gaaboard.com

It'll be Cork, Kildare or Limerick as things stand. Who do we want? Would like to measure ourselves against Kildare myself.

Kildare would moider ya!
It's Limerick or bye-bye I'm afraid.

Have a feeling Mayo will get Limerick. We got Cork last year if Mayo get them it would be interesting to see can they do better than our 9 point defeat?

Mayo should be thinking one game at a time and try to get the tactics right on the day. Cork or Kildare are two good teams and limerick are not exactly poor,(1.18) against a Leinster finalist that could easily have won Leinster. No easy ones left, London were supposedly an easy one and look how that worked out!

Is it not time to get rid of this rule that you can't meet a team that have already beaten you, especially for the quarter finals anyway ?

I Guess that it will be as follows;

Kerry v Tyrone/ Roscommon
Dublin v Limerick
Donegal v Kildare
Mayo v Cork

Semis will be Tyrone v Cork and Dublin v Kildare

Ill let you know who the finalists will be  later.

Quote from: orangeman on July 24, 2011, 05:23:19 PM
Is it not time to get rid of this rule that you can't meet a team that have already beaten you, especially for the quarter finals anyway ?

That isn't the rule, the rule is that you can't meet whoever you played in the Provincial final in the Quarter Final

Quote from: tyrone86 on July 24, 2011, 05:51:03 PM

Quote from: orangeman on July 24, 2011, 05:23:19 PM
Is it not time to get rid of this rule that you can't meet a team that have already beaten you, especially for the quarter finals anyway ?

That isn't the rule, the rule is that you can't meet whoever you played in the Provincial final in the Quarter Final

Ok - what about getting rid of this rule then ?.

So if Tyrone were to beat Roscommon then, why have them isolated from Mayo in the draw ?

Quote from: orangeman on July 24, 2011, 05:52:56 PM

Quote from: tyrone86 on July 24, 2011, 05:51:03 PM

Quote from: orangeman on July 24, 2011, 05:23:19 PM
Is it not time to get rid of this rule that you can't meet a team that have already beaten you, especially for the quarter finals anyway ?

That isn't the rule, the rule is that you can't meet whoever you played in the Provincial final in the Quarter Final

Ok - what about getting rid of this rule then ?.

So if Tyrone were to beat Roscommon then, why have them isolated from Mayo in the draw ?

Looking for a soft draw, are ya? The bleedin' cheek of ya!

Quote from: RedandGreenSniper on July 24, 2011, 06:23:07 PM

Quote from: orangeman on July 24, 2011, 05:52:56 PM

Quote from: tyrone86 on July 24, 2011, 05:51:03 PM

Quote from: orangeman on July 24, 2011, 05:23:19 PM
Is it not time to get rid of this rule that you can't meet a team that have already beaten you, especially for the quarter finals anyway ?

That isn't the rule, the rule is that you can't meet whoever you played in the Provincial final in the Quarter Final

Ok - what about getting rid of this rule then ?.

So if Tyrone were to beat Roscommon then, why have them isolated from Mayo in the draw ?

Looking for a soft draw, are ya? The bleedin' cheek of ya!

I didn't say that ! LOL But Mayo would be a good draw and calling a spade a spade, they are being seen as the soft draw.

Quote from: orangeman on July 24, 2011, 06:25:04 PM

Quote from: RedandGreenSniper on July 24, 2011, 06:23:07 PM

Quote from: orangeman on July 24, 2011, 05:52:56 PM

Quote from: tyrone86 on July 24, 2011, 05:51:03 PM

Quote from: orangeman on July 24, 2011, 05:23:19 PM
Is it not time to get rid of this rule that you can't meet a team that have already beaten you, especially for the quarter finals anyway ?

That isn't the rule, the rule is that you can't meet whoever you played in the Provincial final in the Quarter Final

Ok - what about getting rid of this rule then ?.

So if Tyrone were to beat Roscommon then, why have them isolated from Mayo in the draw ?

Looking for a soft draw, are ya? The bleedin' cheek of ya!

I didn't say that ! LOL But Mayo would be a good draw and calling a spade a spade, they are being seen as the soft draw.

So far Tyrone got a out of sorts Armagh team & two teams that came out of Div 4, TBH no Tyrone fan can complain if they get Kerry or Dublin in the QFS

Quote from: ross4life on July 24, 2011, 06:44:27 PM

Quote from: orangeman on July 24, 2011, 06:25:04 PM

Quote from: RedandGreenSniper on July 24, 2011, 06:23:07 PM

Quote from: orangeman on July 24, 2011, 05:52:56 PM

Quote from: tyrone86 on July 24, 2011, 05:51:03 PM

Quote from: orangeman on July 24, 2011, 05:23:19 PM
Is it not time to get rid of this rule that you can't meet a team that have already beaten you, especially for the quarter finals anyway ?

That isn't the rule, the rule is that you can't meet whoever you played in the Provincial final in the Quarter Final

Ok - what about getting rid of this rule then ?.

So if Tyrone were to beat Roscommon then, why have them isolated from Mayo in the draw ?

Looking for a soft draw, are ya? The bleedin' cheek of ya!

I didn't say that ! LOL But Mayo would be a good draw and calling a spade a spade, they are being seen as the soft draw.

So far Tyrone got a out of sorts Armagh team & two teams that came out of Div 4, TBH no Tyrone fan can complain if they get Kerry or Dublin in the QFS

Tyrone have to beat Roscommon if they are to even get into the quarter final. So let's not out the cart before the horse.

So it's Cork... Mayo to be 'Lambs to the Slaughter'. :(

Mayo to be favourites. We are the unbeaten team after all.

So the semis will be :

Kerry v Cork
Dublin v Donegal

Final : Cork v Dublin ??

All over for another year, balls, will have to listen to those insufferable c**ts crow on about beating us

Tyrone v Roscommon
Cork v Mayo

Double header in Croke park next Saturday? we could cheer ye on like we did v Dublin in 2006  ;)

In Croke Park, they could hold that double header in your back yard. You would not get 10,000 at it.

Cork would be pushed to get 1,000, Mayo maybe 4,000-5,000, Roscommon 1,000 and Tyrone maybe 2,000 as they would hold off for the week after as they would be confident of beating Roscommon.They will have to include Donegal V Kildare and maybe hold off Kerry V Limerick to be a double header with the Dublin game the week after.

I guess we'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out when it'll be?

Quote from: joemamas on July 24, 2011, 07:13:47 PM
In Croke Park, they could hold that double header in your back yard. You would not get 10,000 at it.

Cork would be pushed to get 1,000, Mayo maybe 4,000-5,000, Roscommon 1,000 and Tyrone maybe 2,000 as they would hold off for the week after as they would be confident of beating Roscommon.They will have to include Donegal V Kildare and maybe hold off Kerry V Limerick to be a double header with the Dublin game the week after.

We'd get that to look at the jerseys drying on a clothes line ya b*****x.

Quote from: Rossfan on July 24, 2011, 07:18:13 PM

Quote from: joemamas on July 24, 2011, 07:13:47 PM
In Croke Park, they could hold that double header in your back yard. You would not get 10,000 at it.

Cork would be pushed to get 1,000, Mayo maybe 4,000-5,000, Roscommon 1,000 and Tyrone maybe 2,000 as they would hold off for the week after as they would be confident of beating Roscommon.They will have to include Donegal V Kildare and maybe hold off Kerry V Limerick to be a double header with the Dublin game the week after.

We'd get that to look at the jerseys drying on a clothes line ya b*****x.

Time to remind joe, Roscommon are one of the best supported teams in Ireland. 1,000  :D

We are one of the few Counties who ALWAYS bring support to away League games.
The number of visiting fans in the Hyde for NFL games seldom goes above 30 or 40 , even going back 10+ years when we were in Div 1.
I remember when we bet Tyrone in 2003 they had about 20 fans in the Hyde.

Quote from: ross4life on July 24, 2011, 07:21:22 PM

Quote from: Rossfan on July 24, 2011, 07:18:13 PM

Quote from: joemamas on July 24, 2011, 07:13:47 PM
In Croke Park, they could hold that double header in your back yard. You would not get 10,000 at it.

Cork would be pushed to get 1,000, Mayo maybe 4,000-5,000, Roscommon 1,000 and Tyrone maybe 2,000 as they would hold off for the week after as they would be confident of beating Roscommon.They will have to include Donegal V Kildare and maybe hold off Kerry V Limerick to be a double header with the Dublin game the week after.

We'd get that to look at the jerseys drying on a clothes line ya b*****x.

Time to remind joe, Roscommon are one of the best supported teams in Ireland. 1,000  :D

Nothing against Roscommon, maybe they will have a big crowd there, but the overall draw especially for Mayo and Limerick is dishearting to say the least.

Quote from: Mayo4Sam on July 24, 2011, 07:03:30 PM
All over for another year, balls, will have to listen to those insufferable c**ts crow on about beating us

That's the spirit.

Quote from: Jinxy on July 24, 2011, 07:31:47 PM

Quote from: Mayo4Sam on July 24, 2011, 07:03:30 PM
All over for another year, balls, will have to listen to those insufferable c**ts crow on about beating us

That's the spirit.

You would kind of agree with his view though, cork are huge and fast and can play good football, we struggled against London.  All I would ask is to be competitive and end up not leaking 5 or 6 goals.

