innocuous we just had to get one soon and sure enough Leroy obliged. Rochy should bleat on about the tackles at the (the Ferguson line), but though they deserved red cards, I didn’t think they were malicious. Of course I’ll take correction from those who were there in the flesh – no substitute for that.
Thought everyone put their shoulder to the wheel. The kick passing game has gone up a notch or two and this enabled us to unlock Tyrone. We do need to be better on the end of balls, but Kevin Mac showed today that he IS a guy who should be getting the final ball.
Great to see Drake and Nally get game time and they repaid the faith in them.
Should have added Chris Barrett to that ‘Great to see…’ sentence!
And, did we actually finish with 14 men after Donie was carried off?
We could finish second yet.
Picture this.
Dublin beats Monaghan. (not beyond the realms of possibility).
Kerry beats Tyrone narrowly. (okay keep going)
We beat Donegal. (yes even in Mchale Park) Ah come on now.
I think that would leave Donegal, Monaghan, Kerry and Mayo all on 8 pints.
We would have to win by about 12 though to finish above them all on scoring difference. Stranger things have happened.
Massive win today. Parsons and Durcan very good, thought Clarke was excellent. Got lucky with Tyrone bad shooting but 2pts is 2pts however they come.
Massive game next week. We need a huge crowd to help in any way we can to stay in Div 1 which is vital to remaining at the top table. Hope the weather is as good as today, that would bring a huge crowd.
Look it we’re no angels ourselves so let’s not play the victim card here. The decisions with the cards were very harsh but I doubt he saw the tackle on COC at the end. He showed early on he had no problem black carding Tyrone players so he would’ve done the same had he seen it
The black for Sludden was a joke. Keegan’s was a foul and no more than that. We were fouled when right in on goal in the second half and the offender didn’t get a card of any kind.
Vaughan and OShea took a couple of punches but the slap O’Connor got was a pure cowards effort. Mickey doesn’t coach that though. Nor the sledging that Keegan got whilst leaving the field. Have no time for them.
The ladies beat Dublin by a point last night and the men beat Tyrone by a point today. That’s great to see.The scoreline today, 1-10 (13) to 0-12, was the same finishing scoreline as the quarter-final game last August 13-12. We didn’t concede any goal today and we got the win, so that’s something to take note of. While in the Cavan and Monaghan games we conceded two bad goals and lost those games.
Agree the black card on Sludden was such a joke, but the attack on Cillian and Donie was dangerous and unnecessary. Sore losers coz they knew it was the end. And if that was the reverse Mickey would be media hyping all evening but we stay dumb. Not right.why shouldnt we speak up bout something so horrendous and allowing this to be in our national game. Plus it’s terrible for our future young ones to be observing. Has to be stamped out. imo the day is drawing near when there will be a serious injury to head and neck the way it’s going. Upsetting to say the least.
Look we are where we are, we won , it takes guts to win a game like that. Now let’s get a record breaking crowd to McHale park next Sunday . we can drive them onto victory next week. Its the last league game , its the last show till championship , every single mayo supporter who’s worth a bit if pride get in there and back our team.
Let’s get this going to get a massive crowd in attendance next week.
Good to get the win. Couldn’t make it to the game today but what seemed clear on the tv was the quick ball into the full forward line doesn’t work against the blanket. Even if there’s support it’s too crowded and the ball just ends up getting recycled. What we got far more joy from is the quick ball into the half forward line where there was a bit of space, similar to last year when we played Alan Dillon there.
Nothing will come of tyrones dirt at the end, O’Neil will say his punch was accidental and anyway the infringements didn’t come against Dublin or Kerry so the GAA won’t care.
Voted for Harrison, he’s the best man marker I’ve seen playing for Mayo in years and a huge asset going forward. He could free up Keegan if used as the specialist man marker gping forward.
We very easily could have lost the game had tyrones shooting been better but when the whole ethos of your game is defend at all costs it can’t be condusive to developing forward talent. There’s no peter caravan’s or Stephen O’Neil’s on that team.
Cillian better but not back to his best by a long way and talk of dropping him is idiotic in my opinion. Delighted with the win, hopefully can improve for next week and play a good game in mchale park for a change!!!
We’ve been missing some heart in our performances of late, made a belated welcome today after a lay off!! Desire it was that Tom P tracked back the length of the pitch to make a tackle just outside the square, likewise Boyler! So many little instances during the game that reminded us, that we are still alive and will be good for battle come summer! It wasn’t a vintage outing, but we done some things very well. Defended savagely, kept Tyrone taking pot shots from way out, despite Connor Lanes best efforts to give soft frees for the Red hands, we top them! I hope the Sunday game panel shine a light on the referees performance rather than the quality of skill on show tonight, he was abysmal! fate is in our own hands now, then gear up for a blockbuster summer
Only one way to beat the blanket defense , kick passing .
