Dublin v Mayo, Croke Park, March 20 (or maybe the 18th, you wouldn't know).

[Hound]

Very strange game altogether. For the first 20 minutes every time the ball went into the Dublin forwards they looked like they would score a goal and then they just switched off. It was like a training session with all the emphasis on the forwards. I've been impressed with Murray's footballing ability this season but today confirmed that he is no IC full back at the business end of the season. I know that lads are saying that a lot of those boys won't be on the first 15 come the summer but jaysus the standard of defending was shocking. Connolly has oodles of talent alright but if I'll wait until he does it in the heat of championship battle before commenting as his style of play indicates a certain laziness.
Some amount of goals alright and loads of free flags plus Horslips were great!!

I think its lazy analysis to suggest Connolly is lazy. Its just his Maurice Fitzgerald-like gait that gives the false impression.

I don't know that either of the O'Carrolls will walk back into the championship team given they'll have played little or no league.

Murray under a high ball has generally been pretty good, and he uses the ball well when in possession, but they way he misjudges bouncing balls is almost incredible, and this wasn't the first game he's done that. But I still wouldnt dis-count him from the championship team until I see the form and fitness of the O'Carrolls. Rory was supposedly poor last time out for Crokes and Ross had a poor enough Dubs debut. They'll both need game time to come up to scratch.

[highorlow]

London are in with a shout for Connaught this year as long as they are not over confident, that's what did for them in the past. With the queen and all coming it will be a great incentive for them.

[Declan]

I think its lazy analysis to suggest Connolly is lazy.

Didn't mean to suggest he is lazy - I think his style of running and manner of play looks like he's not trying as hard as other lads - maybe he is but I'll wait unti lhe poroduces in the championship to finally judge him.

If he turns out to be half the player Maurice Fitz was I'd be happy!!

[Denn Forever]

Looks like Dublin have found Diarmuid Connolly's best number.  I say number as he seemed to be all over the pitch.  To rephrase Corporal Jones' catchphrase, He likes it up him. 

[Canalman]

Real pitch opening fare in CP yesterday. Terribly disappointed in the disjointed way we played throughout............ the 2 Vins lads up front played well as did young Brogan at corner back. Nelson also imo played well before taking a massive hit.

Thought Kevin Nolan's intro steadied the ship and was surprised to see MDMA taken off. Ger Brennan imo not solid as a chb and O'Sullivan will surely be back in for Championship.

Mayo are a good side and will be there or there abouts in August.

Lastly, the Mayo support was pitiful, maybe 500 or so. Seemingly, the Dubyos didn't even bother traipsing in.

[IolarCoisCuain]

Real pitch opening fare in CP yesterday. Terribly disappointed in the disjointed way we played throughout............ the 2 Vins lads up front played well as did young Brogan at corner back. Nelson also imo played well before taking a massive hit.

Thought Kevin Nolan's intro steadied the ship and was surprised to see MDMA taken off. Ger Brennan imo not solid as a chb and O'Sullivan will surely be back in for Championship.

Mayo are a good side and will be there or there abouts in August.

Lastly, the Mayo support was pitiful, maybe 500 or so. Seemingly, the Dubyos didn't even bother traipsing in.

Where were you sitting Canalman? I thought there were more than 500 Mayo supporters there.

[Canalman]

Was on the 45 yard line Cusack Stand, NCR side. Literally only one Mayo supporter within distance of me. Seemed to be 200 odd Mayo fans near Ard Chomhairle area in Hogan stand with the odd few scattered elsewhere. Not a big turnout at all.

[Declan]

Was on the 45 yard line Cusack Stand, NCR side.

Close enough to myself Canalman. It was a poor turn out overall though I suppose Jedward will bring a few more on the 2nd

[INDIANA]

Very strange game altogether. For the first 20 minutes every time the ball went into the Dublin forwards they looked like they would score a goal and then they just switched off. It was like a training session with all the emphasis on the forwards. I've been impressed with Murray's footballing ability this season but today confirmed that he is no IC full back at the business end of the season. I know that lads are saying that a lot of those boys won't be on the first 15 come the summer but jaysus the standard of defending was shocking. Connolly has oodles of talent alright but if I'll wait until he does it in the heat of championship battle before commenting as his style of play indicates a certain laziness.
Some amount of goals alright and loads of free flags plus Horslips were great!!

