Maigh Eo V Muineachán 28/3/2010

[Cosmo Kramer]

Terrible performance. One of the most laboured and ugly Mayo displays in ages.

Mayo had a commanding 25 minutes  coming from behind to win easing away in a competitive game, defending well, playing good attacking football and making score after score.
What more can you want at this stage? I would be well pleased with the Mayo bottle after that.

I think all mayo fans will be delighted with the last 20 minutes, but last year we had a habit early in the season of falling way behind in games and having to come back, happened against Donegal, Galway in the league, New York in the championship even. The first half today was as bad as we have been in the last two years, hopefully it was just a blip.

We won't beat Sligo in Markievicz playing like we did today in the first half, that's for sure.

I think we would beat Sligo quite easily on that performance even. We played in first gear for that 1st hand/start of 2nd half and when it really matter the lads upped a gear two and accounted quite easliy for Monaghan, thats something to be admired and johno said after the match on TG4 if we could dominate the game for 70 minutes then we'd have no problems becoming All Ireland champions every year. Its a work in practice its seen what we need to improve on and we have plenty of time to do it.

I think it would be a big mistake to underestimate Sligo. If we play against Sligo like our first half performance today they would take us in Markievicz, it's a totally different environment to playing them in Castlebar. That said, we shouldn't run ourselves down after such a good comeback today, we will beat Sligo if we play anything like we have shown we are capable of over the course of the league. But on an off day they are capable of doing us.

[RedandGreenSniper]

I don't think PSTG is underestimating Sligo. It is possible to be as sluggish as we were in the first half and beat a lot of teams with a very good second half display. Mayo weren't great today but that meant that they were in a situation in the second half where they were being asked serious questions and they came up wirth the answers. I'd prefer that type of win than if we blitzed Monaghan and won at our ease. Mayo players showed a great ability to fight for dirty ball in the second half and that;s a big bonus.

Parsons has serious ability and is a real threat with his running. But his lack of workrate and his poor decision making would have you pulling your hair out.

[An Gaeilgoir]

I thought Parsons did all right today who along with Liam O Mallley caught the eye. I really cant see Aidan o Shea been a focal point for our full forward line come the summer, He just isn't in the same league as donnaghy etc. I know he is young and has a lot to learn, but he was all over the place today. If he is lacking athleticism at 18 what chance has he at 25. Hopefully Higgins isn't too seriously injured, he would be a big loss. Have to say the subs that came on hepled steady the ship and all put in a good shift. A lot of work to be done yet, but we are in good shape heading into the April/May.

[Capt Pat]

O Se has more talent in his big toe than a lot of the other Mayo forwards and does have the athleticism when he chooses to use it. He came alive for a couple of minutes there and he changed the game.

What about the disallowed volleyed goal from Mortimer where the ref said that O'Se had thrown the ball.

[blast05]

Scanned the recording on SKy+ there now looking at possession from kickouts.... not including 2 throw ins from ref and 1 that resulted in line ball

Mayo
1st half - Won possession 12 times  ... 4 clean catches, 4 breaking ball and 4 frees (where Mayo man was likely to win the ball but was fouled before he got it).
2nd half - 8 times  ..... 5 breaks, 3 clean

Monaghan
1st half - Won possession 10 times  ..... 1 clean and 9 breaks
2nd half - 10 times ..... all breaks

Very surprising to see Mayo won more possession than Monaghan from kickouts in the first half and not so in the second !

There were 16 breaking balls off Mayo kickouts - Monaghan won 12 of them (19 break in all to Monaghan, 9 to Mayo)  ..... shocking reflection of Mayo half back line mostly and Clarkes 1-D kickout style, i.e.: in a golfing analogy, even if a 9-iron is needed, he has to try and make that shot using the driver but with a little less horse-power). Re the halk back line - breaking ball is a weakness in Trevor Howleys game imho. I watched a recording of the Meath game a week or so after it last year and Howleys positioning on the breaking ball was dreadful time after time - his man (Joe Sheridan - MotM) was always between Howley and where the ball would break. I didn't have time to look in as much detail this evening but would be surprised if it was any different. Why isn't he told about this and coached in that regard. I'll watch again to see how the real culprits are (obviously inclduing all hald back line, midfield, and half forward line) re breaking ball and get back in a day or so.