Was v impressed with out kick passing game today , just hope now we can beat Donegal at home
Great performance.Super winning point by Mcloughlin .However can’t get carried away as Tyrone had 15 wides and many more into the safe hands of David Clarke.Must follow it up next week against another blanket defence.Maigh eo Abu!
Well that was just a great, ballsy win, similar to our 1 point QF win over the same opposition last year.
I’ve avoided commenting here lately, some of the nonsensical doom and gloom was just wrecking my head.
Look, we’ve won a league game in March, so let’s not carried away. But at the same time, some of the defeatism here after losing games in Feb/Mar has been sad to read.
I’ve read most comments, and it was good to see some common sense prevailing (Liam in-particular springs to mind), but on the whole it’s been pretty depressing.
We’ve all been here before. Some shocking league performances followed by us showing our worth when our backs are to the wall. Sometimes we should all just take a deep breath and look at the bigger picture.
Now we’re still not safe and our problems (and yes, we do have some we have to sort out) are far from over, but let’s have a little bit of faith occasionally.
The fight in the lads today should hopefully ease a lot of worries about our stomach for battle.
Anyway, about the game. Our backs were great. Tenacious in the tackle and willing to put their bodies on the line. That whole back unit looked a lot more secure and assured all game long. Tyrone may well have hit a rake of wides, but we pressurised them all game long and forced errors.
Higgins looked back to his best as well, which is a massive plus.
Midfield did well, although there was precious little ball played in that way. Parsons improved massively.
The forward unit still looks dysfunctional. We are once again relying on scores from all across the team to keep us in touch. We need a coherent attacking plan in place.
I loved seeing AOS pre-match talk. After all of the shite rumours I’ve heard lately regarding him, it was good to see him take on a leaders role and gee up the rest of the lads.
All in all, a stirring display. Sure, we have a few areas we need to work on, no question. But I hope the talk of these lads being finished, on the wane, not up for the battle etc have dissipated slightly.
A bit of a fucker with Cavan getting the draw, but we show that same fight next Sunday and we’ll be fine.
Unlike last two games, our guys were willing to run like dogs and work their arses off today……..pure and simple…….and they got the result they were capable of and deserved. I would be very optimistic for the final game against the men from the Hills if that attitude and commitment is carried through……..Maigheo abú !
Dan, your AOS remark reminds me of the crack a Cavan supporter made to me last week while queuing for the entrance at McHale Park:
“I”m down here to see the team managed by Aidan O’Shea”!
This was the first Mayo match I missed in a very very long time due to family illness. Watching it on telly was infuriating for long periods particularly early on. We made so many stupid mistakes mostly in attack that I was resigned to a defeat. But then there were flashes of brilliance from time to time, like the goal. A beautiful kick pass from Boland, a very, very clever foot pass by Cillian to Andy Moran and a superb finish.
Some say that if Tyrone had a decent forward they would have won easily. I always had thought Sean Cavanagh was fairly decent! Yes they kicked a lot of wides but look at the physical pressure they were put under. It’s not easy to be accurate when you are concerned about taking a hard challenge.
Let’s be honest we were average enough …………but we were good enough to win! There is massive room for improvement by simply cutting out the simple stupid errors. And we have a week to do so and a massive incentive.
Rumours of our demise etc etc!
Jim Flag – you are correct. We now find ourselves in a sort of Jekyll and Hyde situation after today’s results – lose next week and we’re most probably relegated – win by 12+ pts and we could possibly find ourselves in the final depending on other results. However if we can build on todays performance at get anything at all out of next weeks game against a high flying Donegal outfit we’ll have done alright. We need leaders again next week to really take the game to Donegal.
Mayo’s blanket came out on top today, great performance all round. McLoughlin is class, very intelligent footballer. Tyrone seemed to have got away with alot of nasty stuff especially late in the match, one gets the feeling that the season has just really started !.
We really need to turn Castlebar into a fortress next Sunday make it a sea of red and green shout and roar and do all we can to urge them on we can’t lose our Division one status we have to stay up we belong in Division 1
Very sweet victory and well done the lads.
We had only 6 shots in the whole second half and the ball was turned over several times in the Tyrone HB line.
What I dont understand is why we dont take on more shots from 35/40 yards against the blanket defense. Even if they are only 50% chances at best, surely it’s better to take on that shot some times rather than turn over the ball and be hit on the counter attack as usually happens.
Just watched the match back there.
They did well to win it in the end. I’d agree with a lot that was said here already, backs were excellent, particularly Durcan and Higgins. Aidan O’Shea, in the few fleeting minutes he was on the pitch, showed how valuable he is to Mayo. He got on a lot of ball in the few minutes he was on.
