Saturday July 22 Cork v Mayo, Gaelic Grounds, 5PM

[whitey]

Yesterday very reminscent of the replayed AISF against Dublin in 2015.....well ahead and in control of the game when the wheels came off the wagon. That collapse led to the heave against Connolly and Holmes

Alan Dillons give away near the end with a cross field ball was criminal.....he did exactly the same against Dublin in the latter stages of the semi final against Dublin in 2012 when the game was in the pot

Mayo were very very lucky yesterday....Cork could have had 4 goals, at least one penalty, had a "point" over ruled by the linesman and had a point saved by Clarke.

Were defintely riding our luck.....but thats football......were having as much good luck this year as we have had bad luck in other years

[Rudi]

Mayo are a dirty team. Higgins is pure town. Cork got a 14 yard free when 2 players should have walked. Dangerous foot trip and a neck high challenge. Hopefully the ref will be better next day.ì

Save it for the Ros V Mayo thread - you don't want to burn yourself out too early

it hurts cause it's true. All joking a side, how did both those lads stay on the pitch?

[Syferus]

Branagan is hardly known for applying the rules correctly. In fact he's only known for doing the opposite.

[joemamas]

Yesterday very reminscent of the replayed AISF against Dublin in 2015.....well ahead and in control of the game when the wheels came off the wagon. That collapse led to the heave against Connolly and Holmes

Alan Dillons give away near the end with a cross field ball was criminal.....he did exactly the same against Dublin in the latter stages of the semi final against Dublin in 2012 when the game was in the pot

Mayo were very very lucky yesterday....Cork could have had 4 goals, at least one penalty, had a "point" over ruled by the linesman and had a point saved by Clarke.

Were defintely riding our luck.....but thats football......were having as much good luck this year as we have had bad luck in other years

Good post, want to see game again before I comment

[maigheo]

In fairness to Dillion ,Loftus made a short run to receive the pass but cut back inside just as Dillion was about to kick the ball making Dillion look foolish.Have been fairly impressed with Loftus and has all the makings of a very good corner forward.On the other hand Regan has been a huge disappointment and does not seem up to inter county level

[SouthDublinBro]

Mayo struggled against a team who were blown away by Kerry. Huge gap between Dublin/Kerry and then the rest.

[Gael85]

If the tv clock is right Cork have a real case for a replay. You can't blow the game up early.

One for the conspiracy folks out there, I would be less than surprised if ref may have been told at full time, I hope there is a winner, otherwise q/final next week would be postponed, imagine the embarrassment and the PR nightmare for the GAA. Same goes for both qualifiers next Saturday in Croke park.

Crazy but true

I have often  thought what would happen if we got another Dublin/Meath 4 in a row scenario around August what would GAA do as would mess All Ireland final schedules. If Leinster final had been a draw when/where would replay have been with concert in Croke Park last night?

[Dubhaltach]

Just when it seemed like it had been sorted, our inability to defend leads comes back to haunt us. Since this team first came on the scene, it has arguably been our biggest downfall. Both Lee and Chris not being on the field for the last 20 minutes was crucial but it doesn't excuse it. It needs to get sorted quick or we face a similar end this year.

Still, i'd prefer to focus on the positives. Cillian O Connor, 11 points, 6 from play, 3 off the left, 3 off the right. Anyone who says that he isn't among the top forwards in the country is talking shite. With himself, Aidan and Lee firing on all cylinders, we should be able to give any team a run for their money.

[whitey]

Mayo struggled against a team who were blown away by Kerry. Huge gap between Dublin/Kerry and then the rest.

I dont think Cork were as bad as they were billed.  I listened to the Mayo podcast last week and seemingly Cork missed numerous goal chances in a he first half against Kerry.  While they still may have lost, the rhetoric regarding how bad they are would have been much more muted

[Maroon Manc]

Some contrast from the Derry game in terms of shooting, Mayo had very few wides all day. Mayo couldn't have asked much more from Moran & COC, they got a great return from play from the both of them.

I thought Cork would cause Mayo problems when they ran at them but didn't expect that in the 2nd half. Cork scored 2 goals, missed 2 other great chances and perhaps would have created 2 more great chances if it wasn't for Mayo defenders bring the Cork player down. Cafferkey was appalling, is O'Connor really 36? He gave Cafferkey the run around and he's not as quick as he used to be, looked very slow to turn last night.

You have to give Mayo credit though as it did look like Cork were going to push on in ET when they went 2 points up.

[Cunny Funt]

I thought Branagan was a little bit kind to Mayo yesterday and could understand the Cork frustrating at the end of the game. Cork were allowed back into the game with some strange sub and tactical changes by Rochford he's still trying to be too clever on line or maybe influenced by too many cooks beside him.... Cork in fairness to them threw the kitchen sink at it and died with their boots on and may well have won if they didn't lose so many players to injury. Much improving for Mayo to do but they normally do in Croke Park and for the record only Dublin have beaten Mayo in HQ in the last 4 years and by the skin of teeth on a number of occasions.

[BallyroanAbu]

After losing a sizeable bet yesterday on Mayo -5,  I just think it was one of those days.  For no reason the wheels come off and momentum swings I was quite happy the way things were going and then Mayo dropped the intensity, Cork got lucky and I think it shows what a good team Mayo are to hang on.  I would not read to much into yesterdays game.

[Seamus]

What's your verdict on Rochford, lads?

