Messages

I never knew of this whole Ballaghaderreen situation until this evening and it has blown my mind. And I thought ballinderry was a bad case. At least the most of it is in Derry! What's the breakdown of rossies/mayo in the town?

100% Roscommon.

Depends on who you ask and who is winning at the time. Most pubs and businesses have to fly both flags.

Hahahaha...haha...ha.
Back in the real world........the breakdown of Ballaghs, not including frenchparks, tobohines, lisacul, loughlynn blow-ins etc, its about 65/70 Mayo vs 35/30 Israelis/rossies. The GAA club is even more pronounced in favour of Mayo but that's understandable.

Sad to see a Roscommon man looking forward to having a 'rattle" at his own people

Are you from Ballagh? If you are you're most likely a blow in. I stand with my people, always. 😉

Absolutely mental game of football, all too Mayo-like unfortunately. Should have been out the gate when 7 up but we always seem to let teams back into games. The defensive problems are the biggest concern obviously. Caff has either lost a yard of pace permanently or he's working his way back to fitness, either way he's way off his own high standards. The other big issue is a lack a controlling ever-present centre back who holds the middle no matter what. If we have to bring McLoughlin back as sweeper to sort this out then so be it, something has to be done or this Mayo cat will run out of lives.
Despite losing to Galway twice and despite the own goals last year, I think Rochford is a relatively lucky general, things have definitely gone his way this year. I like him and rate him but he seems more muddled this year than last. He had a definite plan with the sweeper last year. Now he seems to think it robbed us of too much scoring power and seems willing to risk being more open at the back, that's very Horanesque and will catch us out in the end.
Higgins is actually doing quite well as a sweeper and in the first half we looked quite solid but once cork pushed a man up and we had 6 on 6 at the back, along with SOS going off, it was chaos back there and was a throwback to 2014.
Rochford has to decide what he's doing now, permanent sweeper or not, Higgins or McLoughlin. Maybe there's a master plan for Croke Park, if there is it better be a good one.
On the plus side AOS was unreal yesterday, again. Cillian and Andy were excellent inside, they're really clicking well right now. Loftus adds a lot as an impact sub and Diarmaid is starting to show signs of the footballer we know he is.
We're still in the hat, we're still alive, that's all that matters today. Ballagh will be some craic this week and I can't wait to have a rattle at the Rossies in Croke Park, could be a cracker........knowing us, it will be.

[You need heroes to break these sorts of moulds]

Great film showing the potential for Gaelic games to unite and build communities from diverse backgrounds. The days are gone when they're just Irish games for Irish people. They're games for everybody.

Again true, but the end result here is a still entirely homogenous team. What Shehroz Akram's undeniable talent can do in promoting the GAA among the same community may prove every bit as important as anything covered in the documentary. You need heroes to break these sorts of moulds.

Especially Mayo Heroes.

👍🏻😉

Honestly, knowing the area well already Toreen (Ballyhaunis' opponents in the county final) is a more compelling story. People don't realise how tiny a club it is, or that it only plays hurling.

Ballagh, a short trip down the road through Brackloon and Lisacul, have had to try to integrate as much diversity as Ballyhaunis has so the bloviating by the lad at the start came across a little disingenuous.

Ballagh is nowhere near Ballyhaunis' level  for immigration and integration Syf........yet. With the influx of Syrians the town will be similar to Ballyhaunis in time but is many years behind. Butler was dead right in saying Ballyhaunis is the most cosmopolitan and diverse town in Ireland, has been the case especially since the convent was converted into a refugee centre back in the 90s or thereabouts.

The Syrians will be transient and few if any will remain in the area once their time in the hotel is up because they will be rehoused elsewhere. Ballagh has had a large Muslim community for nearly as long as Ballhaunis, and in the last twenty years many eastern Europeans have settled locally too. And with everyone under 20 leaving as fast as the ink dries on their Leaving Cert results thank God for them all or the town would be totally dead now.

