Mayo V Down- All Ireland Quarter Final

[Maguire01]

Looking at it, we have had a very good three years under Wee James. An All Ireland Final appearance, Division 1 status retention and an All Ireland Quarter Final spot today. Let's be honest. The group of players that we have at our disposal at the moment are an honest and hardworking group. They aren't in the mould of some of the more stellar squads in the past. To get to the last eight this year was a massive achievement.

A massive achievement? Really? A division 1 team beating Fermanagh, Monaghan and Tipperary... two of which will be in division 3 next year, the other in division 4, is not a massive achievement by any stretch of the imagination. A lucky draw.

[southdown]

When you look at the bigger picture James is doing a decent job.  However, as defensive coach, I have serious questions about Aiden O'Rourke.

So many times Mayo forwards have 2/3 Down men close to them but for some reason no tackles were made, Alan Dillon made some embarassing (from our point of view) runs thourgh the defence in the first half.

[bennydorano]

This is Down's level, the AIF appearance was the blip in overall form, Wee James has enjoyed the luck of the devil as well, cant see what else he has to offer I'd be suprised if he stays. 

Down & Tyrone have both had a dose of reality, 2 sets of deluded fans.

[From the Bunker]

This is Down's level, the AIF appearance was the blip in overall form, Wee James has enjoyed the luck of the devil as well, cant see what else he has to offer I'd be surprised if he stays. 

Down & Tyrone have both had a dose of reality, 2 sets of deluded fans.

Alot of Donegal's high stature is based on wins over Down and Tyrone this year. Maybe this has to be reassessed? Maybe not, hopefully not!

[SHEEDY]

This is Down's level, the AIF appearance was the blip in overall form, Wee James has enjoyed the luck of the devil as well, cant see what else he has to offer I'd be suprised if he stays. 

Down & Tyrone have both had a dose of reality, 2 sets of deluded fans.

2 sets of deluded fans?? we may be down but at least we're not bitter. how long was armaghs summer? on a night when all down men are feeling down we can take consolation in the fact we're not armagh.

well done to mayo. great team and great set of fans.

[Syferus]

This is Down's level, the AIF appearance was the blip in overall form, Wee James has enjoyed the luck of the devil as well, cant see what else he has to offer I'd be suprised if he stays. 

Down & Tyrone have both had a dose of reality, 2 sets of deluded fans.

2 sets of deluded fans?? we may be down but at least we're not bitter. how long was armaghs summer? on a night when all down men are feeling down we can take consolation in the fact we're not armagh.

well done to mayo. great team and great set of fans.

Oh, cheap giggles, cheap giggles.

[ross matt]

Congrats Mayo. Down were a shambles defensively and at midfield but you can only beat what's in front of you. In that regard Mayo were clinical, professional and ruthless. I hope Moran will be ok both for himself and for his team's fortunes. On TV you could hear the poor guy roaring in pain and the slow motion seemed to make it look like he twisted it.

Delighted for Moysider and all the genuine Mayo supporters on this board. However there is one nasty idividual here who was gloating when Galway hammered us and is after posting two scandalous comments about Ray Silke in relation to Andy Moran's injury. If this board is to mantain any credibility and respect those comments should be immediatley removed and he should be banned. Sick disgusting comments even by his low standards.

[Syferus]

To be fair to Cosmo Silke has a track-record of unbecoming behaviour towards Connacht rivals, both at club and county level. I'd have to hear the clip before I comment on what did or didn't happen today, it may be a bit much to expect a copy to surface, though.

[Qwerty28]

Mort to make a sensational comeback to provide cover for Moran on the bench....say he'd love a run at the Dubs!!

[Syferus]

Mort to make a sensational comeback to provide cover for Moran on the bench....say he'd love a run at the Dubs!!

Any enquiries contact David.

[Cosmo Kramer]

Congrats Mayo. Down were a shambles defensively and at midfield but you can only beat what's in front of you. In that regard Mayo were clinical, professional and ruthless. I hope Moran will be ok both for himself and for his team's fortunes. On TV you could hear the poor guy roaring in pain and the slow motion seemed to make it look like he twisted it.

Delighted for Moysider and all the genuine Mayo supporters on this board. However there is one nasty idividual here who was gloating when Galway hammered us and is after posting two scandalous comments about Ray Silke in relation to Andy Moran's injury. If this board is to mantain any credibility and respect those comments should be immediatley removed and he should be banned. Sick disgusting comments even by his low standards.

Thanks. 

I will delete the two comments as there is nothing to be gained from posting them here. Heat of the moment stuff - very frustrated at not being able to go to the game, first game of this importance to Mayo I would have missed in a long time. Sincere apologies for any offence caused to anyone - I was very unhappy with Ray's reaction to the injury, but the comments were nonetheless not appropriate for a public forum. Thanks for picking me up on them Ross Matt. I guess the lesson is, if I have to miss another for whatever reason, to steer clear of internet forums until well after the match. I would certainly not want to be part of anything that causes this board to move towards the level of other internet GAA forums out there. Best of luck to the Ros minors today.

[Minus15]

Just home from Croker and read through the last 7-8 pages on here.

Congrats to Mayo they were a much better team than us on the day and good luck to them against the Dubs.

Whilst today was downright painful, how the likes of Collins can sit in front of the TV constantly posting negativity about the team he supposedly is a supporter of I don't know. Some of the stuff you come out with is plainly ridiculous. Sadly, there is too many of your type that do bother their hole going to the games when we reach this stage. Sometimes I wish that they would all sit at home like you and watch on the TV.

I think all of us know in Down that this team has its limitations but we have a team who I feel has at least reached its potential under James. How many times under his predecessors have we been frustrated and felt that with a bit of organisation and direction we could do much better.

