Mayo GAA Discussion Thread

MayoSalmon wrote: »

Mayo will be very lucky to get to another All-Ireland this year. The don't look like they have improved near enough. That being said others don't look to hot yet either, not sure what type of standard will be coming out of Munster this year.

Oh I fully agree, Mayo won't win the All-Ireland. The only team I can see upsetting Dublin this year is potentially Cork, but it looks like one of the most uncompetitive All-Irelands for a long time, Dublin look a class apart.

Has anyone's attendance yday been updated on season ticket website yet?

Cosmo Kramer wrote: »

Lets be realistic here - Roscommon have only played three championship games against decent opposition in the last two seasons and they have started with a defensive system in all three. The only reason they came out to play in last year's game against Mayo was because we had their system beaten before half time. So yes, I think it is fair to say that Roscommon consistently play a defensive system, at least in the heat of championship anyway. They may do something different away from public view in the lower divisions of the league but Division 3 isn't looking too strong now based on early championship performances ( no wins by D3 teams against higher division teams and two losses to D4 teams). Those of us outside the county can only judge based on what we see - which is a team playing a very defensive style in successive championships.

I appreciate the logic of what you're trying to say, but there are two problems with it.

1. Roscommon did NOT play defensively against Mayo last year. I was at the match and was stunned (along with most Ros fans) to see Roscommon completely dominate the midfield area for the first 20 minutes. The only problem was as soon as they kicked the ball into our THREE man full forward line it came out again just as fast. The Mayo full-back line (who had no sweeper, as their half-backs were marking the Ros half-forwards where they ought to be) were outstanding and were utterly dominant. The depressing thing from Roscommon's point of view was after 20 minutes of dominance we were still 1 point down! Mayo then put in a surge and showed how to convert dominance into scores. The game was over by half-time.

2. Teams that consistently play a certain style.... well, they consistenly play a certain style. Case in point would be Cavan. They played in Division 3 with Roscommon this year and played every game there in the same defensive style. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that if you want to perfect a style of play you practice it as often as you can, irrespective of the opposition. So, if Roscommon were a defensively-minded team, surely they would be practicing this style against weaker opposition so that when they had to implement it against better opponents they would be well versed in it.

Having said all that, I did actually expect Roscommon to play defensively against Mayo yesterday, as that was the only way they were realistically going to win the match as Mayo are an elite side, who are at a different level to Roscommon at the moment. The gap is closing though.:)

I certainly expect Mayo to win Connacht and outside of Dublin I wouldn't fancy any other side against them. From a Mayo perspective I wouldn't worry about yesterday. With the downpour before throw-in, it was obvious that it was going to be a day for backs, as controlling a slippy ball in very slippy conditions was going to be hard and it's fair to say there were an awful lot of turnovers yesterday from both sides that probably wouldn't have happened on a dry day. Mayo's shooting in the first half was poor, but when they needed the points in the second half they got them. As mentioned here already, it was the sort of game previous Mayo teams would have lost.

I suspect Mayo are trying not to peak until later in the season, unlike last year, when they weren't quite as dynamic come semi-final and final days.

Yeah one might have the suspicion that the training schedule is been tailored for lads to peak in the later rounds of the championship,if not the lethargic display yesterday will simply not suffice to compete with the likes of the Dubs.Having said that the bullish talk of an easy Mayo win was never likely to be a reality...Roscommon football is very much on the up and with home advantage the Rossies were primed to punish any Mayo complacency/overconfidence.

Re the game,is Robert Hennelly instructed to kick long?It was so obvious that we were been destroyed at midfield.Short kick outs were surely called for.Thought the full back line was very solid,Tom Cunniffe was outstanding.

As has been mentioned the half backs were so so.If Donal Vaughan is hold his place he must start to perform his primary duty...defend.The switch with Colm Boyle should be reversed.I believe Lee Keegan was under the weather for the past fortnight.

Midfield was a disaster,we won little clean ball,dropped a lot of catches.Roscommon picked up most of the breaking ball.Seamus O Shea was industrious,dragged us back into the game and kicked a wonderful point.But he does tend to put the head down...tunnel vision.Jason Gibbons return will offer the option of greater mobility and a goal threat possibly at centre forward.

The half forward line experiment was a dismal failure.It continues to boggle me when Kevin McLaughlin is positioned in the corner.He is far more effective on the 40 as illustrated yesterday when he moved out.

One wonders what effect Alan Freeman's senseless injury in the pre match warm up had on his game?He is great at getting out in front of man and winning his own ball but loses same and fails to physically impose himself on his marker in spite of having an imposing physical presence.

Cillian O Connor had an excellent game overall,showed very well for the ball.He appears very likely to develop into a truly top class forward outside of his freetaking.Not afraid to compete physically,super to see that shoulder holding up so well.Oftentimes I wonder why he does'nt take frees off the ground more often.He is an excellent exponent of this failing art form.Although he infuriates me with the time he takes around freetaking.Having said that he did have one particularly poor miss off his weaker left foot.

Mea culpa.I'll eat my hat.We'd never have pulled through without the wonderful contribution of Andy Moran,more fool me dismissing Andy as a championship starter.

Very disappointed at very limited opportunity offered to Richie Feeney?He was seemingly ready to come on early on as a blood substitution and when that was'nt necessitated only got the call as the five minutes of the second half injury time came.

In spite of the apparent emphasis at Carton House on quicker ball we seemed to revert to type.Too slow of ball,too much handpassing...too little footpassing,lots of lateral passing,running into cul de sacs.Our minimal shooting from distance was dismal and failed to beat their blanket defence.The worrying reality was Roscommon scores predominantly came from play,the reverse of ourselves.

