Galway v Mayo 11/06/17

[moysider]

Not often I agree with Syferus but he's right, we were very lucky not to have thrown that game away. Danny Cummins should have made sure with that last shot he had, we made a lot of mistakes and have plenty to work on. They showed great heart and hunger though in fairness to them. Still not sold on Lavelle in goals though, the short kick outs seem to have been the game plan and that's fair enough even though it's so frustrating to watch, but this carrying the ball out of his own defence is ridiculous, how many times did he cause trouble for himself and his own full back line? Only for Johnny Heaney we'd have lost that game. Armstrong really stepped up yesterday, was a bit quieter in the second half but he was bang on in the first. Can't wait to see Comer playing again, he seems like a man on a mission this year and what a hit on Diarmuid O'Connor. On a positive note, club championship this weekend, I thought they'd be called off but sense has prevailed. Even though it means Corofin, Monivea Abbey and Caltra are going to be without their hurlers unfortunately.

I dunno. It's all perspective but from where I'm coming from it was Mayo threw that game away. Mayo started both halves very flat. Galway ran up 4 easy points in first half before Mayo settled and then largely controlled most of the first half. Again - inexcusably from out point of view - Galway were allowed get a run on us at the beginning of second half and put up a quick 3 points. This purple patch gave Galway something to fight for and it turned out to be just enough.
But we really threw it away with the Higgins meltdown. Rightly so, when that happens, a team has to suffer for the individual's actions and it turned out to be crippling. The sending off handed Galway a tactical advantage in the second half they would not have had if it was 15 v 15.
Some of the post match analysis has missed the point imo. I was gobsmacked by James Horan harping on about Mayo not being at the required pace or intensity or whatever. Talk about ignoring the elephant in the room! The match lasted 80mins. Mayo played with 14 for 54 mins.
When the dust settles and people stop seeing what they want to see, the sending off (our own making and misfortune), was decisive. We could and should still have won. With Higgins I think we would have won with a bit to spare. But it was what it was and we have to live with it.

[Manning18]

I keep seeing in places that Galway were apparently lucky. Mayo's goal, at a time of Galway dominance, seems to be conveniently forgotten. That 3 point swing based on the way a ball bounces is huge in a low scoring game. If you offered me that ball bouncing away from goal, or the sending off, i'd definitely choose the former. The single most pivotal moment of the game and one almost completely based on luck

[moysider]

I keep seeing in places that Galway were apparently lucky. Mayo's goal, at a time of Galway dominance, seems to be conveniently forgotten. That 3 point swing based on the way a ball bounces is huge in a low scoring game. If you offered me that ball bouncing away from goal, or the sending off, i'd definitely choose the former. The single most pivotal moment of the game and one almost completely based on luck

Nonsense and you know it - if you don't then..... . Galway's dominance in first half was brief and Mayo were well back in it and attacking - the goal was from a shot that came back off a post. Galway got lucky shortly after with another shot off the crossbar with the keeper bet all things up. Throw in the freakish saves/awful misses in second half ye could have been looking at 3 goals against. Accept the win for what it was and stop spinning and trying to be annoying. Ye had a good day and we had a bad day. If you can't see the importance of the sending off in how the game developed, it's time to turn on the ignore button because you are not worth bothering with in that case.

[DJGaliv]

Not often I agree with Syferus but he's right, we were very lucky not to have thrown that game away. Danny Cummins should have made sure with that last shot he had, we made a lot of mistakes and have plenty to work on. They showed great heart and hunger though in fairness to them. Still not sold on Lavelle in goals though, the short kick outs seem to have been the game plan and that's fair enough even though it's so frustrating to watch, but this carrying the ball out of his own defence is ridiculous, how many times did he cause trouble for himself and his own full back line? Only for Johnny Heaney we'd have lost that game. Armstrong really stepped up yesterday, was a bit quieter in the second half but he was bang on in the first. Can't wait to see Comer playing again, he seems like a man on a mission this year and what a hit on Diarmuid O'Connor. On a positive note, club championship this weekend, I thought they'd be called off but sense has prevailed. Even though it means Corofin, Monivea Abbey and Caltra are going to be without their hurlers unfortunately.