I'd say we'll be lucky to stay within 10 points, we don't have the forwards that down have and see what happened to them

Cork looked very impressive yesterday,I was hoping not to meet them in the quarter final, maybe we can ambush them similar to the way we ambushed Tyrone in the 2004 QF, Cork will be looking ahead after drawing Mayo.

Quote from: Jinxy on July 24, 2011, 07:31:47 PM

Quote from: Mayo4Sam on July 24, 2011, 07:03:30 PM
All over for another year, balls, will have to listen to those insufferable c**ts crow on about beating us

That's the spirit.

Sad but true,

Mayo fans most likely feel totally deflated after this draw.

Not sure with confidence that I can name 3 Mayo playes are better than their direct markers from Cork.

Cork will be without one of there best forwards Daniel Goulding plus the other two long term injuries.

The worst draw in getting Cork, the best draw to get was Kildare. Limerick was not as good a draw as we would be expected to win. Anyway, we have met Cork more times than i can remember since 1989 and we have been whipped each time. Cork will be happy to have avoided Donegal and the Dubs. Like the 'Down Game' i fear this will end up another training session in Croker for Cork. On a positive note, we will have a fair idea how far we are off the mark that evening.

FFS. We shouldn't be running up the White flag before a ball is kicked. Should we withdraw from the championship a la Kilkenny for fear of meeting teams like Cork? Remember that they have everything to lose because nobody expects us to come within 10 points.

Talk about a pathetic attitude on here from Mayo fans.

We are Connacht champions, one of four unbeaten teams in the Championship with the chance to knock the All Ireland champions off their perch.

It is very very unlikely that we will succeed but by God we should be going out there chomping at the bit looking to put up a show. What if we were to beat them? How good would that feel? What's the point of even playing football or supporting a team if you don't meet these challenges head on.

And the fellas that are hiding behind their sofas afraid of what lies ahead are the very ones that will criticise the players if they do go and lose, and lose heavily. How can we build a winning mentality if we don't even have the desire to push ourselves towards doing everything possible to win in the first place?

I think it would be mad to play the game in Croke though. Yesterday showed how dead the stadium looks with a small crowd. The latter stages of the championship don't need that. Look at how the Meath/Kildare game looked in Navan, compared to in Croke Park earlier in the year. The small grounds with bigger crowds are definitely the way to go. The Mayo support in Roscommon was pathetic and has been dwindling. The Cork support will be non-existant.

On the pitch there is not much analysis you can do. Basically we need every one of our lads to play out of their skins, go for every ball, keep the head up when things go wrong and hope that they are close enough at the end that they have a chance to get over the finish line. Many of these players played in the 2006 All Ireland under 21 Final and Mayo won, Mayo beat Cork in the league 4 of the last 5 times we have met, but of course we did comfortably lose last years Final. While James Horan and his team will know they are up against it they won't be showing the white feather and we should stand toe to toe with them every step of the way. They have given us some pride back after the nightmare of last year, now lets repay their efforts.

It was always going to be Cork. No harm. We're years behind them in championship football.

The following is the Mayo team that beat Cork in the league a few months ago. Taken from the Red and Green blog.


Mayo 1-13 Cork 0-14 (McHale Park, 3/4/2011). MAYO: Robert Hennelly; Tom Cunniffe, Alan Feeney, Keith Higgins; Richie Feeney, Ger Cafferkey, Lee Keegan; Aidan O'Shea (0-1), James Kilcullen (0-2); Kevin McLoughlin, Alan Dillon (0-5, one free), Andy Moran (0-2); Cillian O'Connor (0-1, free), Alan Freeman (0-1), Jason Doherty (1-1).

It was one of the very few times that Horan put his 'championship' side out in the league and they did very well against a strong Cork side as I recall. We re improved since with the return of Trevor and Seamus O Sé. McGarrity would improve things a lot too. We actually more than held our own in April with Aidan O Sé well able to compete with the big men and Caff giving O Neill plenty of it.

But as we re reminded often enough championship is a different ball game altogether and thanks to the events since 06 we ve been starting from a very low place indeed. Because of the weather conditions last games out it is difficult to know where we are. It s a case of wait and see what we can do. We d also expect an improvement in our conditioning compared to recent years.

At least expectations will be nonexistant. Very few will bother travelling. I m away so I ve an excuse not to be there :) But the reality is for a team like us there will always be a Cork, Kerry or whatever. You cant avoid them and an ambitious county will try to take them out. It s too soon for us though. For what it is worth I believe Cork and Kerry will have to come back to the pack to be beaten in the next couple of years. Cant see the improvement in other teams. At the same time Mayo might surprise a few people next evening and keep it to less than 8/10 points by the end.

Look we will be huge underdogs but there is no use in waving the white flag just yet.

Cork are good, very good, All Ireland Champs.

But I feel they aren't as good as last year, they are missing a few key forwards - which is probably their weakest sector, and they probably lack the same sense of mission of last yr after a good few yrs on the road.

I believe they are the best team in the country but that overall the standard of football now is not as good as it was a few yrs ago. The Kerry, Tyrone and Armagh teams of the mid-00's, at their best, were better than this Cork team is now.

On the other hand we don't know how good Mayo are. I think Horan has instilled a bit of grit into the team and more than anything I would like to see this in the QFs. If we have this then we won't do too badly.

Ouch. No harm though, you have to play teams like Cork eventually. Hope our boys go out there and give it a go, ala Tyrone 04. Nothing is sure in sport and I'll be there anyways. Alan Feeney, SOS have Caff and McGarity breathing down their necks for a starting position I'd say. I'd be inclined to leave Doherty and Freeman, dry day in Croke park could suit them, we need goals to have any hope, Cork will definitely beat us hands down on points anyways.

Wee Conoreen scored 2-4 for Shrule today by the way......

Speaking of 2004 i was at the double header that day & all the talk was about Tyrone,Armagh & who would win when they met in the Semi finals. Well the favourites that day where beaten by Mayo,Fermanagh to set up a unlikely Semi final.

Quote from: kevmy on July 24, 2011, 09:15:36 PM
Look we will be huge underdogs but there is no use in waving the white flag just yet.

Cork are good, very good, All Ireland Champs.

I agree. we are a better organised team than we have been for a long time and there is a work ethic that has not been there before. I am not saying we will beat cork but i think we will not get the beating we did in 1993.
This year we kept our division 1 place and won the connact title. we are a work in progress and cork are the all ireland champions.
But the defeatist attitude on here is pathetic. Cork won an all ireland last year after knocking on the door for a few years. The bar has been set for us for this year now. Are we as bad as Liam Hayes and Spillane and the likes of those pricks say we are or are we a new mayo who will go to croke park and be competitive and not the teams of the past clueless, squandering chances and not able to seal the victories.
I don't think we will win the quarter final this year, but i do not think we will be beat off the pitch either.
One more point, I think it will be an insult to mayo football and our footballers if the supporters stay away for fear of an awful beating. In the words of Ciaran Fitzgerald -where is your f**king pride

There's no sign of the White flag and I'll be there, wherever there is, I'd say a double header with kildare in croker. I'd have to disagree with people calling for it outside croker, FFS it's hard enough to win Connacht without being told to piss off down to f**king tullamore or port laoise, we deserve our day up there.
I know we've beaten cork a lot in the league but last year was a terrific example, we competed well down in cork but two weeks later in croker we were given an awful lesson, I'm expecting more of the same. If Goulding is out it's a big bonus for us but d o'connor is a serious operator, hopefully a Walsh and Kerrigan will do plenty of shooting, IMO they're both equally terrible.
I think all this talk of grit is premature yet, coming from a few points down from Roscommon & Galway doesn't constitute grit IMO, however the 2nd half display against down in the opening league match did.
Look I'm not trying to be pessimistic but I don't see us bearing cork and if any of us has been asked yesterday would we come close to cork we'd have said no but it's in our nature to hype our chances as the day arrives....................sure come Friday I'll prob have us winning by a couple of points   

Based on what I saw yesterday pitchside.

Mayo need a miracle.

A good performance would round off a good year for Mayo. Its all they can hope for in my view.

I cant see anyone beating Cork.

Quote from: ross4life on July 24, 2011, 09:51:07 PM
Speaking of 2004 i was at the double header that day & all the talk was about Tyrone,Armagh & who would win when they met in the Semi finals. Well the favourites that day where beaten by Mayo,Fermanagh to set up a unlikely Semi final.

Ah the green and red against the green and white, hmmmm... :-X ::)

Quote from: INDIANA on July 24, 2011, 10:55:12 PM
Based on what I saw yesterday pitchside.

Mayo need a miracle.

A good performance would round off a good year for Mayo. Its all they can hope for in my view.

I cant see anyone beating Cork.

On that form yes but the Cork injury list is getting longer even Tony Davis  looked worried on the Sunday game.

Brolly reckons Cork'll wipe the floor with us, Davis is more cautious but reckons a win for Cork as well. Bookies will obviously make Cork unbackable favourites and we'll go in with no more than a snowball's chance in hell of winning. We'll be the complete underdogs and sure we'll have nothing to lose. Does that mean we should not bother turning up? No! We do that we definintely have no chance. It's unlikely we'll beat Cork, but it does'nt mean the lads should'nt give it everything, get in their faces and make them realise they're in a match. If Cork win having been made to work for it and we give it our best, then we'll have been beaten by a better team. Who knows, we may pull off a shock and then we'll be seriously in to bonus territory as far as this year is concerned. But taking the defeatist, don't have a hope attitude, then whats the point of bothering with it all?

