Maigh Eo v Doire, Pairc An Chrócaigh, De Domhnaigh 13ú Aibreain, 1400

[Chimley]

Absolutely disgusted when I came home and looked at this thread. Brilliant occasion for our county, very proud derry Gael today, but goodness gracious lads, we have own nothing yet. Some stupid comments from derry posters here and ridiculous uncalled for comments from the mayo supporters about politics etc, where does that fit into the GAA ethos? Gracious in victory, gracious in defeat! Derry abú

Well said. Hope you go on to win it now but you won't need reminding that the eye must still remain on the championship.

[blast05]

Funny thing the extra man.....
A young hungry fresh team like Derry find themselves a man down in the dressing room at half time. It leads to them pushing themselves to the limit right across the park - something that was less likely to happen if they did not find themselves a man down. But good luck to them, they are in the final on merit with some serious footballers at their disposal.

Then you have Mayo. Mentally i feel 5 or 6 players were happy enough with the league for the year (probably just at a subconscious level) once Derry named a 2nd string for last round robin match, i.e.: we were safe from relegation. Yes, the collective aim was to win the NFL but the reward and perceived value from winning this wasn't big enough to force the players (or at least the 5 or 6 key players i refer to above) to dig deep enough to win this game - moreso when Derry had a man sent off, i.e.: the reward being merely avoiding the embarrassment of defeat against 14 players.
And you know, i think this is all OK cos any given team in its life will only be able to go to the well so many times and i firmly believe that calling on that today to get the 'reward' of playing in a league final wasn't enough of a motivation for a team on the back of losing 2 All-Ireland finals on the trot..... and had we actually managed to dig deep enough and win today then i believe that would have taken from us later in the summer.
So, onwards and to championship. Plenty to focus on aside from some key players being well off on their conditioning compared to previous years (although that could be mental tiredness)..... e.g.: how to stop leaking goals, sort out who will be our corner backs (Barrett and Cunniffe for me), how to ensure our half back line remain a potent force (Higgins in for Vaughan on the wing), do we take a somewhat radical step and shift Aidan to CF or FF given the relative strength in depth we half in MF, etc. etc

As for the Dubs ..... well talking about an example of a team going deep into the well - Dublin were a classic example of this today. However, i feel all that victory will serve to do for them is to engrain a mindset that its OK to start slowly (they will say the exact opposite in all training and team talks) cos they have the ability to dig deep and pull off a comeback like today cos they know they are just head and shoulders above the rest .... but as i say, a team can only do that a limited number of times and will the fact they have dug deep today come back to haunt them when they can't do it in August or September ?

[Pangurban]

Two great games today, all four teams featured will be serious contenders for the championship. Either Mayo are tactically naive or they lack the ability to drive at defences with pace as the other three teams did. To often they resorted to close tight handpassing until they were turned over.

[J OGorman]

Absolutely disgusted when I came home and looked at this thread. Brilliant occasion for our county, very proud derry Gael today, but goodness gracious lads, we have own nothing yet. Some stupid comments from derry posters here and ridiculous uncalled for comments from the mayo supporters about politics etc, where does that fit into the GAA ethos? Gracious in victory, gracious in defeat! Derry abú

QM, there seems to be a couple of rogue agents in this thread. Hopefully the Mayo men know the craic. Got down early, and had great aul chat with a load of Mayo gaels in the college car park and the CP Hotel. we struck it lucky with the weather as well. Giving a good Easter too by all accounts

[orangeman]

Absolutely disgusted when I came home and looked at this thread. Brilliant occasion for our county, very proud derry Gael today, but goodness gracious lads, we have own nothing yet. Some stupid comments from derry posters here and ridiculous uncalled for comments from the mayo supporters about politics etc, where does that fit into the GAA ethos? Gracious in victory, gracious in defeat! Derry abú

QM, there seems to be a couple of rogue agents in this thread. Hopefully the Mayo men know the craic. Got down early, and had great aul chat with a load of Mayo gaels in the college car park and the CP Hotel. we struck it lucky with the weather as well. Giving a good Easter too by all accounts

If you're from Derry, it's like Christmas !

