Mayo GAA Discussion Part 2

Fr Tod Umptious

seligehgit wrote: »

Presumably there will be a minute's silence for the late great Father Peter Quinn before the game tonight,no brainer.

They did

roy rodgers

I watched the game on the box tonight and the two teams were cat but at the same time there is a bit of class still there.
Dublin were the better team and mayo looked a bit disorganised at times and we're letting dublin attack while mayo had the ball?! There was no runners from midfield at lot of lads sitting in defence but that will come good after the next couple of games. There is no fear of dropping down a division yet.

mass_debater

Yeah, I expected to get annihilated but it was a decent performance we can build on. a bit of a break now and time to recover our squad and we'll be ok

PressRun

Well it wasn't the hammering people were expecting. Cagey enough affair. Mayo were good defensively, denied Dublin the goals they get so much of their power from. However, we were poor going forward and were let down by a couple of forwards. Thought we could have won it even if we just had that extra firepower going forward.

Overall though, to be honest, I feel like Stephen Rochford might be the happier of the two managers coming out of the match.

The ref was poor, yet again.

martyos121

To take a positive note out of these two losses, we've only conceded one goal between the two games. Leaking goals is what cost us dearly the last number of years so if this is being rectified then that's fine by me.

Always expected the loss today but it's not nice having to play catch-up to stay in the division now. If Roscommon are the ones to relegate us I will be absolutely mortified.

PressRun

I thought Keith Higgins showed a lot of leadership and provided the extra bit of experience when he came on too.

charlie14

Tbh honest looked like Donegal in 2011 when they played the Dubs in semi .
A formation seen up to stop them scoring but no intention of beating them

homewardbound11

Great crowd. Football was not the prettiest and the weather had us frozen afterwards .
Diarmud O'Connor is a class outfit as is parsons . Aiden had a much improved second half . Thought the entire full back line gave a really good account .
Negatives ,
I don't know what's wrong with Vaughan . He didn't want the ball at all . Hope he improves over the next few months. His physical presence gets my vote.
Having mikey and Evan on at the same time in weather like that was pointless unless the delivery was 100 percent .
Evan has more work to do before he can have a chance at a playing oosition .

Thought the refereeing again was poor . How oshea didn't get a free after 6hands ruby style on him .Boyle had his fill from Connolly . Off the ball incidents and 3rd man tackles were not being monitored .

Overall good . A better Mayo running side would have cut through that Dublin half back line as there were holes in there that just aren't exploited . Better this time on closing out the Cluxton kick outs . When they were closed down it made their game plan of running difficult .
A few weeks break and a return to the panel afterwards for more players means relegation might not be as close as first thought .

seligehgit

Quite pleased with the performance overall,it was an intriguing contest considering how dire the conditions were for the players.We certainly set up very defensively mindful of the hiding we got last week.The conditions did'nt suit the quality forwards on either team.

Defensively I thought we were very good,Ger Cafferkey is a quality full back when he's not left isolated one on one.Shane Nally impressed me greatly,he got on the ball a lot.He was strong in the tackle,got forward quite a bit and his overall distribution was good.

Colm Boyle was his usual feisty self,always think he's a quasi spiritual leader.When he's up for the game,he exudes a grim determination that is infectious and sets the tempo on pitch and with the supporters.He most definitely took the fight to Dublin but was probably lucky he did'nt see red earlier.He played a tad too close to the edge.

I thought Donal Vaughan put in a decent effort until he went off injured.TBH I did'nt see anything particualrly spectacular out of our midfield.Hopefully Donal Vaughan presumable hamstring injury and Tom Parsons leg/hip injury are'nt too serious.

Up front Conor O Shea toiled well given the conditions.Diarmuid O Connor was our star man,2 scores.The second an absolute beauty,he has an incredible work rate.He caused quite a few difficulties with his direct running at pace.He is going to be a class act.

The weather conditions did'nt suit the likes of Mikey Sweeney and Evan Regan both of whom are slight of frame.They oftentimes failed to win their own ball and were all too easily dispossessed.

It was most definitely not Aidan O Shea's best day out,he gave the ball on numerous occasions and took too much out of the ball running into trouble.Keith Higgins made a difference with his direct running at pace from deep.

The margin was tight and for a brief period I thought we might sneak a draw but Dublin's ability to put a score on the board after we pulled closer and take the sting out of the game with prolonged periods of possession is why they are the reigning champions.

