Mayo Football and Hurling - Discussion pages

[StoneWall]

Anyone know how the juniors got on against Leitrim on Friday evening?

From the Mayo News...

Mayo 0-18
Kildare 0-12

WITH less than two weeks remaining to the Connacht Championship meeting with Galway there was a number of noteworthy developments for Mayo football supporters last Sunday at St Lawrence's GAA grounds in Kildare.
Goalkeeper Kenneth O'Malley returned from a thumb injury, David Brady appeared in the county colours for the first time in four months, Ciaran McDonald was only fit enough to watch from the sidelines, and Billy Padden played for 35 minutes at full-back.
There was more than enough there to keep everybody talking as Mayo scored a six-point win over a a second-string Kildare side.
Brady was was introduced by John O'Mahony at half-time with Mayo leading by a point. The Ballina midfielder shored up the team's engine-room and, with the breeze at their backs, they completely routed their opponents in the second half. In fact they could have notched up a bigger score but for some laissez-faire shooting.
Another very novel and interesting development was the deployment of Billy Joe Padden at full-back following the interval. The Belmullet man has been a regular fixture at centre-half back of late but, with Kildare full-forward Adrian Kelly kicking two points from play and causing serious problems for Pat Navin in the first half, Mayo's management made a series of changes.
Bringing Brady on, John O'Mahony et al moved David Heaney to centre-half back, Padden to full-back, James Nallen to right-half back and took Pat Harte out of the forwards to create an all-Ballina midfield.
The end result of the switches was a more balanced and effective Mayo unit who had far too much class for a weakened Kildare outfit.
However, taking that into account, as well as the slow tempo and Bank Holiday atmosphere that prevailed, there were few other positives to be seriously taken from the game from a Mayo perspective.
Padden kept Kelly scoreless in the second half but the Kildare full-forward is only returning from a one-year lay off with a torn cruciate ligament and is not considered to be near his best form.
Kildare's injury crisis in midfield also gave Brady an easier time than usual against a team with a reputation for robust play under John Crofton.
Dermot Earley has a broken metatarsal bone, Killian Brennan has a ruptured Achilles' tendon, Darryl Flynn has ankle problems and Thomas O'Connor has torn his cruciate ligament.
Mayo's weekend training camp also caused late changes to the team named in the programme with Enda Devenney and Kevin O'Neill sitting out the game with knocks.
This cleared the way for a second successive challenge match for Trevor Mortimer and the full-forward still looks a bit off the pace.
On one occasion in the second half he tore through on goal with all the promise and passion of his memorable 2004 season but skewed his shot high and wide with a goal there for the taking.
Pat Navin also looked a few games shy of championship pace in his return from injury while Trevor Howley looks unlikely to start against Galway after being taken off at the interval.
Ciaran McDonald did not tog for the match but has been running again following a series of back problems while David Clarke has been unable to shake off a hamstring problem. He will now miss the opening game of the championship against Galway.
The match itself was a poor affair with Mayo taking in a 0-8 to 0-7 lead against the wind at the interval.
In the second half, led by Conor Mortimer, the Mayo attack cut loose and tore a fragile Kildare team to shreds, letting up near the end for the home support's benefit.

Mayo
K O'Malley; A Higgins, P Navin, K Higgins; T Howley, B Padden, P Gardiner; J Nallen, D Heaney; P Harte (0-2), G Brady (0-1), A Dillon (0-1, 1f); C Mortimer (0-8, 3fs), T Mortimer (0-1), Andy Moran (0-3).  
Subs used: D Brady, A O'Malley, A Campbell, J Kilcullen, A Kilcoyne (0-1).
Kildare
T Corley; T Dowling, R McCabe, I Lonergan; M Scanlon, D Hendy, M Foley (0-1); W Heffernan (0-1), R Glavin; P Ennis, M Conway (0-1, 1f), N Browne; D McCormack (0-3), A Kelly (0-2), P O'Neill (0-4, 1f).  
Sub used: B Flanagan.
Referee: M Deegan (Laois)

