Connacht SFC Q/Final London v Mayo 29.5.11 in Ruislip

[Lar Naparka]

It promises to be a exciting climax to the Connacht championship but as proud Connacht man you would have to fear for the chances of all the teams once they enter the All Ireland series.

You could well be right. But Galway, Roscommon and Mayo are at the team-building stage and this year may be a bit soon for any of them to make waves.
Sligo still have lots of potential but they need to get their act back on course.
Leitrim will put it up to any other side in Connacht but I don't think they have the resources to go any further than a Connacht final appearence- if they manage to get to it this year.

[ross matt]

- Playing a sweeper against London was not the way to go

The only good thing about this is that Galway will arrive in Castlebar c**k sure of an easy win and we might catch them on the hop.

Aye after being relegated I doubt we would be cocksure of beating anyone let alone Mayo on their own patch.

I'm guessing that in a week or two we will have open warfare between the two sets of fans. Each side will be insisting how useless their own side is and go nuclear at any hint of their side being within an asses roar being able to win.

This will escalate and be reported nationally and maybe even internationally. Mayo will end up cheering Galway onto the field in a tribute to their unquestionable brilliance. Galway supporters will respond by invading the pitch before the match and carrying Mayo players off shoulder high and awarding them victory.

Galway fans will drink Castlebar dry singing we told ye we were useless. Mayo will nod and say:'aye ye were right.'

James Horan is a genius.

Indeed.
"We're the worst team in Connacht"
"What? Ye're lucky! we're the worst team in Ireland!"
(with aplogies to Monthy Python).

[criostlinn]

I don't know what to make of sundays performance. Obviously the players underestimated the London team, I think we all did. The manager definitely did. The gas thing about this game is Mayo could have won it by 10 to 15 points. They had 19 wides, a missed penalty and god knows how many more squandered chances that didn't even go wide.

The thing that really worries me about sunday is the lack of a free taker. This has gone on all league and still hasn't been sorted out. I counted at least 7 different free takers and I think maybe more. Moran, freeman, doherty hennelly Dillon campbell, O'Connor. I think O Shea also had a crack at one. So how has something so important not been addressed properly at training. How come nobody on the team wants to step up and be the man to take the frees.

Andy Moran spoke above about the practice Maurice Sheridan put in. His free taking ability was the main reason he made the starting 15 and he contributed 6-7 points a game. No way was he getting dropped and the practice he put in made sure of this.

I cant understand why with all the lads fighting for places at the moment, one of them doesn't say to himself if I can nail the down the freetaking duties I'm getting a starting jersey. Go away work on your technique, practice and practice some more. Lads thats what its going to take if ye are serious about playing for your county and serious about winning

As for the tactics on Sunday. My god James Horan what are you at. Playing with an extra man in defence against London. Are you for real. So ok you a trying to fine tune a system for later in the championship but for christ sake 3 points down at half time playing with a breeze in the second half and no change at half time. These tactics in my opinion were the main reason why Mayo were nearly caught out on Sunday. Trevor Howley was totally lost. The London corner back had free run of the park and even managed to chip in a couple of points. He was a big lad and helped out at midfield as well as Howley wandered around not quite sure what he should be at. Our full forward line could have done with the extra man as they struggled to get to grips with there opposite numbers.

I have to say I'm really disappointed with what I saw on Sunday. This was nearly Mayo's most embarrassing day ever. I wanted James Horan as manager and still do but seriously this is not good enough. I used to read Horan in the western and taught he spoke a lot of sense. Id love to see what he would have to write this week.

[Farrandeelin]

I think Barney has it nail on the head. Mayo's support is dwindling. I often get looks of 'Where the hell are you off after them shower?' when I go to matches wearing the green and red jersey. It's not good enough. Somebody needs to rock the county board's boat. Them frigging county board tickets should be left at the executive's door in my opinion.

[ross4life]

Reports said there was over 4,000 in Ruislip that's a decent crowd. Did any of ye read Willie Joe's blog/report he certainly doesn't like JOM.

[Tubberman]

Reports said there was over 4,000 in Ruislip that's a decent crowd. Did any of ye read Willie Joe's blog/report he certainly doesn't like JOM.

WJ took major issue with JOM giving his two-cents worth on mid-west alright.
He might have a point, but it's not really here nor there. His radio analysis wasn't a factor in the performance on Sunday and won't have an impact on how we play against Galway.

I  still don't know what to make of Sunday, and what it might mean for the rest of the summer, and possibly beyond.
I was in Ballintubber for the Offaly challenge match and they were very poor that day as well - maybe they are going through some very heavy training. I think either Horan or a player mentioned they'd be stepping it up between league and championship.
So maybe that's to blame - either way, we'll just have to wait for the Galway match and see what type of performance we witness.
There'll be no hype over it anyway, that's for certain! The new-look McHale Park might have to wait another couple of years before it gets a capacity crowd.

[ludermor]

Reports said there was over 4,000 in Ruislip that's a decent crowd. Did any of ye read Willie Joe's blog/report he certainly doesn't like JOM.

I heard there was over 5,000 and the biggest ever attendance in ruislip.

[RedandGreenSniper]

Ah yeah Lar I kinda thought you were being a bit mischevious. But they certainly wouldn't have been going for a couple of pints the night before. There certainly was complacency but I guess that is hard to prevent, especially when the strongest team isn't picked.

The more I think about it the more I realise that Sunday was a freak game in a lot of ways. Mayo are clearly the better team and could have won comfortably. But when that didn't happen, Mayo didn't look too capable of driving their way out of the abyss.

[highorlow]

Aye after being relegated I doubt we would be cocksure of beating anyone let alone Mayo on their own patch.

If ye can't beat a team that couldn't beat a group of part timers then ye should pack in the football and concentrate on the hurling full time. Dosn't matter if the match is in castlebar or caslegar, Galway by double scores.

[highorlow]

They were almost the subject of the biggest embassasment in Mayo GAA history but they didnt seem too disappointed

If I was on the end of that result I'd be on the beer also.

One thing is certain this year, expectations of this team will be non existant.

[highorlow]

still cannot understand how mayo came so close against a team that were the down there with kilkenny. did mayo understimate and london rise for the occasion?
could you see cork or kerry being surprised by waterford like mayo were by london?  not a chance.

Kerry were nearly beaten by Sligo a few years back also.

[ballinaman]

Aye after being relegated I doubt we would be cocksure of beating anyone let alone Mayo on their own patch.

If ye can't beat a team that couldn't beat a group of part timers then ye should pack in the football and concentrate on the hurling full time. Dosn't matter if the match is in castlebar or caslegar, Galway by double scores.

Perhaps it was attitudes like that that made Mayo complacent in the first place? Team with former Dr Crokes players should never have been taken that lightly.

[highorlow]

Perhaps it was attitudes like that that made Mayo complacent in the first place? Team with former Dr Crokes players should never have been taken that lightly.

London are now a new force in the GAA......give me a break, a Mayo u16 team would / could beat them.

[ballinaman]

Perhaps it was attitudes like that that made Mayo complacent in the first place? Team with former Dr Crokes players should never have been taken that lightly.

London are now a new force in the GAA......give me a break, a Mayo u16 team would / could beat them.

So you were at the match or have you came to this conclusion from aertel?

[AbbeySider]

Perhaps it was attitudes like that that made Mayo complacent in the first place? Team with former Dr Crokes players should never have been taken that lightly.

London are now a new force in the GAA......give me a break, a Mayo u16 team would / could beat them.

Were you at the match?