The place kicking off the ground by Robert Hennelly and Dean Rock was of a good standard given the conditions.I continue to be perplexed why players chose to hop the ball given the ground conditions.

I thought the referee Padraig Hughes was poor,lots of baffling decisions.As usual he was very whistle happy,failing to let the game flow.Johnny Cooper's black card was pretty harsh,what he supposed to do.He stood his ground.Big contrast to Eddie Kinsella's officiating of the Dublin Kerry contest last Saturday night.TBF to him it was not an easy contest to officiate given the physicality and awful conditions.

Great night in a local hostelry with the Dublin fans.Our most decorated of All Stars and regular corner back dropped in.Great banter with the opposing fans,few selfies thrown in.Top man.

Great win for Roscommon today in their ambitions to stay up.Pressure now on ourselves,the Kingdom and Down.Donegal in Ballybofey is going to be a very tough assignment given their current form.

Super article giving an analysis of last night's contest,some grounds for optimism.

http://www.newstalk.com/analysis-rochford-gegenpressing

davegrohl48

You could see how much Keith Higgins lifts it when he came on.
With so many good defenders still to return we really can tog even seven strong defenders for later in the league.
I think we are going to end up with:
Harrison Cafferkey Keane
Higgins
Keegan. Durcan Boyle
Higgins a great man to tidy up in between players and launch counter attacks.
Durcan has improved a lot and he has that power to hit whatever comes down the middle.

b1964

PressRun wrote: »

Well it wasn't the hammering people were expecting. Cagey enough affair. Mayo were good defensively, denied Dublin the goals they get so much of their power from. However, we were poor going forward and were let down by a couple of forwards. Thought we could have won it even if we just had that extra firepower going forward.

Overall though, to be honest, I feel like Stephen Rochford might be the happier of the two managers coming out of the match.

The ref was poor, yet again.

Think your wrong there lad!! Jim Gavin most definitely is the happier manager coming out of the match
Dublin 4 pts
Mayo 0 pts.

PressRun

I'd say Donegal will be fairly bullish going into the next game on the back of two resounding wins. I still think Mayo can get a win from that match though. They'll probably be glad to get the break and get more prep in.

I'm also excited to see how Diarmuid O'Connor continues to come on over the year.

PressRun

seligehgit wrote: »

It was most definitely not Aidan O Shea's best day out,he gave the ball on numerous occasions and took too much out of the ball running into trouble.

He does have a habit of just running into the tackle too much, and he's such a powerful man, it seems to take a lot for him to win a free, tbh. Running head-first into a crowd of defenders just isn't going to work most of the time.

What do you think is the best place to play him? Figuring out how to get the best out of him is one of the biggest tasks for the management.

seligehgit

seligehgit wrote: »

he'll hopefully get to see Ardnaree Sarsfields win an All Ireland.

Unfortunately wasn't to be. Mayo teams lose 2 more finals in Croker. Jesus, what is it about the bloody place. Fingers crossed for the Mitchells now at the weekend.

LeoB

I thought it was an excellent game considering the conditions.

Dublin and Mayo will be happy enough but huge work to be done by both.

Dublin will be happy enough they were not in any serious trouble really thanks to Mayo playing so many men behind the ball which I dont like when they have good forwards who can score.

Big difference was the work rate and composure, maybe its experience of knowing how to close out the game when Mayo came chasing. Costello is great if they can keep him fit and Con O'Callaghan will be in with shout the next day. A few forwards are starting to come along for Dublin. Full back wont be the problem for Dublin that it is being made out to be. Cooper, McMahon, Byrne, Fitzsomons or Bastic would fit in there but I think it will be McMahon or Bastic come the summer.

On the plus side for Mayo is Evan Reagan. A great prospect who needs game time. They know what the others can do and like Cormac Costello he needs to be on the field. A negative for me is Aiden O'Shea. Tunnel vision or what. He would do far more damage closer to goal. He would be a handful for any 2 defenders and Mayo have lads who can score from distance so my thinking would be leave him close to goal and free up a bit of space for the likes of Reagan, O'Connor's and Doherty.

Colm Boyle is a fine player but playing to close to the edge and it will cost him. It is all very fine but he needs to be a bit more controlled. The crowd love him and it gees him up but maybe a bit to much. Similar to Connolly in many ways. Danger is from a managers point of view when you try and curb lads like this you take away that great drive they both have.

