Mayo vs Donegal

[moysider]

Always knew it was going to be tough going up there and get a result, but the manner of the loss and the performance was desparately disappointing. Bit of deja vu feel to it, like the last year under O'Mahoney. On the pitch a complete lack of confidence, leadership and structure, poor execution of basic skills and inability to take scoring chances. Lack of direction from the sideline with a reluctance to make changes and usually making the wrong one when they did. I don't like being this critical but management and players really have to look at themselves after this one. Two 5+ point losses on the trot now, both matches we had less than a 50% return from scoring chances created. Last week v Down we could've got a result, today we were comprehensively outplayed. I really hope that the rot that was there in 2010 hasn't set back in.

Most of the same players are still there and remember London almost beat Mayo. How many championship players are you missing if any? at least Armagh has the excuse of absent players.

Cillian O'Connor being rested for the U-21 (and he came in for the last ten mins by which point the game was pretty much gone) and the suspended Aiden O'Shea were the only first choice c'ship players missing today. No excuses for today, just a poor performance overall.

Don t think it s that simple. I think that if these two sets of players were to meet again next week they would wipe the floor with us again. If we meet again in the championship later this year, unless there are major alterations to Mayo selection and an execution of a coherent gameplan, they will level us again. It s as  simple as that. They re way ahead of us in player technical ability, even at league pace. They re on a different planet tactically.

I sincerely hope that there were several championship players missing today. COC, Aidan and Trevor Mort for a start. We need a few more too.

Not long back and need a cup o tay to settle myself down.

[Farrandeelin]

Jeez how can anyone describe that today without despairing. Either too many players had collectuve bad days out or else we better admit mgmt and players alike hadn't a clue what they were doing. Why start Gardiner? Why bring on subs when the game is near over? Why not give game time to players who are sitting on their arses for 4 games now? Did't seem to want to put bodies on the line. Moysider is correct. Donegal would have nothing to fear from hat Mayo team. If the players who are over 21 can't stand upand lead then it isn't looking good at all.

[bucko]

Always knew it was going to be tough going up there and get a result, but the manner of the loss and the performance was desparately disappointing. Bit of deja vu feel to it, like the last year under O'Mahoney. On the pitch a complete lack of confidence, leadership and structure, poor execution of basic skills and inability to take scoring chances. Lack of direction from the sideline with a reluctance to make changes and usually making the wrong one when they did. I don't like being this critical but management and players really have to look at themselves after this one. Two 5+ point losses on the trot now, both matches we had less than a 50% return from scoring chances created. Last week v Down we could've got a result, today we were comprehensively outplayed. I really hope that the rot that was there in 2010 hasn't set back in.

Most of the same players are still there and remember London almost beat Mayo. How many championship players are you missing if any? at least Armagh has the excuse of absent players.

Cillian O'Connor being rested for the U-21 (and he came in for the last ten mins by which point the game was pretty much gone) and the suspended Aiden O'Shea were the only first choice c'ship players missing today. No excuses for today, just a poor performance overall.

Don t think it s that simple. I think that if these two sets of players were to meet again next week they would wipe the floor with us again. If we meet again in the championship later this year, unless there are major alterations to Mayo selection and an execution of a coherent gameplan, they will level us again. It s as  simple as that. They re way ahead of us in player technical ability, even at league pace. They re on a different planet tactically.

I sincerely hope that there were several championship players missing today. COC, Aidan and Trevor Mort for a start. We need a few more too.

Not long back and need a cup o tay to settle myself down.

Forgot about Trev, but even if all three were on the pitch I don't think it would've made a difference. It'd be hard to name one Mayo player who played well today, maybe Andy and Keith in the first half. We seemed to persist with play and tactics that played straight into Donegal's hands. It was no secret how Donegal would approach this tactically, but, despite a good opening 18 mins, we did not seem to know how to counter their blanket defence or how to use the extra man. Playing the extra man back in defence when we were falling behind, playing a one man FF line are just 2 examples of tactical mis management. But players have to take responsibility for poor shooting and passing and for stupid back chat to Duffy that cost us 4 points. Maybe Donegal would beat us again as you say, and maybe they are ahead of us organisationally and tactically, but I think the team are capable of playing a lot better than they did today.

