Maigh Eo v Gaillimh

[Duine Eile]

One change to Galway's team for Sunday- Paul Doherty in for Adrian Faherty. Team in full:
1.Paul Doherty
2.Kieran Fitzgerald
3.Finian Hanley
4.Damien Burke
5.Gary Sice
6.Niall Coyne
7.Darren Mullahy
8.Barry Cullinane
9.Niall Coleman
10.Joe Bergin
11.Padraic Joyce
12.Declan Meehan
13.Matthew Clancy
14.Mike Meehan
15.Fiachra Breathnach

[GaillimhIarthair]

No harm to give Doherty a run out, but Faherty will probably feel a little hard done by after keeping a clean sheet last Sunday althouth he can thank Damien Burke for that stat!  Personally I would also have made a change at 15  as I do not think he is good enough to command a starting place.  Other than that, happy enough going to Castlebar with that side for what should be a well contested league match.

[mouview]

Is it just me or was the Derry forward's shot going wide when Damien Burke deflected it over the bar? Thought it looked that way from the TV angle.

[IolarCoisCuain]

From our point of view team selection will be interesting. Cuniffe has been roasted at corner back 2 out of last 3 matches, being subbed
v Donegal and moved out V Kildare. Not encouraging for his prospects of making it in the corner. I m not sure he should be selected there again. Maybe Heaney is best option for 2 [ and sometimes 3] going forward  with Barrett and Cunniffe fighting for 5 shirt? On Sunday I think Howley should be let go toe to toe with PJ and ditto Conroy and Meehan. If they re going to be good enough to ever do the job then they have to show something on Sunday. Sure you could get Heaney to pick up Joyce and maybe Hiiggins Meehan but we know what they can do anyway and we play more teams than Galway. Come Summer I would not be surprised to see Heaney and Aiden Higgins in full-back line. Maybe Ger Cafferkey might have something to offer also , if he can get a few games under his belt  I think Boyle, Cunniffe ,Barrett and Keith Higgins are wing men. 4 good ones for 2 places. Oh and Pat Kelly - another half back. Nice to be well catered for in those positions but I would be against putting any of them in the corner - although Boyle has had only one outing there and may well be the real deal. His lack of inches would be exploited at the highest level eventually I would fear,no matter how good a player he is, and he s one of the best. The rest of the team almost picks itself with Harte replacing an injured Trevor. It will be interesting to see how our full forward line fares . We were ticking up nice scores this time last year too and then just a puff of smoke in Salthill. We re in better shape than I thought we would be at this stage a few months ago. Last year's rebuilding at 3 and 6 in particular turned out to be a road to nowhere while  Barry Moran at 14 was embraced by many as the future but has nt been mentioned in 7 months. I don t know what last year was about at all but I am encouraged by what I ve seen so far this league, even in defeat. One thing that does worry me is the bench which due to injuries or whatever lacks a bit of depth, especially in the forwards and might explain managment's reluctance to change things the last day.

Thought-provoking analysis there Moysider. I think you're right to test Howley and Conroy against Joyce and Meehan. If they hold their own against those two bucks they'll be alright for the summer. And if, God forbid, they can't, sooner we find out now than later.

I wouldn't be as content about the forwards as you though. I'm not so sure if they'll deliver when the heat turns up. Please God I'm wrong but I just don't know. I think the Government should declare war on Australia unless Pierce Hanley is re-patriated straight-away. That'd certainly make a difference. And it's hard not to disagree with what Kevin McStay wrote in the Mayo News this week. Kieran McDonald is still badly missed.

[GalwayBayBoy]

Is it just me or was the Derry forward's shot going wide when Damien Burke deflected it over the bar? Thought it looked that way from the TV angle.

Thought it might sneak in maybe off the inside of the post or possibly hit the post and come back out. Hard to tell really.

Doherty back in goal anyway. Faherty hasn't fully convinced me to be honest although it seems odd to drop him after he finally manages to keep a clean sheet.

Breathnach stays in the corner but I can't see him keeping his place for the championship. I'm sure either Nicky Joyce or Armstrong (possibly both) will be back in the team by then. Mattie Clancy might be playing his way onto the team though. He has been very good so far and seems to have curbed his tendency to run down blind alleyways.

[GaillimhIarthair]

In fairness to Clancy (and I was never a big fan of his) he has been excellent in the league to date.  Seems to have the knack for winning a lot of breaking ball in the middle third and is starting to get his head up and find a colleague or take a score rather than run down silly cul de sacs.  Definitely in pole position for a starting champ spot on current form.  Deccy Meehen may yet be the one to make way come the championship especially with Nicky and Army back in contention................   