Quote from: ross4life on July 24, 2011, 11:34:24 PM

Quote from: INDIANA on July 24, 2011, 10:55:12 PM
Based on what I saw yesterday pitchside.

Mayo need a miracle.

A good performance would round off a good year for Mayo. Its all they can hope for in my view.

I cant see anyone beating Cork.

On that form yes but the Cork injury list is getting longer even Tony Davis  looked worried on the Sunday game.

Who will they be missing?

Goulding's injury isnt serious and they can probably get away with not playing him next week.

Colm O Neill is  a loss but he didnt start for Cork last year.

Sheehan is a  loss and Canty is back fit now.

This injury list is a red herring in my view.

Quote from: INDIANA on July 24, 2011, 11:56:25 PM

Quote from: ross4life on July 24, 2011, 11:34:24 PM

Quote from: INDIANA on July 24, 2011, 10:55:12 PM
Based on what I saw yesterday pitchside.

Mayo need a miracle.

A good performance would round off a good year for Mayo. Its all they can hope for in my view.

I cant see anyone beating Cork.

On that form yes but the Cork injury list is getting longer even Tony Davis  looked worried on the Sunday game.

Who will they be missing?

Goulding's injury isnt serious and they can probably get away with not playing him next week.

Colm O Neill is  a loss but he didnt start for Cork last year.

Sheehan is a  loss and Canty is back fit now.

This injury list is a red herring in my view.

I guess we'll find out tomorrow how serious that Goulding injury is? he couldn't put any weight on his angle, his replacement O'Driscoll also went off injured.

Quote from: INDIANA on July 24, 2011, 11:56:25 PM

Quote from: ross4life on July 24, 2011, 11:34:24 PM

Quote from: INDIANA on July 24, 2011, 10:55:12 PM
Based on what I saw yesterday pitchside.

Mayo need a miracle.

A good performance would round off a good year for Mayo. Its all they can hope for in my view.

I cant see anyone beating Cork.

On that form yes but the Cork injury list is getting longer even Tony Davis  looked worried on the Sunday game.

Who will they be missing?

Goulding's injury isnt serious and they can probably get away with not playing him next week.

Colm O Neill is  a loss but he didnt start for Cork last year.

Sheehan is a  loss and Canty is back fit now.

This injury list is a red herring in my view.

I don t think it matters who is missing to be honest. Cork are not about losing to Mayo right now. While they were figuring a way to beat their neighbours and win an AI, Mayo were being stripped down and refitted for misery. It took 4 years for most people to cop on but still nobody is saying nothing. We can only hope that the current management and players have the bollocks to make a decent fight of it.

I don t see this as Mayo needing a miracle to beat Cork. What s the point of that? The nature of our matches so far means that we are held in contempt both at home and outside. A once off against Cork would do us no good long term. What we need the next day is structure, selection etc and dog performance. Stuff we didn t have in 93 and 99 v Cork for example. Back then we did our best for their self esteem and made them look really good and they still lost the finals. Maybe the next day we should give them a hard time of it like we did in the league instead of /and playing the old game 

In all the regrets about Mayo football nobody mentions 99, and yet it was set up for us but it was blown on selection and tactics at AI semi. The next day is not at that level for us, no matter how some people might get worked up about it. The next day is about this Mayo team not taking too much damage and learning a bit. There is a possibility if we tough it out big time we might be in with a chance at the end.

Mayo have nothing to fear in this game.
We have a young team that no one seems to believe in.with a young manager who finally seems to be getting some kind of grip on what his best team is . If these guys get a dry ball on the wide open surface of Croker park they can run that cork defence ragged. All chances will need to be taklen bit Cillian o connor's CF form is a massive boost after all an 'average' team by  kerry standards took them aprt in the 1st half of the muster final and mayo can do the same against a cork team with an eye and a hlf on the Semi Final.
Many of mayos players are in the early stages of their career development and this game can help . A o se  Alan Freeman K mc laughlin  R hennelly E varley and R feeney  come of age as county players. there may be tweaks needed aound CHB to deal with corks power .But this is a winnable game and could really reignite mayo Quest for Sam. and watch the fans come running back then , but thise who care will be there the next day the rest can wait for the next  bandwagon.
 

Quote from: rosnarun on July 25, 2011, 12:32:48 AM
Mayo have nothing to fear in this game.
We have a young team that no one seems to believe in.with a young manager who finally seems to be getting some kind of grip on what his best team is . If these guys get a dry ball on the wide open surface of Croker park they can run that cork defence ragged. All chances will need to be taklen bit Cillian o connor's CF form is a massive boost after all an 'average' team by  kerry standards took them aprt in the 1st half of the muster final and mayo can do the same against a cork team with an eye and a hlf on the Semi Final.
Many of mayos players are in the early stages of their career development and this game can help . A o se  Alan Freeman K mc laughlin  R hennelly E varley and R feeney  come of age as county players. there may be tweaks needed aound CHB to deal with corks power .But this is a winnable game and could really reignite mayo Quest for Sam. and watch the fans come running back then , but thise who care will be there the next day the rest can wait for the next  bandwagon.

Is it not on in Croke Park?

We will need 3 or 4 backs to have the games of their lives. We should be able to break even at midfield and we will need a couple of few goals between Freeman and Doherty. We will need the frees all going over and we will need to win most of the dirty ball.

But it can be done.

Quote from: muppet on July 25, 2011, 02:47:56 AM
We will need 3 or 4 backs to have the games of their lives. We should be able to break even at midfield and we will need a couple of few goals between Freeman and Doherty. We will need the frees all going over and we will need to win most of the dirty ball.

But it can be done.

Against possibly one of the best breaking ball winning teams ever. Its a huge ask but anything can happen. No guts no glory, set the tone early akin to Dublin 06 and players/supporters will start to believe.

Quote from: muppet on July 25, 2011, 02:47:56 AM
We should be able to break even at midfield

As far as I can see, Alan O'Connor is becoming the most dominant midfielder in the game. He is a collosus.  We really struggled against him in the league final last year and he has only got better since. When you add Aiden Walsh to that, I think we are going to be living off scraps in that area of the field, which will ultimately be our undoing. We need a massive performance from the O'se brothers for us to be in with a shout.


Hopefully we get a solid performance all round and come out of it with some credit. Horan is starting to get a settled team together which will help them grow in confidence. A lot of the mayo lads can take inspiration from the u21 final a few years back. Here's hoping.

Quotethat no one seems to believe in

I do. I don't see what all the hype is around Cork. They are just a big awkward bunch this year. Our young forward line will run rings around them. Mayo by 5 or 6.

That's more like it.
Cork are useless.

Love the way this thread is starting to turn around  ;)
Was just checkin out the u21 final teams from 2006. Theres some amount of players from both teams that have stayed the distance, and alot of the cork lads have become proven big time players. 

From our point of view the most disappointing absentee is aidan kilcoyne, he was the winning of that final. Anyway just goes to show weve beaten alot of their main players in a major match in the not too distant past.

CORK: K O'Halloran; R Carey, C Murphy, S O'Donoghue; D Limerick, M Shields, E Cadogan; A O'Connor, P Kelly; F Gould, C Keane, P Kerrigan (capt); D Goulding, P O'Flynn, J Hayes.

Subs used: G O'Shea for Hayes (44 mins), F Lynch for Kelly (52)

MAYO: K O'Malley; T Howley, G Cafferkey, K Higgins (capt); C Barrett, T Cunniffe, C Boyle; S O'Shea, B Moran; A Campbell, J Dillon, A Kilcoyne; M Ronaldson, M Hannick, M Conroy.

Subs used: S Ryan for Boyle (half time), K Costello for Dillon, E Varley for Hannick (both 40 mins)

Quote from: Chéad rogha on July 25, 2011, 10:16:08 AM
Love the way this thread is starting to turn around  ;)
Was just checkin out the u21 final teams from 2006. Theres some amount of players from both teams that have stayed the distance, and alot of the cork lads have become proven big time players. 

From our point of view the most disappointing absentee is aidan kilcoyne, he was the winning of that final. Anyway just goes to show weve beaten alot of their main players in a major match in the not too distant past.

CORK: K O'Halloran; R Carey, C Murphy, S O'Donoghue; D Limerick, M Shields, E Cadogan; A O'Connor, P Kelly; F Gould, C Keane, P Kerrigan (capt); D Goulding, P O'Flynn, J Hayes.

Subs used: G O'Shea for Hayes (44 mins), F Lynch for Kelly (52)

MAYO: K O'Malley; T Howley, G Cafferkey, K Higgins (capt); C Barrett, T Cunniffe, C Boyle; S O'Shea, B Moran; A Campbell, J Dillon, A Kilcoyne; M Ronaldson, M Hannick, M Conroy.

Subs used: S Ryan for Boyle (half time), K Costello for Dillon, E Varley for Hannick (both 40 mins)

Ronaldson and Howley are in the Mayo panel as well, and Barry Moran was back training with them before the Connacht Final - not sure if he's still there.

If you were a neutral, you'd say Cork are clear favourites, and should win by 5+.
If we do any better than that, we will have put in a big performance, and I'd be happy with that.
There's always a chance though, and Cork aren't the finished article. They are huge men, great athletes, but can take the wrong options if pressured into it. Whether we'll be able to force them into that is what we'll find out at the weekend.