I don't see why you're trying to defend what was simply a lad who saw a camera and decided to pump up his town a little. Unless he has census data on hand I'm sure he wasn't comparing Ballyhaunis scientifically to all the even more diverse small towns in the commuter belt in Leinster..

Syf you're completely missing my point. Yes Ballagh has a large Muslim population (considerably smaller than Ballyhaunis') and yes it has Eastern Europeans (as does every single Irish town). It's not a competition but what Eoin Butler said was true, Ballyhaunis is indeed considered Ireland's most diverse town. Just compare St. Nathys student population to Ballyhaunis Community school and there is no comparison, Ballagh is waaaay less diverse. Again it's not a competition, you're just picking a strange fight I have to say.
As someone else pointed out, the bigger point is the work the GAA club in that town are doing is fantastic. As is the work being done in Ballagh with the likes of Sharoize and Owais playing active parts in the club. It's great to see and we need to see plenty more of it.

Honestly, knowing the area well already Toreen (Ballyhaunis' opponents in the county final) is a more compelling story. People don't realise how tiny a club it is, or that it only plays hurling.

Ballagh, a short trip down the road through Brackloon and Lisacul, have had to try to integrate as much diversity as Ballyhaunis has so the bloviating by the lad at the start came across a little disingenuous.

Ballagh is nowhere near Ballyhaunis' level  for immigration and integration Syf........yet. With the influx of Syrians the town will be similar to Ballyhaunis in time but is many years behind. Butler was dead right in saying Ballyhaunis is the most cosmopolitan and diverse town in Ireland, has been the case especially since the convent was converted into a refugee centre back in the 90s or thereabouts.

Have they installed a UFC ring for this ?

Are you inferring that Cork will follow Clare's modus operandi ?

https://youtu.be/sky8ojZPdKE

And yet the Sunday Game chose to get the Dublin GAA commercial manager to comment on the incident a few seconds after this when Cillian eventually had no choice but to try and defend himself.

Lads the whole thing was so pathetic it's not even worth commenting. COC has nothing to answer for and on we go. When the dubs are throwing stones while defending McMahon, Cooper, Connolly, McCauley........., all you can do is smile at the blinkers/ignorance.
As for Cork, is there any chance there's a kick in them at all? They won't throw in the towel as easy against us as they did against Kerry but if we play anything like we did in the 2nd half against Clare we'll have too much for them in the second half. I very much doubt there'll be any complacency in the camp anyway. Cork (on paper) are a big team and will get respect which is something that makes me less nervous.

I've no problems with Harrison here.

If two players are happy to engage in a gun show, then both have to understand that one might have bigger guns. It looked worse than it was.

Bigger guns??
He body slammed someone that had him in a headlock FFS - stupidity of the highest order.

The body slam naturally could have hurt the Clare lad but he could easily have had his own neck snapped.

That's what I was getting at. Watching it in real time My first thought was he's going to injure his own neck. He risked far more injury to himself than the other lad. He wanted to get out of the headlock but it was a reckless and stupid way to do so, that I can totally agree with. The Clare lad was acting the maggot and was the instigator (constantly for a few mins off the ball before that) and he took on a stronger guy. As I said earlier,  what Harrison did was over the top but it has been dealt with. Both lads could have gotten a red, didn't think the black card was supposed to be used for incidents like that but there you go. The ref was happy with the action he took.
Mossie highlighting the COC incident was just sad and pathetic. COC has done plenty in the past but there was nothing in that incident. Embarrassing stuff from Quinn really. A Kerryman would have waited for the right moment to pull a stunt like that. If we continue to improve and are due to play Kerry, I expect 'analysis' like that in due course.
Our lads have to get smarter though. That game was over and both Harrison and Boyle risked getting sent off. AOS is a great example of constantly getting riled and harassed but never taking the bait, many could learn from him.

Hopefully action is taken against the Mayo players who stepped out of line yesterday.

Harrison must be training with Conor Mc Gregor these days

Good man mossie, nice try! 😂 we'll see if he analyses dublins thuggery to the same degree

[When Harrison found himself in a headlock he couldn't get out of, he did what he did. Over the top maybe but he risked more damage to himself and his own neck by doing it.]