I dunno. It's all perspective but from where I'm coming from it was Mayo threw that game away. Mayo started both halves very flat. Galway ran up 4 easy points in first half before Mayo settled and then largely controlled most of the first half. Again - inexcusably from out point of view - Galway were allowed get a run on us at the beginning of second half and put up a quick 3 points. This purple patch gave Galway something to fight for and it turned out to be just enough.
But we really threw it away with the Higgins meltdown. Rightly so, when that happens, a team has to suffer for the individual's actions and it turned out to be crippling. The sending off handed Galway a tactical advantage in the second half they would not have had if it was 15 v 15.
Some of the post match analysis has missed the point imo. I was gobsmacked by James Horan harping on about Mayo not being at the required pace or intensity or whatever. Talk about ignoring the elephant in the room! The match lasted 80mins. Mayo played with 14 for 54 mins.
When the dust settles and people stop seeing what they want to see, the sending off (our own making and misfortune), was decisive. We could and should still have won. With Higgins I think we would have won with a bit to spare. But it was what it was and we have to live with it.

We'll never get credit for beating Mayo. Now we ran up 4 easy points but that was just because Mayo weren't settled. But sure after that it was the Mayo show. Then in second half we got a run and put up 3 quick points till it was the Mayo show again.
Laughing here of lads referring to it as a purple patch. 7 points is just a purple patch. Christ



Whisht with ye. Depending on what way you look at it you can read this game how you like. Not having this rubbish about sending off cost Mayo that game. That's part of Gaelic football keeping your discipline and shouldn't be used as an excuse and hearing things like we would have won with a bit to spare if he wasn't sent off is sad stuff. Especially with a clear a red as you're likely to see.

Galway could crow on about how we were flying and would have won with a bit to spare if it wasn't for that poxy goal which bounced off the post, or tom flynns ridiculous black card or Danny cummins not burying a goal. Instead we got to listen to the land of the if only's.

Not one bit of credit given to Galway from Mayo. Thought last year I could understand them feeling that we caught them on the hop. Two years in a row may be more in it.

[Cunny Funt]

Not often I agree with Syferus but he's right, we were very lucky not to have thrown that game away. Danny Cummins should have made sure with that last shot he had, we made a lot of mistakes and have plenty to work on. They showed great heart and hunger though in fairness to them. Still not sold on Lavelle in goals though, the short kick outs seem to have been the game plan and that's fair enough even though it's so frustrating to watch, but this carrying the ball out of his own defence is ridiculous, how many times did he cause trouble for himself and his own full back line? Only for Johnny Heaney we'd have lost that game. Armstrong really stepped up yesterday, was a bit quieter in the second half but he was bang on in the first. Can't wait to see Comer playing again, he seems like a man on a mission this year and what a hit on Diarmuid O'Connor. On a positive note, club championship this weekend, I thought they'd be called off but sense has prevailed. Even though it means Corofin, Monivea Abbey and Caltra are going to be without their hurlers unfortunately.

I dunno. It's all perspective but from where I'm coming from it was Mayo threw that game away. Mayo started both halves very flat. Galway ran up 4 easy points in first half before Mayo settled and then largely controlled most of the first half. Again - inexcusably from out point of view - Galway were allowed get a run on us at the beginning of second half and put up a quick 3 points. This purple patch gave Galway something to fight for and it turned out to be just enough.
But we really threw it away with the Higgins meltdown. Rightly so, when that happens, a team has to suffer for the individual's actions and it turned out to be crippling. The sending off handed Galway a tactical advantage in the second half they would not have had if it was 15 v 15.
Some of the post match analysis has missed the point imo. I was gobsmacked by James Horan harping on about Mayo not being at the required pace or intensity or whatever. Talk about ignoring the elephant in the room! The match lasted 80mins. Mayo played with 14 for 54 mins.
When the dust settles and people stop seeing what they want to see, the sending off (our own making and misfortune), was decisive. We could and should still have won. With Higgins I think we would have won with a bit to spare. But it was what it was and we have to live with it.

The sending off/going down to 14 is a good excuse for some to stand behind but  lets be honest Mayo have managed games better before when down a man and look at Kerry weekend on how they managed the game when level at half time and down a man or be it Clare or not as good as Galway.

Take away the goal that bounced kindly into McLoughlins arms which came against the run of play the scoreline after 59 minutes would have been 0-15 to 0-8 and Galway would be good value for that lead as they had kicked twice as many wides at the time. 7 minutes of injury time was played so that's no score in the final 18 minutes of the match for Galway. It was a pure case of the finishing line in sight and the fear of losing taking over, similar happened to Mayo in the 2012 All Ireland semi final against Dublin and you could say they could or should have won the game also but like Mayo yesterday they didn't deserve to win.

[GalwayBayBoy]

Just listened to off the ball who had BJ Padden & Michael Quirke. Padden as usual talked nonsense and offered no proper analysis of the game whilst you'd have to wonder if Quirke even watched the game when claimed Galway were poor for the whole of the 2nd half.

