All Ireland Club SFC Semi-finals Feb 2016

[ballinaman]

For those of you complaining about MAYO teams getting to finals! Well tough sh!te! If your your Club or county is good enough to beat us on the way to a final well and good. If not, well put up and shut up! Mitchel were in the final on merit and them not performing was their own business. They don't have to apologise to anyone out side their own town and club for the performance.

I'm sorry but I disagree completely. They f**king shit themselves worse than any team I've seen at that level. They went out without a wimper and they deserve any criticism they get. So what they trained for x amount of months - doesn't make then immune. Not to kick them when they're down but if it was complacency or sheer mental weakness to kick wides from inside 30m they deserve ridicule. There's the same problem in armagh, teams can't beat cross even though they're good enough (and I include my own club) but lack the balls to go into a final and see them off. And they'll be the first to kiss the Crossmaglen holes when they're away playing in ulster for the millionth time instead of figuring how to overcome the mental block in championship

I doubt complacency and mental weakness were anything to do with it. For me it was yet another team let down by preparation in run up to final.

Durcans slice kickouts to the side line was basically a re run of Cluxton in 2013 final...

[From the Bunker]

Because Boden were pretty shit up to now

Only shit sides win AI's by 12 points.

The Clonmel and cross sub benches combined would have bate Castlebar by 12

Ah now give some credit to Leinster and Dublin Champions for their great win today!

Connacht sides have the worst record in this competition.

Well there has to be someone who has the worst record! 

Yeah but it's 50% of the other provinces.

I'm convinced CM's problem's today all came from the fact they were so confident going in.

I couldn't understand it pre-game............ Based on  beating a good but not great Cross side

Well you've been proven right.  The blind eyes were opened!

[clarshack]

Because Boden were pretty shit up to now

Only shit sides win AI's by 12 points.

The Clonmel and cross sub benches combined would have bate Castlebar by 12

even that kilmurray side from 2010 would have beaten castlebar today. brutal stuff from castlebar and all criticism is 100% deserved.

[highorlow]

I agree with moysider. The 1st goal was a perfect example of naivety which if coached properly would not happen. A player should have cynically stopped that quick free from been played in by "accidentally" standing in the way. I counted 4 mitchells near him. Any northern team would have done that. The punishment would have only brought the free closer and maybe resulted in a point.

These are coached instructions that should be given. Keeping it tight for the first ten minutes by a bit of pulling and dragging is what's needed. Maybe the feeney black in their previous final affected the players?

I doubt mitchells would have won either way but at least have a proper strategy. Playing one of your better possession players at full forward is also questionable.

Interesting that mitchells had a sweeper and Boden went man to man. Sweepers should be banned from County Mayo.

Fair play to Boden, delighted for Macauley. 

[Gael85]

Well done Boden. Got tactics spot on with man marking Patrick Durcan's.  He didn't have as much impact as Crossmaglen game.  Backed Basquel at 16/1 for first goal and got double odds as scored  in first 10 mins

[armaghniac]

Backed Basquel at 16/1 for first goal and got double odds as scored  in first 10 mins

You're buying the drinks, so.

[dublin7]

Total and complete lack of bottle/leadership from CBM forwards in 1st half. None of them willing to take responsibility and kick at goal from very scorable positions. Some of the wides they kicked were embarrassing. Dominated midfield but when none of your forwards are willing/confident to shoot it is irrelevant.  Can't blame management for performance. Players need to take responsibility or should we expect another player rebellion in Mayo to get rid of management

[whitey]

Mitchels previous victories were on heavy wet pitches. Maybe those conditions suited their short passing tight marking game. Contrast that with today and up against a super fast and fit team on a big dry pitch.

[Beffs]

Mitchels previous victories were on heavy wet pitches. Maybe those conditions suited their short passing tight marking game. Contrast that with today and up against a super fast and fit team on a big dry pitch.

So were Ballyboden's.

[whitey]

Mitchels previous victories were on heavy wet pitches. Maybe those conditions suited their short passing tight marking game. Contrast that with today and up against a super fast and fit team on a big dry pitch.

So were Ballyboden's.

And that may be why they struggled badly in all their prior games, as opposed to today where they blew it out on the fast dry pitch.

[Beffs]

Mitchels previous victories were on heavy wet pitches. Maybe those conditions suited their short passing tight marking game. Contrast that with today and up against a super fast and fit team on a big dry pitch.

So were Ballyboden's.

And that may be why they struggled badly in all their prior games, as opposed to today where they blew it out on the fast dry pitch.

Yeah, but that wouldn't explain why BB did so well today and Castlebar struggled. They both played on shitty, wet pitches in the semi finals. They both played on shitty, wet pitches in their respective provincial championships. It's not like Castlebar spent the last 6 months playing all their games in a bog & BB played all their games in Croke Park itself.