[rosnarun]

If it was a closed door midweek challange game then it wouldnt even be a glorified training session. have gone to a few and they are  strictly for the purist they often play 3 / 4 halfs and mostly everyone gets a game. not sure what the purpose of them . Maybe team buliding cause they must cost our poor county board a packet

[westmayo]

Well as we all try to get over last Sunday's defeat at the hands of the near neighbours, we have to look forward to the club championshps this weekend how do we all see it going

TF Royal Hotel Senior Football Championship

Section A
Ballaghaderreen v Shrule Glencorrib
Sunday 27 May at 2pm in Ballaghaderreen
Ref: D.Corcoran
Garrymore v Claremorris
Sunday 27 May at 2pm in Garrymore
Ref: V. Neary

Section B
Westport v Louisburgh
Saturday 26 May at 7.30pm in Westport
Ref:J. Hughes
Ballina Stephenites v Charlestown Sarsfields
Sunday 27 May at 4pm in Ballina
Ref: M. Kenny


Section C
Crossmolina v Ballinrobe
Sunday 27 May at 2pm in Crossmolina
Ref: J. Hughes
Burrishoole v Moy Davitts
Sunday 27 May at 2pm in Burrishoole
Ref: M. Murphy

Section D
Knockmore v Tourmakeady
Saturday 26 May at 7.30pm in Knockmore
Ref: R. Gurren
Castlebar v Kiltane
Sunday 27 May at 2pm in Castlebar
Ref: M. Daly

TF Royal Theatre Intermediate Football Championship
Section A
Cill Chómain v Belmullett
Saturday 26 May at 7.30pm in Cill Chómain
Ref: M. Kenny
Kiltimagh v Kilmeena
Sunday 27 May at 2pm in Kiltimagh
Ref: M. McCarron

Section B
Ballintubber v Bonniconlon
Sunday 27 May at 4pm in Ballintubber
Ref: J.S Walsh
Hollymount v Swinford
Saturday 26 May at 7.30pm in Hollymout
Ref:J. Feeney

Section C
Davitts v Mayo Gaels
Saturday 26 May at 7.30pm in Ballindine
Ref: E. McAndrew
Ballyhaunis v Kilmaine
Sunday 27 May at 4pm in Ballyhaunis
Ref: D. Harrington

Section D
Ballina (B) v Crossmolina (B)
Saturday 26 May at 7.30pm in Ballina
Ref: R. Cosgrove
Parke v Aghamore
Sunday 27 May at 4pm in Parke
Ref: C. Collins

[MacDanger]

Anyone know how Tourmak are going? Could be a potential banana skin there for Knockmore although if they hope to go anywhere they'd def want to win at home.

Ballagh v Shrule and Ballina v Charlestown seem to be the biggest games going; for what it's worth I'd go for Ballagh and Ballina to win those although being away from home I'm basing that on feck all.

[Farrandeelin]

It's time Ballina stopped living off that All-Ireland win and won some silverware again. I think they have a good enough panel to do it. Crossmolina will find it hard to do the 3 in a row. Ballaghaderreen probably will win it. Shrule not going well at all in the league, will hae to wait and see if it makes any baring on the Championship. As for Knockmore, hopefully there will be a surprise scalp or two taken this year, but I cannot see them winning the county title.

[IolarCoisCuain]

Willie Joe at http://mayogaablog.blogspot.com has a link to a piece in Sunday's Tribune about three Mayomen in management in Connacht at the moment - Johnno, Ford and Maughan. Makes for distracting reading after Sunday.



IF it's all the same to yourself, we'll dive deep into the memory bank for just a minute.

Out comes a strand from 1983, a wisp that seemed of little importance at the time. Mayo had drawn the All Ireland under-21 final when a member of the panel announced he had already booked a holiday. His manager told him he'd be bringing his boots but that still wasn't enough. On his return he was kept back for 40 minutes after a tough training session and subjected to the most gruelling workout of his young life. Whether he had drank or not while away, no chances were being taken.