[Farrandeelin]

I know it's Wednesday now but next weekend seems like it's taking a long time to come. And I've hardly had much time to think about the match either with all these projects I'm doing, but whatever about Galway and they will be favourites going into this game I'd imagine however Mayo are proving very difficult to beat this year and for a team that is still in the middle of a difficult transition period it is success in itself. Mayo are not going to make the final at this stage unless some absolute miracle happens but what better motivation than to try and dent Galway's chances of getting there. It would also confirm our status in Division 1 next year. I'm of the opinion that the forwards will continue on with how they're playing at the minute come championship. If one of the fullforward line gets badly injured though, my confidence would go out the window.

[moysider]

Would nt say that I m that content with the forwards being selected Iolar but it s hard to argue with the selection of, say Austin, when he s scored @7 from play in last two games. I too would have misgivings about his and others' effectiveness come Summertime. However if it is'nt broken now  there' s no point trying to fix it now because there are no obvious improvements on this  6. That of course may change after Sunday if they fail to fire. We have to accept that we re unlikely to see young Hanley again -ever- in a Mayo shirt. He s just too good not to make it over there. MacDanger s return also no more than a possibility. Those apart there are none that would improve our attacking 6 much, though a return to form might see Campbell force his way into the half -forward line. If the wheels come off this attack it will be running repairs or a return to Barry Moran in the Donaghy role -  with Austin axed like he usually is.

[rosnarun]

i think the obvious replacement for  Austin is trevor mortimer. He's like a cocker spaniel when hes out the field all over the place constanly up some one arse but has not got the nous to use all the ball he get esp along the back line is is capable of anything. where as the Limitations of the full forward line has alway suited him whenever he has played there .
where as we are spoiled for choice at half forward. Gardiner dillon mullins campbell, harte ,gill, padden,kilcoyne pick any 2 with dillion from that and thats leaving out mcdonald d munnelly (in red hot form)and ger brady, any one i forgot?

[IolarCoisCuain]

Gentlemen, I have no problem with Austin. He and Conor would be the last two I'd think about changing. I'm just not sure about the scoring threat of the other four. I appreciate the need for a scavenger in the Paul Galvin mould but I'd sleep easier at night if there were a few more marksmen there. Like Benson or Kilcoyne or someone like that.

As for young Hanley - surely a man would get sick of them oul' kangeroos, no?

[moysider]

Introducing Kilcoyne and/or Benson at the expense of who exactly Iolar? Last time Kilcoyne got a run he launched a garryowen of a point attempt and Donegal snatched a win from the following attack. He s had several chances at this stage and has not made any impact in serious matches - being anonimous and unable to win independent ball. He might be a better finisher than Andy but he would nt a fraction of the ball Andy does. He would never have got that goal v Kildare last Sundaybecause he would never have caught that ball above his head. And as a wing man he s even less to offer. I d be amazed if Benson improved matters either. Thought he was an awful disappointment at u21 level last year. You mention Paul Galvin. We don t have one and we need one more than we do a genteel sharpshooter. Galvin pitches with a healthy number of scores as well as levelling his marker. If this mayo team plays well we will get plenty of scores. Our running game will draw frees and there are always scores in the likes of Parsons, Harte, Dillon, Gill and attacking wing backs as well as the inside line. The trick for us is getting possession and being able to defend when we lose it. Nailing 45s and  all our scorable frees essential as well. Rosnarun suggets playing Trevor again in the fullforward line. It has its merits as Trevor causes chaos in the opposition wherever he plays. But in 2004 Trevor did his best work coming deep, getting possession and driving forward. That s what saved us against Fermanagh to a great extent.

[mannix]

Austin is scoring well, leave him at it.Injuries have stopped him on a lot of occasions so maybe he can stay injury free and be a valuable piece of the puzzle.

[rosnarun]

scoring well while its still natioanal hunt season.
People have been very tough on kilcoyne for kicking away the ball again donegal remember it had a full lenght of the pitch to go before the goal was scored. If garryowens counted against a player Trevor would nevr have been near the mayo team . dont think he should ship all the blame for that one, I think he is a speedy direct player well able to take a score more so than most of the alterative a haf forward gill harte ect and is well worth hanging on to .
Remember these guy are still growing and should be improving. we can only dream about a young CMCD returning for so long

[IolarCoisCuain]

there are always scores in the likes of Parsons, Harte, Dillon, Gill and attacking wing backs as well as the inside line.

This is the nub of the argument Moysider. I'm less sure they are always scores there. I want to be wrong, you know? I'm not trying to rain on parades here. It's just that an oul' dog that keeps getting shoed starts getting a funny outlook on life.