Thought we were relatively comfortable for most of the 2nd half until the last 10/12 minutes when the back 4 especially had a collective brainfart and hit the panic button after a series of poor handpasses, poor kickouts and Lavelle haring up the pitch like the Inis Bofin, Rene Higuita.

Parkinson actually made a good point in his podcast in that even though Mayo lost Higgins just before half-time the 14 men still had a gale force wind behind them for the entire 2nd half plus 7 minutes of injury time.

[macdanger2]

Just listened to off the ball who had BJ Padden & Michael Quirke. Padden as usual talked nonsense and offered no proper analysis of the game whilst you'd have to wonder if Quirke even watched the game when claimed Galway were poor for the whole of the 2nd half.

Thought we were relatively comfortable for most of the 2nd half until the last 10/12 minutes when the back 4 especially had a collective brainfart and hit the panic button after a series of poor handpasses, poor kickouts and Lavelle haring up the pitch like the Inis Bofin, Rene Higuita.

Yeah, galway looked comfortable in the second half bar the last ten minutes or so. I kept expecting us to kick on after ht but it never happened. We were clueless up front for large parts of it.  The goal line save was the game.

[moysider]

Not often I agree with Syferus but he's right, we were very lucky not to have thrown that game away. Danny Cummins should have made sure with that last shot he had, we made a lot of mistakes and have plenty to work on. They showed great heart and hunger though in fairness to them. Still not sold on Lavelle in goals though, the short kick outs seem to have been the game plan and that's fair enough even though it's so frustrating to watch, but this carrying the ball out of his own defence is ridiculous, how many times did he cause trouble for himself and his own full back line? Only for Johnny Heaney we'd have lost that game. Armstrong really stepped up yesterday, was a bit quieter in the second half but he was bang on in the first. Can't wait to see Comer playing again, he seems like a man on a mission this year and what a hit on Diarmuid O'Connor. On a positive note, club championship this weekend, I thought they'd be called off but sense has prevailed. Even though it means Corofin, Monivea Abbey and Caltra are going to be without their hurlers unfortunately.

I dunno. It's all perspective but from where I'm coming from it was Mayo threw that game away. Mayo started both halves very flat. Galway ran up 4 easy points in first half before Mayo settled and then largely controlled most of the first half. Again - inexcusably from out point of view - Galway were allowed get a run on us at the beginning of second half and put up a quick 3 points. This purple patch gave Galway something to fight for and it turned out to be just enough.
But we really threw it away with the Higgins meltdown. Rightly so, when that happens, a team has to suffer for the individual's actions and it turned out to be crippling. The sending off handed Galway a tactical advantage in the second half they would not have had if it was 15 v 15.
Some of the post match analysis has missed the point imo. I was gobsmacked by James Horan harping on about Mayo not being at the required pace or intensity or whatever. Talk about ignoring the elephant in the room! The match lasted 80mins. Mayo played with 14 for 54 mins.
When the dust settles and people stop seeing what they want to see, the sending off (our own making and misfortune), was decisive. We could and should still have won. With Higgins I think we would have won with a bit to spare. But it was what it was and we have to live with it.

We'll never get credit for beating Mayo. Now we ran up 4 easy points but that was just because Mayo weren't settled. But sure after that it was the Mayo show. Then in second half we got a run and put up 3 quick points till it was the Mayo show again.

Whisht with ye. Depending on what way you look at it you can read this game how you like. Not having this rubbish about sending off cost Mayo that game. That's part of Gaelic football keeping your discipline and shouldn't be used as an excuse and hearing things like we would have won with a bit to spare if he wasn't sent off is sad stuff. Especially with a clear a red as you're likely to see.

Galway could crow on about how we were flying and would have won with a bit to spare if it wasn't for that poxy goal which bounced off the post, or tom flynns ridiculous black card or Danny cummins not burying a goal. Instead we got to listen to the land of the if only's.

Not one bit of credit given to Galway from Mayo. Thought last year I could understand them feeling that we caught them on the hop. Two years in a row may be more in it.

You completely misrepresented me there. I posted yesterday and gave Galway good credit and respect. It's not too many posts back so you can find it again no bother.
I also accepted that what Higgin's did was stupid and correctly the team has to take the hit for that.
What's the matter with you? You're trying to spin it that I'm moaning about the sending off. I wasn't.
But if you really believe it was not a huge swing for Galway you are also deluded.

[An Fhairche Abu]

I think it's great from a Galway perspective that the coverage is completely focused on Mayo in the aftermath of the game, Galway can quietly look ahead to the (probable) Roscommon match in the Connacht final and the chance to go back to back in the West.