[moysider]

Always knew it was going to be tough going up there and get a result, but the manner of the loss and the performance was desparately disappointing. Bit of deja vu feel to it, like the last year under O'Mahoney. On the pitch a complete lack of confidence, leadership and structure, poor execution of basic skills and inability to take scoring chances. Lack of direction from the sideline with a reluctance to make changes and usually making the wrong one when they did. I don't like being this critical but management and players really have to look at themselves after this one. Two 5+ point losses on the trot now, both matches we had less than a 50% return from scoring chances created. Last week v Down we could've got a result, today we were comprehensively outplayed. I really hope that the rot that was there in 2010 hasn't set back in.

Most of the same players are still there and remember London almost beat Mayo. How many championship players are you missing if any? at least Armagh has the excuse of absent players.

Cillian O'Connor being rested for the U-21 (and he came in for the last ten mins by which point the game was pretty much gone) and the suspended Aiden O'Shea were the only first choice c'ship players missing today. No excuses for today, just a poor performance overall.

Don t think it s that simple. I think that if these two sets of players were to meet again next week they would wipe the floor with us again. If we meet again in the championship later this year, unless there are major alterations to Mayo selection and an execution of a coherent gameplan, they will level us again. It s as  simple as that. They re way ahead of us in player technical ability, even at league pace. They re on a different planet tactically.

I sincerely hope that there were several championship players missing today. COC, Aidan and Trevor Mort for a start. We need a few more too.

Not long back and need a cup o tay to settle myself down.

Forgot about Trev, but even if all three were on the pitch I don't think it would've made a difference. It'd be hard to name one Mayo player who played well today, maybe Andy and Keith in the first half. We seemed to persist with play and tactics that played straight into Donegal's hands. It was no secret how Donegal would approach this tactically, but, despite a good opening 18 mins, we did not seem to know how to counter their blanket defence or how to use the extra man. Playing the extra man back in defence when we were falling behind, playing a one man FF line are just 2 examples of tactical mis management. But players have to take responsibility for poor shooting and passing and for stupid back chat to Duffy that cost us 4 points. Maybe Donegal would beat us again as you say, and maybe they are ahead of us organisationally and tactically, but I think the team are capable of playing a lot better than they did today.

You might be right but I have my doubts. That selection will never trouble a serious team imo. Without getting into player bashing. Donegal are bigger and faster. Their players are technically better. They support better, kick better, shoot better, pass better, kick frees better and tackle better. And cleverer. Smarter. That s the thing that hurts the most because we regard ourselves as a traditional county where youg fellas have an inate instinct for the game.

They were not all that defensive either and they got men forward all the time. They are so comfortable keeping the ball thay would have won with 13, because we would have kept giving the ball back to them.

On the other hand for 2 weeks running we look flat and limited. I wish it could be put down to hard early training but I doubt it. There is so much wrong. Begining with size. It says a lot that the free man was kept around the back when we needed to chase the game. But our little forwards kept losing the ball and it was coming straight back at us. McBrearty and Murphy were winning ball with ease. It was depressing to see Murphy hold his man off with one hand and control long high ball with the other. We haven t an inside forward within an asses roar of Murphy s ability. That s a major problem. Andy started well but nobody has figured out yet how to convert his possession into scores.

We also need to get a few outfield players who can actually kick the ball. Our halfbacks can carry but cant kick the ball. Ditto the midfielders. Not really kick it. Donegal always keep either Murphy and McFadden deep. Not as defenders imo but because thet re the best kickers of the ball. McFaddens long ball -70 metres+, that Murphy caught at his ease was jawdropping in its execution. Only a brilliant smothering block by Clarkey saved the goal. Donegal s decision to play McFadden inside mostly instead of Murphy saved us greater humiliation on a day we were as outclassed as I ve seen in a league match ever. Thing s wont improve either without big change in personnel and attitude.