A few days later John O'Mahony guided that Mayo side past Derry and already had his eye on conducting an out-of-tune orchestra. John Maughan played a key role in the backs that afternoon and no matter what he had been put through, still reckons both holiday and overtime were worth it.

Completing the spine of that defence was Peter Ford, a classy, masterful defender who had watched closely as his good friend from UCG had been taken to the limit. The tone looked to be set for a decade in Mayo. Instead the tone was set for a generation in Connacht.

Hard to remember now just how bad western football was at that stage, so here's a quick reminder. The last time a side from the province had won an All Ireland senior title was 1966 when Galway completed the three-in-a-row and in the intervening years only once had the Connacht champions beaten Leinster or Munster opposition. All that was about to change. "I'd say John O'Mahony would have had his eye on that team maturing and him passing into senior fairly fast, " says Kevin McStay who played on that under-21 side.

"It would have been 1988 when he got his first opening and it was an immediate impact and that's what he normally does. When you talk about John O'Mahony you think of impact. He's not a guy that waits around for long.

Look what he did in '88."

It was that season they took Connacht by storm and might have won an All Ireland semifinal against Meath. It only took a year for the side to learn from their mistakes and in 1989 they were in an All Ireland final, their first since 1951 while picking up their first back-to-back provincial crowns since that same year.

"I think it's just that his allround people skills are very impressive and you want to do your very best for any team John O'Mahony is involved with, " continues McStay. "Sounds simple and in theory it is. But how many have done it? He gets that kind of feel-good factor very early. You can say he was lucky with the bunch he had coming through in Mayo but other events have shown that was never it. Look at what he did with Galway when he took them to their first All Ireland in 35 years. That was probably his greatest achievement.

That and taking Leitrim to a Connacht title in 1994 which was unprecedented and still is."

It was around that time Mayo were again sinking into a trough. With an aging team and time running short for many, they turned on their manager and the Brian McDonald affair began and ended. Ford was nominated as a leader of that bloodless coup and it may have been that incident which drew him into county management and that has kept him from managing the one side he really desires. "I had known Peter as a player and had been in UCG with him, " says Maughan. "I had great time for him as a footballer. He starred on Sigerson teams and from a boxing background he has tremendous self-discipline and is very fit, very strong and a very capable operator.

Maybe it was hard to recognise any management skills back then but the way he had grown by the time I got involved with Mayo in 1995, he was one of the guys I really went after because I respected his knowledge of the game and his ability and he was part of my team for two years.

It was great to have him on board."

Just like O'Mahony had done, the combination of Maughan and Ford quickly pulled the county from the bog water. In 1995, a few months before they would be taken apart by Galway in the Connacht final, the side travelled to Tyrone for a league game. John Casey came across a programme that day and remembers looking at it and feeling small. Maughan had named the team earlier in the week but in front of him, under the banner of Maigh Eo read An Other times 15.

Tyrone people didn't care who these guys were. After all, they were nobodies. Yet within a year-and-a-half, the side were in an All Ireland final. It would be eight years before named opponents could say the same.

"I always saw John O'Mahony as a very deep thinker and I believe Peter Ford has taken a lot of that with him from years under him as a player, " says Martin Carney.

"He may even be deeper than his old mentor. I think both he and John Maughan were a very good combination but Peter had his own ideas. He wasn't as well known when Mayo were going well but I remember listening in awe to him in 2002 when he was in charge of Sligo. They had already stunned football by beating Tyrone but listening to the plans and strategies he was using to counteract the threat of Armagh it was easy to see why. Particularly the way he used Ciaran Quinn and John McPartland that day, the way he employed those nearly brought about Armagh's downfall."

That day Kieran McGeeney was continually forced onto his left foot. Sligo tried to pressure Armagh from afar, preventing their forwards from scoring at a distance.

Had Kerry done the same Armagh would not have won that All Ireland. Had Ford better raw materials, Sligo would have been in an All Ireland semi-final for the first time since 1975 and only their fourth ever and they would have done it by swatting Armagh and Tyrone from a perch too.