As we seen today, we really struggle defensively. We look naive and wide open at times. Unfortunately, we are just not blessed in this area of the field. Looking at our teamsheets over the last couple of seasons, many of the players who we have fillling slots in defence do not ever play their club football in these positions. We lack Defenders who just love to defend, stick to a man and stop him at all costs.

But I am proud to be a Down man and I think getting this far has to be seen as an achievement as we are not at the same level as some of the other teams that have been or will be on show this weekend. But here it's great to be there in the last 8. To say that there is no heart or drive in the team is bullshit. I would say that the players are hurting more than any Down Fan tonight!

[nephinman]

One of the good days for mayo football when both the minors & Seniors delivered in spades.

The injury to Andy seems has taken the gloss of it for many of us. We can ill afford to loose andy just like Down could ill afford to loose Marty Clarke. It shouldnt set Down back too much and I am sure it wont. They are a proud football county who have had much more success in the AI series over the past 50 years. They don't seem to have a strong bench just yet.

Most of our team played well from the start but the Down backs were poor to be fair. Barry Moran mantaining his form and O'Shea getting better. C O Connor should improve but Jason Doherty still has to impress IMO  .

Well done to all. A month is a long time with club 1/4 finals and all, but I'd say this side will have a good cut at Dublin. 

[Mourne Rover]

It's seldom easy being a Down fan but today was one of our most depressing displays for many long years. While there is no shame in getting hammered by a team who turned out to have better players than us in practically every position, there was very little spirit or structure about our performance. As soon as the second Mayo goal went in, at a stage when we were starting to show at least some spark, the outcome was inevitable and whatever game plan we had disappeared long before the final whistle. The third Mayo goal was the third we have conceded in the championship after stopping and looking at each other when a dubious free was awarded, which is hard to believe but true.

We knew from the Donegal game that the days of one on one at the back were well and truly over but we did not seem to learn anything and the final quarter was embarrassingly easy for Mayo. Good luck to them against the Dubs, when they must have a chance, but today was little more than a training run for them. What was striking about the second game was that we know Laois are limited enough, and we won quite easily on their ground in the league, but they fielded a physically strong and well organised team today which defended in numbers and counter-attacked at speed. They might even have beaten Dublin with a little more luck but they gave it their best shot. We certainly did not, and it was a bad day for our management and many of our senior players.

In fairness to James, he took charge of a side which had been going nowhere and brought us to an AI final, got us to division one and kept us there and reached an Ulster final as well. However, he will be well aware that we may be in division one but we are nowhere near being a top tier side. The county board will want him to stay on, but it is probably a 50/50 call on his part.

McVeigh had little real chance with the goals, although three going past him does not look good, but the big problem yet again was his kick-outs. We probably only won possession from about one in ten. admittedly against a badly beaten midfield, and several went straight to Mayo men. Harrison is a certainty to get a run in the spring.

O'Hagan was probably our best defender, which is not saying much, as he mostly stayed tight and attacked the ball well. Gordon was sent out to act as third midfielder from a relatively early stage, but the move did not work at all and only left us even more exposed at the back. Garvey looked surprisingly uncomfortable and may need to stay at half back.

McParland was unlucky to pick up an early injury, although he had not really imposed himself on the game,while McArdle, who had been progressing over recent matches, sadly went backwards. It's probably wrong to pick on McKernan, as he largely avoided the individual errors which have plagued him of late, but he saw a lot of the ball, did very little with it and is a shadow of the player who thrilled us in 2010.

Ambrose fell quite heavily when fouled early on and did not seem to fully recover. He never got into his stride and missed a fairly simple point at a time when it was still a contest. King did not take a catch all day, and struggled against the pace of his opponents,  but got his tackles in and even managed a decent goal.

Carr was our shining star today, after taking his share of criticism in the past. He finished with seven points, which is quite an achievement on a side which was outclassed at Croke Park, was effective from both play and frees and always made himself available for a pass. It was just as well he was flying, as our other two half forwards seemed uncertain about their roles. Maginn worked as hard as ever but never hurt Mayo and played a dreadful short pass which led directly to a point at the wrong end just before being replaced at the break. Poland has rescued us frequently on other occasions, but his timing seemed to go today, he was given no space to operate and misplaced more passes than over the rest of the season combined,

McCartan had a bright enough start, and his injury so soon after McParland's may had knocked us back more than we realised. Benny allowed himself to get involved with his marker, which did not help him, and is clearly not fully fit, but still got 1-1 on what will hopefully not be a final appearance at HQ. Laverty had a brilliant start and nearly got in for a couple of goals but the game then drifted past him and Mayo made sure he did little damage.

Of the subs, Brannigan was committed but limited, and O'Hare did reasonably well on scarce possession. Doyle showed flashes of his class when he came on at half time, and Damien Turley, although thrown into a badly over-stretched defence, brought some pace and aggression to the mix. Rooney came on very late, and it was surprising to hear that he played a full match from his club just 24 hours earlier.

We have much to consider overall, but at least it is six months before our next proper game.

[galwaygreenandred]

The Down supporters were a credit today,everyone was so queit with nervousness going into croker today.After they would shake Mayo supporters hands and congratulate them and wish them the best in the semis and of course Mayo fans consoled the Down supporters,knowing all too much how it feels to be dumped out to a huge scoreline. Both were great today. Great performance by the Mayo Lads and let's go and stick it to the dublin jackeens and I hope our Down and Laois friends will be cheering us on Come on Mayo!!!! AOS Alan Dillon Andy Moran Michael Conroy Barry Moran Ger Cafferky Keith Higgins and David Clarke played great again