Match was more than similar to the quarter final last year. Mayo did well to live off scraps in the second half but they’ll need improvement in that regard. They did hit some outstanding points at times, Cillian hit some brilliant long range frees, not to mention the scores that Durcan, Nally and McLaughlin provided.
Fully agree with the poster that said Mayo’s medical team would want to take a look at themselves. Cillian was obviously concussed at the end. Staggered several times and had to be escorted off the pitch. And then to see him still playing on, and taking hits from the corner back? Madness. I wonder will he be played next week – Mayo have already come under scrutiny in this regard before with Lee against Cork. He took some clatter on the jaw, I sincerely hope it’s nothing more serious.
As regards the newcomers, Nally looks the best of them and the one most likely to make an impact this summer. Kirby and Boland never really got into the game though Coen (is he still a newcomer? – probably not) did well when he came on. To me, it looks like a case of most of them having been given a chance this league and them not having taken it. Boland, Regan, Loftus probably still a little light in comparison to the rest.
Anyway, good win. They’ll do well to beat Donegal but they are getting there!
Great to see AOS back. Andy was leaking possession to Tyrone at that stage and Mc Carron had the better of him. Aidan showed for the ball, got it and laid it on. No heroics but he steadied the ship. I am much more confident against Donegal with him on board again.
I was disappointed not to see Evan Regan. By the way are Drake and Nally now forwards or was this tactic used just for Tyrone I wonder. Nally hit a nice point and can pick out an incisive pass at times.
We’re back
A great win chiseled out against the odds and badle needed after a depressing couple of weeks. Another will be needed next week as hoping that Roscommon will do us a favour is surely futile. If Kerry could not do us a favour today what hope Roscommon?
By the way did anyone notice the around the neck tackle on Boland early on in the game, brought him to the ground, didn’t even get a free, quality of reffing or the methodoly they employ at present is just not good enough in the modern game, if there are ways to improve they must be used for the safety of players
Kevin McLaughlin did well at full forward for the winning score. Might have a bright future in that position.
Just following up on your comment Jim. Am I correct in thinking if we finish on 8 points for example with Kerry Donegal and Monaghan that Monaghan is who we need a better points difference than as we would have beaten the other teams and it’s the head to head result that counts first. Anyway a win next weekend and Div 1 status retained is the goal so everyone down to Mchale Park to help the lads get over the line.
Nally hardly a newcomer is he? Minor captain on the team of 2008(or was it 07?) that should have won an all Ireland…he was a terrific minor. Just wet into the wilderness for a few years. As too was Kevin Keane…I’ve a feeling we still have to see the best of Keane in a Mayo senior jersey. Obv not until next year earliest!
Hoping too to see Diarmuid and Cillian come into a bit of form. It’s been a league to forget for the O’Connors, granted Diarmuid hasn’t been fit. I look forward to the day that the two brothers are buzzing and on song.
Watched the game back there. It’s had to argue against the notion that Tyrone kicked it away. 17 wides! We have loads of room for improvement, particularly in attack, but improve we will. Fortunately, today, guts and determination were enough to get us over the line.
Head to head results are only relevant if two teams on equal points. Other sitiations score difference
– Win ugly or win nice it makes no difference we got the two points
– And two points is all we would have needed had Kerry beaten Cavan as I thought they would. Today was the first day EVER I wanted Kerry to win a football match.
– Parsons worked dam hard today and was rewarded with MOM. Nally some great kick passing while all the backs tightened up compared to last week. Clarke another composed display.. welcome back Aido.
– Have to say the Tyrone supporters were gracious in defeat, they had enough possession to win but due to poor shooting and intense pressure they flunked their shots.
-Lane guilty of inconsistency and had two mute lines men who seen nothing, did nothing, said nothing
– For the few in here who are horrified by players throwing punches, this is Gaelic football not a game of bridge. This has been going on for decades sure its against the rules and a straight red card but rules not applied. Have a look at 1983, 1987,1988 and all games involving Meath in the 80s and 90s and what is happening today is only tiddlywinks.
-Dub supporters what’s the story with Johnny Cooper….?
I always smile at those doom and gloom boys and girls who more than likely never kicked a ball in their lives and who come on here and call management and players lets give management a break they know the fitness of the players and attitude In McEntee i have 100% confidence know him from a year or 2 ago and he will take no shit from players or fellow management unless its positive he would not be hanging about if he thought they were losers.
Kick passing was used much more and to better effect today. I thought the tactic of launching ball into an isolated Moran was madness but this chanced. Parsons was immense. We have a habit in this county of overblowing defeats and victories. Let’s see how next week goes before anyone says a corner has been turned.
