Mayo GAA Discussion - Part 3

Great result, long time coming

I thought that Mayo’s chances lay with Kerry’s ability, or lack of it, to put the right people on the field to counter Mayo’s threat.

Play a sweeper and you take away from your forwards, don’t play one and you expose the back line again.

With Michael Ganey injured and Donnacha Walsh less than 100% that only compounded the problems for Kerry.

And Mayo played it brilliantly, ran when it was time to run, kicked when it was time to kick.

Great game from the young Loftus.

I have to watch it back yet but I was worried throughout the second half that Kerry would sneak and goal and get within a point or 2, maybe watching it back will show that the Mayo defence was better than I thought from my canal end seat.

Another factor of course was the Kelly the keeper, I thought in the first game and even going back to the first game in 2014 he could be rattled with pressure and sure enough he was, and with the alternative having walked out of camp a few months ago Kerry were left with no option there.

Amazing how the narrative persisted all year that Dublin had come back to the pack and that Kerry and Tyrone were getting closer to them.

I always thought this Kerry team could not suddenly jump from being in transition to being the finished article based on a one point league final win and a walk in the park against Clare, Cork and Galway.

Can’t wait for the final, all the talk , and rightly so, will be about Dublin, but this Mayo team are the only ones who have really put it up to Dublin in recent years and hopefully they will do so again and more in a few weeks

jam83 wrote:

Tyrone didn't push up on a single Dublin kickout and Dublin had the ball in midfield at their leisure to launch from there. Granted the movement in the forwards is very good but Mayo have a great chance as they will pressure every dublin kickout.

They did at the start but Cluxton popped the ball over it a couple of times one went to Scully and we got a score from it, then they stopped.

Mickey Harte & Tyrone had missed the memo. Possession is now nine tenths of the law. You give Dublin that platform they will kill you. I was still amazed at how quickly Cluxton gets the ball away. There was a point scored yesterday that was hardly over the bar & he was already legging it out to get the game re-started.

Mayo improved greatly in this aspect of their play on Saturday. it's all about getting one pass out then the press subsides as the forwards retreat into shape. Dublin have focused greatly on the Mayo kick-out's in last years 2 games & rightly so. If we can sort this area we have more than enough elsewhere to beat them.

Ara the last thing I want to do today is think about the final! Leave that to the players & management, for now I'm still basking in what was a great Mayo performance & a great win.

We look a different team to the one that made it all the way last year. It was telling that James Horan said in the Sky studio that the guys over 30 are in the best shape he has seen them in. Quiet the compliment form a former manager. Andy & Zip have been sensational. Whatever Andy is at in that gym is working wonders. His flexibility & low centre of gravity is a joy to behold.

The return of Barrett has made our defence stronger. Harrison is going from strength to strength. The form of McLoughlin & Doherty has been the biggest boost though. These two guys have been around along time, usually very inconsistent & patchy in their form. They are now performing spectacularly every day they go out. Doc won some amount of dirty ball. I thought he was especially excellent in the second-half after being freed up form the sticky Taghd Morley. If that was Rochy's call it was a good one. McLoughlin has more pace this year than previously. Someone hoofed a clearance up the Hogan Stand-side in injury-time & Kevin was first there after dashing out of defence. Amazing to see at that stage of the game.

Finally we have some great options off the bench. Loftus is delivering on his potential & with players of the calibre of Durcan & Coen to call on it means we will be able to match Dublin who possibly have a better bench than some of those who start.

Tie all of this up in a nice red & green ribbon & there is plenty to give the much fancied Dubs a contest Roll on

Hi All, Congrats on the win. The better team over the two days deserved it. Based on yesterdays performance and recent past realistically Mayo are the only team the can live with Dublin at the minute. Mayo played well on the day and Kerrys ill judged attempt at the sweeper was farcical. We have never used one before and didn't know how to and it showed badly. We should have just pushed up full stop and changed some of the personnel. Regardless we would have been eaten alive by the Dubs in the Final.

Great to see Rochford vindicated in his calls as well. Took a lot of s#it in the last year about tactics. In fairness there was method to his madness with the Hennelly call last year it wasn't his fault the Keeper had a complete meltdown and couldn't catch a chest high pass. Refined the Aidan O'Shea role as well in the space between the two games.