Of Mayos 7 clean catches (1 was for example a short kickout) - 4 were off Mayo kick outs, 3 off Monaghan kickouts

Mayo never fouled a Monaghan man when they looked likely to win a break. Monaghan however done it 4 times ... smart fouls i call them

[Tubberman]

That's surprising alright Blast - seemed we were losing every battle in the first half.
The unforced errors were atrocious, T Mort going down to pick up the ball and leaving it behind him, passes to areas of the pitch where neither a Mayo nor a Monaghan man was standing.
If Monaghan had a bit more cutting edge they could have been out of sight. In truth, despite Conroy being completely at sea at full back, Monaghan never really looked like scoring a goal, apart from the shot that was brilliantly blocked by Liam O'Malley. 
Much improved second half performance, once we got on top, we looked good and could create scores for ourselves.
The two biggest concerns now are the constant FB question, and Keith Higgins injury.
Conroy can do a job on a big full-forward who gets high ball dropped in on top of him, but as we saw yesterday if it's a quicker full-forward who has low ball sent either side, Conroy hasn't the pace and is turned far too easily.
So if we're playing horses-for-courses between himself and Cafferkey, Conroy was the wrong horse for the wrong course yesterday. Alan Feeney was warming up but was unused, so it looks like Johnno doesn't think he's up to it at FB.
If that's the case, then I think Cosmo has a point in calling for Kevin Keane to be drafted in. 
If the worst is confirmed and Higgins has done his cruciate, then we have a problem in the corner. In fairness, Chris Barrett is a great player to bring in, but he's a half-back. So do we try him in the corner or move Vaughan back, despite him doing so well in the half backs?

[Lar Naparka]

I think it would be a big mistake to underestimate Sligo. If we play against Sligo like our first half performance today they would take us in Markievicz, it's a totally different environment to playing them in Castlebar. That said, we shouldn't run ourselves down after such a good comeback today, we will beat Sligo if we play anything like we have shown we are capable of over the course of the league. But on an off day they are capable of doing us.

I think any team in the land shouldn't underestimate Sligo; ask Kerry if they will do so again. Indeed, I doubt if Galway will either and I'm only referring to last year. For years past Sligo didn't carry league form on to the championships.
Going by the law of averages alone, they are going to come good sometime so and I just hope we won't be the ones to get caught.
Right now, I wouldn't worry about them too much as we prepare for Cork and at this stage of the league every game counts. Put it another way; I'd much prefer facing Sligo as league champions rather than as also rans.
Monaghan must be feeling gutted this morning and are surely wondering how they let yesterday's game slip away from them. I wouldn't say they were unlucky as victory was theirs for the taking for three quarters of the game.
It was gratifying to see Mayo hanging in and never losing their shape until the tide turned their way.  I know there were lots of things that will concern Johnno but in team building and confidence it was a most useful exercise.
However, on thing struck me about yesterday's display by Mayo and it is that none of the 'vets' in action stepped up to the mark. It was a day that cried out for leadership on the field. I thought none of the experienced hands could be faulted for lack of effort and Trevor in particular tried hard all through but not one of them made any sustained effort to rally the younger lads while the going was rough.
Maybe it's just me but it seemed all through that it would be up to the likes of Vaughan and Varley as well as Ronny and Tom Parsons to save the day.  The two O'Sheas are coming along nicely as well and so is McLoughlin.  I couldn't fault any of the other younger lads and I think they all benefitted greatly as a result of yesterday's game.
I'm more convinced than ever that John O'Mahony knows that it will only be when he has a team of his own making that Mayo will become serious AI contenders. (I know that's a bit convoluted.)
Right now, he seems to be ticking the right boxes and his team is coming along just fine.

