Ard Mhacha v Maigh Eo Craobh Cluiche Ceannais Peile Mionúir na hÉireann

[Midman]

Well as I said earlier had it not been ourselves playing Mayo I would have been cheering Mayo. Commiserations lads but with the amount of quality underage teams you are producing your day will come. As said before wasn't a fantastic game with Armagh just about doing enough.  I remember the 92 final and rarely have I been as gutted after a game of football so it was nice to finally get one. If we can get the quality of player from the 09 team that we got from 92 we'll be back sooner rather than later.

[INDIANA]

So we find ourselves back in familiar territory - another All-Ireland final loss to add to the list.
However, I don't think it's fair to throw a minor final loss into the same category as the senior final losses of recent years.
Most of these lads had never lost an All-Ireland final before (only the unfortunate guys who were there last year as well), so what happened in previous years has absolutely nothing to do with them.
They could have won (Jack McDonnell's goal chance and Aidan Walsh's missed frees and 45s), but Armagh got the crucial scores at the end and were probably the better team overall. 18 games unbeaten is a great record and congrats to all the Armagh lads.
While it's awful for all the players and management to have lost an AIF (some of them for the 2nd year in a row), we can at least be hopeful for the future. 2 AIF minor appearances in a row, 4 Connacht U-21s in a row - there is talent coming through.

This mayo team completely overachieved- they did very well to reach the final and it should be looked upon accordingly.

[blast05]

This mayo team completely overachieved- they did very well to reach the final and it should be looked upon accordingly.

Initially this was my reaction too.
However, what does that line mean ? Take Mayos path to the final - beat Galway easily, then played crap and used theirs years supply of luck to get a draw against Ros in the Connacht final, won the replay easily, beat Tipp easily, deservedly beat Down after waking up at half time then found themselves in an All-Ireland final without the know-how of how to break down the Armagh defence with their centre forward sweeping up
Where is the over acheivement ? If anything i'd say some of the team are thinking they underachieved - particularly 2 of the 3 key players - Aidan Walsh and Cillian O'Connor, both of whom had poor games albeit more so due to injury.
The line that they over-achieved (which i think even Ray Dempsey has used) is i think based on the perception that the team is not as good as last year and also based on the fact the at a large number of the players are underage again next year.



Mayo lads - any one else pick up on Spillanes comment that Mayo were innocent and naeive based on our inability to break down the packed Armagh defence given the way they played their centre forward as an extra defender in front of their full back line ..... and yet in 2002 & 2003 it wasn't cos of Kerrys naievety and innocence that they weren't able to breakdown the packed defence - more a case of it being "puke football". An tap-in goal missed by Brolly !

[INDIANA]

This mayo team completely overachieved- they did very well to reach the final and it should be looked upon accordingly.

Initially this was my reaction too.
However, what does that line mean ? Take Mayos path to the final - beat Galway easily, then played crap and used theirs years supply of luck to get a draw against Ros in the Connacht final, won the replay easily, beat Tipp easily, deservedly beat Down after waking up at half time then found themselves in an All-Ireland final without the know-how of how to break down the Armagh defence with their centre forward sweeping up
Where is the over acheivement ? If anything i'd say some of the team are thinking they underachieved - particularly 2 of the 3 key players - Aidan Walsh and Cillian O'Connor, both of whom had poor games albeit more so due to injury.
The line that they over-achieved (which i think even Ray Dempsey has used) is i think based on the perception that the team is not as good as last year and also based on the fact the at a large number of the players are underage again next year.



Mayo lads - any one else pick up on Spillanes comment that Mayo were innocent and naeive based on our inability to break down the packed Armagh defence given the way they played their centre forward as an extra defender in front of their full back line ..... and yet in 2002 & 2003 it wasn't cos of Kerrys naievety and innocence that they weren't able to breakdown the packed defence - more a case of it being "puke football". An tap-in goal missed by Brolly !

But they weren't as good as last years team and were playing one of the better minor teams I've seen of late. They were up against it in my view. the northern teams are all tactically miles ahead at underage level of the other counties - just watch armaghs demolition of kerry in the semi.

[Farrandeelin]

How come then Indiana, if Armagh were SO great as you've labeled them that they didn't demolish us?