Conditions were poor yesterday,slippery underfoot and a swirling wind.This is without doubt a mitigating factor.

lorenzo87 wrote: »

I personally think the gap isn't closing as much as you would think.
Mayo had a bad day kicking wise yesterday, I think they had 10 or 11 wides in the first half?
Roscommon created very little in the first half, but I was extremely impressed with the No. 19 that came on for them, that young lad has a great eye for a point. The future looks bright for Roscommon, a team certainly improving, but I think it was more Mayo had a very bad day at the office than Roscommon playing well yesterday. The conditions didn't help either, the grass was long, was very windy and the conditions made it ideal for the way the Rossies were set up. As much as I think Mayo are way over-hyped, I expect them to win the Connaught Final very easily and expect them to get to the semi's at least.

I do believe the gap is closing you must remember its only a few years ago that Roscommon were playing out of div 4 next year they will be div 2 and on the evidence of yesterdays game and against Tyrone last year they should be able to hold their own and eventually push for promotion to div 1. When you take into account that their U-21s from this year are still looking to make a breakthrough at senior level the future looks bright for them.

I think the final wide count was Mayo 13 Ros 9 so both sides struggled with their accuracy Mayo were also forced into taking some wrong options when scores or the right pass was on. Andy Moran had a point to prove and kicked some great inspirational scores however if Roscommon were discipline in the tackle late on their would have got a draw which was the least they deserved on the day IMO.

Like the Connacht finals 2012 i expect Mayo to kick on from here and the expectations should will be lowered a bit, if its Galway in the final then they are unlikely to use a defensive system which should suit Mayo's style of play better.

Bernard Brogan, Alan Brogan and O'Gara

And then Connolly, who is probably better than each of them.

Mayo had a bad day kicking wise yesterday, I think they had 10 or 11 wides in the first half?

Mayo's shooting was just awful in the first half. Some credited Roscommons defending but Mayo forwards had plenty of space to be kicking more accurately than they were. Aidan O'Se had one particular unforgivable wide

it was the sort of game previous Mayo teams would have lost.

Genuine question but can somebody tell me a game like this that Mayo have lost in the last couple of years?

I said that to a few yesterday, if you look at nearly all the games so far this year the 1st halves have been terrible shows of football and lacking intensity, I as you said put that down to teams holding fire and planning on peaking until Aug, but someone of them is going to get caught out and we along with Tyrone are 2 that shouldn't.

Very very dangerous game to be playing if that is the case.

As has been mentioned the half backs were so so.If Donal Vaughan is hold his place he must start to perform his primary duty...defend

Who would be the alternative to Vaughan?

Cosmo Kramer wrote: »

Certainly Roscommon are improving and as a result the gap between the two teams is closing a bit but home advantage seems to have a major bearing on how these games go and would have to be partly accountable for the tight finish yesterday.

In the last five Mayo/Ros games in Dr Hyde Park the average result has been a 2.5 point win for Mayo. In the last five games between the teams in McHale Park the average result has been a 12 point win for Mayo. Playing at home is worth almost 10 points to Roscommon compared to travelling to Castlebar for this fixture. On that basis the results of the last two years (a 12 point win for Mayo in Castlebar last year and a one point win yesterday) would suggest that Roscommon have only closed the gap a small amount in the last 12 months.

I think you are getting a little caught up on average results. In fairness Roscommon are just getting back to competitive level they were under Fergal O'Donnell in 2010,11 the appointment of John Newton with no management experience sent them back a few years and it was always going to take a decent manager like John Evans a few years to have them competitive again. Where they go from here will be interesting they certainly have the potential to reach the top eight at least.

I can't let this match go without mentioning the article on livegaelic from last year. Just one example and i wonder does this Mayo man still have the same opinion?

If Roscommon come within a couple of points of Mayo on Sunday that does not mean Mayo have been tested. It does not mean that Connacht is becoming competitive again. What it actually means is that Mayo are not good enough to win an All-Ireland. That’s the bottom line.

Well that was the type of performance I just did not want to see from Mayo.

Fair enough they fought back from 3pts down with 10 mins to go and fair play to them for doing that, but all it does for me is make me think that they are not a real title contender for 2014.
The metal and physical fatigue of the last 3 years has cough up with them.

Roscommon are an average team, an improved team from 2013, but still an average team, Mayo should have been out of sight by half time, but for some reason they were not.

I don't really believe in the 'keeping the powder dry' story, It would have not taken too much pout of them to beat Roscommon convincingly,and they have 5 weeks to the Connaught final.
But all we saw was a lethargic, sloppy display. They were well on top in the tackles, turnovers and possession in the first half but did nothing with it.

I'd expect them to beat Galway or Sligo, but by God they need to pull it together for August

Aidan O'Shea is a quality midfielder, he just had a bad day at the office against Roscommon.
For me, what Mayo lack is a real leader, a Sean Cavanagh, a Gooch, a Bernard Brogan.

GBXI wrote: »

He did not have a bad day at the office against Roscommon. He had a solid, if not spectacular game, same as his brother.

The ****e on here is hilarious. Aidan is one of the best mid-fielders in the country, probably only second to MDMA. And Mayo have loads of leaders ffs. You could argue they lack a forward with the ability to score from play like the above three, not a leader.

I didn't see too many leaders on the pitch in the All-Ireland final last year where Mayo were clearly the better team and completely bottled it.