Mayo V Galway - Connacht Final Thread

[the Deel Rover]

You made it back from the open allright venter .

[venter]

yeah, im back alright DR, heading to enniscrone on friday for the Crossmolina festival outing. I'm hoping to put all I learned into practice and go round in level par . If that doesnt happen, a few pints afterwards will do the trick..I'm already looking forward to all the upbeat barstool conversations about the state of Mayo football

[the Deel Rover]

yeah, im back alright DR, heading to enniscrone on friday for the Crossmolina festival outing. I'm hoping to put all I learned into practice and go round in level par . If that doesnt happen, a few pints afterwards will do the trick..I'm already looking forward to all the upbeat barstool conversations about the state of Mayo football

Well good luck with the golf on friday venter . i'm heading to the festival myself on friday its great to see people that you haven't seen for years coming home for the festival   great for Cross.

[venter]

with the golf on friday venter . i'm heading to the festival myself on friday its great to see people that you haven't seen for years coming home for the festival   great for Cross.

absolutely, its great for the town.

Back to the football, It would be a shame to see a fine footballer like Tom Parsons sitting on the bench when we get back to Croker. How and where can he be slotted back into the team? They'd hardly go for the tri-towers and bring him out around the middle after a while?

[muppet]

with the golf on friday venter . i'm heading to the festival myself on friday its great to see people that you haven't seen for years coming home for the festival   great for Cross.

absolutely, its great for the town.

Back to the football, It would be a shame to see a fine footballer like Tom Parsons sitting on the bench when we get back to Croker. How and where can he be slotted back into the team? They'd hardly go for the tri-towers and bring him out around the middle after a while?

We could go down the road of Shaving innovation and just add another tower when out of ideas.
First there was:

Then there came the brilliant idea of:

Then the unexpected novelty of:


Of course shaving is way ahead of Gaelic football attacking strategy so they already have :

and



Of course a German company got Jack O'Connor to work in their R&D section and this is what they came up with:

[joemamas]

with the golf on friday venter . i'm heading to the festival myself on friday its great to see people that you haven't seen for years coming home for the festival   great for Cross.

absolutely, its great for the town.

Back to the football, It would be a shame to see a fine footballer like Tom Parsons sitting on the bench when we get back to Croker. How and where can he be slotted back into the team? They'd hardly go for the tri-towers and bring him out around the middle after a whi

We could go down the road of Shaving innovation and just add another tower when out of ideas.
First there was:

Then there came the brilliant idea of:

Then the unexpected novelty of:


Of course shaving is way ahead of Gaelic football attacking strategy so they already have :

and



Of course a German company got Jack O'Connor to work in their R&D section and this is what they came up with:

Very good.

All joking aside, when you look back to last year v Tyrone, Parsons despite some wayward shooting had some game against Tyrone in Croke Park. I thought JOM should have introduced him earlier as we lost the midfield battle for the last twent mis. In fact after we scored the goal, I dont think we hardly won a kick out until Galway got thier goal.

[Farrandeelin]

Ssshhh joemamas, we're not supposed to criticise McGarrity's area at all. Well not on club thread.

[GBXII]

Totally agree with jomamas, O'Mahony made a lot of questionable decisions on Sunday. Parsons definitely should have been brought in earlier. He would also offer a scoring threat from mid field.

[rosnarun]

im serious about ronaldson. i think he will be one of the greats if predjudice is not let intefere. and he must get a regular position. his vision distribution energy and we know from uder age his scoring ability are top class. a forward with a free reign i feel would give greastest return.

[HowAreYeGettinOn]

Ronaldson is a handy ball player alright. He was superb for the u-21s - in at corner-forward I think. He's awful small though, even with his speed it means you're essentially restricted to sending in low ball to him every time if you want it to stick. That might mitigate against him being in the first 15 unfortunately.

[IolarCoisCuain]

Kevin McStay doesn't think either Mayo or Galway are contenders: http://www.herald.ie/incoming/connacht-finalists-are-unlikely-to-go-all-way-1834607.html

When I was looking this up to post it I was going to have a go but once you get over the tricky style - "Cork outfit" - you realise that he raises some quite legitimate concerns.



Herald.ie
Connacht finalists are unlikely to go all way
By Kevin McStay
Wednesday July 22 2009

IT was a Connacht final for the ages, but the end result failed to convince me that either side are good enough, at this stage, to win this year's All-Ireland. Mayo won because their manager and the players needed the buoyancy of a title win more than Galway did. Both sides will obviously improve in the weeks and matches ahead, but I fear that improvement will not be enough to beat a Cork or Tyrone outfit.

I fancied Mayo all along, but had anticipated a five- or six-point win over their fiercest rivals. Something similar to the Cork statement during the replayed Munster championship game against Kerry. Some days you have to stand up tall and announce your arrival on stage and Mayo needed to do this against Galway once and for all. And with the Mayo men leading by seven points with eight minutes left on the clock, the message coming from Salthill was this was a different Mayo outfit.

At that stage, all the Mayo midfielders and forwards had scored; the majority were classy ones from play -- the lazy, stale stereotype of Mayo footballers lining up outside Specsavers was not applicable last Sunday. And Mayo had a wing back waiting to contribute on the scoreboard if things took a turn for the worse. And, with Mayo being Mayo, inevitably they did. They set up defensively for the final quarter and started to cynically foul at their own 45m line and beyond.