Great win today regardless of everything and anything. Going up there and getting a victory is a great thing to do. A few people have said Leeroy should play half forward to give us a bitta jizz and I’m not 100% sure yet but we certainly have the cover now at the back. Sean Cavanagh got a point from play I think or maybe a free but either way he done shag all….thank you Brendan Harrison. Leeroy gets a black card….on comes a healthy lookin Stephen Coen to fill in thank you very much. We have hardy bucks like Donie Vaughan coming on and AOS. Mayo play best when they play as they’re meant to, honestly. They give as good as they get but I’ve yet to see a Mayo team descend into the gutter and assault opponents like the Tyrone fellas did today. Well done lads, fair play to ye.
Just a thought….nobody, but nobody, gives the Rossies a chance.. Last game, nothing to lose or prove, pride in themselves……shhh.. 😉
Think this is thr first time I have seen Mayo supporters criticize a ref when we won. I thought Lane had a decent game and the way he refereed it helped Mayo more than Tyrone. He laid down the law early on which kerbed Tyrone physicality and dirty tricks until the end when it didnt matter, if he let things go early on it would have gotten ugly alot earlier. Id have no issue with the black cards, Sludden left the leg in for the trip, Lee put both hands around his man and pulled him to the ground, both black cards.
A decent performance but will need to be improved upon for next sunday. Will be interesting to see where Aido lines out next week.
I was really annoyed with our medical team for letting Cillian play on at the end. He was obviously in trouble with possibly a concussion, he should have been pulled straight off. A similar incident happened with Keegan in Cork a couple years ago, these things should not happen.
Hats off to our lads for pulling a win out of the bag when it really matters.The difference in intensity from last week was glaring..Our fate is in our own hands now but I agree there could be one last kick in Roscommon. ..I notice the doom and gloom merchants keeping a low profile tonight..
It really pisses me off to see so many “positive” people calling out the “doom and glom merchants”. The great majority of the recent comments have been totally realistic about a team who were playing pure shite, like a bad second division team. The comments were well justified..
All this praise for Mayo today is slightly over the top.!! They are supposed to play like that, otherwise what the fuck are they doing there!! A little observation… Tyrone had 15 wides… one of those would have levelled the match and two would have won…then, we were going down. Loads of mistakes and blunders were made today and, very simply, if they are not corrected, it’s bye bye Blackbird again!!!
Is that “negative” enough for some of ye and for the one who said we probably never kicked a ball in our lives, in my long lifetime i have kicked more balls than some of ye can dream about!! 😉 🙂
@joe..There’s a difference between well justified criticism and writing off a team..
There’s certainly a balance. We could have won the game against Cavan and we could have lost today.
I will say though, it would be crazy to write us off despite the uninspired league campaign. There’s players just coming back into the fold now (AOS, Diarmuid, Barrett, Doherty). Some others clearly haven’t been fit enough and are still getting up to speed.
We’ll definitely be a different animal come summer. It’s not like we haven’t seen this before, we were poor in last year’s league, sure Down nearly had us relegated in the last game, yet we still reached an All-Ireland. We just need to stay up now and then re-group.
Dunno what to make of that,I’d be as besotted with Mayo as anyone but I’ve seen far too many let downs in home games and shapeless attacks in general that I couldn’t see any hope today to a bunch of little flying forwards who frightened the Dubs.
Delighted we won but to commit so many players forward & only have 5 shots in a half is crazy;as someone earlier referred to earlier-long distance shooting is gone for us.
Was poorly situated to see the cheap shots at the end but whatever about Lanes dealing of cards;umpires & linesmen are only tagging along for the spin-they have to draw the refs attention surely if they’ve any backbone.
…we can forget about a league final by virtue of a 12 point win…we are hardly scoring 12 times in a game never mind blow a very impressive Donegal side away!
Am with Joe Mc on this…
Love the effort and focus we showed today…but it has to be asked, where was this against Cavan and Monaghan etc etc? We can’t play at half throttle, that has been proven. Blind deference is just silly, both to players and management. Trying to be be ‘too clever’ with positioning and selection has been poor. Lack of decisive intervention during matches likewise.
The tone here has been fair over the last few weeks especially given our performances over the last 14 months…glasses half full/empty? Just realism…
The biggest plus today, apart from riding our luck and getting two very important points is the incredible performance of Chris Barrett, take into consideration his absence from starting in the Red and Green for an awful long time, great to see,. Take into account Tom Cunliffe is no longer available and Mayo badly need Paddy Durcan released into the half forward line.
