Mayo v Donegal - McHale Park - 24th Mar 2013

[From the Bunker]

Agree with most of what you say McD2! Two messy out of form teams arsing their way through the League. Games at this level and especially in the championship are about decision making and holding the head. AOS does not seem to be improving in the final ball department. Don't get me wrong, he's growing as a ball winner, a ball carrier, etc. But he still gets a bit blinkered running into the tackle. Barrett's no corner back, but he's solid and we'll need him come summer. O' Connor has taken the panic and squander out of free taking, only problem is he takes away from Jason Doherty's role who i felt got lost last week. Conroy as i expected is getting better this year, he came into the squad late last year, and his conditioning was off. Higgins at CHB? Those surging runs from deep are lethal, he has some pace. 

No real new players have been found, but Horan is in year three. He's not building, he fine tuning what he has. This is the group he will sink or swim with. If we don't get far in the AI series this year, i can see him leaving.

[moysider]

Disgracefull behaviour by one of the donegal backs yesterday When he gouged and then stood on the Arm of a Mayo player .Video seriously needs to be looked at by the Powers that be.
Duffy was so busy Giving frees for feck all he missed the major act of foul play.

Watched that again. Minute 50.00 I make it?

Knees into the back of grounded player was not good. But he had no business putting his glove anywhere near McLoughlins eyes/face. While it might not be gouging and McLoughlin was not injured, it looked deliberate and it was nasty and might deserve a closer look.

I know Duffy has his critics and I ve been pissed by him several times, but in a ruck situation like that a ref cant see everything. I had to watch the video again to spot it and I ll have to look again to see the stand on the arm.

[Mayo Mick]

Overdue win and if we beat Cork as I expect we will then its most likely another semi-final for us. This win gives Horan a bit of headroom as he must have been feeling the pressure after the success of the 2 Ballina lads on Patricks day 

Think the Donegal bubble has burst and McGuiness will not be able to bluff his way to another AI. He psyched us all out last year but that only works once every 20 years.

[macdanger2]

Think the Donegal bubble has burst and McGuiness will not be able to bluff his way to another AI. He psyched us all out last year but that only works once every 20 years.

I'd take that!!

[J70]

Overdue win and if we beat Cork as I expect we will then its most likely another semi-final for us. This win gives Horan a bit of headroom as he must have been feeling the pressure after the success of the 2 Ballina lads on Patricks day 

Think the Donegal bubble has burst and McGuiness will not be able to bluff his way to another AI. He psyched us all out last year but that only works once every 20 years.

Jaysus Mick, we haven't heard from you since you were boasting to all and sundry and predicting with 100% certainty an easy AI final win for Mayo! 

[maigheo]

Jeez Mayo Mick, I know you are only stirring the sh-t but would you ever feck off back to the Hogan Stand  with your b.s..Mayo made alot of mistakes yesterday but for me it was all about getting the win and showing a bit of character against a tough Donegal  team.

[cadence]

mcgee not as badly injured as first feared thank ....

[highorlow]

mcgee not as badly injured as first feared thank ....

That's good news. I thought for a while he was a pure hard nut as he didn't even need a stretcher to go off.

[rosnarun]

Disgracefull behaviour by one of the donegal backs yesterday When he gouged and then stood on the Arm of a Mayo player .Video seriously needs to be looked at by the Powers that be.
Duffy was so busy Giving frees for feck all he missed the major act of foul play.

What do you mean by this exactly?
I find when GAA people say the word 'gouging' it can mean anything from eye surgery to whisker-pulling.

look at the video.  it was a gouge Alan Quinlan would be proud of .  A slap across the jaw or even a dangerously high tackle is often reactive . to to Finesse your fingers across some ones face takes a little more premeditation. Whether he found the eyes or not was not down to the lack of trying. the distinction has been done away with in the gougers games and now it all 'Interference with the facial Area'

[rosnarun]

No real new players have been found, but Horan is in year three. He's not building, he fine tuning what he has. This is the group he will sink or swim with. If we don't get far in the AI series this year, i can see him leaving

.
think your being harsh on Carolan to say no new players
he has fitted in very well  and after the dublin Game has looked an intercounty player. how many more estemed former minors/u-21 have faile to make that step.
he may or may not start in summer but hes a great addition to the panel

[Lar Naparka]

Am I the only one who has anything positive to say about the game??
Given the absolutely cat conditions under which it was played, I think both sides deserve great credit for their effort and commitment to their cause.
It was an exciting game and the issue was in doubt up until the closing minutes. No doubt about it, each manager wanted a win and both showed more emotion than they normally do. Neither was there to make up numbers and the way both sides slogged it out is testament to this.
Sure, the game wasn't a classic but with ground conditions as bad as they were, it could have been a helluva of a lot worse.
I thought the ref didn't cope with the conditions as well as the players. I wouldn't say he was effin' useless but he didn't add to the occasion. His endless whistling for petty fouls was irritating and uncalled for.
I think his nitpicking led to frustration on the part of the players as there was little or no passages of continuous play so they seldom got the chance to warm up. Watching a replay of the game, I was struck by the fact that, while Marty was quite quick to blow up for transgressions while the players involved were on their feet, he was slow to intervene when a player in possession went to ground, surrounded by two more more of the opposition.
Maybe I am being unduly critical of the man but I felt he didn't add to the occasion.

[Tubberman]

Here's the eye gouging by Thompson on Kevin McLoughlin.
Not the clearest video, but it seems fairly clear what he was at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lbJctgvtXg&feature=youtube_gdata_player

[Jinxy]

First time I've seen it and it's not eye gouging for me.
If it was, Mcloughlin would have instinctively reacted in a very different way.
People really need to settle down.
Way too much heat and not enough light on the board nowadays.

[J70]

Hardly conclusive!  I'd say its a better demonstration of a player using his knees to not-so-gently force the player on the ground to release the ball, something that never gets pulled up by refs. It looked to ne like he used the Mayo player's head to stop falling over, again while not exactly showing concern about whether he might hurt him. That shite, nasty or spiteful as it can be, is always going on.

[From the Bunker]

It's eye gouging, no question! Saw it in real time and commented on this board. Anyway can we move on from it! Nobody died and it's to early in the year for a witch hunt. Mayo got the two points, that all that mattered.