[J OGorman]

Absolutely disgusted when I came home and looked at this thread. Brilliant occasion for our county, very proud derry Gael today, but goodness gracious lads, we have own nothing yet. Some stupid comments from derry posters here and ridiculous uncalled for comments from the mayo supporters about politics etc, where does that fit into the GAA ethos? Gracious in victory, gracious in defeat! Derry abú

QM, there seems to be a couple of rogue agents in this thread. Hopefully the Mayo men know the craic. Got down early, and had great aul chat with a load of Mayo gaels in the college car park and the CP Hotel. we struck it lucky with the weather as well. Giving a good Easter too by all accounts

If you're from Derry, it's like Christmas !

I arrived home last night with a lorry drivers tan ffs !

[orangeman]

Irish times analysis - Malachy Clerkin.


Derry 2-15 Mayo 1-16

Sometimes there is no deeper meaning. No need to itch and scratch for a significance beyond the very what and how of the day itself. Mayo led this league semi-final with 10 minutes to go and failed to see it out despite having had an extra man for three-quarters of an hour. The rest of the year will bring what it will bring – this was a calamity in and of itself.

Disorganised defence
It doesn't mean they're cursed, it doesn't confirm them as eternal Croke Park washouts. Search too hard for a broader context and you risk overlooking the deed itself. Wasteful in attack, often mystifyingly disorganised in defence, Mayo went down to a Derry side that had access to a shelf stacked with excuses but never reached out a hand to pluck one.
"The longer that game would have gone, Derry would have won by more," said James Horan afterwards. "They were starting to get away from us at the end. It's a very disappointing performance from us and one we're going to have to analyse, the whole lot of us as a group. We weren't good today. We were very flat.
"Our tackling was poor. The second goal we gave away today, at any age group or in any game, you'd be very disappointed with it. But for a goal to go in like that, there's more wrong than just someone missing a tackle. What's that – 15 goals in the league? That's a big problem. But our work-rate was poor and that must mean that our preparation was a bit off because we were very flat. I have to take responsibility for that."

[Farrandeelin]

Tackling poor, unable to run through defences as Pangurban pointed out. And we had the extra man! It was terrible to watch and I don't think we're 'learning' from the mistakes at all, as they seem to be made and repeated more often than not this year. I said last night we seemed pedestrian looking, and I think the whole set-up is becoming 'pedestrian' in their outlook. To good effect last year we had men pushing up, closing down the man on the ball etc. I didn't see that yesterday. Nor the day before - when I gave them the benefit of the doubt for playing Derry's 'B' team.

Why was Cafferkey not removed as soon as he went down. He was left on for around 5 minutes afterwards, I think. I don't think the subs were used to great effect either. Higgins was never taken off when he played cornerback. We all know what Varley brings to the table at this stage, why not try Adam Gallagher? See if he has it or not? And bringing Feeney on with the game as good as well over, well it's pretty pointless discussing that substitution. Andy Moran when he let the ball go did a few nice things, but his annoyingly overbearing towards taking 2 or 3 solos out of the ball most of the time he got it was not good to watch.

Freeman hadn't one of his best games, then again the ball wasn't going in quick enough to him. Midfield started well, but lost their way (after Doherty got red). Another annoying day out at the office for Mayo. One where lots will say, 'it'll be grand if we learn'. We aren't learning.

PS, sorry to bore Derry posters to tears with my pessimistic ravings and ramblings about the state of Mayo. Well done to ye. Ye worked harder than Mayo yesterday and deserved to win it.

[Zulu]

I wouldn't entirely agree Mayo were unable to run through the Derry defence, Keegan did it on numerous occasions and for much of the game I thought Derry were the more ponderous of the two when attacking. The problem for Mayo is the same problem it has always been, forwards. However, the question for Horan is how to maximise what he has. Higgins needs to return to the backs and Gibbons emergence as a genuine IC midfielder provides Mayo with the opportunity to experiment with Moran or O'Shea as forwards. Sweeney looks like a good player so if Dillon and O'Connor can come back then Mayo could yet find the right balance.