"I look at the three of them and it's amazing the drive and energy they have put in, " says McStay. "Be it in Sligo, Leitrim, Mayo or Galway, they have given those counties some amazing times and brought success where there was none and that is not easy when in charge in the west.

And they all still have huge ambitions. I suppose Peter is completely committed to Galway and is so competitive and focused he is desperate to win today. But at some stage I'm sure he would love to take charge of Mayo but people always look back to that incident as a player when McDonald was in charge. He stood up and a lot of people would not have agreed, but he had the moral courage to go through.

He was up front. He didn't do it in a Machiavellian way, instead a letter was signed and that was before teams would have done that sort of thing. He'd have very strong ideas about what he wants to do and where he wants to go.

And because of that and his background I'm sure Mayo has hurt, he was sure he was going to get the job when it changed from John Maughan and Pat Holmes got it. I guess John O'Mahony of course, having won his All Ireland with Galway would love to do it with Mayo and all that adds to it today."

And as for John Maughan?

He's in Roscommon, waiting to upstage the both of them.

[Farrandeelin]

I know this might seem rather pointless as a post, but are us Mayo fans ever allowed criticise the players at all? Or management for that matter. Remember last September's hammering the players got in Croke Park against Kerry. Fans were blamed for criticising anything and anyone in the team/management and God help anyone who left 5 minutes early. Fast forward to the recent hammering inflicted by Galway, MWR once again read out a text on last Thursday night's show from someone criticising the team for the way they played against Galway, and Angelina came out and said that the players didn't play to lose the way they did. What I'm trying to say is that I'm fed up to the hilt of players and management being protected by the local media and I don't give a flying f**k if all the local media outlets come across this message as I'm usually mild-mannered in my criticism of teams when they get beat. I want to see both perspectives balanced out on the airwaves on MWR. PS, I'm not trying to criticise the players, just the media outlets in Mayo who cannot see anything wrong in the 'manner' the players went at it against Galway and Kerry in our last 2 championship mantches if ye get my drift. Anyone else feel the same way??

[An Gaeilgoir]

I know this might seem rather pointless as a post, but are us Mayo fans ever allowed criticise the players at all? Or management for that matter. Remember last September's hammering the players got in Croke Park against Kerry. Fans were blamed for criticising anything and anyone in the team/management and God help anyone who left 5 minutes early. Fast forward to the recent hammering inflicted by Galway, MWR once again read out a text on last Thursday night's show from someone criticising the team for the way they played against Galway, and Angelina came out and said that the players didn't play to lose the way they did. What I'm trying to say is that I'm fed up to the hilt of players and management being protected by the local media and I don't give a flying f**k if all the local media outlets come across this message as I'm usually mild-mannered in my criticism of teams when they get beat. I want to see both perspectives balanced out on the airwaves on MWR. PS, I'm not trying to criticise the players, just the media outlets in Mayo who cannot see anything wrong in the 'manner' the players went at it against Galway and Kerry in our last 2 championship mantches if ye get my drift. Anyone else feel the same way??

I agree with you,but if the local media is too harsh on the team the county board wil freeze them out of all matters that relsate to the team..the Mayo news got that treatment a while back so i suppose they are walking a tight line.

[Barney]

In fairness I think you need a thick skin to be involved in Mayo GAA - the County Board, the players, the management are all under constant scrutiny and a serious amount of moaning goes on with supporters.

On many days players have tried their hearts out and come up short. I would be disappointed but stand full square behind the team, albeit making constructive comments about what I thought was right or wrong. However the display against Galway was pathetic and a disgrace. The players are better than that - they know it. The management was not as focussed as it should have been - they know it. As a supporter for over 30 years that is tough, and frustrating. Yes these lads are giving up there spare time, but why would you put so much into something without going all out to give it your best shot. Only David Heaney can honestly say that he did that the last day.

