Tyrone v Mayo NFL

[Fuzzman]

First game I was at since the Dublin v Tyrone game and was looking forward to seeing the McMahon Bros on home Turf, young Gormley for the first time and how bad Peter Donnelly really is and how come he won a Sigerson all-star?

Lots of hospitality given to the new Ref and to the  Mayo team esp another U-21 victory.
So to the game itself and Tyrone got off to a great start I thought with a 4-0 start and Mugsy and Cavanagh Jnr impressing me greatly. Mugsy looked up for it and rolled his man well and crashed a screamer off the crossbar. We looked in complete control with big Joey looked exceptionally on his game with some good Midfield work and his Bro Justy showing me why folk were all talking about him with a great score off his weak right foot away out on the right wing.

All in all I felt
McConnell – Frustrating keeper as never uses his head and too often decides to come charging out for the big spectacular catch when he should leave it to others there instead and stay on his line for the outcome. Kickouts are woeful

Ricey- Taken off early for yellow card and replaced by McCaul. Looked to be getting a roasting and not one of his better days.
S.Donnelly – Yes. Hmmmm. All-star eh? Good fielder
D.Carlin. – I like him even though he's not the best man marker ever. Seems very fast and lively and reads the game well and loves to attack though shooting was off. Will often be out in front of his man but wouldn't trust him marking P.Bradley etc

D.Harte. Was his usual Mr Consistency without anything too impressive.
Block Had a poor enuf game and think he's taking it handy at the moment.
Just-in McMahon.- Was very impressed and boy he's a big lad too. Would be sad to see him left out come the Summer

Hub- Has gone right off the boil and he needs to get back to basics and learn how not to get booked though he's a marked man now by Refs.
Joey- Was very impressed and hope he can stay fit now. He was able to hold players off and catch or break very well. Seemed to want to prove a point and am looking for a big season from him
Mulgrew- Had a poor game today I thought and was never really in it but will be defo one for the nice summer pitches and the telling passes and scores. Might be the man to edge out Calvo once and for all.
Penrose- Thought he played alrite and showed hunger and skill but often too slow to release it and lost possession. Think he could have a good summer too if he can start using his head a bit. Lot of kickouts aimed towards him which he didn't win.
Dooher- Still not back to his best but worked hard enough and again gave away possession too often. Still tries this big far out points which rarely come off.

Gormley- Had a poor game and though made some good runs and looks fast and lively never really got into it that much and was replaced.

Cavanagh Jnr- Was my MOTM as despite looking very young and feeble he played a stormer at full forward winning loads of ball and scored 1.2, I think and has definitely has a good chance of making the Fermanagh game.

Mugsy- Recently I have been a big critic of him and think he like a lot of the older squad members only raises his game for the big C-Ship games and often looks lazy and cant make space for himself. But on Sunday I though he was very impressive and had Mayo at 6's and 7's for long periods. He gets the crowd excited and is one of the few players we have who you know will get you goals. Let's hope he can keep his head and hunger for the summer. His sliding tackle was ridiculous but in my book was a yellow card as there was intent but only to bring him down and not break his leg. Some other yellow cards such as round the neck hits looked worse but what was he thinking. Frustration again I guess as didn't score as much as he would liked.

McGinley – Played well when he came on and has a lot more experience that others esp when to hold possession and when to release. Would expect him to start in May unless he breaks another part of his body.

SON.- Its just not going right for our Stevie right now and think he's very frustrated.
He seems to over run it too often and Refs are very slow to give him frees as he doesn't go down as easy as others. He needs to play more wee 1 twos with people and not be so predictable in my book.


.

All in all I thought it was quite a good performance with more positives that negatives. It was incident packed and had Mugsy stayed on and we not conceded stupid goals then we would have won. Still it gives us plenty to work on for the May match. I would like to see the following team esp the Full Forward line

               Curran

Ricey   Joey   Carlin

Justin   Block   Jordan

Big Sean and E McGinley

Dooher     Mulgrew   Cavlan   


SON     Cavanagh Jnr   Mulligan

Leaving...
Mellon
Penrose
McCullagh
Gormley
Harte
P.Donnelly
C.McGinley
Hub

Hope to see McGuigan come June time.

[Fear ón Srath Bán]

That's all about right Fuzzman, though in relation to the Fermanagh game I'd have Hub starting in the middle, I don't think he's doing all that badly, and definitely moving in the right direction -- we need his presence there, and might need a bit more bulk in the half-forwards too.

[ClosetotheHarte]

I thought Hub showed some signs on Sunday that he can do something in this Championship. He's still needed to partner Sean and I'm hopeful that he'll be up for the job.
Overall I was contented enough leaving Healy Park, albeit after hearing Kerry had beaten the Dubs and we were staying in Div 1. There was an improvement from previous games and we looked as if we were going to win until Mugsy self destructed. As it turned out the result in Omagh didn't matter much.
From past experience I prefer not to be going into the Championship with high expectations among the supporters. There's a good 6 weeks now for MH to get us ready and I'm happy with the way things are.

[caraghtyrone]

Hi,

I mentioned this a month ago on one of these discussions not sure if it was this one but anyway.....for the record I never got a single reply!
Question is....Do we really want to know why our county players arent performing?

I reckon the reason the players seem lethargic and not interested is because they seem to have unresolved issues with the County Board which is having an effect on their commitment wether rightly or wrongly?  Rumour has it that there was a meeting after the "letter regarding the GPA fiasco" and a few other grievances were raised by the players i.e. Mc Guigans and Gormleys insurance claims amonsgt others.  Surely the co board can see fit to look after these players and make sure their welfare is taken care off?   Apparrently this is only the tip of the iceberg!