[mrhardyannual]

Time for this bullsh#t to be put to bed. Mayo didn't lose because of an inferiority complex but because they met a better team on the day. The tremendous workrate of the Mayo players all over the field kept the game alive until late on. Yes, we had chances, that if converted, might  have changed the course of the game but so too did Armagh. Armagh's  forward line took great scores from play to win the game. We didnt have anything to match them.
Away with all this inferiority nonsense. Redouble our efforts. Improve our structures and preparation of teams through proper Academy system as employed by the Northern teams. Learn from our mistakes and move on. As Maughan proved with the team that broke the "Tuam hoodoo" no player is responsible for the failure of teams they were not part of. We have the tradition and the talent. This defeatist nonsense al la "House of Pain" isnt doing anyone any favours. Well done Armagh. A long gap closed. Now move over. We will be back.

[puskas]

4 out of 5 national finals won this decade, 3 of them in Croke Park, not bad at all, changed times indeed for a county which was noted for Croke Park and final debacles, many many congrats to all involved and let's look forward to more of the same in the coming decade 

[puskas]

and many commiserations to the fine footballing county of Mayo, as someone said above, it took away from it a little bit that it was Mayo, would that it were Down in the final instead..

[muppet]

Time for this bullsh#t to be put to bed. Mayo didn't lose because of an inferiority complex but because they met a better team on the day. The tremendous workrate of the Mayo players all over the field kept the game alive until late on. Yes, we had chances, that if converted, might  have changed the course of the game but so too did Armagh. Armagh's  forward line took great scores from play to win the game. We didnt have anything to match them.
Away with all this inferiority nonsense. Redouble our efforts. Improve our structures and preparation of teams through proper Academy system as employed by the Northern teams. Learn from our mistakes and move on. As Maughan proved with the team that broke the "Tuam hoodoo" no player is responsible for the failure of teams they were not part of. We have the tradition and the talent. This defeatist nonsense al la "House of Pain" isnt doing anyone any favours. Well done Armagh. A long gap closed. Now move over. We will be back.

Couldn't agree more.

Look at Padraig Harrington.

Look at Munster.

They always try to turn a near miss into a positive.

[emainmacha]

Pics from Minors homecoming in athletic grounds

http://www.flickr.com/photos/16144312@N07/sets/72157622310097111/detail/

[Kerry Mike]

Well done Armagh, A few pics I took on Sunday. (Click on the forward arrow when you get into the link)

http://pix.ie/mipix/album/355484

[drici]

Loads of flowers in Cork.
The eagles are good(real ones not the singing ones).

[drici]

That's some size of a tree at Ardgillan Castle.

[emainmacha]

Some good shots Kerry Mike, see ya been to same places as me around the glens, got pic of same waterfall etc on my flickr photostream .....lol

Opps put in hard as pic taker sorry Mike

[Lar Naparka]

was disappointed with mayo yesterday, did they not learn any lessons from last yr. `You can train away all year and be fit etc but you need to make the right decisions when you are ahead in a final. Mcdonnell going for goal was stupid, should have popped it over bar. Going for the headlines, just like daniel o hara should have drove the ball into canal last yr. Its stupid things like this. It's an afraid to win mentality that mayo have unfortunately

Dunno. See your point but I dunno. I know a few lads that played yesterday and there is nothing wrong with their mentality. I cant accept that Slingermann, Rodgers, Michael Walsh etc, etc are afraid to win. Yesterday was nt even a 50/50 game for us beforehand. Look at the odds. Bookies dont go to work on bikes. Our workrate gave us a chance in the game and who knows what could have happened if O Connor, Walsh and Farrell were fully fit for 60 minutes. We have to stop beatin ourselves up with this mentality label that others hung on us.

You're bang on, Moysider.
People who are writing our lads off would now be singing a different tune if we had managed to get a point at that crucial stage coming up to the end. We didn't manage to pull further ahead then and the opportunity was lost but if the 'experts' had been right we needn't have bothered showing up for the second half, never mind bringing it to the wire.
Fair play to Armagh; they won on merit but they had to fight all the way. It could have easily gone the other way but Armagh held the nerve and came out on top at the end. With less than 10 mins to go, it could easily have been very different.
That's life, I guess and there is nothing to be ashamed of.
We were beaten by a good side but if luck had been a bit kinder, the result could have been very different.
I'd just point out that this mentality label is more of our own making than outsiders. I don't feel any of the lads are afraid to win and the same goes for the side that played the previous year either.
There will be other days for them all and to hell with Biddy Earley and the pisreogs and all the doom and gloom stuff.