I think its lazy analysis to suggest Connolly is lazy. Its just his Maurice Fitzgerald-like gait that gives the false impression.

I don't know that either of the O'Carrolls will walk back into the championship team given they'll have played little or no league.

Murray under a high ball has generally been pretty good, and he uses the ball well when in possession, but they way he misjudges bouncing balls is almost incredible, and this wasn't the first game he's done that. But I still wouldnt dis-count him from the championship team until I see the form and fitness of the O'Carrolls. Rory was supposedly poor last time out for Crokes and Ross had a poor enough Dubs debut. They'll both need game time to come up to scratch.

Lets leave the Fitz comparisons out of things. I've watched DC since he was 9. I know how good he is but its up to him.

I'd prefer to see us playing a consistent team. The changes are breeding inconsistency. Start Mc Mahon and Nolan the next day. Move Mc Auley to midfield even though he spent some time there yesterday.

Start deciding on a forward line. Cullen has to start at wing forward. Alan Brogan as well. Inside line on form at present should be Mossy, Dermot and Bernard obviously.

Mayo and Dublin are incapable of playing any other way against each other. Its always been the same. Open attacking football - its as if they let each other play. Yet they can play defensively against other teams.

Mayo have found a few forwards with a bit of backbone when the chips are down. Long time since they had that. I think the signs are quite good there. Freeman is going to be some player.

I thought Andy Moran almost singlehandedly dragged Mayo back into that yesterday. He had a terrific game. Still probably 2 years behind Dublin in terms of their development but moving in the right direction. But need to find some backs.

[Lar Naparka]

I was close enough to Canalman and I was also struck at the poor Mayo turnout. Mayo fans were not only down in numbers but were very muted as well.
I had to wait on Clonliffe Road for about fifteen minutes or so waiting for a companion to get our tickets and so I had a good opportunity to watch the crowd coming up from the Ballybough end.
No doubt about it, I was amazed at the low turnout from Mayo. Loads of Dubs hats and flags but Mayo ones were few and far between.

[IolarCoisCuain]

Well, I was in the Hogan and there were lots of Mayo supporters there. Outnumbered by Dubs in the ground in general but the fact that it was a Dublin home game may have something to do with that. It's a possibility that we just can't rule out.

[AbbeySider]

Sitting in Croke Park yesterday after Dublins 4th goal and their lead stretching to about 14 points I found myself zipping up my jacket to cover my Mayo jersey and holding my face in my hands in disbelief.

Embarrassed is far too strong a word but in a sea of blue supporters jeering Mayo wides and boisterously cheering their blue army I was going through a range of emotions.

I dont know how it looked on TV, but getting "moneys worth" or talking up the game in good footballing terms is not how I would call that first quarter. I have seen challenge matches played with more appetite than what Mayo were showing. The Mayo players out the field were going through the motions and letting Dublin walk through which was putting horrendous pressure on our own full back line.

In those first 20 minutes we were playing like it was an exhibition with some of the laziest marking, tackling and workrate coupled with some of the bad defending. We werent even tracking runs out the pitch which was crucifying us. I said earlier on in the week that a lot of big questions would be answered and I think we got a few of those big answers.

That fullback line was shambolic in the first half, and only for Dublin switched things and Keith Higgins followed his man and ended up playing fullback the nightmare could have been worse.

There is some simple things defenders should be able to do: Tackling, dispossessing, blocking, staying goal side, knowing where your man is, not playing yards off your man when you know where he is, and not playing miles in front of him, especially when there is a sweeper in front of you; is what makes an average defender. Sadly, even with a sweeper playing in front of Mayos fullback line, some of the defenders couldnt even manage those basics.