The referee was awful for both sides but I suppose there was a bit of tension from last year. I think in hindsight he was very harsh on McMahon and harsher on Cooper (who I am not a fan of). If he had carried the same rules through the game he would have carded 6 or 7 but some of his decisions were baffling. Didn't see what happened with Boyle or Small but it seems his umpires nailed them.

Mayo really need to win in Donegal and they can do that by playing a more orthodox team and by that I mean play lads in their natural or best positions. Higgins and Keegan are 2 of the best defenders in Ireland, so keep them there and if Boyle/Barrett are in there also that is some back line to start with and they will cope with the Donegal game A.O'S at full forward would be some battle with McGee and Reagan playing off him would interesting to see if it works. As was mentioned earlier in the thread Mayo reminded a poster of Donegal in 2011, an All Ireland they could have won but kept the then 2 best forwards McFadden and Murphy 70 yards from Dublin goal.

LOTS DONE MORE TO DO

PressRun

I thought the McMahon black card was correct, tbh. No more than Colm Boyle, Philly plays on the edge enough himself and I'd imagine refs will have an eye on him this year after the controversy of last year. Not sure what happened with Cooper. But I agree that the refereeing was very inconsistent. I thought there were a few instances where he should have played advantage rather than giving a free, which just disrupts any flow or momentum that might be building. I also sometimes think that sort of stop/start refereeing just creates frustration in both teams and makes everything a lot more hard-edged that it might need to be.

Fr Tod Umptious

Question for Mitchell's folks.

What exactly are yer chances on Saturday.

I noticed a lot of optimism around town on Saturday but found it hard to get any substance from the people I talked to.

Cross are no slouches at this level.

Stoner

PressRun wrote:

I thought the McMahon black card was correct, tbh. No more than Colm Boyle, Philly plays on the edge enough himself and I'd imagine refs will have an eye on him this year after the controversy of last year. Not sure what happened with Cooper

Both 100% black cards imo, zero issue with the cards that were handed out, it was the lack of them overall and the inconsistency that most people have an issue with.

charlie14

Stoner wrote: »

Both 100% black cards imo, zero issue with the cards that were handed out, it was the lack of them overall and the inconsistency that most people have an issue with.

I would agree both 100% black cards, but this is the league.
Come the Championship will they be given!

Stoner

I'd say if it was championship yes, Dublin Mayo games generally have black cards, Dennis Bastics in the championship was softer than either of the two last week IMO.

If Coopers one was harsh it was because so much of that behavior went unpunished, so it's a roll of the dice.

charlie14

Stoner wrote: »

I'd say if it was championship yes, Dublin Mayo games generally have black cards, Dennis Bastics in the championship was softer than either of the two last week IMO.

If Coopers one was harsh it was because so much of that behavior went unpunished, so it's a roll of the dice.

Perhaps, but when you consider how red cards have a habit of being overturned late in the championship for the "big boys", at times it just makes the whole black card thing a bit of a sham.

Nowadays a cute ref will give a black to a player he suspects may transgress further, and leave him having to issue a red.
Thus making sure he doesn`t end up in a s**tstorm of media coverage and appeals.

Cosmo Kramer

Great win for Castlebar. They'll be favourites to win it out now I'd say. Not so great for Mayo in the short term but hopefully the club run will bring the likes of Durcan, Douglas and Kirby on and they'll be back with the county for the end of the league.

Fr Tod Umptious

Cosmo Kramer wrote: »

Great win for Castlebar. They'll be favourites to win it out now I'd say. Not so great for Mayo in the short term but hopefully the club run will bring the likes of Durcan, Douglas and Kirby on and they'll be back with the county for the end of the league.

Whatever about being favourites they had better go on and win it regardless.

Another AI final loss by a Mayo team would be hard to take, and against a Dublin based team who got damn lucky to get out with a win tonight.

Stoner

Fr Tod Umptious wrote:

Another AI final loss by a Mayo team would be hard to take, and against a Dublin based team who got damn lucky to get out with a win tonight.

Ah I don't know about that, should have won by more in the end clonmel didn't score for the last 10 or 15 minutes of ordinary time and did nothing in extra time.
It was very close but a deserved draw, blew them away in extra time

I'd agree Castlebar look the strongest, but I thought the same a few years back with Ballymun Kickhams with McCarthy, McMahon, Rock, D Byrne and Small on it but Bridget's won it well, Ballymum looked overwhelmed by the occasion.