Hopefully there'll be a big Mayo crowd, as I can't see many Corkonians coming up - they'll wait for their semi v Kerry!  ;)

Quote from: Chéad rogha on July 25, 2011, 10:16:08 AM
Love the way this thread is starting to turn around  ;)
Was just checkin out the u21 final teams from 2006. Theres some amount of players from both teams that have stayed the distance, and alot of the cork lads have become proven big time players. 

From our point of view the most disappointing absentee is aidan kilcoyne, he was the winning of that final. Anyway just goes to show weve beaten alot of their main players in a major match in the not too distant past.

CORK: K O'Halloran; R Carey, C Murphy, S O'Donoghue; D Limerick, M Shields, E Cadogan; A O'Connor, P Kelly; F Gould, C Keane, P Kerrigan (capt); D Goulding, P O'Flynn, J Hayes.

Subs used: G O'Shea for Hayes (44 mins), F Lynch for Kelly (52)

MAYO: K O'Malley; T Howley, G Cafferkey, K Higgins (capt); C Barrett, T Cunniffe, C Boyle; S O'Shea, B Moran; A Campbell, J Dillon, A Kilcoyne; M Ronaldson, M Hannick, M Conroy.

Subs used: S Ryan for Boyle (half time), K Costello for Dillon, E Varley for Hannick (both 40 mins)

And even more annoying from a Mayo perspective is that six of that team were first year out of minor (Cafferkey, Barrett, Cunniffe, Boyle, O'Shea and Campbell) meaning that we had two more years at U21 with the core of that team.

Quote from: Chimley on July 25, 2011, 10:34:16 AM

Quote from: Chéad rogha on July 25, 2011, 10:16:08 AM
Love the way this thread is starting to turn around  ;)
Was just checkin out the u21 final teams from 2006. Theres some amount of players from both teams that have stayed the distance, and alot of the cork lads have become proven big time players. 

From our point of view the most disappointing absentee is aidan kilcoyne, he was the winning of that final. Anyway just goes to show weve beaten alot of their main players in a major match in the not too distant past.

CORK: K O'Halloran; R Carey, C Murphy, S O'Donoghue; D Limerick, M Shields, E Cadogan; A O'Connor, P Kelly; F Gould, C Keane, P Kerrigan (capt); D Goulding, P O'Flynn, J Hayes.

Subs used: G O'Shea for Hayes (44 mins), F Lynch for Kelly (52)

MAYO: K O'Malley; T Howley, G Cafferkey, K Higgins (capt); C Barrett, T Cunniffe, C Boyle; S O'Shea, B Moran; A Campbell, J Dillon, A Kilcoyne; M Ronaldson, M Hannick, M Conroy.

Subs used: S Ryan for Boyle (half time), K Costello for Dillon, E Varley for Hannick (both 40 mins)

And even more annoying from a Mayo perspective is that six of that team were first year out of minor (Cafferkey, Barrett, Cunniffe, Boyle, O'Shea and Campbell) meaning that we had two more years at U21 with the core of that team.

Only five - Boyle was minor captain in 2004 and in his second year U21 in 2006 - but your point still remains.

Quote from: Tubberman on July 25, 2011, 10:29:05 AM
Ronaldson and Howley are in the Mayo panel as well, and Barry Moran was back training with them before the Connacht Final - not sure if he's still there.

If you were a neutral, you'd say Cork are clear favourites, and should win by 5+.
If we do any better than that, we will have put in a big performance, and I'd be happy with that.
There's always a chance though, and Cork aren't the finished article. They are huge men, great athletes, but can take the wrong options if pressured into it. Whether we'll be able to force them into that is what we'll find out at the weekend.

Hopefully there'll be a big Mayo crowd, as I can't see many Corkonians coming up - they'll wait for their semi v Kerry!  ;)

Yea i just highlighted those that were named on the 26man panel v ros

Some positives to take into the game the next day
1. Most teams love being underdogs
2. Cork wont have much of an idea of our tactics\dangermen judging from the connacht championship
3. Alot of our players have tasted big game success against some of their players in the aforementioned u21 game
4. Weve a manger who has instilled a good work ethic into the team and isnt afraid to make changes to adapt to situations
5. Weve got Andy

Negatives
1. Its Cork

Cork lost so many big matches before finally winning that all-Ireland last year. Cork are nobodies in the bigger scheme of football things. They only have 6 or 7 all-Irelands in total.
Galway have more and Mayo beat Galway so FFS get the head right Mayo and go out and win. 

QuoteCork lost so many big matches before finally winning that all-Ireland last year. Cork are nobodies in the bigger scheme of football things. They only have 6 or 7 all-Irelands in total.

You must have Kerry blood !!

Quote from: seafoid on July 25, 2011, 11:16:01 AM
Cork lost so many big matches before finally winning that all-Ireland last year. Cork are nobodies in the bigger scheme of football things. They only have 6 or 7 all-Irelands in total.
Galway have more and Mayo beat Galway so FFS get the head right Mayo and go out and win.

Also,they haven't lost to anyone bar Kerry in 8 years, they're totally useless. I'm sure they also would have struggled to beat London.

According to WJ (and Newstalk have just reported the same as unconfirmed), there will be two double-headers in Croke Park next weekend.

Saturday:
Roscommon v Tyrone 4pm
Kildare v Donegal 6pm

Sunday:
Kerry v Limerick 2pm
Mayo v Cork 4pm

judging by twitter its sunday at 4pm for our judgement day! kerry v limerick is the appetiser at 2

apologies tubberman, you beat me to it!

Quote from: stevetharlear on July 25, 2011, 12:06:14 PM

Quote from: seafoid on July 25, 2011, 11:16:01 AM
Cork lost so many big matches before finally winning that all-Ireland last year. Cork are nobodies in the bigger scheme of football things. They only have 6 or 7 all-Irelands in total.
Galway have more and Mayo beat Galway so FFS get the head right Mayo and go out and win.

Also,they haven't lost to anyone bar Kerry in 8 years, they're totally useless. I'm sure they also would have struggled to beat London.

I was so relieved for them that they won the all-Ireland last year. I thought they would outdo Clann na nGael.

Quote from: seafoid on July 25, 2011, 02:21:21 PM

Quote from: stevetharlear on July 25, 2011, 12:06:14 PM

Quote from: seafoid on July 25, 2011, 11:16:01 AM
Cork lost so many big matches before finally winning that all-Ireland last year. Cork are nobodies in the bigger scheme of football things. They only have 6 or 7 all-Irelands in total.
Galway have more and Mayo beat Galway so FFS get the head right Mayo and go out and win.

Also,they haven't lost to anyone bar Kerry in 8 years, they're totally useless. I'm sure they also would have struggled to beat London.

I was so relieved for them that they won the all-Ireland last year. I thought they would outdo Clann na nGael.

Make sure you get an anti - Ross dig in even on  a Cork/Mayo thread.  Suppose not many Galway threads left for you in fairness.

Quote from: Jinxy on July 25, 2011, 12:34:39 AM

Quote from: rosnarun on July 25, 2011, 12:32:48 AM
Mayo have nothing to fear in this game.
We have a young team that no one seems to believe in.with a young manager who finally seems to be getting some kind of grip on what his best team is . If these guys get a dry ball on the wide open surface of Croker park they can run that cork defence ragged. All chances will need to be taklen bit Cillian o connor's CF form is a massive boost after all an 'average' team by  kerry standards took them aprt in the 1st half of the muster final and mayo can do the same against a cork team with an eye and a hlf on the Semi Final.
Many of mayos players are in the early stages of their career development and this game can help . A o se  Alan Freeman K mc laughlin  R hennelly E varley and R feeney  come of age as county players. there may be tweaks needed aound CHB to deal with corks power .But this is a winnable game and could really reignite mayo Quest for Sam. and watch the fans come running back then , but thise who care will be there the next day the rest can wait for the next  bandwagon.

Is it not on in Croke Park?

It's a fallacy that Mayo are poor in Croker. We beat Laois, Tyrone, Dublin and  Fermanagh in the Championship in '04 and '06. We got robbed against Meath in '09. We also beat Kerry and Offaly there in '96 and '97. Our issue is finals, not Croker.


Sunday at 4pm suits me perfect!!

Cork do have an injury list which will be worrying them - not for our game but for Kerry - 4 out of there best 9/10 forwards are injured. Goulding, Sheehan, O'Neill and O'Driscoll being out leaves them short and at least two (probably 3) of them would start. Also you have to consider that forwards is their weakest sector. Brolly is a idiot and, as DB said the last day, a gobshite but he has a point in that Cork often dominate possession at midfield and only win by a couple of points. If we get 40% at midfield we'll be in the game I reckon but it's a tough ask. If we don't get that 40% we're in serious trouble.

Quote from: ross matt on July 25, 2011, 02:33:54 PM

Quote from: seafoid on July 25, 2011, 02:21:21 PM

Quote from: stevetharlear on July 25, 2011, 12:06:14 PM

Quote from: seafoid on July 25, 2011, 11:16:01 AM
Cork lost so many big matches before finally winning that all-Ireland last year. Cork are nobodies in the bigger scheme of football things. They only have 6 or 7 all-Irelands in total.
Galway have more and Mayo beat Galway so FFS get the head right Mayo and go out and win.