[bucko]

Always knew it was going to be tough going up there and get a result, but the manner of the loss and the performance was desparately disappointing. Bit of deja vu feel to it, like the last year under O'Mahoney. On the pitch a complete lack of confidence, leadership and structure, poor execution of basic skills and inability to take scoring chances. Lack of direction from the sideline with a reluctance to make changes and usually making the wrong one when they did. I don't like being this critical but management and players really have to look at themselves after this one. Two 5+ point losses on the trot now, both matches we had less than a 50% return from scoring chances created. Last week v Down we could've got a result, today we were comprehensively outplayed. I really hope that the rot that was there in 2010 hasn't set back in.

Most of the same players are still there and remember London almost beat Mayo. How many championship players are you missing if any? at least Armagh has the excuse of absent players.

Cillian O'Connor being rested for the U-21 (and he came in for the last ten mins by which point the game was pretty much gone) and the suspended Aiden O'Shea were the only first choice c'ship players missing today. No excuses for today, just a poor performance overall.

Don t think it s that simple. I think that if these two sets of players were to meet again next week they would wipe the floor with us again. If we meet again in the championship later this year, unless there are major alterations to Mayo selection and an execution of a coherent gameplan, they will level us again. It s as  simple as that. They re way ahead of us in player technical ability, even at league pace. They re on a different planet tactically.

I sincerely hope that there were several championship players missing today. COC, Aidan and Trevor Mort for a start. We need a few more too.

Not long back and need a cup o tay to settle myself down.

Forgot about Trev, but even if all three were on the pitch I don't think it would've made a difference. It'd be hard to name one Mayo player who played well today, maybe Andy and Keith in the first half. We seemed to persist with play and tactics that played straight into Donegal's hands. It was no secret how Donegal would approach this tactically, but, despite a good opening 18 mins, we did not seem to know how to counter their blanket defence or how to use the extra man. Playing the extra man back in defence when we were falling behind, playing a one man FF line are just 2 examples of tactical mis management. But players have to take responsibility for poor shooting and passing and for stupid back chat to Duffy that cost us 4 points. Maybe Donegal would beat us again as you say, and maybe they are ahead of us organisationally and tactically, but I think the team are capable of playing a lot better than they did today.

You might be right but I have my doubts. That selection will never trouble a serious team imo. Without getting into player bashing. Donegal are bigger and faster. Their players are technically better. They support better, kick better, shoot better, pass better, kick frees better and tackle better. And cleverer. Smarter. That s the thing that hurts the most because we regard ourselves as a traditional county where youg fellas have an inate instinct for the game.

They were not all that defensive either and they got men forward all the time. They are so comfortable keeping the ball thay would have won with 13, because we would have kept giving the ball back to them.

On the other hand for 2 weeks running we look flat and limited. I wish it could be put down to hard early training but I doubt it. There is so much wrong. Begining with size. It says a lot that the free man was kept around the back when we needed to chase the game. But our little forwards kept losing the ball and it was coming straight back at us. McBrearty and Murphy were winning ball with ease. It was depressing to see Murphy hold his man off with one hand and control long high ball with the other. We haven t an inside forward within an asses roar of Murphy s ability. That s a major problem. Andy started well but nobody has figured out yet how to convert his possession into scores.

We also need to get a few outfield players who can actually kick the ball. Our halfbacks can carry but cant kick the ball. Ditto the midfielders. Not really kick it. Donegal always keep either Murphy and McFadden deep. Not as defenders imo but because thet re the best kickers of the ball. McFaddens long ball -70 metres+, that Murphy caught at his ease was jawdropping in its execution. Only a brilliant smothering block by Clarkey saved the goal. Donegal s decision to play McFadden inside mostly instead of Murphy saved us greater humiliation on a day we were as outclassed as I ve seen in a league match ever. Thing s wont improve either without big change in personnel and attitude.

The most important thing I drew from today and from last week. The apparent inability of a lot of our players to react and adapt to what is happening on the pitch and persist with what isn't working. If you can't break down the brick wall you go around or over it, yet we kept banging our heads off it and there's only gonna be one winner there. Changes in personnel, you're probably looking at A O'S if he's back from suspension, Cillian O'Connor (dependent on how the U-21's get on), Michael Conroy and Aiden Campbell at least deserve a start after the poor showing of some of our forwards, 50% return from scoring chances over two games just is not good enough. In the backs I dunno, I thought Vaughan kicked well last year, doesn't seem to be doing it as much this year. Nail on the head re attitude tho, lot of players let their frustrations get the better of them and let their heads drop well before the end. Management need to react a lot quicker to what is happening also, not making changes in the full forward until the game is gone isn't good enough and they need to decide exactly how they're going use Freeman and Moran.

