Tyrone vs Mayo AISF Semi-Final - August 25th

[From the Bunker]

Don't know who I'd rather progress.

Would normally shout for  Ulster team due to being sick of listening and reading  the usual anti Ulster crap that gets turned out every year in the championship but Kavanagh'a rugby Leauge tackle was ugly to watch.
No problem with Tyrone being cynical, every team is if their fan's are 100% honest that includes Mayo.

Tyrone are fading in games with 20mins to go that's partly due to the sheer volume of games.  2 weeks off might be the answer to fatigue. It would still be hard to back them with money here though.

You'd expect Mayo to progress as they've taken the direct route and are on a carbon copy of the mission Donegal were on last year but I expected Mayo to beat Tyrone at home in the Leauge as well but their shooting was awfull .

Mayo will win if they don't hit endless wides . If they do , then Tyrone will progress.
Mayo's to lose I think.

I was at the Tyrone v Mayo league match and agree that Mayo had sufficient possession and attempts on goal to have won that game - as you've said it was 'Mayo's to lose', AND THEY DID. Going on current form they have to be regarded as firm favourites but Mayo do have an unfortunate habit of losing games like this and Tyrone keep churning out workmanlike victories when they're up against it. I think it'll be an awful lot closer than people think and as we get closer to the 25th you'll find that this weekend will have been forgotten and fans, analysts and punters will be more cautious in their predictions. I'd like to see a Dublin v Mayo final but wouldn't rule out Tyrone or Kerry at this stage.

Either way, it'll be nice to put this weekend behind us and move on to talking about football again rather than massaging Joe's ego.

God, have you not learned anything yet? League form counts for nothing! League games count for nothing! When Kerry were HAMMERING us in AI finals in 2004 and 2006. We beat them handy in Castlebar or Tralee in the league. We'd think to ourselves we were progressing. But Kerry were on a Go Slow! There is nothing you will get out of the league game last spring, there will be different personnel and players at different conditioning.

Please identify where I said league form would have a bearing on the outcome of this game? I used the example of the league game to highlight the fact that Mayo can sometimes lose games when they appear to be in the driving seat. I refer to this game only because it's the most recent example I witnessed first hand.

The game in question  had Tyrone with a four point lead with less than five minutes to play. Mayo scored 1-03 in the closing five minutes and Tyrone won with a last minute penalty. In reality Tyrone made hard work of closing a substantial lead out.

Now back to the real world of Championship football. Where under Horans reign have Mayo lost a game when they appeared to be in the driving seat?

[rodney trotter]

Hope Mayo win, and win the All Ireland. They deserve one, it was great to see them yesterday in Croker. Brilliant pace and intensity.

[Jinxy]

In fairness to James Horano he has built a bomb proof Mayo team.  They are driven by 63 years of failure culminating in todays power show versus Donegal. Not only do I see them beating Dublin in the final well, I think we would all love to see them hammering Kerry if the Kingdom can get there.  The next two months Mayo will be living the dream and as Tyrone supporters we wish them well.  Yes its a shame the way they treated Mortimer but just a few months on I dont think they are missing him, they are delivering some of the greatest performances ever seen in Croke Park.  Well done!

Good mexican name.

[Whishtup]

I know they say that the league counts for nothing but Tyrone and Dublin were so far ahead of everyone else that I fancy both to reach the final.  I would also fancy the same outcome as the league final as the Dubs physicality can not be matched by any other team.

Tyrone's run in to the semi-final cannot be dismissed.

-Hammered an Offaly team who were high in confidence after putting it up to Kildare (in Offaly)(altough although had players out)
-Bate Roscommon in Roscommon-a team hurting from their display against Mayo with new impetus from John Evans.
-Bate a Kildare team in Kildare with Kieran McGeeney fighting for survival.
-Bate Meath after Meath scaring the shite out of Dublin in Croke Park.
-Bate Monaghan who were on the crest of a wave after taking Ulster.

The Mayo Donegal game will have done Mayo no favours at all-better to have come through a tight battle.  As for Aidan O'Shea he'll need more than a couple of high catches and bullock runs to impress against Tyrone-we'll give him no respect.

The speed of Dublin is frightening-altough they are a great team, I don't see anything frightening about Mayo.

[Jinxy]

Sickening arrogance.

[Whishtup]

Too right.

[galwayman]

It's hard to see anything other than a Mayo victory here.
There just seems to be something different about this team from previous Mayo sides.
I can see them going all the way this time

[ross matt]

It's hard to see anything other than a Mayo victory here.
There just seems to be something different about this team from previous Mayo sides.
I can see them going all the way this time

+1

[squire_in_navy_slacks]

I know they say that the league counts for nothing but Tyrone and Dublin were so far ahead of everyone else that I fancy both to reach the final.  I would also fancy the same outcome as the league final as the Dubs physicality can not be matched by any other team.