You'd never know but I'd agree that BB beat the most limited team of the last four tonight and were nearly caught.

padd b1975

Cosmo Kramer wrote: »

Great win for Castlebar. They'll be favourites to win it out now I'd say. Not so great for Mayo in the short term but hopefully the club run will bring the likes of Durcan, Douglas and Kirby on and they'll be back with the county for the end of the league.

Durcan is a class act no doubt, a natural footballer.

As for the other two, Kirby has plenty to do to prove himself at the highest level.
I can't really see Douglas going on to make much of an impression at inter county level if I'm honest.

kupus

Young fella that came on late in the game was a handful, nippy little fella, when he was coming on I thought it was like throwing hares to the wolves and the rangers backline would eat him. but he won a couple of frees and done the job. future mayo player?

Fr Tod Umptious

Stoner wrote: »

Ah I don't know about that, should have won by more in the end clonmel didn't score for the last 10 or 15 minutes of ordinary time and did nothing in extra time.
It was very close but a deserved draw, blew them away in extra time

I'd agree Castlebar look the strongest, but I thought the same a few years back with Ballymun Kickhams with McCarthy, McMahon, Rock, D Byrne and Small on it but Bridget's won it well, Ballymum looked overwhelmed by the occasion.

You'd never know but I'd agree that BB beat the most limited team of the last four tonight and were nearly caught.

I was talking more in the context of Clonmell failing to close out the game, they lead by three later enough in the second half and scored later to go two up going into injury time if I recall but could not hold on to it,

Westernyelp

kupus wrote:

Young fella that came on late in the game was a handful, nippy little fella, when he was coming on I thought it was like throwing hares to the wolves and the rangers backline would eat him. but he won a couple of frees and done the job. future mayo player?

Cian Costello. Fast as a fox. But looks awful small. Did well alright

seligehgit

Well just back home,happy out.It was great to grind out the win,it was'nt pretty but fascinating nonetheless.

I thought we were very nervy early on,Crossmaglen were very impressive with their directness and quality footpassing.Our defence stood too far their men and the full back line was left dangerously isolated.

Barry Moran's midfield dominance was'nt becoming apparent and Cross were winning all the breaking ball,up front we appeared toothless.TBF the Cross defence was fouling in scorable positions.The glorious goal chance spurned and an awful free wasted did'nt help.
The goal line clearance late in the first half was a definite turning point.

Impressive start to the second half,Barry grew into the game as the lads became less standoffish and increased the intensity levels.Patrick Durcan....a real gem and Eoghan Reilly drove forward.Ger McDonagh won a lot of dirty ball.Danny Kirby played a big role in the comeback.Cian Costello is a mini Kevin McManamon..extremely direct with oodles of pace.He is probably too small to make it at inter county level,ditto Neil Douglas.

Here's to winning the final,as Father Tod mentioned I'm personally sick to the teeth of losing finals and we certainly are owed a victory over a Dublin team of any variety at this stage.TBH I think the lads are capable of upping their performance considerably,there's a lot of potential there for same.

charlie14

seligehgit wrote: »

Well just back home,happy out.It was great to grind out the win,it was'nt pretty but fascinating nonetheless.

I thought we were very nervy early on,Crossmaglen were very impressive with their directness and quality footpassing.Our defence stood too far their men and the full back line was left dangerously isolated.

Barry Moran's midfield dominance was'nt becoming apparent and Cross were winning all the breaking ball,up front we appeared toothless.TBF the Cross defence was fouling in scorable positions.The glorious goal chance spurned and an awful free wasted did'nt help.
The goal line clearance late in the first half was a definite turning point.

Impressive start to the second half,Barry grew into the game as the lads became less standoffish and increased the intensity levels.Patrick Durcan....a real gem and Eoghan Reilly drove forward.Ger McDonagh won a lot of dirty ball.Danny Kirby played a big role in the comeback.Cian Costello is a mini Kevin McManamon..extremely direct with oodles of pace.He is probably too small to make it at inter county level,ditto Neil Douglas.

Here's to winning the final,as Father Tod mentioned I'm personally sick to the teeth of losing finals and we certainly are owed a victory over a Dublin team of any variety at this stage.TBH I think the lads are capable of upping their performance considerably,there's a lot of potential there for same.

Brilliant comeback, was but when you come across a player like Jamie Clarke leaving him on a one to one is suicide.
First half he nearly killed the game off imo.
I dont believe Ballyboden have anybody of his caliber, but it is something they will have seen and identified, and something Mitchells will need to be aware off.