Higgins sending off was obviously the biggest single incident in the match. Would Mayo have won with 15 players? Probably.

From a rewatch of the game this evening a few things stood out:
McLoughlin had a great 1st half, not as prominent in the 2nd but madness to take him off in my view.
Galway FB line looked like it was going to get taken to the cleaners early on, having the extra man saved them after that. 
COC is some man trying to get cards for opposition players, the black was a joke, Bradshaw should have known better for his yellow but COC was the one doing all the provocation.
Keegan at CHB is not where I would have him, himself and Walsh cancelled each other out for most of it but his best position is clearly at 5.
The lack of anticipation by the Galway defenders for the shot that hit the post and led to the goal was glaring.
"Keith Higgins is not that kind of player", he hit Mark Hehir off the ball with one of the most cowardly blows I've seen in Galway Mayo games in 2011 with no sanction, Galway were waiting 6 years for that Higgins red card.
Armstrong looked shot in some of the league games I was at, one of Galway's better players yesterday, hats off to him.
If you are not enthused by Comer's wrecking ball attitude to the game then Gaelic football is not the sport for you, that hit on DOC, yikes.
Heaney's double save was heroic stuff. The events leading to those saves were madness though.
How the referee didn't blow a free at the end for the foul on Cummins was incredible, some bad decisions against both teams over the course of the match but he wasn't the cause of the Mayo loss.
This was proper championship stuff, the atmosphere on the terrace was superb yesterday and it came across on the broadcast as well, great to have these contests with Mayo again.

Mayo showed fantastic spirit but they also showed the same failings that have occurred many times before, they were up against a team that is a good few rungs below them in the overall scheme of things and they couldn't manufacture a score over the last ten minutes with a gale behind them.
Galway didn't even play that particularly well yesterday and let's be honest, the "caught on the hop" excuse is not going to cut it for Mayo this year. It's a long road back to the 3rd Sunday in September for them now, I wouldn't write them off, it'll be difficult but I'd wager they'll still be playing in August if I had to, whether they'll win the all Ireland looks more doubtful.

[moysider]

Just listened to off the ball who had BJ Padden & Michael Quirke. Padden as usual talked nonsense and offered no proper analysis of the game whilst you'd have to wonder if Quirke even watched the game when claimed Galway were poor for the whole of the 2nd half.

Thought we were relatively comfortable for most of the 2nd half until the last 10/12 minutes when the back 4 especially had a collective brainfart and hit the panic button after a series of poor handpasses, poor kickouts and Lavelle haring up the pitch like the Inis Bofin, Rene Higuita.

Yeah, galway looked comfortable in the second half bar the last ten minutes or so. I kept expecting us to kick on after ht but it never happened. We were clueless up front for large parts of it.  The goal line save was the game.

The xtra man gave them a degree of comfort. Mayo not being able to commit totally to pressing kickouts allowed them go short and keep ball and be patient. Further up there were opportunities to unleash a direct runner. It also meant they could press our kick-outs and have an xtra body sniffing around breaking ball when we went long. The goal line save was the game and in spite of our uselessness and handicap it was a one point game. Galway should be very pleased with this but a question for them. If by some 'fluke' we managed to get a result there after being down a man for 54 mins, would their team's performance look as sweet?

[DJGaliv]

It had an impact but it was of your own doing. I don't think Mayo players will be saying today if it wasn't for that sending off. They'll know they didn't do enough to win that game when it was there for either team.

You were gobsmacked by jh analysis about Mayo not being of required pace or intensity. Well I don't think they were.
If Comer had hit O'Connor like that in 2013, Mayo lads would have buried him. There was no reaction. The Mayo I've seen regularly at the business end didn't seem to be there. Durcan had a bad wide when he came off the shoulder a la Lee Keegan. They just didn't click when they looked like they might and needed to!
The challenge of going down to 14 is something Mayo lads would normally relish, now it's just used as an excuse.

That was the good thing about following Mayo in all Ireland finals, they didn't want to hear about excuses or poor us. They just got on with it

[whitey]

Great hit by Comer.....straight into the back. Definitely a yellow and on another day a straight red

[GalwayBayBoy]

It had an impact but it was of your own doing. I don't think Mayo players will be saying today if it wasn't for that sending off. They'll know they didn't do enough to win that game when it was there for either team.

You were gobsmacked by jh analysis about Mayo not being of required pace or intensity. Well I don't think they were.
If Comer had hit O'Connor like that in 2013, Mayo lads would have buried him. There was no reaction. The Mayo I've seen regularly at the business end didn't seem to be there. Durcan had a bad wide when he came off the shoulder a la Lee Keegan. They just didn't click when they looked like they might and needed to!
The challenge of going down to 14 is something Mayo lads would normally relish, now it's just used as an excuse.