A lot happier now a week on from the Derry game. The team is starting to take shape and play in Rochford's mould. A high tempo of hard running and interplay mixed with some good kick passing. It's still very much a work in progress but yesterday we saw the first signs of a team starting to click.
The main negative yesterday was how open we were at the back in the first half. On the plus side we shut that down big time in the second, with Keith Higgins and Chris Barrett cuttiing out a lot of ball. Higgins also reminded us yesterday what a huge loss he was against Galway but no point going over that one again
Keegan got his usual dose of off the ball abuse but rose above it as he always does and gave it back in spades, nothing more or less than he should have done. There was nothing angelic about Clare yesterday, why should there have been. They were playing a top team and had to do what it took to get in our faces. The amount of off the ball stuff was unreal but our lads are more than able for it.
Just one point on the criticism Harrison is getting. He did a great job marking his man out of it. Towards the end of the match number 15 (can't recall his name) became frustrated and started mauling Harrison off the ball, a champion boxer he is too I was informed by a Clare man. When Harrison found himself in a headlock he couldn't get out of, he did what he did. Over the top maybe but he risked more damage to himself and his own neck by doing it.
Also whoever said Loftus was rubbish, again clearly wasn't at the game. His movement was excellent, his ball retention, under serious pressure, was first class and of course he was instrumental in setting up the first, decisive goal. He didn't score and we'll need more out of him but he will deliver. To say he was rubbish is just absolute.......trufflais. I didn't think he was ready to start games of that intensity but he surprised me how well he did in his first true start in championship football.
On we go and another bit of improvement the next day should see us past whoever we get in the next round.

That's a brilliant defence. "I body slammed him to protect myself". Incredibly dangerous to slam someone down on their back like that and should have been a red as pointed out by others. Poor innocent Mayo lads who just went out to play pure football and Clare tried to bully them

As I said it was over the top but no way a red. Ref saw it, unlike Guckians eye gouge, so we move on and try and play our pure football. We'll leave the cynical stuff to the dubs and their banned convicts, sorry, community service victims! 😉

A lot happier now a week on from the Derry game. The team is starting to take shape and play in Rochford's mould. A high tempo of hard running and interplay mixed with some good kick passing. It's still very much a work in progress but yesterday we saw the first signs of a team starting to click.
The main negative yesterday was how open we were at the back in the first half. On the plus side we shut that down big time in the second, with Keith Higgins and Chris Barrett cuttiing out a lot of ball. Higgins also reminded us yesterday what a huge loss he was against Galway but no point going over that one again
Keegan got his usual dose of off the ball abuse but rose above it as he always does and gave it back in spades, nothing more or less than he should have done. There was nothing angelic about Clare yesterday, why should there have been. They were playing a top team and had to do what it took to get in our faces. The amount of off the ball stuff was unreal but our lads are more than able for it.
Just one point on the criticism Harrison is getting. He did a great job marking his man out of it. Towards the end of the match number 15 (can't recall his name) became frustrated and started mauling Harrison off the ball, a champion boxer he is too I was informed by a Clare man. When Harrison found himself in a headlock he couldn't get out of, he did what he did. Over the top maybe but he risked more damage to himself and his own neck by doing it.
Also whoever said Loftus was rubbish, again clearly wasn't at the game. His movement was excellent, his ball retention, under serious pressure, was first class and of course he was instrumental in setting up the first, decisive goal. He didn't score and we'll need more out of him but he will deliver. To say he was rubbish is just absolute.......trufflais. I didn't think he was ready to start games of that intensity but he surprised me how well he did in his first true start in championship football.
On we go and another bit of improvement the next day should see us past whoever we get in the next round.

Ros, I know what happened last year. Thanks.

Glad to hear it. How can you justify saying there are no brains on the sideline so?
As for going back to the way JH did things, that didn't work out well for us ultimately. This group at this stage of their careers definitely couldn't sustain that kind of high octane football for 70+ minutes. Rochford knows this so give him a little credit for trying to play a more controlled type of game. He hasn't found the right balance yet this year, he did last year imo and needs to go back to that. To say he has no brains is harsh and uncalled for. Maybe he does overthink things a little but he's a very clued in guy.