[sheamy]

Tackling poor, unable to run through defences as Pangurban pointed out. And we had the extra man! It was terrible to watch and I don't think we're 'learning' from the mistakes at all, as they seem to be made and repeated more often than not this year. I said last night we seemed pedestrian looking, and I think the whole set-up is becoming 'pedestrian' in their outlook. To good effect last year we had men pushing up, closing down the man on the ball etc. I didn't see that yesterday. Nor the day before - when I gave them the benefit of the doubt for playing Derry's 'B' team.

Why was Cafferkey not removed as soon as he went down. He was left on for around 5 minutes afterwards, I think. I don't think the subs were used to great effect either. Higgins was never taken off when he played cornerback. We all know what Varley brings to the table at this stage, why not try Adam Gallagher? See if he has it or not? And bringing Feeney on with the game as good as well over, well it's pretty pointless discussing that substitution. Andy Moran when he let the ball go did a few nice things, but his annoyingly overbearing towards taking 2 or 3 solos out of the ball most of the time he got it was not good to watch.

Freeman hadn't one of his best games, then again the ball wasn't going in quick enough to him. Midfield started well, but lost their way (after Doherty got red). Another annoying day out at the office for Mayo. One where lots will say, 'it'll be grand if we learn'. We aren't learning.

PS, sorry to bore Derry posters to tears with my pessimistic ravings and ramblings about the state of Mayo. Well done to ye. Ye worked harder than Mayo yesterday and deserved to win it.

Interestingly, when the game was level and there to be won in the last 5 mins there was 6 of this so called B team on the pitch.

[screenexile]

Jesus wept... I know McGee was the main instigator for the new rules but this is ridiculous:

http://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-football/same-old-failings-return-to-haunt-newlook-rebels-30182716.html

Referee Padraig Hughes also played his part with wonderful officiating, using common sense to keep the fast game going without interruption.

[Tubberman]

Jesus wept... I know McGee was the main instigator for the new rules but this is ridiculous:

http://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-football/same-old-failings-return-to-haunt-newlook-rebels-30182716.html

Referee Padraig Hughes also played his part with wonderful officiating, using common sense to keep the fast game going without interruption.

"Derry did not play flashy football yesterday, as Mayo did on many occasions."
"There were no 'flash Harrys' or 'fancy Dans' on this Derry team. Just solid, well-organised and hard-working players who never lost sight of what they were supposed to do.
A lesson, perhaps, for everybody involved in the Mayo football team."

What the fck is McGee raving about!? There wasn't a Mayo player on the pitch who was trying to be 'flashy'. He's still harbouring his opinions of Mayo from 04/06 with Mortimer and McDonald it seems.

[Keyser soze]

Absolutely disgusted when I came home and looked at this thread. Brilliant occasion for our county, very proud derry Gael today, but goodness gracious lads, we have own nothing yet. Some stupid comments from derry posters here and ridiculous uncalled for comments from the mayo supporters about politics etc, where does that fit into the GAA ethos? Gracious in victory, gracious in defeat! Derry abú

What he said.

[Walter Cronc]

Jesus wept... I know McGee was the main instigator for the new rules but this is ridiculous:

http://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-football/same-old-failings-return-to-haunt-newlook-rebels-30182716.html

Referee Padraig Hughes also played his part with wonderful officiating, using common sense to keep the fast game going without interruption.

"Derry did not play flashy football yesterday, as Mayo did on many occasions."
"There were no 'flash Harrys' or 'fancy Dans' on this Derry team. Just solid, well-organised and hard-working players who never lost sight of what they were supposed to do.
A lesson, perhaps, for everybody involved in the Mayo football team."

What the fck is McGee raving about!? There wasn't a Mayo player on the pitch who was trying to be 'flashy'. He's still harbouring his opinions of Mayo from 04/06 with Mortimer and McDonald it seems.

He's a bloody header that man. How he gets the status he does is beyond me.

[DennistheMenace]

Delighted with the character, work ethic and belief in this Derry side that has been drilled into them since Brian has came on board. They are very well organised with talented footballers across each line knowing their role within the team. Previously Derry were a collection of individuals but now we are more akin to a well drilled club side and the atmosphere around Derry at the minute is great.

I like Mayo and still think they will be there around the business end of the season, it's only April afterall. best of luck for the rest of the year.