Mayo v Cork McHale Park 03/04/2011

[Jinxy]

Good win!  Campbell did get stuck in but I thought he did his prospects no good by not laying off that last ball to Doherty for an almost certain goal.

Campbell prospects are fine in my book but was not happy at the time.  Looking at it later he appeared to lose a bit of control of the ball as he approached the goal.

And boy did that ref love puttin the whistle to his lips as we fucked it up, but he did us a favour by playing damn all dead time. The guy was a joke. Only for the crowd got on his case at the end of first half he would have rode us out of town. Even the Cork guy with the sombrero was having a laugh about the poor f**ker and he has seen a lot. Still a bit worrying a decade and a half later that we are still seen as riding material by some of these gobshites.

Campbell has been one of the successes of the spring with likes of R.Feeney, Doherty, and now AOS in midfield. Stuff we didn t have a year ago.

[highorlow]

Still a bit worrying a decade and a half later that we are still seen as riding material by some of these gobshites.

I think he is on about the 1996 AI and McEneany.

[RedandGreenSniper]

A very good win. Cork were not at full tilt but they weren't coasting either. Mayo's third quarter display was immense and they fully deserved to win. Still some sorting out to be done but Horan has, by virtue of this win, got the balance perfectly right in the league by staying up yet trying players and trying to address weaknesses etc. It was great to see Keith Higgins back to something approaching his best, same with Alan Dillon. As a unit I thought our defence was superb and Kevin McLoughlin did very well as the seventh defender in terms of cutting off space. Cork very rarely got space within 30 yards of goal, a big change from the Dublin game. I was impressed with Ger Cafferkey too - he stood tall against Pearse O'Neill and while some think he's not a centre-half back, I feel he has settled in well there and will be a player that can thrive in that position.
I think Richie Feeney has the number 5 jersey nailed down and it was great to see such combative play from out two midfielders. I would have said before this game that Ronan McGarrity was our nailed down first midfielder but Kilcullen and O'Shea both gave Horan some food for thought. Great that we have the options now.
Andy was again immense in the half-forward line. I think he'll bring his league form into championship this time as well. And Doherty and Freeman continue to impress. Cork were live to their threat and tried to surround them when they got the ball - which is what they can expect now as marked men - but they still were effective.

[Lar Naparka]

A very good win. Cork were not at full tilt but they weren't coasting either. Mayo's third quarter display was immense and they fully deserved to win. Still some sorting out to be done but Horan has, by virtue of this win, got the balance perfectly right in the league by staying up yet trying players and trying to address weaknesses etc. It was great to see Keith Higgins back to something approaching his best, same with Alan Dillon. As a unit I thought our defence was superb and Kevin McLoughlin did very well as the seventh defender in terms of cutting off space. Cork very rarely got space within 30 yards of goal, a big change from the Dublin game. I was impressed with Ger Cafferkey too - he stood tall against Pearse O'Neill and while some think he's not a centre-half back, I feel he has settled in well there and will be a player that can thrive in that position.
I think Richie Feeney has the number 5 jersey nailed down and it was great to see such combative play from out two midfielders. I would have said before this game that Ronan McGarrity was our nailed down first midfielder but Kilcullen and O'Shea both gave Horan some food for thought. Great that we have the options now.
Andy was again immense in the half-forward line. I think he'll bring his league form into championship this time as well. And Doherty and Freeman continue to impress. Cork were live to their threat and tried to surround them when they got the ball - which is what they can expect now as marked men - but they still were effective.

A fine post, R&GS. It sums up my own reaction very well.

During the week I ran into an old friend, a cute Kerry hoor who knows the Langers' mindset better than most – he played against them often enough.
He fully expected them to knock the stuffing out of us but was praying we would win.
"Langers don't do friendlies,"  is one of his most frequent sayings but he felt they had another pressing reason to prevail in Castlebar; if they failed to do so and if Kerry were to win against Monaghan, Cork would not have a guaranteed passage to the final against Dublin.
Kerry would be back in the shakeup and that's the last thing Counihan & Co. wanted. I'm no expert in combinations and permutations but it seems my buddy's wish was granted. So Mayo's win was merited and full credit is due to James Horan and all the lads involved.
For me, the most satisfying aspect was the form of the older hands on show and the fact that  McGarrity also appears to have put the trauma of last season behind him as well.
It's also gratifying to see Kilcullen and Campbell are back in the fold again and that Kilcoyne, Barry Moran and Seamus O'Shea  will be pressing for inclusion for the championships.
BTW, what's the story about Conoreen? Is he still in Horan's plans?
All in all, I left Castlebar in a better state of mind than is usually the case.