Good performance, great result. Ref a shambles. I agree wholeheartedly with Mayonaze’s assessment at 6:09pm. That’s it in a nutshell and all our best performances come from a variance of this. You try to find a system to suit your best players. Very happy to see Nally excel today and Durkan get up the field. Goal was epic. Broadly we were just on it against quality opposition and it was a breath of fresh air. Great to see Aido make a solid return. Though the new kit makes the likes of himself and Leeroy look like they wintered too well. It’s mad that we are still in the running to get relegated or make the final. We looked very motivated and we should expect that urgency will be carried through to next Sunday. We can’t fuck around having put ourselves in a great position to stay up.
.
I was stuck in the office again watching and won’t get to sit down and watch the match proper until midweek. But I did get along to Croker yesterday to see de wimmin for the first time. Literally didn’t see another Mayo supporter in the Cusack or anywhere else for that matter, which was fairly stark (not lecturing, my first time as I said). Our ladies were superb for two or three different stretches in the match against the Dubs and the home ‘crowd’, and just when it seemed to be going against them they pulled out a winner. While Cora was the hero it was very much a collective effort and fair fucking play to them.
The Rossies didn’t actually do that bad in the first half but they had clearly given up after the break, so I left after 45 minutes. No point anymore. Sorry to see them in that state but for some reason I think they’re going to perform next weekend…
A few things.
It was far from a great performance so many UNFORCED errors that just kills our momentum. Handpasses going astray players receiving the ball not driving into the ball at top speed which gives da defender a chance to get a hand in our FF was particularly guilty of this today but on another day could have got a few frees!!
But what was great was our bottle and fight especially in da second half. It was all shoulders to da wheel and bodies on da line stuff. Parsons tackle on Cavanagh Boylers diving in to get a hand in Higgins and a couple more great block downs. Defended manfully. I know Tyrone had 15 wides and a few drop short but a good few was bad shot selection as a result of our defensive work and shape. (Not all)
Ps. Mayo’s last 2 performances have been poor & simply pointing that out isn’t been negative it’s reality. This mayo team have set high standards and dere is no harm in pointing out when dere not reached. March May or September performances against Dublin or Cavan aren’t good enough to win many if any football matches. Simple.
Also da standard of refereeing is so poor now that stating how bad he was after a game is pointless just take it at a giving he was brutal.
And Mayo aren’t shy when it comes to da dark side of da game either. I’ve seen numerous times where our lads have walked da line (gone miles ovr it) and has not been seen or if seen was failed to have been acted upon.
When top teams meet dere is an edge.
We’ve played all 3 of our “main” rivals away from home and won 2 of them. A win nxt Sunday and it hasn’t been a bad league not brilliant but not bad!
Well done to Stephen and the Team, two valuable points won. If Tyrone had their shooting boots on we were in trouble, Donegal have better forwards than Tyrone so an improved performance is needed next Sunday. Lets have a big VOCAL MAYO SUPPORT in MacHale Park.
I take it Buckley is back fro merica? Noticeable tactical change yesterday. To be honest it wouldn’t surprise me if Donegal start a weakened team next Sunday. I doubt they are too bothered about a long journey to a league final against the Kings of the Hill?
We should win by +7 next Sunday.
I’d like to see Tyrone and Dublin in the league final.
@Joe Mc
I give you a small selection of the posts from 8 days ago,
“The end is near for this team I’m afraid, a lot of mileage on the clock”
“John Maughan should be brought back into the Mayo set up”
“Embarrassing”
“After the Monaghan game I posted that I don’t understand this not trying in the league and that losing can become a habit same as winning can. Well it’s a habit now….
What exactly has Rochfod brought to this team ?
I don’t claim to be an expert but I would question the following:
McL as sweeper not being used now why not ? We don’t get many games to practice it so why not do it in the league
Surely Keegan and COC need a rest rather than playing in league games that we clearly have no interest in
Why wasn’t Irwin or Reape given chances in the league ?
Higgins is no longer a top defender so why are we not bedding him in to the half forwards where his pace would be vital ?
Durcan at corner back…..we need new forwards not new backs so why won’t we try this guy up front….same goes for Keegan ?
Management need to cop on or ship out”
Constructive????
Criticism is fine but the hyperbole that now exists amoung certain supporters has reached peak insanity. Posters going crazy because a few hand passes go astray or a player puts the ball over the line. It’s March, it’s the league. We have less than a third of the collective training sessions of other Div 1 teams, when do we get a chance to try new ideas or players. Posters screaming for players to be parachuted straight in from U21 to the senior panel, player X dropped, player Y dropped. There’ll be plenty of time for the U21’s to gain experience and develop physically enough to play senior county football. The management see these lads at training all the time, we don’t, not even players clubmates see them anymore because they don’t train or play with their clubs. Stephen Rochford got us to within a point of the holy grail last year, let’s at least give him another year before we cast him aside.