Also,they haven't lost to anyone bar Kerry in 8 years, they're totally useless. I'm sure they also would have struggled to beat London.

I was so relieved for them that they won the all-Ireland last year. I thought they would outdo Clann na nGael.

Make sure you get an anti - Ross dig in even on  a Cork/Mayo thread.  Suppose not many Galway threads left for you in fairness.

ross Matt

I didn't realise you Rossies were so touchy. Go and win the all-Ireland, will you and lighten up.
The Ross and Mayo threads are fascinating and much more interesting than watching Galway lose.   

Cork will win more than their share in midfield, they will then pass it back to their half backs, fart about there for a few seconds, suck in the opposition midfield and half backs, then they break fast into the open spaces with runs by Kerrigan or Kelly or the half backs themselves, or play the ball into the corners for O'Connor and his fellow full forward to try and win a free from which they score a high percentage of scores from. We have had this sussed in Kerry for years , but dont tell anyone ssssshhhh !!

Quote from: kevmy on July 25, 2011, 02:39:47 PM
We got robbed

spanked
found out
what was coming to us

(tick as appropriate)

against Meath in '09.

QuoteWe got robbed against Meath in '09

Ah come on now Ted - ye were beaten fair and square by Meath in 2009. I was there myself -there was no robbery involved.

Can't imagine many will be in for the 2pm Limerick v Kerry game maybe a few Limerick fans?

Quote from: galwayman on July 25, 2011, 03:13:44 PM

QuoteWe got robbed against Meath in '09

Ah come on now Ted - ye were beaten fair and square by Meath in 2009. I was there myself -there was no robbery involved.

We got some bad decisions against us - the lineball in the lead up to the penalty should have been a Mayo ball, and in the consequent passage of play, the penalty shouldn't have been given.
BUT, we still had plenty of time to win the game from there. It was out own fault we lost, no point blaming the ref, and you certainly couldn't blame Meath.
Anyway, that's in the past and has no relevance to Sunday - different management, a lot of different players, and hopefully a different attitude.

Quote from: Tubberman on July 25, 2011, 03:18:35 PMthe lineball in the lead up to the penalty should have been a Mayo ball

Why would it be a Mayo ball when Joe Sheridan played it off a Mayo player's leg, from where it went out of play?

Quoteand in the consequent passage of play, the penalty shouldn't have been given

Why?

We might get a good row going here. It's too long since 1996.

They're great men for starting rows alright.
Tubberman would remind you of Anthony Finnerty.

I hope we don't have any John Caseys on the board so, that duck out of the way at the first sight of trouble!

Quote from: seafoid on July 25, 2011, 02:49:24 PM

Quote from: ross matt on July 25, 2011, 02:33:54 PM

Quote from: seafoid on July 25, 2011, 02:21:21 PM

Quote from: stevetharlear on July 25, 2011, 12:06:14 PM

Quote from: seafoid on July 25, 2011, 11:16:01 AM
Cork lost so many big matches before finally winning that all-Ireland last year. Cork are nobodies in the bigger scheme of football things. They only have 6 or 7 all-Irelands in total.
Galway have more and Mayo beat Galway so FFS get the head right Mayo and go out and win.

Also,they haven't lost to anyone bar Kerry in 8 years, they're totally useless. I'm sure they also would have struggled to beat London.

I was so relieved for them that they won the all-Ireland last year. I thought they would outdo Clann na nGael.

Make sure you get an anti - Ross dig in even on  a Cork/Mayo thread.  Suppose not many Galway threads left for you in fairness.

ross Matt

I didn't realise you Rossies were so touchy. Go and win the all-Ireland, will you and lighten up.
The Ross and Mayo threads are fascinating and much more interesting than watching Galway lose.

Ah its you that needs to lighten up I think lonely boy.

Quote from: Jinxy on July 25, 2011, 03:50:00 PM
They're great men for starting rows alright.
Tubberman would remind you of Anthony Finnerty.

Well I do have a fine head of curls alright....
The 09 match doesn't rankle enough to get worked up about it though - sorry about that, but there'll be no self flagellation today  :D :D

Dammit.

are there no corkoians around to fight with at all .
is 2 bald men Fighting over a comb and a half hearted attempt to revive  the spirit of 96 the best we can do .
is this cork team really so watery and nondescript . the cork fans seem to think so

Wonder will St Patrick and the sombrero wearing cork lad square up on Sunday?.....be a tough one to call, Sombrero would have weight advantage but St Patrick might irritate him into submission...

Quote from: ballinaman on July 25, 2011, 05:22:09 PM
Wonder will St Patrick and the sombrero wearing cork lad square up on Sunday?.....be a tough one to call, Sombrero would have weight advantage but St Patrick might irritate him into submission...

i'd say st patrick will be on the reek on sunday (hopefully!)

In 09 Mayo would have won if Kilcoyne hadn't got injured. He was playing well but f**k it what's done is done. Meath wanted the win more in the last 15 minutes.

We also scored more than you.

I find that works every time.

Quote from: rosnarun on July 25, 2011, 05:18:24 PM
are there no corkoians around to fight with at all .
is 2 bald men Fighting over a comb and a half hearted attempt to revive  the spirit of 96 the best we can do .
is this cork team really so watery and nondescript . the cork fans seem to think so

The langers have there own forum, im sure you'll find someone to fight with you in there ;)

Quote from: Jinxy on July 25, 2011, 09:36:31 AM
That's more like it.
Cork are useless.

Completely - only lost to Kerry in the last 8 years at championship level. Dire outfit. So many other sides have such good records against Kerry.

Counihan has actually hit upon his best defence last Saturday. Thats the real story from last Saturday night. Cadogan really bolsters it up. Far superior footballer then hurler.

Fintan Gould is no slouch, Fiachra Lynch too. Sheehan is a massive loss and Goulding could be too. But I just cant see anyone bar Kerry beating them.

I can see Cork beating Kerry and losing the final.

In my view...

Only Kerry can beat Cork however a few other teams can beat Kerry. Tyrone or Kildare could rattle Kerry - not sure Dublin could.

QuoteCadogan really bolsters it up. Far superior footballer then hurler.

When he plays football he can be good, but when he carrys on with the crap he and O'Leary and Canty etc do in every game he is a focking nuisance and will aim to get his marker booked and / or sent off, . Be careful Mayo

It's the other way around in my view.
I think Dublin and Kildare would both have a great shout against Cork but Kerry would beat both of them.

Kerry are the best in the country by a long way imo...................they have corks number........................... cant see any other team getting near whoever wins there semi

Not mad into birdseye cadogan or oleary...............think canty is highly over rated.......anyways galvin will batter them all  :D

Quote from: imtommygunn on July 25, 2011, 10:07:20 PM
In my view...

Only Kerry can beat Cork however a few other teams can beat Kerry. Tyrone or Kildare could rattle Kerry - not sure Dublin could.

I agree with you.
Right now, I'd imagine that Cork's sheer power and athleticism would prove too much for any team in the country bar Kerry.  I can't see Kerry entertaining any fear of their neighbours and I don't think Cork have the same degree of cuteness on the field or on the sideline.
I'd say a game between them would go down to the wire and I'd bet on Kerry to shade it. Injuries to key players on either side could be a big factor but, all things else being equal, I think Jack O'Connor a better tactician than Counihan and it's here the battle will be won or lost.
A few teams just might beat Kerry alright and I'd give an outside chance to the three you've mentioned. Dublin is the one I'd be least confident about because they've yet to prove that they have mental toughness when the stakes are high.

Quote from: squire_in_navy_slacks on July 25, 2011, 10:45:30 PM
Kerry are the best in the country by a long way imo...................they have corks number........................... cant see any other team getting near whoever wins there semi

Not mad into birdseye cadogan or oleary...............think canty is highly over rated.......anyways galvin will batter them all  :D

That you Dotsy?

Quote from: muppet on July 25, 2011, 11:04:12 PM

Quote from: squire_in_navy_slacks on July 25, 2011, 10:45:30 PM
Kerry are the best in the country by a long way imo...................they have corks number........................... cant see any other team getting near whoever wins there semi

Not mad into birdseye cadogan or oleary...............think canty is highly over rated.......anyways galvin will batter them all  :D

That you Dotsy?

Brilliant!

whos dotsy................................................

Cork 2/11
Mayo 5/1
Draw 11/1

(is it hurling?)

Double Result:
Cork/Cork 2/5
Mayo/Mayo 14/1

Bet of the weekned is you can get Mayo - 4 points at 22/1 (the paddy power site dosn't allow mayo to be a higher minus margin?).

Mayo by exactly 5 is 50/1 and exactly 6 is 66/1. A tenner on each allows odds of aggregate 30/1, this is another good one but you would be sickened if Mayo got a last minute point to win by 7.

p.s.
They are 80/1 to win by 7.

What are the odds on Cork refusing to come after half time?

QuoteWhat are the odds on Cork refusing to come after half time?

I presume you mean 'come out'? Low enough based on their hurling lads if you get my drift.... :D

Quote from: highorlow on July 26, 2011, 08:14:13 AM

QuoteWhat are the odds on Cork refusing to come after half time?

I presume you mean 'come out'? Low enough based on their hurling lads if you get my drift.... :D

Eh yes, come out of the dressing room!