That was the good thing about following Mayo in all Ireland finals, they didn't want to hear about excuses or poor us. They just got on with it

I think a lot of this stems from the infamous 17 point hammering in Salthill 2013. Galway were bullied and humiliated on their own ground. Johhny Duane went to shake hands with Alan Dillon before throw-in and Dillon landed him on his arse. That definitely resonated in Galway and ever since then it's definitely been a no backwards step approach to these games. Even in 2015 while Galway lost the match they let Mayo know they wouldn't be bullied on the day. As they mentioned on the Mayo news podcast before throw-in one of the Mayo players went to shake hands with Gary O'Donnell and he was shoved away. When Aidan O'Shea came running on I think it was Gary Sice who went straight over to annoy him while O'Shea waved his arms at the ref. 2013 made Galway realise how far behind in the physical stakes they were compared to a top side.

And obviously it's also just a case of young players getting physically stronger with age and more S&C. Either way if we have a few more years ahead of Galway/Mayo games like the last day then the stadiums will be packed out to watch them.

[moysider]

It had an impact but it was of your own doing. I don't think Mayo players will be saying today if it wasn't for that sending off. They'll know they didn't do enough to win that game when it was there for either team.

You were gobsmacked by jh analysis about Mayo not being of required pace or intensity. Well I don't think they were.
If Comer had hit O'Connor like that in 2013, Mayo lads would have buried him. There was no reaction. The Mayo I've seen regularly at the business end didn't seem to be there. Durcan had a bad wide when he came off the shoulder a la Lee Keegan. They just didn't click when they looked like they might and needed to!
The challenge of going down to 14 is something Mayo lads would normally relish.

Comer wasn't there in 2013 and it was a fair hit anyway. The only concern at that stage was a score anyway.
Durcan should never have taken that shot off his weaker foot.
Yeah, this team played their best half of football in drawn semi v Kerry a few years ago with 14 men and were ultimately let down at the death by a sideline that must have had a brain freeze.
Now I know you will probably take this as a criticism but I don't think there is any Div. 1 team that would have fancied going into Salthill yesterday against Galway, in pretty good shape, in probably the worst conditions I've seen for a Championship game. Even before the throw-in Padraig Joyce acknowledged that Galway were used to playing in windy conditions there.
I see some Galway posters are hurting about lack of credit for the win. Not so. They got the Prodigal Son stuff in the few bits I read anyway. On the other hand Mayo are carved up again for losing. Will the loser of Tyrone/Donegal be dismissed as readily?
In other provinces, Dublin and Kerry are fattening up on Carlows and Clares. Hardly lion's den stuff - which Salthill yesterday was.
Saying that we have issues. Keegan should be at 5, Boyle should always be in the team and discipline isn't great. That's just for starters.

[Manning18]

I keep seeing in places that Galway were apparently lucky. Mayo's goal, at a time of Galway dominance, seems to be conveniently forgotten. That 3 point swing based on the way a ball bounces is huge in a low scoring game. If you offered me that ball bouncing away from goal, or the sending off, i'd definitely choose the former. The single most pivotal moment of the game and one almost completely based on luck

Nonsense and you know it - if you don't then..... . Galway's dominance in first half was brief and Mayo were well back in it and attacking - the goal was from a shot that came back off a post. Galway got lucky shortly after with another shot off the crossbar with the keeper bet all things up. Throw in the freakish saves/awful misses in second half ye could have been looking at 3 goals against. Accept the win for what it was and stop spinning and trying to be annoying. Ye had a good day and we had a bad day. If you can't see the importance of the sending off in how the game developed, it's time to turn on the ignore button because you are not worth bothering with in that case.

Cillian was going for a point on that occasion. Getting anything from that wouldve been amazing luck. The goalmouth scramble was lucky in Galways sense alright. But O'Donnell had a serious goal chance before that which wouldve out the game completely to bed from a long way out. I just don't like the narrative that Galway were lucky. It was an even split imo between two very evenly matched sides and I believe the better team won on the day

Really annoying seeing this 14 men stuff also, as if it's some advantage that God bestowed upon Galway and the game should come with some sort of asterisk. Mayo had 14 men because of a completely deserved sending off. When the hammering in 2013 is discussed, you never hear "Mayo ran up the score against and exhausted 13 man Galway". You just hear "Mayo hammered Galway". Just as those sending offs were deserved and Galway deservedly punished, the same applies to Mayo here