Mayo vs. Roscommon Connacht SFC Semi-final (June 16th, McHale Park)

[From the Bunker]

I know a lad from Mayo that has the hotel booked for September already.

Really, what's on in September?

[Farrandeelin]

I spotted the fella with the peaked cap from Strokestown after the game. I wouldn't like to be beside him incase he'd start going on one of his rants!

[Syferus]

I know a lad from Mayo that has the hotel booked for September already.

Those deckin' Mayo lads.

St. Patrick was in flying form yesterday too, it looks like he's got a new banner as well - something about Grace Kelly and Westport.

[ross matt]

Mayo were superb yesterday and the last day out against Galway. However they are spending insane money that they don't have. As an operation they could be the first county to be wound up.

Big statement.... evidence... back up please?

[moysider]

I'm not sure what the answer is for Roscommon but looking through comments on their own board as well I think many are looking in the wrong places.

Comparing Ros and Mayo at underage is comforting but a waste of time.

What would you prefer? Win a minor or U21 AI or produce a senior player like Aidan O Sé or Michael Murphy who were not underage winners. Well organised underage teams can often beat teams that may have 1 or 2 players that will be serious senior players. Mayo have been slobbering around at underage for years but individuals keep popping up. In 08? we were seconds away from winning a minor AI and only Aidan,  Hennelly and Kevin Keane made senior out of it. Should there have been more if we happened to hold on and win it?

I also think that some of the Roscommon go-to players are overrated. Comparing Cregg to McLoughlin is a joke but Cregg is a good player. Donie Shine is becoming a latter day Derek Duggan and Senan Kilbride - while tecnically very good- looks in poor condition for IC level and maybe as a result does not appear fully clued in. I was impressed by McDermott - again, Keenan, Niall Daly. Smith is a good footballer and Devaney has something but I wouldn t have let him on the pitch with a head like that. ffs, what s that about? Mannion, like his clubman Kilbride, is tecnically all there but again not quite right.

Now I m not sure where I m going with this but Mayo came from nowhere after the 2010 pits. Boyle was ruined and only returned last year and is now a team leader. Parsons was lost. The point is,  this has not been a planned road for Mayo football. If, for example, Tommy Lyons had got the gig we would not be looking at what we are looking at now.

Annoying thing from my point of view is that the 06-10 period was avoidable and we may well have done better last couple of years if we hadn t been so set back in those years. Still, this is a young team, and I for one, am proud of them. I ve never seen a Mayo team so focused and organised. That wouldn t be hard I suppose but it is unusual for likes of me. 97/98 we could have been the best in the country but there was flakiness in some aspects that was very costly.

So it s a good time to be a Mayo man - even if The Grail itself might elude us. That s sport, but this team is working at becoming champions rather than hoping it might happen. Fair play to them for surviving the horror years and the ridicule of the general public. I hope for themselves that they get to the summit.

[macdanger2]

Great to win yesterday, Roscommon did well on the breaking ball throughout but weren't able to take their chances when they had them early on and this prevented them from asking any real questions of Mayo. The game was won in the last 15 minutes of the first half, after playing reasonably well up until that, the Mayo lads started using the wind to pop over scores from out around the 40 without being under any pressure from Roscommon who must have expected them to try to work it in or something? After that, the Rossie heads dropped and they were lucky it was only a 12 point gap at the end.

Pretty much everyone played well although Dillon was well off the boil for some reason. Coen looked decent when he came on and it was good to see Andy get more game time. B Moran could find it hard to get back into the team when he's fit again – good problem to have though. We badly need CO'C back though for frees alone – if we missed 2/3 frees yesterday under very little pressure, it'd be more on a bigger day.

Despite a 12 pt win, there's a lot to work on for Mayo – the play got very sloppy towards the end (Dillon & Feeney missed handy goal chances). Some of the hand passing in the first half when Roscommon put pressure on the short kickouts was messy enough and would be punished by a better, harder-hitting team.

It was interesting that Horan replaced two of the full back line in the second half – wonder what his thinking is there? Giving the lads game time as he expects to use them later in the summer? Clarke also replaced at half time was strange to see.

These kind of games are of no use to Mayo though – while Feeney & Freeman played well yesterday, you'd have to wonder how they'll fare against a better defence? Donegal have already played Tyrone and are playing Down this weekend – two division 1 teams – where they'll learn a lot more than we have so far this year.

I'd expect that the Rossies will get a win or two in the qualifiers (assuming they don't come up against Tyrone) and could have a reasonable summer yet. In relation to the progress of the team – you only have to go back three years to when Mayo were beaten by Sligo & Longford so it doesn't take that much to go from being at a low ebb to being reasonably close to the top.

Just checked there, 9 of the team that started v Longford in 2010 started yesterday (some positional changes) and 3 more were on the bench (2 of whom would have potentially started had they been fit). The three missing are Howley (in Australia?), Harte (banjaxed knee?) and C Mort.