[donegal_abu]

Have to say I was very proud of the Donegal lads today after their second half performance. they came out a different team and once things things went right we were flying. McFadden out at half forward and murphy in on edge of the square worked great today. to not have murphy in when a highball can be played in is a sin. McFadden was lookinglazy and downright useless this year but was forced to work when brought further outfield in second half today. caught some good ball there and some good passes in. Himself and Murphy v.good in forward. young mcbrearty had a good game too... he seems to be trying harder and goign back more.. not just giving up and standing there which is good.

Neil Gallagher had an exceptional game at midfield. won everything that came to him.. won most them clean in the air. he has been having a great year so far but today was exceptional. man of the match without doubt in my mind. his height is great at midfield. kavanagh was good until he was sent off which was unfortunate. he raised a hand but no way did he hit the buck as hard as was made out, i question whether he hit him at all.

half forward was ok.. mc hugh had a good enough game. ryan bradley was quiet enough today, as was reilly for most of it. he did a few good bursts in fairness though. when Mc Elhinney came on he did well, linked up some great ball and its great to see him back from injury!

backs were good aswell. second half they didnt give mayo a chance. was nearly added time before maybe got a score.. and it was a free. lacey good as always, mc loone good aswell but needs to mark his man closer. few times in first half he slipped up their. anthony thompson did well enough too.

Frank McGlynn did well, but not as well as some other games. none the less he cant be faulted. paddy mc grath had a good game and is having a good year. hes really developing. pity neil mcgee was out with flu but the big brother did step up. the mayo goal was a fault on him, he let the ball over his head into his marker and the goal came. however he did make up for it and had a very good game. very promising performance. he is a very strong player and i hope to see him get more starts in the half back line.. probably centre. hes strong and tough and wont let many men away, he put in some very good tackles and would be a good one for scooping up th braking ball.

Durcan also did well. some nice saves and caught a lot of balls that dropped short by mayo. as always his kickouts were good and accurate. he also varies them well.

overall good performance from donegal, even if against a not so good mayo team. should be a very good confidence boost though. shows the lads that when they try they do very very well and once they go on a burst they are hard to stop. dublin ext week is the big one but after their loss to down they mightnt be as hard as we think. b brogan will be a loss to them however they have plenty of other options.

its promising to see men go forward for us aswell though. i think its 6 different scorers we had today which makes a change from the murphy and mcfadden show ! If we cud get points from dublin we'd really be flying as i fancy our chances at home to armagh. cud even make a semi-final yet !!!

[cadence]

Have to say I was very proud of the Donegal lads today after their second half performance. they came out a different team and once things things went right we were flying. McFadden out at half forward and murphy in on edge of the square worked great today. to not have murphy in when a highball can be played in is a sin. McFadden was lookinglazy and downright useless this year but was forced to work when brought further outfield in second half today. caught some good ball there and some good passes in. Himself and Murphy v.good in forward. young mcbrearty had a good game too... he seems to be trying harder and goign back more.. not just giving up and standing there which is good.

Neil Gallagher had an exceptional game at midfield. won everything that came to him.. won most them clean in the air. he has been having a great year so far but today was exceptional. man of the match without doubt in my mind. his height is great at midfield. kavanagh was good until he was sent off which was unfortunate. he raised a hand but no way did he hit the buck as hard as was made out, i question whether he hit him at all.

half forward was ok.. mc hugh had a good enough game. ryan bradley was quiet enough today, as was reilly for most of it. he did a few good bursts in fairness though. when Mc Elhinney came on he did well, linked up some great ball and its great to see him back from injury!

backs were good aswell. second half they didnt give mayo a chance. was nearly added time before maybe got a score.. and it was a free. lacey good as always, mc loone good aswell but needs to mark his man closer. few times in first half he slipped up their. anthony thompson did well enough too.

