Maigh Eo v Ciarrai, 1700, 30ú Lúnasa, Gaelic Grounds

[ballinaman]

Reilly having got Keegan the red last week and seeing it overturned felt he could balance the books a bit.

Didn't hear how Keegan was allowed to play.  What was the reason given for rescinding the Red card?  Who'd be referee when their decisions are over turned like this.

Loophole. Coldrick wrote he sent him off for kicking instead of attempting to kick because didn't make contact. Reilly was the linesman who called it to Coldrick.

[Collie Brolly]

Hard to believe the Best Mayo team in 60 years couldn't beat the Worst Kerry team in 30 years.

[Sidney]

Debate about refereeing and the rules in the media is of primary school standard. Most of the people commenting haven't a clue what they're talking about. Tommy Carr was talking on the radio before the match yesterday and I was laughing at the utter nonsense of what he was saying. There are too many pundits out there who argue for what effectively is a "nod and a wink" culture of discipline where stuff is brushed under the carpet. Carr once aimed one of the filthiest kicks across the legs of an opponent (a potential leg breaker) that I've ever seen and tried to weasel out of what was a deserved six month suspension. He sums up that culture.

Cormac Reilly was poor - there's no doubt about that, but the players made it difficult for him. He needed to lay down a marker. He should probably have sent off Cillian O'Connor and Shane Enright early on and Enright should certainly have gone after the penalty incident. But my main grievance with him was that he gave too many soft frees to Kerry, which tipped the balance in their favour. Watching the replay on Sky Sports 3 here and it has to be said the first penalty was very soft, although it looked like a penalty on the live viewing (I was at that end).

What happened with Lee Keegan undermined Reilly going in, it undermined the role of whoever the referee was. That set the tone for the nonsense yesterday.

[rodney trotter]

 Christy O Connor mentioned on twitter that David Moran had 47 possessions & won 9 kickouts. The most possessions any Mayo player had was 19.

[Sidney]

Reilly having got Keegan the red last week and seeing it overturned felt he could balance the books a bit.

Didn't hear how Keegan was allowed to play.  What was the reason given for rescinding the Red card?  Who'd be referee when their decisions are over turned like this.

Loophole. Coldrick wrote he sent him off for kicking instead of attempting to kick because didn't make contact. Reilly was the linesman who called it to Coldrick.

I don't understand this thing about "no contact" with the Keegan incident. His foot may not have made contact but his shin definitely did. What's a kick? Does the GAA rulebook define what a kick is? Is it purely with the foot? If you make contact with another part of the leg, is that a kick? If you aim with the fot and make contact with the shin, I can't see how that isn't a kick.

[dublin7]

Thought ref got all the penalty decisions right. Enright should have got a black/2nd yellow card for Mayo penalty. Can't believe Horan had no plan for donaghy. Destroyed Cafferky and then Horan puts a small guy in Keane on to mark him. Could see him trying to wind up donaghy with shoulders when he came on and donaghy just laughing at him. Lack of forward power was  a problem again.  McLaughlin taking a point in extra time when a top class forward would have went for goal. Goal then would have finished it. Kerry's bench made a big difference,  fresh legs in  the forwards kicked some vital points. Mayo just didn't have that. Only threat came from Cillian O'Connor

[Sidney]

Having just seen the second Kerry penalty for the first time on TV I think it was probably correctly given. It was a contested ball there to be hit. Cafferkey got there first but only because he blocked the arc of O'Donoghue's kicking action so it was effectively a foot/leg block.

I do think O'Donoghue went down terribly easily for the first however.

[Donnellys Hollow]

Two enthralling games of football. Both teams deserve great credit.

On balance Kerry just about deserved it. There was more variety to their play yesterday than Mayo's. Mayo had no out ball when their running game was stopped. Kerry could mix it up a bit more with Donaghy on the edge of the square. Towards the end of Jack O'Connor's reign I thought they became a little bit too obsessed with the high delivery into Donaghy and it became one dimensional. Yesterday they varied it to great effect. Their kick passing around the middle of the field was superb.

Mayo were wiped out on the kickouts by Moran and Maher. It is to their credit that the managed to hang in there despite being so comprehensively beaten at midfield. Horan can leave with his head held high. No doubt he made a few mistakes along the way but he oversaw a huge improvement in this Mayo team over the last few years. It's hard to say whether or not they will go backwards now. Some of their key men have quite a bit of mileage on the clock but you would still expect them to have enough to win the Connacht championship next year and be in the latter stages.

The refereeing in both games was godawful but I don't believe it was the difference between the two teams.

[ardtole]

Id have to differ DH, when mayo eent two ahead in ET they had huge momentum, dealt with both kerry attacks, only to penalised unfairly by two ridiculous decisions. If they had to have had continued with play Mayo could have set up a counter attack on both occassions, never mind the huge lift it would have given the whole team to turn the ball over twice in quick succession, when its just ten mins each way it was hugely signifigant. On another note I think extra time should be scrapped, the second half of it in particular was farcical with players from both sides out on their feet. Aidan Omahony in particular looked in a bad way.

[Denn Forever]

Should Donehy not have received a Black Card at the end when the ball had to weaseled from him?  Wouldn't have changed the  result but I thought that this was now a Black Card offence.

[BennyHarp]

Should Donehy not have received a Black Card at the end when the ball had to weaseled from him?  Wouldn't have changed the  result but I thought that this was now a Black Card offence.

I think the black cards have been abandoned with. Fionn Fitzgerald was just testing to see if was still in use with his foul.

[screenexile]

Should Donehy not have received a Black Card at the end when the ball had to weaseled from him?  Wouldn't have changed the  result but I thought that this was now a Black Card offence.

Nope!

[Clinker]

Slow motion from the terrace and easier to view on full screen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzfiKPoppxw

[ballinaman]

Anyone get a program yesterday?

Who was 26 for Kerry? Threw Aidan O'Sheas boot into the crowd after the messing at the end.

[Sidney]

Id have to differ DH, when mayo eent two ahead in ET they had huge momentum, dealt with both kerry attacks, only to penalised unfairly by two ridiculous decisions. If they had to have had continued with play Mayo could have set up a counter attack on both occassions, never mind the huge lift it would have given the whole team to turn the ball over twice in quick succession, when its just ten mins each way it was hugely signifigant. On another note I think extra time should be scrapped, the second half of it in particular was farcical with players from both sides out on their feet. Aidan Omahony in particular looked in a bad way.

Others say extra-time should be brought in for the first match. Opinions, opinions.

I would stick with the current system. Of course some of the players were out on their feet but that's part of what makes it these rare occasions so exciting.