Clarke
Barrett  Cafferkey   Howley
Vaughan  Higgins   Mc Loughlin
S O Se  Harte
Moran   A O Se    Dillon
Mort    Moran  Freeman

[Blowitupref]

What would you prefer? Win a minor or U21 AI or produce a senior player like Aidan O Sé or Michael Murphy who were not underage winners.

Murphy,O Sé both won provincial underage titles. For some the hurt of losing underage All Ireland can drive them on at senior level, it certainly worked for Murphy.

[rodney trotter]

Freeman was suppose to have done well for Mayo. No surprise, saw him play college football 2 years ago with DIT and he outstanding. Been a few years on the panel without nailing down his  place. Some good competition when O Connor, Moran fully fit, Jason Doherty and Michael Moyles are all available.

[Syferus]

Freeman was suppose to have done well for Mayo. No surprise, saw him play college football 2 years ago with DIT and he outstanding. Been a few years on the panel without nailing down his  place. Some good competition when O Connor, Moran fully fit, Jason Doherty and Michael Moyles are all available.

If it was any other day I'd have been really happy for Alan. He seems to be benefiting from a decent run in the team and beating up on Leitrim/London is all he needs to do get a starting slot in Croke Park now.

His second big catch in the first half was a thing of absolute beauty. If he can produce that level of performance more consistently Mayo have found the 14 they're looking for.

[moysider]

What would you prefer? Win a minor or U21 AI or produce a senior player like Aidan O Sé or Michael Murphy who were not underage winners.

Murphy,O Sé both won provincial underage titles. For some the hurt of losing underage All Ireland can drive them on at senior level, it certainly worked for Murphy.

I don t understand?

Like Mayo winning a provincial minor ? 5/6 a decade should be the norm if anybody was bothered too much.

My point is that those two are massive talents. I suspect they dragged their respective teams along as far as they got.

[ross matt]

I'm not sure what the answer is for Roscommon but looking through comments on their own board as well I think many are looking in the wrong places.

Comparing Ros and Mayo at underage is comforting but a waste of time.

What would you prefer? Win a minor or U21 AI or produce a senior player like Aidan O Sé or Michael Murphy who were not underage winners. Well organised underage teams can often beat teams that may have 1 or 2 players that will be serious senior players. Mayo have been slobbering around at underage for years but individuals keep popping up. In 08? we were seconds away from winning a minor AI and only Aidan,  Hennelly and Kevin Keane made senior out of it. Should there have been more if we happened to hold on and win it?

I also think that some of the Roscommon go-to players are overrated. Comparing Cregg to McLoughlin is a joke but Cregg is a good player. Donie Shine is becoming a latter day Derek Duggan and Senan Kilbride - while tecnically very good- looks in poor condition for IC level and maybe as a result does not appear fully clued in. I was impressed by McDermott - again, Keenan, Niall Daly. Smith is a good footballer and Devaney has something but I wouldn t have let him on the pitch with a head like that. ffs, what s that about? Mannion, like his clubman Kilbride, is tecnically all there but again not quite right.

Now I m not sure where I m going with this but Mayo came from nowhere after the 2010 pits. Boyle was ruined and only returned last year and is now a team leader. Parsons was lost. The point is,  this has not been a planned road for Mayo football. If, for example, Tommy Lyons had got the gig we would not be looking at what we are looking at now.

Annoying thing from my point of view is that the 06-10 period was avoidable and we may well have done better last couple of years if we hadn t been so set back in those years. Still, this is a young team, and I for one, am proud of them. I ve never seen a Mayo team so focused and organised. That wouldn t be hard I suppose but it is unusual for likes of me. 97/98 we could have been the best in the country but there was flakiness in some aspects that was very costly.

So it s a good time to be a Mayo man - even if The Grail itself might elude us. That s sport, but this team is working at becoming champions rather than hoping it might happen. Fair play to them for surviving the horror years and the ridicule of the general public. I hope for themselves that they get to the summit.

Great post Moysider. James Horan (aka focussed intelligent management seems to be the x factor in your development). The Donie Shine/Derek Duggan comparison is a close to the bone worry though!

[macdanger2]

Freeman was suppose to have done well for Mayo. No surprise, saw him play college football 2 years ago with DIT and he outstanding. Been a few years on the panel without nailing down his  place. Some good competition when O Connor, Moran fully fit, Jason Doherty and Michael Moyles are all available.

Usually the comeback stories are about the other Crossmolina man!!!

[Syferus]

I'm not sure what the answer is for Roscommon but looking through comments on their own board as well I think many are looking in the wrong places.

Comparing Ros and Mayo at underage is comforting but a waste of time.

