Cork v Mayo, NFL Sunday April 7th, 2013

[From the Bunker]

mad wests coverage after the game was woeful.    No interviews or analysis ,just John  f@@@@@@  o Mahony on about passports.Any links to the deferred coverage on t na g.I am outside the country

Someone said Billy Fitz was speechless...f**k him, if we lost he'd be criticising all and sundry.

Ah his heart is in the right place. But he has put me off listening to matches on the radio. It's so hard with him and John Casey, they are so negative and droll. Jez, you'd swear it was only Mayo players who make mistakes!

[criostlinn]

mad wests coverage after the game was woeful.    No interviews or analysis ,just John  f@@@@@@  o Mahony on about passports.Any links to the deferred coverage on t na g.I am outside the country

Someone said Billy Fitz was speechless...f**k him, if we lost he'd be criticising all and sundry.

unfortunately it didn't last to long

[ross4life]

One point down on last years total though another semi final to looking forward too for our neighbours. Home advantage didn't count for much who would have thought before the game that Mayo only needed to score 0-11 to beat Cork away. Relegation won't overly worry Donegal but i'm not sure you could say the same about Mayo if it happened & half time today it looked very likely.

[mayogodhelpus@gmail.com]

One point down on last years total though another semi final to looking forward too for our neighbours. Home advantage didn't count for much who would have thought before the game that Mayo only needed to score 0-11 to beat Cork away. Relegation won't overly worry Donegal but i'm not sure you could say the same about Mayo if it happened & half time today it looked very likely.

I doubht division 2 will do Donegal much good in 2014 season.

[ross4life]

One point down on last years total though another semi final to looking forward too for our neighbours. Home advantage didn't count for much who would have thought before the game that Mayo only needed to score 0-11 to beat Cork away. Relegation won't overly worry Donegal but i'm not sure you could say the same about Mayo if it happened & half time today it looked very likely.

I doubht division 2 will do Donegal much good in 2014 season.

Plenty of decent teams in Div 2 & if they get promoted like i expect them to so it do them more good than winning only two games in Div 1 this year.

[Syferus]

Fair ould clatter Canty gave Feeney from behind, looked like he took a 20 yard charge towards him. Probably the most forceful thing he did all day.

[From the Bunker]

One point down on last years total though another semi final to looking forward too for our neighbours. Home advantage didn't count for much who would have thought before the game that Mayo only needed to score 0-11 to beat Cork away. Relegation won't overly worry Donegal but i'm not sure you could say the same about Mayo if it happened & half time today it looked very likely.

I doubht division 2 will do Donegal much good in 2014 season.

If they are AI Champions it won't matter.Besides it won't do them any harm to have easier sides to play getting ready for Championship. Division One seemed to be an inconvenience to them this year!

[southsidejohnny]

I'll tell who division two would be good for...Roscommon...but they aren't able to get up there. Well done Galway U21s, old order being restored.

[rosnarun]

Hopefully Alan Freeman will rediscover his form of 3 years ago tomorrow.

he didn't
and yes this is who i meant . when you see how few chances some players get i can not under stand how he is still on the panel . , even his point yesterday was a miss at an open goal.
If may's comtinue the ling ball into the full forward line tactic this is not the Guy you ewant in there . not that id blame hime for the it takers a player with a particular skill set  that both conroy and Donherty have.
I'm a fan of Varley  but it doesnt do him any favours either.

[Lar Naparka]

With both teams looking for a win we can really see how we measure up. At the beginning of the league I actually fancied Cork (or Dublin)  to win the league, but not because they won it the last few years but because they are a serious outfit, real All-Ireland contenders. I've changed that view point.   I've great faith in this Mayo team, I thing they are the best team in the Country, we are not showing that, and today we need to start. :-)

I'm finding it hard to follow your logic there. You thought Dublin or Cork were genuine AI contenders but after a league where Dublin were by far the most impressive and Mayo could be relegated you now think they are the best team in the country???

IMO, Mayo are where they've been for a few years now. They are in that group of 5 or 6 that are not real AI contenders but depending on attitude, injury, form and luck they could lose in a QF or make a final. Lots of good players, some very good ones but lack enough class ones, especially forwards to win an AI.

I'd agree with much of that but in the wake of the win yesterday, I do feel a lot more confident of Mayo's chances than I did when I first read your post.
No, I don't think they are a shoo-in for the AI or anything close to it but they are certainly a stronger, more cohesive outfit that they were when Horan took over and they have been making steady progress since then.
Down the years, Mayo sides have lacked bottle; put the pressure on and they'd buckle. However, Horan was building a serious side last year and was working to a definite game plan until Andy Moran got injured.
It was a case of Hamlet without the prince from there on as he was the linchpin of the attack but I thought the rest acquitted themselves despite his absence.
TBH, I was more worried about the fade out against the Dubs that I was about the loss to Donegal. Still, in both games they showed one quality that Mayo isn't noted for and that's the determination to keep going to the final whistle.
That's why I was happy with their display yesterday; they had to dig in and keep going to the very end. The team is gradually gathering momentum once more.
I feel that they were more hit by injuries than Cork were. Counihan will be making more personnel changes than Horan will when the serious stuff begins.
Keith Higgins, the two Morans and Alan Dillon are still to return and O'Connor and Doherty are showing improved form over last year.
As this is only the league and the usual caveats apply, I wouldn't read too much into the win yesterday but the way in which they ground out victory against their old nemesis shows Horan and his team are gearing up to give it all they've got this summer. They might not go all the way but they won't be faulted or lack of effort.