As regards Kilcoyne against Donegal, let me play devil's advocate for a second. Anyone can make a mistake. Mikey Sheehy missed a penalty that cost Kerry five in a row. Doesn't make him a bum. Equally, Kilcoyne kicked the ball away that time against Donegal and was foolish to do so, but he can also kick 45 metre frees over the trasnán, and that's not be underestimated either. So it's a question of weighing up which is the more important - the flaky circuit that Kilcoyne seems to have in the neurons or the fact he can kick a reliable fifty. From the ground.

I agree that we don't have a player like Galvin. Few do. Not many like him roll off the conveyor belt, more than likely because once he rolls off the conveyor belt, he tears it to shreds with his bare hands, and more luck to him. I just wish other players, players like Benson and Campbell and Kilcoyne, or Barry Moran, got a run the last day against Kildare. I would hope that, if the mathematics assure Mayo's survival by the Armagh game, that more players get a run against Tyrone.

Then again, for all we know, Cuniffe could be skinning those lads in training, and the pickings are slimmer than they look. I don't know. I just like coming on here and gassing about it. It lessens the nervous tension.

[GaillimhIarthair]

I know all ye Mayo lads have a soft spot for Ray Silke, so his thoughts below on this weekends encounter 

Galway will want to lay down a marker for the summer

You know the summer months are just around the corner when the clocks go forward an hour and there are some Gaelic football and hurling games to get genuinely excited about. This Sunday is a case in point
By Ray Silke

It may only be the league, and both Galway and Mayo, more than most counties, know from bitter experience that a good showing in the spring counts for little when the pitches harden up and the top teams have all their big guns back, are locked and loaded and gunning for action in late August and September.

Still, this round six league game in Castlebar will give both sides a reasonable indication of where they are at.

Liam Sammon and John O'Mahony will be pleased with many aspects of their teams' progress and both sides are currently in a vibrant vein of form.

Mayo hammered a poor Kildare side last Sunday in Newbridge and Galway are top of the table with four wins out of five.

The Connacht championship draw would indicate that it will be an "old firm clash" in the Connacht final in Castlebar next July, so both sets of players will be very keen to put down a marker to their respective managers that they are the best men for starting positions the next time the sides meet.

Mayo have been settling on a few new players and names like Tom Cunniffe, Colm Boyle, Tom Parsons, and Kieran Conroy will not be overly familiar to the Galway supporters.

It will be interesting to see how the new spine of the Mayo defence copes with Galway's two most noted forwards, Padraic Joyce and Michael Meehan.

Conroy, who has been lining out in the full-back position, will find Meehan a difficult proposition if he gets any supply, and that's why Trevor Howley's battle with Padraic Joyce will be so crucial.

If Joyce can get on a decent amount of ball and feed Meehan, then Conroy is in for a difficult afternoon. However Howley has been in impressive form and he is fast, fit and strong. He also has youth on his side, so his clash with Killererin's finest will be one to watch with interest.

At the other end, the joust between one of Galway's most solid performers in defence this season, Finian Hanley and the resurgent Austin O'Malley is also one to whet the appetite. O'Malley roamed to good effect against Kildare and he kicked an audacious winner against Kerry, so he needs to be watched carefully.

It will be interesting to see if Liam Sammon gets his Salthill clubmate to follow O'Malley who has recently transferred from Westport to All-Ireland club champions St Vincents if he goes on walk-about.

Another key joust will be Damien Burke who will pick up the high scoring Conor Mortimer. Ironically both men work from bases in Belclare and no doubt their paths meet regularly enough during the week, as they will this weekend.

Mayo are away to Tyrone in the last round of the league so they will be very keen to get two points in this encounter. A win would give them a slight outside chance of making the league final, whereas a loss for Galway and with Kerry to come to Pearse Stadium would make things very interesting indeed. Kerry are starting to gear up and with the likes of Declan O' Sullivan and Paul Galvin due back for round seven and the peerless Colm Cooper back in the country after his sabbatical they look more and more the team to beat in 2008. The fact that they can trot out the likes of young Tommy Walsh and slot him in at full-forward while Kieran Donaghy is under suspension and playing with the Tralee Tigers shows the massive strength in depth that they have.

This Sunday if Galway and Barry Cullinane at midfield in particular, can reproduce the form they showed in patches against Derry, you would fancy an away victory. However Mayo are very difficult to beat at home and based on that fact, I think Liam Sammon will be happy enough to leave a very satisfying win in McHale Park for a few months time, July 13, to be precise.