Frank McGlynn did well, but not as well as some other games. none the less he cant be faulted. paddy mc grath had a good game and is having a good year. hes really developing. pity neil mcgee was out with flu but the big brother did step up. the mayo goal was a fault on him, he let the ball over his head into his marker and the goal came. however he did make up for it and had a very good game. very promising performance. he is a very strong player and i hope to see him get more starts in the half back line.. probably centre. hes strong and tough and wont let many men away, he put in some very good tackles and would be a good one for scooping up th braking ball.

Durcan also did well. some nice saves and caught a lot of balls that dropped short by mayo. as always his kickouts were good and accurate. he also varies them well.

overall good performance from donegal, even if against a not so good mayo team. should be a very good confidence boost though. shows the lads that when they try they do very very well and once they go on a burst they are hard to stop. dublin ext week is the big one but after their loss to down they mightnt be as hard as we think. b brogan will be a loss to them however they have plenty of other options.

its promising to see men go forward for us aswell though. i think its 6 different scorers we had today which makes a change from the murphy and mcfadden show ! If we cud get points from dublin we'd really be flying as i fancy our chances at home to armagh. cud even make a semi-final yet !!!

thanks for the report from a donegal perspective. shaping up nicely it seems, although not a disaster for mayo, they need to come back strong after this one. the result is less important than the performance at this stage. good on our lads though!

[donegal_abu]

candence


no bother. have to say yesterday was very promising. the way they dealt with losing Rory Kavanagh by all moving forward a bit and putting in that extra effort. hopefully now we can get to stay in division 1 as thi is where you have to be to get the experience against the big teams before championship.

[Sam2011]

There is nothing more dishearting for me than seeing your county players lack passion when playing for their county and unfortunately I witnessed it yesterday.
A lot of questions need to be asked of the Mayo management and players.
What is our game plan?
What do we do when we are down to 14 men?
What do we do when we have an extra man?
Why can't Dillon have a rest?
Moran and Freeman- are they full forwards, center forwards, wing forwards?- they need to be settled and also its doing Freeman's confidence no good being constantly changed around.
Why does it take so long to make a substitution?
Why does it take so long to make a tactical change?
Who is our leader on the field when the chips are down?
Why can't we take a score from out the field?
How do we play with/against the wind?
Where is the pride and passion in the jersey?
Who's our manager James Horan or Cian O'Neill?
Have the players lost faith in the management?
Have the management lost faith in the players?
And the question I was begging for the answer to- WHERE ARE THE BASIC SKILLS?- kick passing, hand passing- they were just brutal.
They were some of the questions going through my head on the trip home.
If these questions aren't answered we won't be going anywhere to quickly. If these questions can be addressed I believe we can beat Cork the next day. I suppose at least we didn't crumble in July in the middle of the championship.

[cadence]

candence


no bother. have to say yesterday was very promising. the way they dealt with losing Rory Kavanagh by all moving forward a bit and putting in that extra effort. hopefully now we can get to stay in division 1 as thi is where you have to be to get the experience against the big teams before championship.

appreciate it! i missed listening to the game online through highland.

showed good resilience that did, shrugging a setback off like it didn't mean anything. i'm also liking seeing the scoring spread around a bit more. liking that a lot. i'm dying to see us play again, see how we're progressing y'know. heady days this div 1 crack.     

[donegal_abu]

candence


no bother. have to say yesterday was very promising. the way they dealt with losing Rory Kavanagh by all moving forward a bit and putting in that extra effort. hopefully now we can get to stay in division 1 as thi is where you have to be to get the experience against the big teams before championship.

appreciate it! i missed listening to the game online through highland.

showed good resilience that did, shrugging a setback off like it didn't mean anything. i'm also liking seeing the scoring spread around a bit more. liking that a lot. i'm dying to see us play again, see how we're progressing y'know. heady days this div 1 crack.   