A little balance and perspective makes it easier in life.
back to the grindstone today- still buzzing after that win yesterday,albeit not our most amazing performance,there was some very good passages of play,like a little reminder to us that this mayo team is made of stern stuff,when their backs are pinned to the wall they are so capable of pulling it out of the bag,i thought Clarke was brilliant again,he has had a very consistent league-
parsons showed up bigtime yesterday- great goal , good to see barrett back, loved kevin mcs point,sweet as nut,he took it well,diarmuid and aiden got some roar when they came off the bench-,cillian showed glimmers yesterday of the brilliance that he is capable of,
i was in the stand yesterday and the MAYO MAYO chant was echoing all over- this is where we need to play our part for nxt weekend- 16th man and all that,we need a good account of ourselves in mchale park,Donegal will be tough- but like was said before when we play to our potential we can win- we need to tidy up sloppy passes,stop giving away possession and play collectively as a team. i took my daughter on to the pitch yesterday to meet some of her heroes ,aido,lee & jason doherty- gentlemen,she was chuffed to get her picture with them,i headed towards cillian to ask him for a quick picture but he was clearly out out of it,he shouldn’t be allowed to play on after that belt, he was staggering,and totally dazed,that is a disgrace,,health and safety of our players are paramount.any word on Donie vaughan? he took some hit too,here’s hoping – after getting two points we have no injury worries for nxt week.on aside note i see cormac reilly is back with the whistle in his mouth- he reffed the Dubs match ,that man boils my blood,he gives me a knot in my stomach,i cant forget 2014, he F###ed us over bigtime,
rant over! up Mayo
Great post Liam.
Leantimes, well said about Barrett. Incredible to think he’s been out for so long and to then put in a performance like that.
Tough as nails as well, he wasn’t taking any shite from that Tyrone buck in the 2nd half. He looks like he’s built himself up a bit as well (not that he was ever slight!).
I was tempted to give him the MOM for such a comeback performance, but Paddy gets it for me. We really are blessed in the half back department.
Excellent post, Liam. Some of the comments over last few weeks were very weak in their understanding of football and in particular how Mayo for the past six years have prepared (due to logistical reasons ) and performed in the league. It’s very disturbing for posters to say they are embarrassed etc. about teams performance , if you have no direct influence how can you be embarrassed , let focus on what should be everyone collective ambition and support our lads.
From the behaviour of Cillian after the strike, whether he plays soon should be purely a professional medical decision, Donegal or no Donegal. No chances should be taken with his health
A good win, an important win, and a bit of ferocity back in the tackle in the second half. It’s what makes this a great team.
Honestly not worried about our forwards. Our issues this league have been the other side of the ball in our refusal to physically engage the opposition. 1-25 in two games against blanket defenses is no bad return. The goal, Nally’s point, Cillian’s 2 and McLoughlin’s 2 were wonderful scores, and I’m sure I’m leaving a couple of memorable ones out.
Anyways, onto the next
Ah I just think people were so disappointed really. Mayo supporters are just more emotionally involved than any other supporters. I think we have been through the mill with these lads (and Mayo Gaa in general) and just then experience really high highs and really low lows! And get totally overwhelmed with the disappointment and hopelessness of not being able to do anything to fix things. Go easy on one another. We all want the same thing.
I think that’s correct, Sinead, we do all want the same thing. As the person closest to the comments on a daily basis, I actually don’t think the mood swings over the last while have been too acute. I’ve seen far worse before. There’s been plenty of good analysis about what we’ve been doing well and not so well and not too much hyperbole in either direction. What isn’t helpful – and never is – is people poking sticks at each other. Some people are naturally upbeat, some downbeat and there’s little point in either community baiting the other about their world view. Both viewpoints are valid and everyone has the right to express their opinion providing they stick to the rules, which the vast majority do.
Great post Liam but you could have included my clarion call for a forwards Coach to be brought in lol seriously tho for we show the same fight and spirit as we did yesterday for the rest of the year we will be grand. Delighted with the improvement yesterday
Liam, like many others here I have supported this team through thick and thin, from the mid-nineties when I was old enough to understand it, to the grim days of the early noughties and indeed 2010, right up to yesterday’s trip to Omagh. Now to be clear, that’s entirely my choice; my time and my money is my own and I don’t feel any of the team or management owe me anything for it. But perhaps the fact that we have all been on the road for so long has altered our expectations; there was a time when a Mayo team lying down and accepting defeat was not unusual. Now, it’s almost alien. That is a testament to where we are as a county and to the players that have raised the bar so high. Which is why results like last weekend’s really sting.