Some great clips here from 1994-1996:

Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYyE4RhUQdw&feature=related (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYyE4RhUQdw&feature=related)
Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjoqeRKWGQk&NR=1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjoqeRKWGQk&NR=1)
Part 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TP2-O58H9ss&NR=1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TP2-O58H9ss&NR=1)

Easy to forget how good the likes of Linden, wee James, James Nallen, Geraghty, the Dubs of the early 1990s etc all were. Great scores in those clips.

Ross Matt

I didn't realise Clann were such a dog whistle. Here boy !

Quote from: Farrandeelin on July 25, 2011, 07:26:04 PM
In 09 Mayo would have won if Kilcoyne hadn't got injured. He was playing well but f**k it what's done is done. Meath wanted the win more in the last 15 minutes.

Jeez I stirred the pot there. I merely think that we got absolutely zero luck that day between two very bad calls - which cost us 6 points - and shipped a couple of injuries during the game. I agree that our heads dropped in the last 15 mins of that game which shouldn't have happened. However we should have won that game much more than the Longford game last yr or against Tyrone in '08 or pretty much any game in the last few yrs.

Quote from: Jinxy on July 25, 2011, 09:15:06 PM
We also scored more than you.

That aimed at me? If I recall correctly, Mayo scored a goal but wasn't given that day.

I cannot see a good crowd going up from Mayo at all. I sincerely hope I'm wrong.

Oh a separate note, Noel O'leary's blood injury was caused by two boxes from Marty Clarke, not an elbow as I would have presumed, not picked up by the linesmen or TV3, fair enough the linemen but TV3 should have enough cameras there to catch this, would be worried about the cork backs laying into the mayo forwards with impunity if they can avoid the umpires and linesmen

Quote from: Farrandeelin on July 26, 2011, 12:02:21 PM

Quote from: Jinxy on July 25, 2011, 09:15:06 PM
We also scored more than you.

That aimed at me? If I recall correctly, Mayo scored a goal but wasn't given that day.

I cannot see a good crowd going up from Mayo at all. I sincerely hope I'm wrong.

Why was it not given?

Ah ffs one lad worrying about rough treatment from Cork backs and others whinging about Meath game in 2009, it is a mans game. A game we had a good chance to win after our start we managed to lose again. We needed to show more fight and bottle. Horan has done well so far, this is his biggest test yet and will show us what we can expect during his tenure.

Cork have been hit & miss over the past three years. Accepted they were pretty good last Sat, remember the bad, Limerick ran them to extra time last year.  Goulding is a big loss and with the rest of the injuries, they probably are a bit stretched up front. If Mayo can gain parity in the middle and not ship any goals, I think they have a reasonable chance and certainly not 5/1 against.   

Nobody knows how good Mayo actually are? They could be dreadful or if everything clicks they could surprise people.  As has been highlighted they do seem to have a new found belief and hunger for battle that has brought them home in the last three games. Out fitness levels appear high as we have finished well on all three games.

is that guy mark ronaldson still playing for mayo? he scored something like 1-5 against tyrone in the league last year.

Quote from: clarshack on July 26, 2011, 01:40:29 PM
is that guy mark ronaldson still playing for mayo? he scored something like 1-5 against tyrone in the league last year.

Was dropped from the panel earlier in the year, but is back in the panel now. Hasn't got any game time yet in the Championship.
He was exceptional that day in Omagh in the rain, but has never really been able to produce the goods in Championship. His size does him no favours there.

Quote from: clarshack on July 26, 2011, 01:40:29 PM
is that guy mark ronaldson still playing for mayo? he scored something like 1-5 against tyrone in the league last year.

Ya hes on the panel. Was dropped from it for a while earlier in the year but is back pushing to be in the match day 26. Has been scoring for fun for Shrule GC this year. Hes a crafty operator with pace to burn, probably his height has counted against him at this level.

Quote from: spuds on July 26, 2011, 01:00:52 PM
Ah ffs one lad worrying about rough treatment from Cork backs and others whinging about Meath game in 2009, it is a mans game. A game we had a good chance to win after our start we managed to lose again. We needed to show more fight and bottle. Horan has done well so far, this is his biggest test yet and will show us what we can expect during his tenure.

Agreed. As I have said previously I hope we show fight and play to the final whistle on Sunday at the very least. Once these are there you know things are fairly good in a camp and it gives you something to build on.

Quote from: spuds on July 26, 2011, 01:00:52 PM
Ah ffs one lad worrying about rough treatment from Cork backs and others whinging about Meath game in 2009, it is a mans game. A game we had a good chance to win after our start we managed to lose again. We needed to show more fight and bottle. Horan has done well so far, this is his biggest test yet and will show us what we can expect during his tenure.

You are right of course but I love the craic when the "If only me auntie...."  brigade get into their stride. Small wonder that so many 'outsiders' say they are fascinated by our carry on. (Mind you, I'm as guilty as anybody else at times.)
Fact is Meath bet us in '09 because they somehow managed to score more than we did. Mayo arrived in town that day expecting a youngster, who still had writer's cramp from sitting his Leaving Cert, to lead the way. Some, including Liam McHale, were calling for revenge for '96.
I like Liam very much but I thought the timing of his outburst was most regrettable; it only served to put extra pressure on a decidedly flakey side that needed every help to keep their focus on the task in hand.
We got bet and I feel Meath did us a favour. I'm perfectly serious about this. Kerry would have annihilated us if we had managed to get through.
As it was, Meath knew they hadn't a chance in the semi but they fought to the very end and lost no face in losing.  In Mayo I'd say we'd still be recovering from the shock and the margin of defeat.
Right now, I like the Mayo side. The present Cork side wouldn't bate Catty Barry when they were starting to re-build. Armagh and Tyrone got their noses bloodied many a time before they managed their ultimate breakthroughs.
James and his team aren't within sight of the All Ireland this year but neither were the langers when they started out.  As long as all concerned give their best from start to finish, I won't be downhearted. Disappointed a wee bit maybe but happy enough if I can see signs of progress.

It's game on time right now, as they say in handball circles; fifteen against fifteen and to hell with talk about what might or what should have been.

I would love Roscommon to have another shot at Cork this year especially with no Goulding,Sheehan & no Nicholas Murphy to bail them out at midfield if things are going bad. Mayo should have nothing to fear afterall you have been playing at this level for years & even the younger players are use to Croke park & winning there. It's up to Horan to get the tactics right & defend better than Down did & of course the Mayo full forward line will have to play better from play than it did v us.

Best of luck Mayo nobody wants to see all Munster semi final.

Quote from: Jinxy on July 26, 2011, 12:32:49 PM

Quote from: Farrandeelin on July 26, 2011, 12:02:21 PM

Quote from: Jinxy on July 25, 2011, 09:15:06 PM
We also scored more than you.

That aimed at me? If I recall correctly, Mayo scored a goal but wasn't given that day.

I cannot see a good crowd going up from Mayo at all. I sincerely hope I'm wrong.

Why was it not given?

A Meathman carried it over the line and & Sludden wasn't ref.

Quote from: muppet on July 26, 2011, 04:22:34 PM

Quote from: Jinxy on July 26, 2011, 12:32:49 PM

Quote from: Farrandeelin on July 26, 2011, 12:02:21 PM

Quote from: Jinxy on July 25, 2011, 09:15:06 PM
We also scored more than you.

That aimed at me? If I recall correctly, Mayo scored a goal but wasn't given that day.

I cannot see a good crowd going up from Mayo at all. I sincerely hope I'm wrong.

Why was it not given?

A Meathman carried it over the line and & Sludden wasn't ref.

No he didn't.

QuoteBest of luck Mayo nobody wants to see all Munster semi final.

I'd say there are many thousands who want to see exactly that !! Sunday evening will tell all.

Quote from: Kerry Mike on July 26, 2011, 05:06:01 PM

QuoteBest of luck Mayo nobody wants to see all Munster semi final.

I'd say there are many thousands who want to see exactly that !! Sunday evening will tell all.

Ah Mike surely but surely you'd like to see us bate Cork?

QuoteI'd say there are many thousands who want to see exactly that !! Sunday evening will tell all.

Limerick v Cork wouldn't be a great semi-final without Galvin.

QuoteAh Mike surely but surely you'd like to see us bate Cork?

I wont be shouting for Cork on Sunday, but won't be dissapointed if they win either. That's a yerra answer.

Quote from: ross4life on July 26, 2011, 04:18:56 PM
I would love Roscommon to have another shot at Cork this year especially with no Goulding,Sheehan & no Nicholas Murphy to bail them out at midfield if things are going bad. Mayo should have nothing to fear afterall you have been playing at this level for years & even the younger players are use to Croke park & winning there. It's up to Horan to get the tactics right & defend better than Down did & of course the Mayo full forward line will have to play better from play than it did v us.

Best of luck Mayo nobody wants to see all Munster semi final.

Yeah we're all dying to see Mayo play Kerry again.

Quote from: Kerry Mike on July 26, 2011, 05:06:01 PM

QuoteBest of luck Mayo nobody wants to see all Munster semi final.

I'd say there are many thousands who want to see exactly that !! Sunday evening will tell all.

I thought Kerry fans for sick of playing/beating Cork at this stage?

Quote from: Jinxy on July 26, 2011, 05:16:38 PM

Quote from: ross4life on July 26, 2011, 04:18:56 PM
I would love Roscommon to have another shot at Cork this year especially with no Goulding,Sheehan & no Nicholas Murphy to bail them out at midfield if things are going bad. Mayo should have nothing to fear afterall you have been playing at this level for years & even the younger players are use to Croke park & winning there. It's up to Horan to get the tactics right & defend better than Down did & of course the Mayo full forward line will have to play better from play than it did v us.