[Milltown Row2]

Cork dickheads!!! Beat my bet

[Crete Boom]

 Good hard fought win for Mayo and a nice boost of a semifinal with the mighty Dubs in Croker. I thought Gibbons and Seamus Did well in the midfield and worked hard through out the game. It will be nip and tuck between them to partner Barry ( provided he recovers fully) come the summer.

I thought Aidan grew into his role a CHF steadily again in this game and Kevin Mac was back to his best. Keegan and Boyle for me are developing into one of the strongest part of our defense and Kevin Keane looked back in the groove which is a timely boost before Galway in May. Also nice to see a Corkman get a taste of a classic "Knockmore get to know you challenge" from Shane MacHale which was vintage stuff from the man from the parish of the backs who must be giving Horan a selection headache at this stage! The ball into the forwards improved again which must be down to Donie Buckley with Conroy and  Freeman benefiting.

  Unfortunately the silly turnovers raised their head again and Donie Vaughan struggle going backwards but his appetite for work was much better along with his peach of a point. The obvious worry going into the summer is we still lack a ball winner at fullforward without Andy and a bit of guile on the forty without Dillion. There is no guarantees both will return to form this summer after their injuries. The average of 0-13 scored in the league isn't going to have you in the shake up and the business end of the championship and this is still our Achilles heel rather than dodgy reffing or a curse etc....

[mayo.mick]

Have all the photos from the match yesterday uploaded here; http://pix.ie/mayomick
Great win, 2 brilliant points from either side of the pitch by Cillian.

[Zulu]

With both teams looking for a win we can really see how we measure up. At the beginning of the league I actually fancied Cork (or Dublin)  to win the league, but not because they won it the last few years but because they are a serious outfit, real All-Ireland contenders. I've changed that view point.   I've great faith in this Mayo team, I thing they are the best team in the Country, we are not showing that, and today we need to start. :-)

I'm finding it hard to follow your logic there. You thought Dublin or Cork were genuine AI contenders but after a league where Dublin were by far the most impressive and Mayo could be relegated you now think they are the best team in the country???

IMO, Mayo are where they've been for a few years now. They are in that group of 5 or 6 that are not real AI contenders but depending on attitude, injury, form and luck they could lose in a QF or make a final. Lots of good players, some very good ones but lack enough class ones, especially forwards to win an AI.

I'd agree with much of that but in the wake of the win yesterday, I do feel a lot more confident of Mayo's chances than I did when I first read your post.
No, I don't think they are a shoo-in for the AI or anything close to it but they are certainly a stronger, more cohesive outfit that they were when Horan took over and they have been making steady progress since then.
Down the years, Mayo sides have lacked bottle; put the pressure on and they'd buckle. However, Horan was building a serious side last year and was working to a definite game plan until Andy Moran got injured.
It was a case of Hamlet without the prince from there on as he was the linchpin of the attack but I thought the rest acquitted themselves despite his absence.
TBH, I was more worried about the fade out against the Dubs that I was about the loss to Donegal. Still, in both games they showed one quality that Mayo isn't noted for and that's the determination to keep going to the final whistle.
That's why I was happy with their display yesterday; they had to dig in and keep going to the very end. The team is gradually gathering momentum once more.
I feel that they were more hit by injuries than Cork were. Counihan will be making more personnel changes than Horan will when the serious stuff begins.
Keith Higgins, the two Morans and Alan Dillon are still to return and O'Connor and Doherty are showing improved form over last year.
As this is only the league and the usual caveats apply, I wouldn't read too much into the win yesterday but the way in which they ground out victory against their old nemesis shows Horan and his team are gearing up to give it all they've got this summer. They might not go all the way but they won't be faulted or lack of effort.

I think Mayo are pretty much there alright and I was bemused by the reaction of posters on the Mayo GAA blog to the few league defeats this year. Many of them hammered Horan after those loses but I thought Mayo did quite well in most of their games, even in defeat. I didn't see yesterdays game but I think Mayo are still a team that could easily look like a top 3 or 4 team but also a one ranked closer to 8 or 9. IMO there are a few teams like that and the reason Mayo are there is simply due to their forwards.

Mayo's defence isn't without issues but Keegan, Boyle and Higgins are all top class. The midfield is decent without being brilliant but in the modern era I think they can compete well enough. However, I'm not sure any Mayo forward would make either the Irish team or the Irish B team, if such existed. I think some of them would be in the mix alright but to win All Irelands I think you need at least one, probably more, forward that most would have in a national first 15. I also think we are in a particularly competitive era and good teams without really top class forwards are beatable by a number of teams.

[emmetryan]

Hi guys,

Apologies in the delay in getting this up. Here's tactical analysis of Mayo's win in Cork where I liked a lot more about Cork than most.
http://action81.com/blog/?p=7058

Emmet