[mrhardyannual]

Very pleased with reaction of Mayo team in the final quarter when it looked as if we were going to throw away the possibility of a league final place. I still maintain as I did after the Galway game that Cafferkey needs to be given time to bed in at full back. Neither Conroy or Feeney are options and K. Keane didnt even make full back on the u-21 team. Cafferkey like K Cahill in 95, 96 is prone to error but this is technically the most difficult position to fill and it cant be done without experience. Centre-bck is imho a greater problem. Howley does not do the primary job well enough. He is poorly placed for breaking ball, a poor tackler in that bigger men have no problem rounding him, and lacking pace. He is totally committed and might be more suited to the corner.
I would like to see Conroy given a game at centre back. He is physically more imposing, a good ball player who doesnt give away possession and a great linkman.
Despite our good scoring in the final quarter our forward line is still unbalanced . If McGarrity is to return at midfield I would like to see a forward line of Moran, S O Shea, Trevor, Dillon/Ronnie A O Shea and Conor/Varley. We cant afford the luxury of 4 small forwards at the one time.
Finally I am once again disgusted by the antics of some of our so called supporters who hurl all sorts of abuse at our own players when thing are going wrong. A O Shea has been the target in recent weeks. He is still just a rookie learning the trade. He has been trying hard but no doubt anxiety has caused him to fumble etc at crucial stages. It might be no harm for supporters to remember that Donaghy was well into his 20s before he got a chance with Kerry and Tommy Walsh took 2 to three seasons to bed into a Kerry team which was well established.
All in all we are making progress. Patience is needed now more than ever.

[Barney]

Delighted that we were able to play 10/15 minutes of good football but what went before it was really putrid. Still, 5 wins in the league is a great achievement by the lads given that we faced a very tough fixture list with 4 games on the road. Division 1 is the only place to be developing footballers and the winning habit is a good habit for those younger lads involved.

We are far from the finished article though and I think Mayo supporters realise that. The players sometimes think they can waltz throw a game as if they have a bundle of All Ireland medals in their pockets and that lack of focus/desire is frustrating and gets us into trouble. If we the Monaghan attitude coupled with our skill we could be thinking of City West. As it is it is all shaping up to be a very exciting tussle with Sligo (who are going well) - with the greatest of respect we should beat them - and then a battle royale against Galway. Both teams need to look beyhond Connacht though.

Any news on Keith Higgins? His loss would be immeasureable and I don't know how we could compensate for that even taking into account his flaws as a corner back. It is another converted wing-back we would have to look to whether that be Barrett, moving Howley back, or even McLoughlin. Without Peadar Gardiner for all his flaws we would be down the two senior members of the back line for Sligo game and this will then be the 3rd championship which Higgins will have missed through injury. Vaughan is not an option in the corner in my opinion - his weaknesses here have been shown up. Liam O'Malley is flying - I know I have been extremely critical of him in the past but he was excellent yesterday - I do not think a leopard changes its spots and would still have major concerns come the Summer.

Conroy is not a full-back - Cafferkey has to be restored. That is the option the management went with - it is too late to try anything else here.

I would also be moving Andy Moran back to wing back. He played his best football there last year. He is too stagnant in the half-forward line and predictable. Let him try and drive the team from the back.

I don't know what Trevor Mort was doing yesterday but it definitely was less pretty than his usual contribution and that is saying something. Still the improvement of Ronaldson and the Varley option are great benefits of this league. Add in Kilcoyne and Harte and possibly Barry Moran and we have potentially a good forward unit.

What will happen when McGarrity comes back will also be interesting.

I know many say that it doesn't matter whether we make the Final or not. Two games against Cork would be invaluable and I think we should be going all out to claim a national title. We can only win 3 trophies every year. People rubbish the League; others rubbish the Connacht Championship - Sam is the be all and end all for most. Yes, it is the ultimate aim but the benefit of winning a national league for many of the younger lads would be immeasureable and added to their u21 All Ireland medals would be a winning culture that can serve us well. I would guess the Final will be in Croker if it is Mayo/Cork - wouldn't be more than 15,000 there. Personally I would play it at one of the provincial venues (God knows enough money was spent on them) - encourage a big crowd rather than playing it in an empty soulless Croke Park. Or better still take the gamble and toss for home venue. Hopefully the scenario arises.

Does anybody think McHale Park is now a dead and eerie place for League games with the new stand. You used to get a great atmosphere and apparently there were 7,000 there yesterday but things never got going at all - even with dire games we would be losing the run of ourselves with a few scores!

Anyway role on Pairc Ui Rinn.