[whitey]

Mitchels previous victories were on heavy wet pitches. Maybe those conditions suited their short passing tight marking game. Contrast that with today and up against a super fast and fit team on a big dry pitch.

So were Ballyboden's.

And that may be why they struggled badly in all their prior games, as opposed to today where they blew it out on the fast dry pitch.

Yeah, but that wouldn't explain why BB did so well today and Castlebar struggled. They both played on shitty, wet pitches in the semi finals. They both played on shitty, wet pitches in their respective provincial championships. It's not like Castlebar spent the last 6 months playing all their games in a bog & BB played all their games in Croke Park itself.

Agreed....I guess what im trying to say is that maybe Castlebar werent as good and BBSE werent as "bad" as some people were making them both out to be based on prior performances.

Some teams (eg CM) and their particular style may be better suited to slogging it out on a wet heavy pitch while other teams (eg BBSE) and their style may be better suited to the hard fast pitch

[Beffs]

Mitchels previous victories were on heavy wet pitches. Maybe those conditions suited their short passing tight marking game. Contrast that with today and up against a super fast and fit team on a big dry pitch.

So were Ballyboden's.

And that may be why they struggled badly in all their prior games, as opposed to today where they blew it out on the fast dry pitch.

Yeah, but that wouldn't explain why BB did so well today and Castlebar struggled. They both played on shitty, wet pitches in the semi finals. They both played on shitty, wet pitches in their respective provincial championships. It's not like Castlebar spent the last 6 months playing all their games in a bog & BB played all their games in Croke Park itself.

Agreed....I guess what im trying to say is that maybe Castlebar werent as good and BBSE werent as "bad" as some people were making them both out to be based on prior performances.

Some teams (eg CM) and their particular style may be better suited to slogging it out on a wet heavy pitch while other teams (eg BBSE) and their style may be better suited to the hard fast pitch

I dunno about that. Nothing about either teams style of play, has struck me as being overly dependent on playing on a particular kind of pitch.

Even if it did, it wouldn't really explain how flat and lethargic CM looked. Their work rate was shocking at times. You can't blame that on the pitch.

[whitey]

Mitchels previous victories were on heavy wet pitches. Maybe those conditions suited their short passing tight marking game. Contrast that with today and up against a super fast and fit team on a big dry pitch.

So were Ballyboden's.

And that may be why they struggled badly in all their prior games, as opposed to today where they blew it out on the fast dry pitch.

Yeah, but that wouldn't explain why BB did so well today and Castlebar struggled. They both played on shitty, wet pitches in the semi finals. They both played on shitty, wet pitches in their respective provincial championships. It's not like Castlebar spent the last 6 months playing all their games in a bog & BB played all their games in Croke Park itself.

Agreed....I guess what im trying to say is that maybe Castlebar werent as good and BBSE werent as "bad" as some people were making them both out to be based on prior performances.

Some teams (eg CM) and their particular style may be better suited to slogging it out on a wet heavy pitch while other teams (eg BBSE) and their style may be better suited to the hard fast pitch

I dunno about that. Nothing about either teams style of play, has struck me as being overly dependent on playing on a particular kind of pitch.

Even if it did, it wouldn't really explain how flat and lethargic CM looked. Their work rate was shocking at times. You can't blame that on the pitch.

LOL...looking for something to explain it, because CM are nowhere as bad as they played today.

Some people are blaming the fact they went up by bus this morning, but someone else pointed out that Corofin did the same last year.   

Might be that BBSE just figured them out, and once the got ahead panic set in for CM.  CM have also relied heavily on goals to either win games  or get back into games theyve fallen behind in

Between Murphy and the packed defense that wanst going to happen today. I have never sworn at a TV as much in my life....players passing the ball instead of taking on very manageable shots from inside 30 M.  Pure madness

[J70]

Related to this I would ask if today's win will mean as much to Paul Durkin as it will to the player who has been there from under 8? Would it have meant more to Durkin if he had won with his hometown club?

I have heard something about one of the local Ballyboden players actually getting into a serious fight with Durcan over him taking up a potentially more deserving players place in the team. It was well hushed up before this game.

Not at all surprised at the Mayo boys' collapse. Crossmaglen would have given boden a much better game.

You would have to have some serious balls to square up to a man of Durcan's size!

Apparently Durcan's first cousin, McDaid, is on the team, and that is why Durcan decided to transfer there last summer.

Its a fair point about long term players being pissed off, but how many clubs would turn down a player like Durcan, who, after five or six years as an average, but mistake-prone, intercounty keeper, has turned himself into one of the top keepers in the country and one of the best at kick-outs?

And how many lads would fly all the back from Qatar, repeatedly, like Durcan did?