[spuds]

A very good win. Cork were not at full tilt but they weren't coasting either. Mayo's third quarter display was immense and they fully deserved to win. Still some sorting out to be done but Horan has, by virtue of this win, got the balance perfectly right in the league by staying up yet trying players and trying to address weaknesses etc. It was great to see Keith Higgins back to something approaching his best, same with Alan Dillon. As a unit I thought our defence was superb and Kevin McLoughlin did very well as the seventh defender in terms of cutting off space. Cork very rarely got space within 30 yards of goal, a big change from the Dublin game. I was impressed with Ger Cafferkey too - he stood tall against Pearse O'Neill and while some think he's not a centre-half back, I feel he has settled in well there and will be a player that can thrive in that position.
I think Richie Feeney has the number 5 jersey nailed down and it was great to see such combative play from out two midfielders. I would have said before this game that Ronan McGarrity was our nailed down first midfielder but Kilcullen and O'Shea both gave Horan some food for thought. Great that we have the options now.
Andy was again immense in the half-forward line. I think he'll bring his league form into championship this time as well. And Doherty and Freeman continue to impress. Cork were live to their threat and tried to surround them when they got the ball - which is what they can expect now as marked men - but they still were effective.

A fine post, R&GS. It sums up my own reaction very well.

During the week I ran into an old friend, a cute Kerry hoor who knows the Langers' mindset better than most – he played against them often enough.
He fully expected them to knock the stuffing out of us but was praying we would win.
"Langers don't do friendlies,"  is one of his most frequent sayings but he felt they had another pressing reason to prevail in Castlebar; if they failed to do so and if Kerry were to win against Monaghan, Cork would not have a guaranteed passage to the final against Dublin.
Kerry would be back in the shakeup and that's the last thing Counihan & Co. wanted. I'm no expert in combinations and permutations but it seems my buddy's wish was granted. So Mayo's win was merited and full credit is due to James Horan and all the lads involved.
For me, the most satisfying aspect was the form of the older hands on show and the fact that  McGarrity also appears to have put the trauma of last season behind him as well.
It's also gratifying to see Kilcullen and Campbell are back in the fold again and that Kilcoyne, Barry Moran and Seamus O'Shea  will be pressing for inclusion for the championships.
BTW, what's the story about Conoreen? Is he still in Horan's plans?
All in all, I left Castlebar in a better state of mind than is usually the case.

Conoreen just after a knee operation, out for year. McGarrity was not palying yesterday. Great win yesterday, sets us up nicely heading into championship, will be vital to hit on a team now. Contrast this with the mood after the league final last year.

[Kerry Mike]

Thanks Mayo, always had a soft spot fior the county 

[Tubberman]

Thanks Mayo, always had a soft spot fior the county 

Well why wouldn't you, we've been very good to ye over the years!

[Kerry Mike]

Well why wouldn't you, we've been very good to ye over the years!

Its a mutual thing, we gave ye a great gift in 1996 !!

[Chimley]

Well why wouldn't you, we've been very good to ye over the years!

Its a mutual thing, we gave ye a great gift in 1996 !!

We're well due another so. 15 years is a long time between gifts.

[Chris agus Snoop]

Mayo were more physical than I expected, they bossed cork out of it in midfield. It was very un-mayo-like.

[mannix]

well done Mayo, not one the fans were all that sure of winning, nice to see aos done well in midfield and doherty hit the net again. Even with freeman and doherty not scoring a big pile the scores were spread out and doherty was ready to pounce at the very end if the ball came his way. its encouraging, and Mayo will probably do well enough this championship.Depending on the draw they could see august but still I get the feeling kerry or tyrone or someone like that will dash our hopes.
I watched the dublin goal that was kicked in from the right side and the forward just touched it past his marker and our goalie was in no mans land with his hands, that would be a sickener in croke park in august, hope they watch videos of these soft mistakes and learn from them.

[REDCOL]

Mannix, a thinly veiled play David Clarke from Ballina. I think Hennelly's Kickouts are superior and he's a better shot stopper in my opinion. Both good keepers and we are lucky in that regard.

[Farrandeelin]

Anyway, well done Mayo and it puts off the 'relegation decider' against Monaghan as all and sundry put it. I thought AOS my own personal motm, given the change of position etc. That's 2 midfield performances of high quality from him now and that's probably his best position. (Hopefully anyway) However, Dillon did deserve it I suppose as he is the man who makes us tick. Andy Moran could have gotten it as well and I wouldn't have objected to him getting it either. I thought the ref was shockingly bad yesterday. At least we won the thing because if we didn't there'd be more flak given out to him.