I've never really understood the talk about Stephen Coen all the way up from underage.
I've seen him play a fair few times now and he never really impressed me.
He seemed to lack a bit of pace and dynamism from the half back line to my eyes anyway.
Keegan Boyle Durcan are all much better players than him so he's not worthy of a spot there.
Playing him then as a forward was a bizarre decision.
Rochford has made a lot of strange calls in his time in charge so far.

Coen is still a work in progress at senior level but if you watched last years U21 final alone you'd understand what he brings. He was immense that day and his leadership qualities, intelligence and good use of the ball are what set him apart from most. I think he'll be a top class number 6 one day but he's not ready yet it seems. Playing him at wing forward doesn't allow him to show what he does best but it's all part of his learning and development, he isn't a flyer and he's not a finisher but he's a good ball winner and reads breaks well. We're crying out for blooding new lads in in Mayo, well playing Coen (slightly out of position) is part of that. I don't think we'll see him playing wing forward if we reach Croke Park though.

i hate enns must be the worst county ground in the country.
and the town seems to be booked out for the night already .
As for the Match it has tricky Tie written all over it. a no win for mayo lose its seen as a disgrace and win sure it was 'only clare'. Id be very wary

Cusack Park is a field of dreams. Saying it's worse than Salthill for a game is an insult.

I expect this one will be more straight forward than the Derry game for Mayo.

Have to agree Syf. Ennis is way ahead of Salthill. Also last years U21 and the 2006 one makes it one of my favourite venues......even if it's awkward to get in and out of.
This is a tough draw though, Clare have something Meath and Donegal don't have, momentum and belief in a style of play. Collins has them absolutely flying it. I expect a serious battle the next day. I if we're off form like we were against Derry then Clare will smell blood and go for us. I think we'll win but we don't do handy ones anymore so I'd expect it to be tight.
Although Loftus and Doc were very good the last day, I'd hold the two of them in reserve for now. We need an impact off the bench and the two boys give that. Definitely in the case of Loftus, he's still a bit light and I think bringing him in when the game has opened up suits him better. The other argument is to not start Andy and bring him on. Either way we need a strong 15 to finish the game. I'd expect Diarmaid to start the next day so one of the 'workhorses' may lose out.

I think that if one were to compare Joe Brolly to a jackass, it would be a grievous insult.
Jackasses do have feelings, y'know.
However, I have to agree with a few points he has made in this article. I still have flashbacks about the game in Limerick. Donaghy destroyed Caff, who had to go man on man with him for the whole game. Kerry pumped the ball in on him with great accuracy and to great effect. Meanwhile Jamesy was left to prowl at will, waiting for the offload and neither of the corner backs made any serious attempt to block him.
FFS. Mayo were all over Kerry and should have won by a country mile if it wasn't for  the failure of Horan to do anything about Donaghy's dominance in front of goal. You could add in for good measure that the accuracy of the midfielders and half backs when targeting Donaghy was also a big asset for Kerry. 
Caff didn't do well against Comer and I can't see him improving if Mayo to progress after tomorrow.
I don't think Derry has anyone in Donaghy's class to worry Mayo but there could be other, bigger challenges ahead and it could prove disastrous if the FB line isn't functioning at 100% for the entire game.
I really can't see Derry winning this one but I don't think Mayo are ruthless enough to blast them off the pitch. The habit of easing off when they appear to be in full control has hampered Mayo for years; the game against Sligo this year is a perfect example of what I mean.
Mayo should win by 10 but will probably manage win by 2 or 3.

In fairness to Rochford, and H & C the year before, he showed how to get around the big target man last year by bringing Barry Moran back to cover. Not really concerned about that style of play any longer. Big bird is getting closer to fitness even if this game has come too early for him. Don't think Derry have a big man inside anyway do they? For Donaghy et al we now have a plan. It's further out the pitch our problems still exist.