You talk about perspective; here is the perspective. This Mayo team has shown beyond any other that they are capable of and willing to put in the hard yards and dig deep when it counts. I have no problem with us losing games in the league. I have no problem with us being soundly beaten if we deserve it. I know it’s the league in March and shipping some poor losses on home turf is not exactly unusual for us. But I have to say I do have a problem when I see those lads being jeered by Dublin supporters for looking like it’s their first time playing in Croke Park against a team of newbies, or laughed at by Cavan supporters for looking like they’ve never played against a blanket defence before. That is embarrassing, because we know they are capable of playing far more intelligently and dare I say, with more heart. I don’t want to hear anyone talking about our team like that. Not in September, not in March. And fair enough, constructive it may not have been but that’s where I was coming from with the “embarrassing” comment, so shoot me for it (a bit like poor Tom Parsons yesterday!).
As for the rest of the hyperbole and writing off the team and management, and (mother of god) calling for John Maughan to be brought back, well, on those counts I am not guilty m’lud.
Proud of the lads yesterday – far from a perfect performance and Tyrone’s dreadful shooting let us off the hook but boy did they fight. It was a huge relief to see us put in a far more defensive performance, Tyrone’s thuggery notwithstanding. Hope Cillian is okay to play next weekend.
We’re still and always be in this together because we are Mayo. Let’s stick together no matter what now. They so so deserve our unwavering support. The years and games are rolling on for us. Thank you to these lads and management for all ye give us year in year out, win lose or draw.
The previous two performances were abject and the vast majority of people were worried because we are not used to seeing this team lack the hunger in the way they seemed to against Cavan and Dublin. The lack of motivation is what had me most concerned anyway. So It is heartening to see that there is still plenty of fight in them and it gives hope going into the summer. Yes, Mayo supporters are probably more inclined to overreact to both victories and defeats, but I think it’s understandable enough given the heightened emotion of the last five or six years especially. I absolutely love supporting this team, but I’m not going to pretend that they make it easy on us supporters or themselves! But that’s all part of it! It wouldn’t be Mayo football if there wasn’t a chance of a heart attack! The Mayo team and supporters live on the edge and we probably wear our hearts on our sleeve more than any other county, but that’s why I love the journey we’ve been on. Things are not perfect right now and we still have a long ways to go before the summer, but if any team can bring us on another pulsating summer journey, it’s this group. After a truly bitter autumn and winter, I can feel the summery excitement build again.
Ann Marie
I honestly wouldn’t worry about dublin fans laughing at anyone, the only laugh involving dublin is that they have the dice loaded in their favour in every way possible and everyone else is supposed to bow and say how great the dubs are. That’s the joke.
As for Cavan, let them get to a final or win ulster and get back to us about laughing. They wouldn’t be laughing if the quarter final draw they get this summer if they even get that far, wears a red and green jersey.
I was in Omagh and I have watched the game again and I can’t see who or where the attack on Vaughan came from TP dispossessed Cavanagh DV came in and went down but I can’t see any hit .Regarding the ref he got it so wrong in the first half with cards he eased off in the second half the foul on COC was hard to catch on the day unless we copy our rugby cousins with the TMO or citing a player afterwards incidents like that will go unpunished.
Better defensively, but they ran though us way too many times into scoring positions.
Lot bodies there, but we were not holding them up.
We could have been beaten by 5 or 6.
No forward plan apart from kicking the ball into a totally isolated Andy. The one time he got support we got
a goal from it. It has to be a bit more sophisticated than that.
Lots to work on.
Clarke has been superb for us all league, he saved a certain point going over the bar yday
Come the Championship Mayo would need to up their game big time, hopefully footballers will substantially improve their understanding of how to play their allocated positions.
That’s right Facetheball! We re away again on the great kick pass trail. There is nothing wrong with its use but like salt pepper and etc it can be overused and misused. With this dish it’s right with that dish it’s not and for the life of me I can’t understand the point of hitting long balls
into someone who is obviously closed down. It’s due to a lack of judgement or let’s just say it’s not good football. On the other hand a kicked pass that sticks and is part of a promising attacking movement with close assistants attending is entirely a different matter. It’s what we’re after … but do we get it and how often? Big improvement can happen here!
Ive said it before and I’ll say it again.The gambit that is most effective in achieving a result in our game as it is is undoubtedly the breaking of the line in a smart quick fashion. We are simply not good enough in this area. We be trying it …we look at it but in our present circumstances we re not achieving it often enough. Durcan has been our main executor also Boyle and Higgins to a lessor degree but our main weakness happens in our midfielders. The name has become a bit of a misnomer in that midfielding is such a small part of the game now and I rather think it should be replaced by the term mid-operator or something. I won’t apologise to put forward as a prime example, Fenton of the Dubs. He can catch the ball when such is required but most important of all he has the well tuned/timed aggression to split defences without any great mulluckin! The Kerry Moran has a touch of this too of late and it’s absolutely more about mobility precision and thinking now than high fielding of possession. The ball now comes most often through the hands or the short quick kicks! The ideal modern 8/9 is a catcher a mover a tackler an enabler and a scorer.The movement of Parsons Boland and Andy to get our goal was just right then in a fairly loose defence situation. We need more of this in tighter situations for that is what we will find in our battles with the better defences. What I’m saying is that we need players with the ability to break the line at pace and in particular our midfielders!Tom has shown grand stuff but is sometimes blinkered to possibilities going forward. He has shown that he can do it as they all have at times but more of it …if ye could!