Best of luck Mayo nobody wants to see all Munster semi final.

Yeah we're all dying to see Mayo play Kerry again.

It's not All Ireland final so they have a chance especially the confidence they would get if they beat Cork.

Quote from: Jinxy on July 26, 2011, 05:16:38 PM

Quote from: ross4life on July 26, 2011, 04:18:56 PM
I would love Roscommon to have another shot at Cork this year especially with no Goulding,Sheehan & no Nicholas Murphy to bail them out at midfield if things are going bad. Mayo should have nothing to fear afterall you have been playing at this level for years & even the younger players are use to Croke park & winning there. It's up to Horan to get the tactics right & defend better than Down did & of course the Mayo full forward line will have to play better from play than it did v us.

Best of luck Mayo nobody wants to see all Munster semi final.

Yeah we're all dying.

Fixed that for you.

The best thing for the development of this Mayo team would be if they give Cork a right rattle and lose by 3/4 points.
Gives them something to build on.

Quote from: Jinxy on July 26, 2011, 05:36:33 PM
The best thing for the development of this Mayo team would be if they give Cork a right rattle and lose by 3/4 points.
Gives them something to build on.

Look at it this way, beat Cork, scrape past Kerry and win a handy Final.

That'll give us something to build on.

If you beat Cork, I'm going to take the dog for a long walk during the semi-final.
He doesn't need to see Mayo get another tanking.

Quote from: Jinxy on July 26, 2011, 05:39:58 PM
If you beat Cork, I'm going to take the dog for a long walk during the semi-final.
He doesn't need to see Mayo get another tanking.

You living in Meath now Roy?

Quote from: Jinxy on July 26, 2011, 05:39:58 PM
If you beat Cork, I'm going to take the dog for a long walk during the semi-final.
He doesn't need to see Mayo get another tanking.

(http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/uu206/Hardyarse/SurprisedDog1.jpg)

Quote from: Hardy on July 26, 2011, 05:49:49 PM

Quote from: Jinxy on July 26, 2011, 05:39:58 PM
If you beat Cork, I'm going to take the dog for a long walk during the semi-final.
He doesn't need to see Mayo get another tanking.

(http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/uu206/Hardyarse/SurprisedDog1.jpg)

I thought one likes corgis?

Quote from: Jinxy on July 26, 2011, 05:36:33 PM
The best thing for the development of this Mayo team would be if they give Cork a right rattle and lose by 3/4 points.
Gives them something to build on.

That's the best possible scenario that's been played out in my head. I cannot see us beating Cork, however as you stated in your post jinxy, Mayo are ayoung team and hopefully they won't throw in the towel. It's very hard to give a detailed preview because nobody really knows how good Mayo are.

Yet if Cooper or anyone from any other county scored 0-8 from frees in that kind of weather (and won a few as well) he'd be canonised. But because he's from Mayo it's a case of 'he got lucky' or some other shitty excuse. Also, if any goalkeeper caught a ball bouncing over the bar he'd be praised from the highest heavens. We're written off, sure Cork only have to show up and wipe the floor with us, and given their strength in punishing Down's open gaps all over the pitch they very well might. Where there's life there's hope, albeit a very small proportion of it regarding Mayo winning. An honourable defeat would be ok in my opinion.

Quote from: Farrandeelin on July 26, 2011, 06:00:02 PM

Quote from: Jinxy on July 26, 2011, 05:36:33 PM
The best thing for the development of this Mayo team would be if they give Cork a right rattle and lose by 3/4 points.
Gives them something to build on.

That's the best possible scenario that's been played out in my head. I cannot see us beating Cork, however as you stated in your post jinxy, Mayo are ayoung team and hopefully they won't throw in the towel. It's very hard to give a detailed preview because nobody really knows how good Mayo are.

Yet if Cooper or anyone from any other county scored 0-8 from frees in that kind of weather (and won a few as well) he'd be canonised. But because he's from Mayo it's a case of 'he got lucky' or some other shitty excuse. Also, if any goalkeeper caught a ball bouncing over the bar he'd be praised from the highest heavens. We're written off, sure Cork only have to show up and wipe the floor with us, and given their strength in punishing Down's open gaps all over the pitch they very well might. Where there's life there's hope, albeit a very small proportion of it regarding Mayo winning. An honourable defeat would be ok in my opinion.

In the same breath as you saying Mayo are underrated at national level, you're settling for an honourable defeat? We're either good enough to be able to compete with Cork or we're not.

At the moment you're not.

Why are the Meath boys so interested in this thread?

Sure they have to pass the time somehow.
Wouldn't you think they'd be shafting the manager by now ;D ;D

An honourable defeat for Mwr would in all likelihood be the best for them , as indeed it would have been in 04 and 06.

Have to say Mayo lad that ye'd make a pigs ear out of a silk purse. Ye're Connaught champions in an AI quarter final. Man up, look positive and bate 10 lumps of living sh**e out of the langers, especially on the right side of the field now that dead eye goulding is out ;)

Quote from: RedandGreenSniper on July 26, 2011, 06:54:11 PM
Why are the Meath boys so interested in this thread?

We're filling in for the non-existent Cork posters.

Quote from: RedandGreenSniper on July 26, 2011, 06:34:22 PM

Quote from: Farrandeelin on July 26, 2011, 06:00:02 PM

Quote from: Jinxy on July 26, 2011, 05:36:33 PM
The best thing for the development of this Mayo team would be if they give Cork a right rattle and lose by 3/4 points.
Gives them something to build on.

That's the best possible scenario that's been played out in my head. I cannot see us beating Cork, however as you stated in your post jinxy, Mayo are ayoung team and hopefully they won't throw in the towel. It's very hard to give a detailed preview because nobody really knows how good Mayo are.

Yet if Cooper or anyone from any other county scored 0-8 from frees in that kind of weather (and won a few as well) he'd be canonised. But because he's from Mayo it's a case of 'he got lucky' or some other shitty excuse. Also, if any goalkeeper caught a ball bouncing over the bar he'd be praised from the highest heavens. We're written off, sure Cork only have to show up and wipe the floor with us, and given their strength in punishing Down's open gaps all over the pitch they very well might. Where there's life there's hope, albeit a very small proportion of it regarding Mayo winning. An honourable defeat would be ok in my opinion.

In the same breath as you saying Mayo are underrated at national level, you're settling for an honourable defeat? We're either good enough to be able to compete with Cork or we're not.

This old sh1t comes out year on year, no wonder we underachieve with fans like this. Man up and have a rigt cut at it and give ourselves an opportunity of doing what we did in 2004 to Tyrone and 2006 to Dublin. No point in blaming everything else if the bar is set so low. Killing me that cannot make game, would love to be up in Dublin for weekend. The tingle down the spine when Amhrán na bhFiann is being sung and the whole story is about to unfold before your very eyes. Hard to beat the summer football with knockout championship.

Well there's the thing RGS and spuds. If we compete and lose it'll be kind of ok by me if ye understand me. if we end up losing by a point Sunday evening no doubt I'll be raging like a bull etc...

STOP PRESS

Langerload* of Langers to Travel at the weekend.


From today's De Paper.

Shields: Fans will be back for Mayo clash

By John Fogarty

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

IF Michael Shields read the newspapers he might have something to say about what Joe Brolly thinks of Cork but he doesn't so he's oblivious to his team being referred to as primitive and "crash, bang, wallop".

But on the subject of the paltry number of supporters who watched them win in Croke Park, he did have an opinion.

Their numbers couldn't have been more contrasting to the droves who turned up in Fitzgerald Stadium last month but Shields wasn't surprised. First thing, it's something he's got used to over the years. Second of all, he suspects they were keeping their money for this weekend's All-Ireland quarter-final against Mayo.

"Look, that's just the way it is," shrugged the defender. "Cork fans, to be fair to them, have hurling and football down through the years. It is a lot on the pocket especially in today's economic times. They can't go to every game and we're All-Ireland champions so they might have been expecting us to win, and probably saving up for the next round."

Shields says the supporters weren't helped by the late Saturday evening throw-in in Dublin.

"At 6pm it's hard for families to get up with kids and transport them up and down on a Saturday. A Sunday afternoon, at two or four o'clock, probably would have been more appropriate. But it wasn't in our hands."

Widely described as having the best panel in the country, managing to play three more games is a massive test for Cork considering the injuries to Colm O'Neill, Ciarán Sheehan and now Daniel Goulding.

"They are big losses to us," acknowledged Shields. "We have some good young players there who came in and did well. Barry (O'Driscoll) was unfortunate he had to come off injured as well but Fiachra Lynch and Mark Collins did well so that's great plusses for us."

Beating Down was a sure-fire way of getting the Munster final defeat out of their system.

"If you lose the Munster final you can always say that you have a qualifier in three weeks as opposed to a quarter-final in four weeks. You know what the scenario is, you know you're not out of it."

As for what happened on Saturday, Shields admits Cork were expecting more of a fight from Down.