Other simplicities like catching the ball when you go up for it or even timing a long high hanging ball (usually a defenders dream) so it doesnt go over your head and leave a man through on goal is something that should be bread and butter.

Whats the point in playing miles in front of the forward your supposed to be marking if you are supposed to have a sweeper in front of you to mark that space?

Keith Higgins, dashed out and left his man when Gardiner should have been mopping up. Cunniffe made another crazy dash out and totally mistimed the ball to leave Dublin through on goal, and if Barett tried to break the ball from behind he wouldnt have gotten the wrong side of his man for that goal. Also, when a someone in possession is at full tilt running towards you with the ball, the last thing you do is run straight at him (like Gardiner did) as you will get side stepped too easily. Sometimes you defend on the back foot, run with the guy in possession, count the steps and get the hand in for the dispossession when they hop or solo.

Im not completely blaming the fullback line or Gardiner but there was definitely confidence issues in each other until Keith Higgins settled it down a bit. From then on, coupled with the fact that we woke up a bit out the pitch at least Cunniffe seemed a bit more confident and we quenched a few Dublin attacks with some tenacity from himself and Higgins. The pressure they were under came from out the pitch although Connelly scoring 3-03 is a little harder to excuse.

Before I move on I want to state again that the fullback line were not totally to blame. As well as workrate out the pitch, the handling errors out the pitch lead to the goals. At this level you can not get away with passes getting easily intercepted and turned over and Campbell has to get that right and make sure of the pass if he is going to hold on to his place. I dont know where his head was but it was out of character and I would be hoping the lessons are learned and he wont be as bad next time.

Elsewhere in defence only Richie Feeney stood up in that first half and puts the body in. Cafferkey hardly had a touch and was ghosting about the place. McManamon was breezing down the middle without a hand on him and at the very least Caff should have been helping the ball out of defence when Mayo had possession. Bizarrely Cathal Hallinan got far, far more touches in the 10 minutes he was on the pitch than Cafferkey got in the whole game. It didnt make any sense.

At midfield McGarrity at least was contesting kickouts and did Ok bar a few bad decisions when in possession. That wide he had, as well as Richie Feeneys summed up Mayos confidence in that first half but I dont have anything against them for having the courage to take on them shots.

Parsons was not at the races at all and drifted about the pitch and actually off the ball he drifted away from play with no purpose. Im not sure if he actually wants to be there as he is showing no appetite and seems to be going through the motions. Unfortunately, a few good minutes in McHale park against Down in the second half this year is all that I have seen from Parsons in a long, long time. Himself and McGarrty are not a great partnership as he doenst work hard enough off the ball. I think Jason Gibbons could be a better option at this stage of the season. Kilcullen still seems a bit behind the pace but he too is looking more and more like a serious option around the middle. That block of a certain goal was vital and he put the body in a few times out the pitch which was nice to see.

Upfront Freeman and Doherty were simply sublime and Andy Moran also showed well. Im delighted we found two great corner forwards that are not afraid to take their men on and take a score. Dillon and Campbell also had a good second half and worked their socks off. Sadly Kilcoyne seems a shadow of the player he was since his injury and will struggle to make the team come summer with the form of the rest. He still has loads of time to get the pace and accuracy back though.

In my view we still have a lot of positives although from my ranting above you wouldnt think it.

Some will say that Dublin took the foot off the gas the gas a little, whereas I think that the comeback was more down to Mayos hard work up until the last 5 minutes where we tired. In the second half we looked like a different team and found some pride in ourselves and actually began to play a little. This all came as a result of that workrate that the players finally bought into after Mayos first goal.

I also think that the players themselves learned a lot from the game. You will get destroyed at this level if you dont work hard and when we did I dont think Dublin could handle it. The Mayo defenders, and especially the fullback line had to have learned a lot from the goals that we conceded. They may also have learned a bit more about what to do with a sweeper although that may not be as apparent from the game. We learned that leaving Freeman and Doherty inside can cause havoc to a defence. Andy Moran is playing great stuff and Dillon improved from the Armagh game and will hopefully be back at his best come the summer.