From out own point of view hopefully this will lead to an influx of the young lads from the minor teams. We have some players that have been tipping around the panel for 5/6 years getting games here and there. Its time to clear the dead wood.

I think ye have a great backroom team in place as well with Donie Buckley (who we could do with) and McEntee getting the players really aggressive in the tackle.

i am worried about our tackling ability. we cant seem to lay a hand on runners going through and resort to fouling to stop them. thats not going to cut it against dublin. tyrone couldnt get near them.

dublin were very cynical off the ball as well. peter harte was fouled off the ball a number of times yesterday without getting a free.

irishgeo wrote: »

i am worried about our tackling ability. we cant seem to lay a hand on runners going through and resort to fouling to stop them. thats not going to cut it against dublin. tyrone couldnt get near them.

dublin were very cynical off the ball as well. peter harte was fouled off the ball a number of times yesterday without getting a free.

I think that both ourselves and Dublin are immense in the tackle myself.

Oh jesus, they've started.

There'll be a cover of M17 yet!

I'd nearly trade never winning an Ireland with not having to hear another All Ireland song. ****e cringey nonsense that's overdone at this stage.

Did I mention I hate All-Ireland songs?

PARlance wrote: »

Oh jesus, they've started.

There'll be a cover of M17 yet!

At least you're from Mayo.

Try being a Dub and having this doozy stuck in your head.... :mad:

I wonder what does Robeman make of our stellar progress?!

tacofries wrote: »

This is gonna get a great response from 2 posters in particular but what do people feel has changed which has made Doherty and Moran click into form?

Is it due to playing Aidan at full back which then results in us giving a different style of ball into the forward line?

The question does need to be asked if our love for Aidan results in us ignoring styles of play which may suit other forwards better.

Who are the lucky 2?

It's funny the way a couple of games can change the whole consensus. We tried to focus more on kicking during the league and early championship... playing players like Boland were testament to this, Rochford's "style". Nearly everyone wanted to get back to what we're good at after the Derry game.

Kerry packing the middle in Game 1 and a suspect FB line was the biggest factor in going to the kicking game imo. The confidence carried over to game two then. Aidan could probably slow it up a little if he was there but if the instructions were to let it in fast, I'm sure he would have followed them.

If we think we're going to get half as much joy from Dublin with this, we're in for a big shock.

Doherty has proven me wrong anyway. He has been spectacular. I don't think much has changed per se... he has been giving his chance and confidence has been shown in him. That's probably all that was needed.

The biggest factor for Andy was Shane Enright.

Bunny Colvin wrote: »

I'd nearly trade never winning an Ireland with not having to hear another All Ireland song. ****e cringey nonsense that's overdone at this stage.

Did I mention I hate All-Ireland songs?

Now that's a step too far
You're no crack at all

It's clear that a very fluid positional setup is suiting us. It will be very exciting to see where Rochford takes this for Dublin.

seligehgit wrote: »

Yes is the answer imo,quite an improvement in our forward play with Aidan sitting more defensively. Much quicker ball and greater fluidity.Footpassing in the last few games has been a joy to behold.We have been attacking at great pace from the half back and on occasion full back with Zippy on the front foot.The off the shoulder passing has been wonderful.

Hoping he'll take up position in the middle of the park as an auxiliary midfielder.He can rotate inside as necessary or to mix things up.Many others have mentioned many moons ago their belief that Aidan at times tends to stifle our attack when he takes too much out of the ball and puts the head down.For all his great attributes he isn't exactly blessed with a blistering turn of pace.

Only problem with that, is that its very easy for the game to pass him by, by Cluxton sending kickouts out to the wings. Remember the 2013 AI final, where he played a more traditional midfield role? Cluxton had Flynner, Kilkenny, McCarthy etc etc hoovering up kickout after kickout under the shadow of the 2 stands. Aido spent pretty much the entire game on his Sweeny Todd in midfield, wondering when someone was going to pass him ball. He may be the intended target for Clarke's kickouts and the mark will make it easier for him to hang onto them, but I'm very hopeful not entirely confident that Clarke's kickouts will find their intended targets, to the same degree that Cluxton's will.