What would you prefer? Win a minor or U21 AI or produce a senior player like Aidan O Sé or Michael Murphy who were not underage winners. Well organised underage teams can often beat teams that may have 1 or 2 players that will be serious senior players. Mayo have been slobbering around at underage for years but individuals keep popping up. In 08? we were seconds away from winning a minor AI and only Aidan,  Hennelly and Kevin Keane made senior out of it. Should there have been more if we happened to hold on and win it?

I also think that some of the Roscommon go-to players are overrated. Comparing Cregg to McLoughlin is a joke but Cregg is a good player. Donie Shine is becoming a latter day Derek Duggan and Senan Kilbride - while tecnically very good- looks in poor condition for IC level and maybe as a result does not appear fully clued in. I was impressed by McDermott - again, Keenan, Niall Daly. Smith is a good footballer and Devaney has something but I wouldn t have let him on the pitch with a head like that. ffs, what s that about? Mannion, like his clubman Kilbride, is tecnically all there but again not quite right.

Now I m not sure where I m going with this but Mayo came from nowhere after the 2010 pits. Boyle was ruined and only returned last year and is now a team leader. Parsons was lost. The point is,  this has not been a planned road for Mayo football. If, for example, Tommy Lyons had got the gig we would not be looking at what we are looking at now.

Annoying thing from my point of view is that the 06-10 period was avoidable and we may well have done better last couple of years if we hadn t been so set back in those years. Still, this is a young team, and I for one, am proud of them. I ve never seen a Mayo team so focused and organised. That wouldn t be hard I suppose but it is unusual for likes of me. 97/98 we could have been the best in the country but there was flakiness in some aspects that was very costly.

So it s a good time to be a Mayo man - even if The Grail itself might elude us. That s sport, but this team is working at becoming champions rather than hoping it might happen. Fair play to them for surviving the horror years and the ridicule of the general public. I hope for themselves that they get to the summit.

Great post Moysider. James Horan (aka focussed intelligent management seems to be the x factor in your development). The Donie Shine/Derek Duggan comparison is a close to the bone worry though!

Moy, I disagree with a lot of what you said but that Donie Shine/Duggan comment was ridiculous and I'm amazed Matt agreed with you.

Duggan's career was destroyed by injury - he retired at 28 - and Donie has a hamstring injury, and one that was mishandled at that. No history of injury. I wouldn't be judging Donie on how good or how made he plays this year because the injury has prevented him from doing most of the necessary conditioning work for inter-county football.

On Duggan - this interview is a good look back at what happened to him: http://www.roscommonpeople.ie/pdf/RSP_2505_Ed1_058.pdf and http://www.roscommonpeople.ie/pdf/RSP_2505_Ed1_059.pdf

Your injury must have improved over the years to allow you to play (club) again?
"I got some unusual treatment from a crowd of Chinese doctors who were working here in Ireland at that time."

[Blowitupref]

What would you prefer? Win a minor or U21 AI or produce a senior player like Aidan O Sé or Michael Murphy who were not underage winners.

Murphy,O Sé both won provincial underage titles. For some the hurt of losing underage All Ireland can drive them on at senior level, it certainly worked for Murphy.

I don t understand?

Like Mayo winning a provincial minor ? 5/6 a decade should be the norm if anybody was bothered too much.

My point is that those two are massive talents. I suspect they dragged their respective teams along as far as they got.

Bothered? I don't know. Mayo had a stage of winning four in row U-21 Connacht titles between 2006-09 those sides have supplied a lot of the current senior team however since then Galway,Roscommon have made Connacht underage a three horse race. Ulster titles aren't easy to win at any level.

In Murphys case he missed a penalty in the U-21 final against Dublin in 2010. That would have driven him on in the senior final.

[moysider]

What would you prefer? Win a minor or U21 AI or produce a senior player like Aidan O Sé or Michael Murphy who were not underage winners.

Murphy,O Sé both won provincial underage titles. For some the hurt of losing underage All Ireland can drive them on at senior level, it certainly worked for Murphy.

I don t understand?

Like Mayo winning a provincial minor ? 5/6 a decade should be the norm if anybody was bothered too much.

My point is that those two are massive talents. I suspect they dragged their respective teams along as far as they got.

Bothered? I don't know. Mayo had a stage of winning four in row U-21 Connacht titles between 2006-09 those sides have supplied a lot of the current senior team however since then Galway,Roscommon have made Connacht underage a three horse race. Ulster titles aren't easy to win at any level.

In Murphys case he missed a penalty in the U-21 final against Dublin in 2010. That would have driven him on in the senior final.

Murphy was there anyway. Like Aidan O Se will be unless a plane crashes. I saw the Murphy peno miss an all. One of those things. Like pricking your finger pruning roses. He was always going to be there. A talent even Kerry gets every 50 years.

But I don t want to get too personal about how Mayo have gone about doin their underage stuff in recent years if ye know what I mean