They seem to be ambling along under him and while unquestionably they were unlucky against Dublin last year, they used up a fair amount of their lives against Fermanagh, Tyrone, Derry and Cork as well as two exits in Connacht against Galway.

McLoughlin seemed to have developed into a very effective sweeper last year and in the big games against Tyrone and Dublin it seemed to add them with a bit of defensive structure and security which they always seemed to lack in the big games. This year he seems to have been completely abandoned it and the ease at which Cork cut right through the middle of Mayo yesterday is very worrying from their point of view. Mayo really are the own worst enemies at times.

I remember last year in injury time against Tyrone they hit a really loose free across their own goals which was intercepted and McCurry snatched at a great chance to draw us level. Yesterday you had an experienced player like Alan Dillon doing pretty much the exact same thing again. Mayo's ability to self destruct is unrivaled in the game and more that a porous defence, management and player discord or lack of a marquee forward, it is what has cost them an All Ireland.

My problem with what the players did with Holmes and Connelly in 2015 was that there seemed to be zero introspection on their own part in why they never won an All Ireland, 2 years on and the same sort of meltdowns are still happening with Mayo footballers in pressure cooker situations. They're good enough to win but they seem determined not to address their propensity to explode.

John Small got Man of the Match in the drawn final last year because McLoughlin was back playing sweeper. Time and time again Small received the ball with nobody near him and set up attack after attack scoring a point to booth. I would discount the own goal as that was unfortunate but personally I love seeing McLoughlin playing sweeper against us.

[criostlinn]

What's your verdict on Rochford, lads?

They seem to be ambling along under him and while unquestionably they were unlucky against Dublin last year, they used up a fair amount of their lives against Fermanagh, Tyrone, Derry and Cork as well as two exits in Connacht against Galway.

McLoughlin seemed to have developed into a very effective sweeper last year and in the big games against Tyrone and Dublin it seemed to add them with a bit of defensive structure and security which they always seemed to lack in the big games. This year he seems to have been completely abandoned it and the ease at which Cork cut right through the middle of Mayo yesterday is very worrying from their point of view. Mayo really are the own worst enemies at times.

I remember last year in injury time against Tyrone they hit a really loose free across their own goals which was intercepted and McCurry snatched at a great chance to draw us level. Yesterday you had an experienced player like Alan Dillon doing pretty much the exact same thing again. Mayo's ability to self destruct is unrivaled in the game and more that a porous defence, management and player discord or lack of a marquee forward, it is what has cost them an All Ireland.

My problem with what the players did with Holmes and Connelly in 2015 was that there seemed to be zero introspection on their own part in why they never won an All Ireland, 2 years on and the same sort of meltdowns are still happening with Mayo footballers in pressure cooker situations. They're good enough to win but they seem determined not to address their propensity to explode.

John Small got Man of the Match in the drawn final last year because McLoughlin was back playing sweeper. Time and time again Small received the ball with nobody near him and set up attack after attack scoring a point to booth. I would discount the own goal as that was unfortunate but personally I love seeing McLoughlin playing sweeper against us.

Dublin scored 5 points from play in that very same game. Hardly the best example you  could have used

[Lar Naparka]

A win is a win and Mayo are still there. Top 4 team.

Cafferky must have some serious dirt on mayo management to keep getting in picked. He's a liability at this stage after all his injuries and you would fear for mayo against Kerry/dubs if he plays FB. Kerry with their forwards dispatched cork with ease. Mayo are clearly on the slide and don't have the forwards to put teams away so while they win games. They have to grind out the win and the opposition always have a chance.

That's twice they have gone to extra time in the qualifiers this year and with an aging team (especially in defence) you would wonder will it catch up with them

They are finished, they've been finished now for two to three years! God only knows what Dublin were at last year that it took them a full 140+ minutes to put this lot away last year.

Not finished but peaked a few years ago. Dublin were running on empty when used up all of the energy to get past Kerry in the semi final. The Mayo team in the form of 2013 would have beaten Dublin last year.

Kerry game was their All Ireland and they were shot by the time they played Mayo. Worst performances of the season still good enough to beat Mayo. Since 2012 Dublin have either beaten/drawn with Mayo in every game league or championship. I think it's about 12 games at this stage. They clearly have Mayo's number. Kerry with their forwards and maybe Tyrone are the only teams who could beat Dublin

My friend, I wouldn't dream of telling you that you are spouting pure bullshit but there is a strong pong of taurine excrement off what you've written all the same.
Dublin had 20 days between the semi and the final to get fit and focussed once again and with superior resources to every other team in the land that should have been no problem to them.
Ten of the present Mayo panel work or study in Dublin and this means heading off in the late afternoon and returning about 3 or 4 in the early morning so they have little time for sleep and relaxation before getting back to whatever they do. I wonder what any of your bucks would feel if he had to do the same?
So Dublin were 'shot' going into the final. Shot me arse!
Even if your poor lads were still 'shot' after 20 days to recuperate, Mayo, being Mayo as usual, gifted them two own goals and still managed to hold the team of the present millennium, the last one and the next one to come, to a draw.
Mayo were just as effin shot as Dublin going into the replay and still lost by a single point after some diabolical reffin mistakes.
Tell you what; if Mayo had been able to swop places with Dublin last year and could have played in their own backyard with a minimum of travelling involved and a professional set up to rival, that of Man United, I don't think your tulips would be talking of a three in a row now.