[muppet]

Very pleased with reaction of Mayo team in the final quarter when it looked as if we were going to throw away the possibility of a league final place. I still maintain as I did after the Galway game that Cafferkey needs to be given time to bed in at full back. Neither Conroy or Feeney are options and K. Keane didnt even make full back on the u-21 team. Cafferkey like K Cahill in 95, 96 is prone to error but this is technically the most difficult position to fill and it cant be done without experience. Centre-bck is imho a greater problem. Howley does not do the primary job well enough. He is poorly placed for breaking ball, a poor tackler in that bigger men have no problem rounding him, and lacking pace. He is totally committed and might be more suited to the corner.
I would like to see Conroy given a game at centre back. He is physically more imposing, a good ball player who doesnt give away possession and a great linkman.
Despite our good scoring in the final quarter our forward line is still unbalanced . If McGarrity is to return at midfield I would like to see a forward line of Moran, S O Shea, Trevor, Dillon/Ronnie A O Shea and Conor/Varley. We cant afford the luxury of 4 small forwards at the one time.
Finally I am once again disgusted by the antics of some of our so called supporters who hurl all sorts of abuse at our own players when thing are going wrong. A O Shea has been the target in recent weeks. He is still just a rookie learning the trade. He has been trying hard but no doubt anxiety has caused him to fumble etc at crucial stages. It might be no harm for supporters to remember that Donaghy was well into his 20s before he got a chance with Kerry and Tommy Walsh took 2 to three seasons to bed into a Kerry team which was well established.
All in all we are making progress. Patience is needed now more than ever.

That drives me crazy. Remember the Einsteins who abused CMcD into exile after a league game with Fermanagh.   

[Tubberman]

Finally I am once again disgusted by the antics of some of our so called supporters who hurl all sorts of abuse at our own players when thing are going wrong. A O Shea has been the target in recent weeks. He is still just a rookie learning the trade. He has been trying hard but no doubt anxiety has caused him to fumble etc at crucial stages. It might be no harm for supporters to remember that Donaghy was well into his 20s before he got a chance with Kerry and Tommy Walsh took 2 to three seasons to bed into a Kerry team which was well established.
All in all we are making progress. Patience is needed now more than ever.

That drives me crazy. Remember the Einsteins who abused CMcD into exile after a league game with Fermanagh.   

I had one of those sitting behind me yesterday. Nearly drove me daft in the first half. I know it was a brutal display at that stage, but this fella seemed to be one of those who actually enjoys when Mayo are playing badly so he can have a good ould moan. When the Monaghan full-back was lamping over those monster frees yer man was roaring down "Are you watching that O'Mahony!?". What did he expect O'Mahony to do - buy the full-back on a transfer market??

Does anybody think McHale Park is now a dead and eerie place for League games with the new stand. You used to get a great atmosphere and apparently there were 7,000 there yesterday but things never got going at all - even with dire games we would be losing the run of ourselves with a few scores!

Where were you sitting? I was up the back in the middle of the stand, and I actually thought there was a very good atmosphere - particularly in the 2nd half. I'd imagine if you were in the terrace which doesn't get as full anymore, then it would be a bit dead alright.

[mannix]

did you tell him to shut up?  I seen liam mchale being lambasted by a mayo jerseyed fan in Croke Park, anotherfella tore into the abuser and he was a very quiete man for the remainder.

[Foreverhopeful]

Is it me or is Aidan O'Shea extremely one-paced. I thought he was desperate yesterday. Someone would want to tell him to get out of the gym and start running. He's only 20 yet he looked about 40 on the pitch. He's obviously angling for the move to the AFL with the bulking up he has done. He seems like hes fucked if he makes a little burst at all. I think the fact that he got the goal (which he took well) has glossed over a very sub-standard display. I would take him out of the team and tell him to get fit. His celebration for the goal was the sign of a young player who has believed all the hype.
He could take a leaf out of Seamus's book. He has battled well to get into team and is there to stay.

[diehard]

Foreverhopeful - I find it hard to believe AOS is beginning to believe the hype.  He has received very little other than criticism so far this year - and deservedly so. However, I still believe he has great potential and needs good management over the next couple of years until he matures sufficiently as an IC player.

[Zulu]

Good win for Mayo and next weekend's game against Cork should be a good one. Mayo should definitely be targeting a league final as a national final against Cork in CP would give the management a fair idea of exactly where Mayo are. Galway and Sligo are shaping up as well so Connacht should provide Mayo with some stern tests prior to the real business at QF stage (should they get there). Anyway good to see Mayo going well and hopefully it will keep lads off the managements back for a few weeks.