What's the stories with Mayo and referees anyway? Every year ew seem to get one or two games where some hoor of a ref decides to f**k up games with whistling and being anti-Mayo in some instances. Can Mayo County board do anything about as I find it very annoying as a fan to see the likes of Alan Dillon getting booked for SFA, worse happened to Higgins last year when that Galway/Rossie p***k of a reff Kinneavy/Ó Conámha sent him off.

Back to the game, Clarke will do well to regain his place in goal imo. Cunniffe did struggle big time on Kerrigan as somebody else pointed out. Once again Jason Doherty came up with a goal, while Alan Freeman will have great days too no doubt. Another player who impressed me  was Lee Keegan. I thought he did very well and hopefully he can step up to championship pace. I do believe Alan Feeney is our full-back for the year. Hopefully he will be able to stake a claim for the position in the next game against Monaghan. And they didn't do to bad starting off either it must be said.

[moysider]

well done Mayo, not one the fans were all that sure of winning, nice to see aos done well in midfield and doherty hit the net again. Even with freeman and doherty not scoring a big pile the scores were spread out and doherty was ready to pounce at the very end if the ball came his way. its encouraging, and Mayo will probably do well enough this championship.Depending on the draw they could see august but still I get the feeling kerry or tyrone or someone like that will dash our hopes.
I watched the dublin goal that was kicked in from the right side and the forward just touched it past his marker and our goalie was in no mans land with his hands, that would be a sickener in croke park in august, hope they watch videos of these soft mistakes and learn from them.

I expect that the set up ( though not necessarily the selection) against Cork is what we are going to see in the championship. Our defense did not stand up against Dublin because selection was wrong. I m talking about the sweeper being too loose - simply wrong player for the job required - when we needed somebody to sit in front of a small full-back line. Yesterday I dont think we played a sweeper as such, just an extra back who tried to get to where the threat was. It worked. While Cork threw ball around they didn t cut through us like shite through a goose, like we ve seen in the past. This is what I think we can expect to see in the championship, thank God. It is the only realistic game if we get to Croke Park anyway. It suits us as well because we re well set up for a counter-attacking game.

[AbbeySider]

Great win by Mayo, it takes the pressure off management as we are safe in the league and can continue to experiment in Monaghan and maybe even Ruslip.

We out worked Cork and showed more hunger and I think thats what pulled it off. Its good to see the players buy in to Horans workrate philosophy and it is paying dividends.

A lot of it has already been said here but I will add to a few things that I noticed.

Firstly, aside from what certain posters think; we actually lost midfield but ironically we seemed to have two reasonably good individual midfield performances. Kilcullen and O Shea both got on the scoreboard, put in some big hits, tacked and worked their socks off and for the most part played very well. However we seemed to lose aerial battle and break count and thus primary possession which was strange considering Mayo pulled a win out of the bag.

After Sunday, I still think McGarity could be one part of our best midfield partnership, because he wins the most high fielding possession and is good in the air, so after that it really is a toss up between the pair at the weekend with O Shea probably more likely to feature there again as we have not seen much of him at midfeild in the past. Thats not ruling out Jason Gibbons who hopefully will get another shot against Monaghan to prove himself.

All in all it was a gutsy performance and vital in the sense that we didnt allow Cork to play and run us over. I do think Corks game suited Mayo a little as they love to pass and run in possession so Mayo backs didnt have as much to do as the ball wasnt really kicked in. Cunniffe looked like he was struggling and I noticed him hobbling in the first half which tells me he wasnt fully fit. Alan Feeney did Ok and but I also notice he gives away a lot of frees and sprawls and over commits in a tackle a bit. Other than than I think Lee Keegan made some mistakes in possession but it was his first start in the league so he needs time.

Upfront I cant complain with the forwards who all worked hard and stood up to it. We have some serious forwards in Dillon, Andy Moran, Freeman and Doherty with the rest all not that far behind. My MOTM would have been either Dillon or McGloughlin. Dillon was inspirational and had a great game after a slow enough start to the season. McGloughlin seemed to be everywhere and played his role brilliantly.

Onwards and upwards. I would have a completely new team out against Monaghan to give lads the chance to prove themselves, as some got their chance against Cork. Those great performances on Sunday can only drive other guys to take their chance when they get it.

To have all the tough selection and managerial decisions to make is a great place to be for Mayo to be in.