And then, to put the tin hat on it, they began a mini game of keep ball with a full three minutes yet to be played. Keep ball depends on speed of hand, movement and pace, and the pretty obvious rider that you don't start that craic until the game is almost up -- say a minute or so on the clock would be just about right. Mayo started showboating and there was still time for Michael Meehan to scorch the sod with a bullet to the net, and of course still time for the indefatigable Peadar Gardiner to score a beauty against a strong breeze.

Both teams have strong prospects of going further in this championship, but not the whole way. I expect Galway to beat Donegal this weekend and Mayo should be fit for all-comers out of the Round 4 bowl. But the journey will end for both at the semi-final stage unless immediate and substantial improvement arrives.

Galway don't know their best 15 at this stage and they are unsettled as to their best positions. Only Joe Bergin and Nickey Joyce hit Connacht-final standard and the contribution on the scoreboard from the less-rated forwards was abysmal. On a day when Galway won midfield marginally, they should have ticked along better up front.

Mayo's full-forward line is far from the massive threat many observers are arguing. I said as much after the straightforward win over Roscommon when that inside line went missing for almost two-thirds of the game. Again, last Sunday, following an opening burst, only young Aidan O'Shea measured up. A full- forward line that scores 1-2 in total is hardly the Twin Towers II. Sure, the much maligned Conor Mortimer scored that himself in the second half!


COMPETITION

But Mayo have a very good defence and if there is a place still up for grabs there the competition will keep all on their toes. They were tight, tough and very mobile with great covering evident throughout. Yet, Mayo's midfield was disappointing. On a day when they expected to dominate the Galway pairing, it just did not happen and the introduction of Tom Parsons changed little in that area. Yes, both Heaney and McGarrity scored and contributed besides. But not enough.

Lots of work then for both outfits as the next opponents are surveyed -- now is the time to make your drive, and just five or six real weeks of serious momentum could see a team in the All-Ireland final. For Galway and Mayo that is the dream now, but realising it will take major improvement.

Before I leave last Sunday's game, you might recall a column I did a few weeks ago where the role of referees in deciding where titles end up was explored.

Mayo won the 2009 Connacht final by a single point. David Heaney scored a point for Mayo in the 14th minute by fisting the ball over the bar. In approaching the Galway goal he bounced the ball twice in succession -- a technical foul and therefore a free out to Galway. The referee, the normally excellent John Bannon, who had a very good game overall, missed the call. On such small matters titles are sometimes decided.

- Kevin McStay

© Herald.ie 2008 - The latest news and updates from Ireland and worldwide with the Evening Herald newspaper and Herald.ie

[ildanach]

great result at the weekend but i would like to see parsons start at centre forward and put trevor into the full forward line. let o shea go to full forward and moran to the bench. we could use him as a twin towers option if the need arises. the ball needs to be let into o shea more often and he will do damage. trevor can come out the field a bit to create the space inside. the other corner i am torn between conor and kilcoyne. if he is fit dont think kilcoyne deserves to be droped but 1-2 from conor in the second half also deserves a start

[Maigheo Abu]

It's not that I'd disagree with alot of what Mc Stay said but and there's always a but, how can you read anything into a Galway/Mayo CF. They could be poles apart in form and still only a point apart at the final whistle. I''ll wait for a while before dismisiing either.

[macdanger2]

The referee, the normally excellent John Bannon, who had a very good game overall, missed the call. On such small matters titles are sometimes decided.

- Kevin McStay

© Herald.ie 2008 - The latest news and updates from Ireland and worldwide with the Evening Herald newspaper and Herald.ie

What match was he watching??? Regardless of how right or wrong the frees he gave were, there were players from both sides blatantly picking the ball off the ground all day!!!

[AbbeySider]

I found that article fairly lazy. In fact I think McStay has the blinkers on a bit and is not giving credit where its due to both teams.

Its rare these days that you win a Connaught final by more then the narrowest of margins. Certainly playing Galway in Pearse Stadium was worth a few points to them. Also saying that Cork layed down this great marker against Kerry is a bit large considering they were extremely lucky to beat Limerick in the Munster Final. Cork looked vulnerable and flat and Limerick at least deserved a draw from the game. Cork have had plenty of good performances against Kerry, even winning Munster finals. Does that make them any better come August / September? No.

At that stage, all the Mayo midfielders and forwards had scored;

Deja Vu

All the Mayo forwards and 2 midfielders had got a score by half time.
That's some statistic when you think of it.

And then, to put the tin hat on it, they began a mini game of keep ball with a full three minutes yet to be played. Keep ball depends on speed of hand, movement and pace, and the pretty obvious rider that you don't start that craic until the game is almost up -- say a minute or so on the clock would be just about right. Mayo started showboating and there was still time for Michael Meehan to scorch the sod with a bullet to the net, and of course still time for the indefatigable Peadar Gardiner to score a beauty against a strong breeze.

Show boating is a bit strong. If it had worked the Mayo players would have been hailed for it. And it has been proven to work in the past. It just wasnt executed very well on Sunday.