I still think we have a lot of questions to be answered, and even after Sunday I would be in favour of trying things again if it means we will get it right later in the season.

When you think if it, yesterday was actually a success as we found out things that could have been learned later in the season with a lot more at steak. And I think we learned more than Dublin did.

Things I would like to see in the next few games:
- Workrate from when the ball is thrown in
- Kevin McGloughlin (among others) tracking runs
- Better decision making and handling (especially from Campbell)
- Trying Keith Higgins (or Ger Cafferkey) at full back again
- Trying Aidan O Shea at Midfield or centre forward
- Trying Cathal Hallinan at centre back, corner back or full back again
- Trying Alan Feeney at full back again with Hallinan/Cunniffe or Higgins beside him
- Jason Gibbons at midfield with McGarity/Kilcullen/Aidan O Shea
- Kilcullen getting a longer game
- Cillian O Connor being given a few minutes at corner forward
- Finding out more about James Burke and Ruaidhri O Connor at wing back


A lot done, and more to do but im hopeful we can get things right when the time comes.

[CountyMan]

Sitting in Croke Park yesterday after Dublins 4th goal and their lead stretching to about 14 points I found myself zipping up my jacket to cover my Mayo jersey and holding my face in my hands in disbelief.

Embarrassed is far too strong a word but in a sea of blue supporters jeering Mayo wides and boisterously cheering their blue army I was going through a range of emotions.

I dont know how it looked on TV, but getting "moneys worth" or talking up the game in good footballing terms is not how I would call that first quarter. I have seen challenge matches played with more appetite than what Mayo were showing. The Mayo players out the field were going through the motions and letting Dublin walk through which was putting horrendous pressure on our own full back line.

In those first 20 minutes we were playing like it was an exhibition with some of the laziest marking, tackling and workrate coupled with some of the bad defending. We werent even tracking runs out the pitch which was crucifying us. I said earlier on in the week that a lot of big questions would be answered and I think we got a few of those big answers.

That fullback line was shambolic in the first half, and only for Dublin switched things and Keith Higgins followed his man and ended up playing fullback the nightmare could have been worse.

There is some simple things defenders should be able to do: Tackling, dispossessing, blocking, staying goal side, knowing where your man is, not playing yards off your man when you know where he is, and not playing miles in front of him, especially when there is a sweeper in front of you; is what makes an average defender. Sadly, even with a sweeper playing in front of Mayos fullback line, some of the defenders couldnt even manage those basics.

Other simplicities like catching the ball when you go up for it or even timing a long high hanging ball (usually a defenders dream) so it doesnt go over your head and leave a man through on goal is something that should be bread and butter.

Whats the point in playing miles in front of the forward your supposed to be marking if you are supposed to have a sweeper in front of you to mark that space?

Keith Higgins, dashed out and left his man when Gardiner should have been mopping up. Cunniffe made another crazy dash out and totally mistimed the ball to leave Dublin through on goal, and if Barett tried to break the ball from behind he wouldnt have gotten the wrong side of his man for that goal. Also, when a someone in possession is at full tilt running towards you with the ball, the last thing you do is run straight at him (like Gardiner did) as you will get side stepped too easily. Sometimes you defend on the back foot, run with the guy in possession, count the steps and get the hand in for the dispossession when they hop or solo.

Im not completely blaming the fullback line or Gardiner but there was definitely confidence issues in each other until Keith Higgins settled it down a bit. From then on, coupled with the fact that we woke up a bit out the pitch at least Cunniffe seemed a bit more confident and we quenched a few Dublin attacks with some tenacity from himself and Higgins. The pressure they were under came from out the pitch although Connelly scoring 3-03 is a little harder to excuse.

Before I move on I want to state again that the fullback line were not totally to blame. As well as workrate out the pitch, the handling errors out the pitch lead to the goals. At this level you can not get away with passes getting easily intercepted and turned over and Campbell has to get that right and make sure of the pass if he is going to hold on to his place. I dont know where his head was but it was out of character and I would be hoping the lessons are learned and he wont be as bad next time.