Tyrone's run in to the semi-final cannot be dismissed.

-Hammered an Offaly team who were high in confidence after putting it up to Kildare (in Offaly)(altough although had players out)
-Bate Roscommon in Roscommon-a team hurting from their display against Mayo with new impetus from John Evans.
-Bate a Kildare team in Kildare with Kieran McGeeney fighting for survival.
-Bate Meath after Meath scaring the shite out of Dublin in Croke Park.
-Bate Monaghan who were on the crest of a wave after taking Ulster.

The Mayo Donegal game will have done Mayo no favours at all-better to have come through a tight battle.  As for Aidan O'Shea he'll need more than a couple of high catches and bullock runs to impress against Tyrone-we'll give him no respect.

The speed of Dublin is frightening-altough they are a great team, I don't see anything frightening about Mayo.

Mayo would have beat a combined team of Kerry and Dublin yesterday .............................................sometimes you see a team that are destined to win Sam, and Mayo are that team this year.................................Im debating whether id rather loose a semi or a final ??

[barelegs]

I'm beginning to wonder whether Tyrone should even bother turning up. Is there a procedure for withdrawing from the championship? We've clearly got no chance 

[yellowcard]

I don't buy into the argument that League form counts for nothing. There has been an obvious correlation between Leagur form and championship success which has become even more obvious since the back door and the League being played in a calendar year.

I can see danger signs for Mayo here already, the hype machine is in overdrive and whilst they are worthy favourites, all this talk of 10+ point victories and ending 62 years of hurt is bound to seep into players mindset. Mickey Harte will be delighted that he can arrive in an AI semi final and be written off by most experts as virtual no hopers even though they were beaten by a point in the League final and were in fact the only team to have beaten Dublin this year (I think). At the minute and on current form you would have to fancy Mayo but as the game gets closer I suspect that the difference in quality will not be as obvious as it appears to be at the minute. I definitely think the praise for Mayo is slightly premature and ott at the minute. For me they are a still a rung below Dublin in terms of likely winners.

[give her dixie]

This is one game i'm really looking forward to, and to be in our 5th semi final since '03 is a fantastic record.
Mayo are playing fierce well this year, and I have no doubt that Tyrone will put up a good show and we should just
about edge it in the end. I reckon will will have our 4th 2 point win in a row...........

[whitey]

As a hardcore Mayo supporter this is where we enter the twilight zone

How many times have we put in a mesmerizing quarter or semi final performance, only to fall flat on our face the next day out, and be down maybe 8 or 9 points in the first 10 mins.

Sitting in the Green Brier in Boston, last September little did I know that history was to strike yet again. I watched the 04 and 06 finals there and vowed that like Mayo I would exercise the ghosts of years past. I wouldnt let superstition and curses banish me from this fine watering hole-we' d see it through one way or another. Id even befriended a Celtic Tiger refugees in the process.

Until I see Sam been kicked down the Main St in Castlebar, I wont rest easy

[From the Bunker]

I don't buy into the argument that League form counts for nothing. There has been an obvious correlation between Leagur form and championship success which has become even more obvious since the back door and the League being played in a calendar year.

I can see danger signs for Mayo here already, the hype machine is in overdrive and whilst they are worthy favourites, all this talk of 10+ point victories and ending 62 years of hurt is bound to seep into players mindset. Mickey Harte will be delighted that he can arrive in an AI semi final and be written off by most experts as virtual no hopers even though they were beaten by a point in the League final and were in fact the only team to have beaten Dublin this year (I think). At the minute and on current form you would have to fancy Mayo but as the game gets closer I suspect that the difference in quality will not be as obvious as it appears to be at the minute. I definitely think the praise for Mayo is slightly premature and ott at the minute. For me they are a still a rung below Dublin in terms of likely winners.

We are so burned out with AI Finals the hype has gone! There was little or no hype before last years AI and i mean that! People had not booked the next day off work, schools had a caveat that if we lost there was school on the Monday. This is Mayo 2013 not 1989! So don't think were jumping about the place cos we beat Donegal AI Champions. We've done that before in 1999 Galway, 2004 Tyrone, 2011 Cork and 2012 Dublin. It's nice but we still realise what still work has to be done. We think we will beat ye, that's not cockiness just a judgement call, going on form results and teams we have beaten over the last two and a half years. If ye had Beaten Dublin, Cork, Donegal, in that period ye would think the same.

[stephenite]

Donegal were an absolute shambles - I'm not sure that Mayo have yet come up against a proper team in this years championship. In the first 20 minutes there was about 5 examples of Mayo mis-placing handpasses, and some shoddy build up work. This has all been masked by the ineptitude of Donegals performance.

I simply do not buy the line that Donegal weren't let play, they were that far off the pace it was astonishing

Against Tyrone Mayo will be up against the best manager of modern times - anyone thinking we'll get an easy ride to the final is kidding themselves