I think we have over-achieved during 2004-2006, and probably was duped myself into thinking that we could challenge for an All Ireland. Remember Connacht is a relatively easy route to a Quarter Final - in 2004 we were lucky enough to play Fermanagh in the All Ireland semi-final, after being an emotionally and physically drained Tyrone. Last year Laois were battered and bruised by their thrashing from Dublin, and run through the qualifiers, we scraped through and got the luck against Dublin. Kerry are always the litmus test and the last 3 years they have picked us off with ease, and we have never addressed the problems with our style of play, and our defending.

Now JOM faces one the biggest challenges in his career. If the players have any pride in themselves they will pick themselves up for the next day in the qualifiers. But the management must make numerous changes to a line-up which was unbalanced, and clearly not good enough for top level football.

[mannix]

Barney, I agree with a lot of your points but the fact still stands that Mayo were in 2 finals in 3 years for a reason.Luck against dublin?
They had a 7 point lead in the second half and were joking to each other about Mayo.
I would rather be lucky than "good enough" and hope the luck brought me the distance like it did for armagh a few years ago,clare hurlers in 1997 and ireland in korea in the world cup.

[Barney]

Mannix we had alot of luck against Dublin, but what we had as well as that was a determination and desire to succeed. No player was brushed aside. They took the hits and kept going. My belief is that although many of our players are small it is the lack of determination that sees them bullied about the place rather than a failure to do weights training

[mannix]

I agree wholehearted on that, they lack the determination against kerry, but why do they have zero fear of dublin,tyrone or the rest.But, kerry, well I will never be sure again about them.The best thing that can  happen is kerry to fall into the qualifiers and we meet them, at this stage I think Mayo would not freeze.
Mayo are good enough,dublin could have lost by more last august but for indecision by some mayo forwards when goals were on.Luck plays a part in a lot of close games but dublin had a 7 point lead.Game over for 99% at that stage.
I am keeping a little bit of belief that something good could come out of the galway loss, remember,the last 2 have been qualifiers championships and galway were in 2001.And we have the right manager to take the best out of his players, at halftime in the 2001 final everyone said it was over, then look what happened.

[Redgreenery]

From gaa.ie

The Central Competitions Control Committee of the GAA has confirmed the following penalties arising from Disciplinary matters in recent weeks...

David Loughnane (Roscommon Hurling) - eight weeks from the date of his sending off in the Allianz Hurling League Division 3 final v Roscommon on April 29th.

Brian Farrell (Meath) - four weeks from the date of his sending off in the Leinster football Championship v Kildare on May 20th.

Pat Harte (Mayo) - four weeks from the date of his sending off in the Connacht Football Championship v Galway on May 20th.

All of the penalties include the next game in the competition even if that game falls outside of the suspension time period.

So this means P Harte will be out of the first game in the qualifiers.
Brady and Heaney in midfield then i'd say unless if McGarrity is back.

[Davitt Man]

From gaa.ie

The Central Competitions Control Committee of the GAA has confirmed the following penalties arising from Disciplinary matters in recent weeks...

David Loughnane (Roscommon Hurling) - eight weeks from the date of his sending off in the Allianz Hurling League Division 3 final v Roscommon on April 29th.

Brian Farrell (Meath) - four weeks from the date of his sending off in the Leinster football Championship v Kildare on May 20th.

Pat Harte (Mayo) - four weeks from the date of his sending off in the Connacht Football Championship v Galway on May 20th.

All of the penalties include the next game in the competition even if that game falls outside of the suspension time period.

So this means P Harte will be out of the first game in the qualifiers.
Brady and Heaney in midfield then i'd say unless if McGarrity is back.

Harte will be back for the qualifiers, 4 weeks from May 20th is the 17th June with the 1st round qualifier on the 7th July

[OirthearMhaigheo]

From gaa.ie



All of the penalties include the next game in the competition even if that game falls outside of the suspension time period.

Harte will be back for the qualifiers, 4 weeks from May 20th is the 17th June with the 1st round qualifier on the 7th July

Not if the line above is accurate DavittMan. Seems Harte has to miss the next game no matter when it is