Yea seeing the range of scorers was definitely a huge plu from yesterday. to see mcloone and mchugh even go to score makes a change ! Lets not get to cocky though as Dublin will be a completely different battle. hopefully kavanghs red card will be overturned and we will have a full squad. good thing about yesterday was things just kind of clicked. however this year so far, there didnt seem to be a system ? i knwo everyone was giving out about lastyears system but at least the lads knew exact;y what they were each doing. up until yesterday, that was not the case.. nobody knew what to do. hopefully this can be sorted and a system put in place before championship

[seafoid]

Always knew it was going to be tough going up there and get a result, but the manner of the loss and the performance was desparately disappointing. Bit of deja vu feel to it, like the last year under O'Mahoney. On the pitch a complete lack of confidence, leadership and structure, poor execution of basic skills and inability to take scoring chances. Lack of direction from the sideline with a reluctance to make changes and usually making the wrong one when they did. I don't like being this critical but management and players really have to look at themselves after this one. Two 5+ point losses on the trot now, both matches we had less than a 50% return from scoring chances created. Last week v Down we could've got a result, today we were comprehensively outplayed. I really hope that the rot that was there in 2010 hasn't set back in.

Most of the same players are still there and remember London almost beat Mayo. How many championship players are you missing if any? at least Armagh has the excuse of absent players.

Cillian O'Connor being rested for the U-21 (and he came in for the last ten mins by which point the game was pretty much gone) and the suspended Aiden O'Shea were the only first choice c'ship players missing today. No excuses for today, just a poor performance overall.

Don t think it s that simple. I think that if these two sets of players were to meet again next week they would wipe the floor with us again. If we meet again in the championship later this year, unless there are major alterations to Mayo selection and an execution of a coherent gameplan, they will level us again. It s as  simple as that. They re way ahead of us in player technical ability, even at league pace. They re on a different planet tactically.

I sincerely hope that there were several championship players missing today. COC, Aidan and Trevor Mort for a start. We need a few more too.

Not long back and need a cup o tay to settle myself down.

March is a bit early to be getting jittery. Didn't Mayo win the League a few years ago?
Did it mean anything ? Does form in March mean anything for the summer ? 

[SLIGONIAN]

Jees ye mayo bucks are never happy , sunday was a beautiful day and ye had the pleasure of passing through the stunningly beautiful heart land of North Sligo...no matter whats happens in my day or week the sight of the Dartries benbulben to truskmore to slieve league cheers me up

[mannix]

Sligonian, does the scenery help you when Sligo are after being demoralized? Mayo were leading by 5 and lost by 7, no scenery in the world would help you digest that.

[cadence]

candence


no bother. have to say yesterday was very promising. the way they dealt with losing Rory Kavanagh by all moving forward a bit and putting in that extra effort. hopefully now we can get to stay in division 1 as thi is where you have to be to get the experience against the big teams before championship.

appreciate it! i missed listening to the game online through highland.

showed good resilience that did, shrugging a setback off like it didn't mean anything. i'm also liking seeing the scoring spread around a bit more. liking that a lot. i'm dying to see us play again, see how we're progressing y'know. heady days this div 1 crack.   

Yea seeing the range of scorers was definitely a huge plu from yesterday. to see mcloone and mchugh even go to score makes a change ! Lets not get to cocky though as Dublin will be a completely different battle. hopefully kavanghs red card will be overturned and we will have a full squad. good thing about yesterday was things just kind of clicked. however this year so far, there didnt seem to be a system ? i knwo everyone was giving out about lastyears system but at least the lads knew exact;y what they were each doing. up until yesterday, that was not the case.. nobody knew what to do. hopefully this can be sorted and a system put in place before championship

agreed, a lack of humility is sure to be rewarded with the required dose of humiliation. not that surprised to hear we'd been playing without a system. wee bit of experimentation has to happen though to see what he's got at his disposal and how different attacking variations work or not as the case may be. it's not as if we don't know how to attack, or don't have the players to either, just the system to do it as you say. i'd like to see us able to press sides high up so we turnover the ball and score quickly and also be able to soak up pressure defensively and hit on the break... what i wouldn't give for us to be able to get the ball up to the front men quickly. anyway, i wouldn't want us to sacrifice our defensive quality too much. there's got to be that balance. tricky one!