Elsewhere in defence only Richie Feeney stood up in that first half and puts the body in. Cafferkey hardly had a touch and was ghosting about the place. McManamon was breezing down the middle without a hand on him and at the very least Caff should have been helping the ball out of defence when Mayo had possession. Bizarrely Cathal Hallinan got far, far more touches in the 10 minutes he was on the pitch than Cafferkey got in the whole game. It didnt make any sense.

At midfield McGarrity at least was contesting kickouts and did Ok bar a few bad decisions when in possession. That wide he had, as well as Richie Feeneys summed up Mayos confidence in that first half but I dont have anything against them for having the courage to take on them shots.

Parsons was not at the races at all and drifted about the pitch and actually off the ball he drifted away from play with no purpose. Im not sure if he actually wants to be there as he is showing no appetite and seems to be going through the motions. Unfortunately, a few good minutes in McHale park against Down in the second half this year is all that I have seen from Parsons in a long, long time. Himself and McGarrty are not a great partnership as he doenst work hard enough off the ball. I think Jason Gibbons could be a better option at this stage of the season. Kilcullen still seems a bit behind the pace but he too is looking more and more like a serious option around the middle. That block of a certain goal was vital and he put the body in a few times out the pitch which was nice to see.

Upfront Freeman and Doherty were simply sublime and Andy Moran also showed well. Im delighted we found two great corner forwards that are not afraid to take their men on and take a score. Dillon and Campbell also had a good second half and worked their socks off. Sadly Kilcoyne seems a shadow of the player he was since his injury and will struggle to make the team come summer with the form of the rest. He still has loads of time to get the pace and accuracy back though.

In my view we still have a lot of positives although from my ranting above you wouldnt think it.

Some will say that Dublin took the foot off the gas the gas a little, whereas I think that the comeback was more down to Mayos hard work up until the last 5 minutes where we tired. In the second half we looked like a different team and found some pride in ourselves and actually began to play a little. This all came as a result of that workrate that the players finally bought into after Mayos first goal.

I also think that the players themselves learned a lot from the game. You will get destroyed at this level if you dont work hard and when we did I dont think Dublin could handle it. The Mayo defenders, and especially the fullback line had to have learned a lot from the goals that we conceded. They may also have learned a bit more about what to do with a sweeper although that may not be as apparent from the game. We learned that leaving Freeman and Doherty inside can cause havoc to a defence. Andy Moran is playing great stuff and Dillon improved from the Armagh game and will hopefully be back at his best come the summer.

I still think we have a lot of questions to be answered, and even after Sunday I would be in favour of trying things again if it means we will get it right later in the season.

When you think if it, yesterday was actually a success as we found out things that could have been learned later in the season with a lot more at steak. And I think we learned more than Dublin did.

Things I would like to see in the next few games:
- Workrate from when the ball is thrown in
- Kevin McGloughlin (among others) tracking runs
- Better decision making and handling (especially from Campbell)
- Trying Keith Higgins (or Ger Cafferkey) at full back again
- Trying Aidan O Shea at Midfield or centre forward
- Trying Cathal Hallinan at centre back, corner back or full back again
- Jason Gibbons at midfield with McGarity/Kilcullen/Aidan O Shea
- Kilcullen getting a longer game
- Cillian O Connor being given a few minutes at corner forward
- Finding out more about James Burke and Ruaidhri O Connor at wing back


A lot done, and more to do but im hopeful we can get things right when the time comes.

Great post. 

[INDIANA]

I think the Mayo team was badly setup. Using Gardiner as a sweeper was tactically inept.

Its hard to see Mayo not conceding big scores against good forward lines. They will score a lot -but they'll need to.

[AbbeySider]

I think the Mayo team was badly setup. Using Gardiner as a sweeper was tactically inept.

Its hard to see Mayo not conceding big scores against good forward lines. They will score a lot -but they'll need to.

I dont agree. IMO it was a good idea, poorly executed by the players due to lack of experience. Properly executed with the right man in the role will curb any attack. Thats not to say Gardiner wouldnt grow into the role either