DOC is the one I had thought would dev into a kind of midfielder to fit the current requirements. Maybe I’m wrong in thinking so or maybe M Ruanes time has come to get a look in! Was he out of it that mush v Galway….don’t know.
Some more good news after a good day yesterday. This injury update from the management that I’ve been included in the circulation list for seems to indicate that Seamie and Ger Caff are both nearly back to inter-county match fitness levels, and Donie and Cillian are clear for next Sunday too. Maybe our stars are beginning to align at the right time…
This is the full text of the statement:
Injury update from Mayo senior football team
Ahead of Mayo v Donegal in Allianz NFL
Long-term injuries:
Seamus O’Shea: Played a game with his club Breaffy on Sunday and is available for selection for next Sunday.
Ger Cafferkey: Played a game with his club Ballina Stephenites on Sunday and will be further assessed during the week to ascertain if he is available for selection for next Sunday.
From Tyrone/Mayo game last Sunday:
Donal Vaughan and Cillian O’Connor: Both players passed SCAT 3 head injury assessment (HIA) and did not exhibit any delayed concussion symptoms on subsequent reviews.
Reekview, Donie Vaughan got a couple of boxes in the face from Darren McCurry when getting back about 15 seconds before he went down. He could have went down there and then but knew he had to stay on his feet and stop the overlap. He went down when he did because there was a break in play. I don’t think the cameras picked that up but I saw it myself. They certainly did not show it but then RTE chose not to show Mattie Donnelly’s punch to AOS’s face after the final whistle even though the cameras clearly showed that as you could see on TG4’s footage.
Good to see him and COC got the HIA all clear. I’d hate to be a medic these days with cameras giving the people at home clearer images than you might be able to see on the field of play.
Brilliant news.
It’s good by the way that the clubs are getting access to the players returning from injury. Hard to replicate actual matches in training. Even though it’s only Michael Walsh league at the same time it’s good for everyone.
Caff might suit the current tactics as a thinker talker. Reportedly a quarter back type who prepares and prepares and could organise the defense.
When Drake was being carded yesterday he was busy making positional calls to nearby Mayo players. Good to see the lads concentrated like that.
Is there any scenario where the points could have been won and the performance deemed to be poor given you were playing Tyrone in Tyrone?….I doubt it.
Andy Moran did not have his greatest ever game but he gave a fantastic cameo of the type of thing I think Cillian O Connor could and should be doing in the full forward line for the last number of years. The way Moran dinked one way behind his man and pointed the other before taking a pass (admittedly from COC) on the other side and he was a in a great position with the full back helpless.
I will always believe the Mayo can only win the AI when COC starts playing as an out and out inside the 30m line player. He is the one with the skill and accuracy to get the scores but he seems to want to be a different type of player. It is to the oppositions advantage when he is out around the 50 or midfield. I am certain there will be a backlash here from his acolytes but I am certain of this. if he had that bit of Moran cuteness he would create 3-5pts a game for himself in there where it really counts.
A great post Liam,needed to be said,the critics calling Stephen,and management, calling the medics,you would almost think that we have no expertise at all,instead we have the best medical team in the country, and I believe the best young manager available
Did anyone else notice your season ticket updated this afternoon for yesterday’s attendance? Why can’t Castlebar be that efficient? Is it the type of scanners they use?
Well said Liam agree with what you are saying. Nice to see someone on here showing a little bit of knowledge on the subject.
Ah it’s the same every year in relation to league form and supporter form where the more passionate supporters / posters tend to panic during the league.
I said the same last year, the Buckley tactic of turning over the opposition in their own half back / full back line doesn’t come into the fold until the championship or when we need it badly in the league.
We will see it on Sunday and we will win pulling up. As bad as some of our forward play is at times (supporters have every right to criticise this during the league, very poor) based on the way football is played these days I think the sum of our parts still makes us one of the top 4 out there.
We have the collective ability but it’s just an awful pity we cannot unearth or get one of the newer lads to be as good a forward as a Brogan.
I think the management are resigned to the fact that our only chance is to score goals in games and concede none, like last w/end.
p.s.
The minus 2 at 6/5 is free money next week.