"We thought it was going to go to the wire, the last five or 10 minutes maybe. We were hoping to be two or three points ahead and we'd have been happy. Going in at half-time we were five points up whereas last year we were three points down so they were big plusses for us."


http://irishexaminer.com/sport/gaa/shields-fans-will-be-back-for-mayo-clash-162165.html (http://irishexaminer.com/sport/gaa/shields-fans-will-be-back-for-mayo-clash-162165.html)

* Translation = rakes

Meath Langers

Mangers.

Hardy

Quote from: Kerry Mike on July 26, 2011, 11:30:59 PM
Meath Langers

Would that make Larry Tompkins a Klanger ?

Nope he's a Klingon.

All things being equal, Cork should win this - it'll be a major shock if anything other than that happens. That's not being defeatist or raising the white flag, simply telling it as it is - if both teams play to their potential, Cork will win.

As I see it, Mayo's main advantage going into this is that Cork are expected to steamroll us (as they did in our last meeting in Croker) and they may well have one eye on their re-match with Kerry. We also need at least 12 players playing close to their best and every player being right in the face of their man.

I'd be a little worried about Vaughan at CHB, he was fairly poor against Roscommon and he needs to be a lot sharper on Sunday. Mort is loose as well but should make up for that with his ball-winning ability and hopefully holding the centre - someone will need to drop back if he bombs forward though. Even though Cunniffe played v well against Ros, I don't think he's tight enough for corner back - Goulding being out is a big bonus for us though. I'd have the match-ups (presuming Cork start they finished last week) as:

Higgins / O'Connor
A Feeney / Lynch
Cunniffe / Kerrigan
R Feeney / Gould
Vaughan / Kelly
Mort / O'Neill

When you match it up like that, it demonstrates how big of a challenge this will be for us. McLoughlin will drop back to help out and I presume Miskella will follow him unless we're winning MF. It's crucial for us not to concede goals - Roscommon should have scored one at least.

The two O'Ses will need big games in MF (presuming they start) but I think they provide a lot of extra physciality there that we have lacked since DB hung up his boots.

The half forward line, Moran and Dillon in particular will need to start scoring - they haven't contributed as much as expected on that front this year.

I'm hoping that Doherty & Freeman will finally click in the FF and with good fast low ball into them on a dry day, they'll do damage to that Cork FB line. CO'C just needs to reproduce his performance from Hyde Park.

From a physical point of view, Cork are much stronger than us and could well tear us apart as they did to Down last weekend. This, along with their extra experience will probably tell in the end but we have a fighting chance of springing a surprise in this.

Anybody know if there are any changes to the team that started in the Hyde? McG, Caff or Varely probably the ones most likely to come in.

Maigh Eo Abú

McGarrity won't be starting anyway - according to Horan he's still not fit enough. I'm led to believe that Ger Caff is pushing Alan Feeney and Enda Varley is pushing Jason Doherty very hard for a spot. Team due to be released this afternoon I think.

I have not posted on this thread yet as I cant decide how this one is going to go. My head says Cork will win easily, but my heart is telling me there could be a big game in this Mayo team.

When you think about it, the games we played against Galway and Roscommon were played in atrocious conditions so Mayo have not yet been able to show what they can do on a fine day which will make Sunday all the more interesting. The quality in those Connacht championship games was as good as the weather allowed, which was poor by anyones standards and that would have lowered expectation and the opinion of Mayo even in oppositions heads, so I think we could surprise.

As was eluded to, Cork are a better team on paper even though they have a few injury worries which may even up the odds a bit for us.

What I am hoping out of this is an honest performance, and thats all we can ask for. If we play at our best and fall short then so be it. But if we collapse and get steamrolled it will be very depressing, but I dont think that is going to happen. Horan has them playing with hunger and belief in the last few games and we have shown good character to come back against the Rossies and wearing Galway down, all be in in terrible conditions which made it all the harder.

The big divider between teams is Corks physicality, strength and conditioning at the minute with which Mayo are a couple of years behind. We could make up for it with dogged workrate and hunger which again, could surprise Cork.

Mayo should be very fit, have pace in the required areas and the space in Croke Park might suit our forwards. At midfiled I am not sure the space will suit the O Sheas so hopefully McGarrity is fit enough to see more action than he did in the last couple of games and we can get a strong 20 minutes out of him.

I can see Cafferkey come in for Alan Feeney and Varley for Doherty but I dont think McGarity could be fit enough to start. On those changes I think Doherty deserves a few minutes to prove himself again but some time on the bench might be the kick in the ass he needs to improve on his recent form.

The other change is exactly what I would have done after the Roscommon game. Alan Feeney has some good attributes as a full back, he is good in the air and good enough on the ball, but he was miles off Donie Shine at times. What I cant understand is the rubbish that was written by Noel Connelly about the "Backs driving Mayo Forward" in last weeks Mayo News, describing Mayos defence as "outstanding" and saying Feeney did well on his direct opponent and also saying he did very little wrong. I dont think so; it was obvious Feeney struggled all be it against one of the best full forwards in the country, but if you were reading that article the defence won the game for Mayo which is untrue. Cillian O Connor won the game for Mayo.

Just to finish off, I do think Vaughan is another worry at CB. He did Ok against Galway but was exposed again against Roscommon. I would like to see what Richie would be like there and push Vaughan to the wing if he is struggling.

Quote from: AbbeySider on July 27, 2011, 10:54:19 AM
I have not posted on this thread yet as I cant decide how this one is going to go. My head says Cork will win easily, but my heart is telling me there could be a big game in this Mayo team.

When you think about it, the games we played against Galway and Roscommon were played in atrocious conditions so Mayo have not yet been able to show what they can do on a fine day which will make Sunday all the more interesting. The quality in those Connacht championship games was as good as the weather allowed, which was poor by anyones standards and that would have lowered expectation and the opinion of Mayo even in oppositions heads, so I think we could surprise.

As was eluded to, Cork are a better team on paper even though they have a few injury worries which may even up the odds a bit for us.

What I am hoping out of this is an honest performance, and thats all we can ask for. If we play at our best and fall short then so be it. But if we collapse and get steamrolled it will be very depressing, but I dont think that is going to happen. Horan has them playing with hunger and belief in the last few games and we have shown good character to come back against the Rossies and wearing Galway down, all be in in terrible conditions which made it all the harder.

The big divider between teams is Corks physicality, strength and conditioning at the minute with which Mayo are a couple of years behind. We could make up for it with dogged workrate and hunger which again, could surprise Cork.

Mayo should be very fit, have pace in the required areas and the space in Croke Park might suit our forwards. At midfiled I am not sure the space will suit the O Sheas so hopefully McGarrity is fit enough to see more action than he did in the last couple of games and we can get a strong 20 minutes out of him.

I can see Cafferkey come in for Alan Feeney and Varley for Doherty but I dont think McGarity could be fit enough to start. On those changes I think Doherty deserves a few minutes to prove himself again but some time on the bench might be the kick in the ass he needs to improve on his recent form.

The other change is exactly what I would have done after the Roscommon game. Alan Feeney has some good attributes as a full back, he is good in the air and good enough on the ball, but he was miles off Donie Shine at times. What I cant understand is the rubbish that was written by Noel Connelly about the "Backs driving Mayo Forward" in last weeks Mayo News, describing Mayos defence as "outstanding" and saying Feeney did well on his direct opponent and also saying he did very little wrong. I dont think so; it was obvious Feeney struggled all be it against one of the best full forwards in the country, but if you were reading that article the defence won the game for Mayo which is untrue. Cillian O Connor won the game for Mayo.

Just to finish off, I do think Vaughan is another worry at CB. He did Ok against Galway but was exposed again against Roscommon. I would like to see what Richie would be like there and push Vaughan to the wing if he is struggling.

I agree with your first par but can't agree with you on Noel Connelly. He may have been a bit soft on Alan Feeney but Mayo's defenders were as significant, if not more significant, a reason for Mayo's win than Cillian O'Connor - who was immense too. Mayo kept the Rossies to two points in the whole second half. They kept Galway to one point in the second half. That needs to be remembered. Sunday will be another question and they will be much more severely tested but Mayo's defence has been very good in the championship up to now. Against Roscommon Richie Feeney, Trevor Mort, Keith Higgins and Tom Cunniffe really stood up when they were needed. They did drive Mayo on.

is anthony lynch still involved with cork,i kow he was injured the last year or 2 but was togged out in the final last year,i always thought he was a great corner back and man marker

He was togged out on Saturday.

Quote from: AbbeySider on July 27, 2011, 10:54:19 AM
When you think about it, the games we played against Galway and Roscommon were played in atrocious conditions so Mayo have not yet been able to show what they can do on a fine day which will make Sunday all the more interesting. The quality in those Connacht championship games was as good as the weather allowed, which was poor by anyones standards and that would have lowered expectation and the opinion of Mayo even in oppositions heads, so I think we could surprise.

It was a fine day in Ruislip...

Quote from: Stevie g 8 on July 27, 2011, 12:14:10 PM
is anthony lynch still involved with cork,i kow he was injured the last year or 2 but was togged out in the final last year,i always thought he was a great corner back and man marker

I know it is a much abused cliché but if ever there was a man who deserved an AI medal (on the pitch variety) it is Anthony Lynch. A player who always kept at it even in the soul sapping defeats v Kerry over the years. Have massive respect for the guy.

Btw, Mayo lads here in Dublin are very confident (well the 3 I know anyway) of a win. They are raving about their forward line , I honestly don't know much about them myself tbh. 5/1 to win I believe. All of Mayo has to be on that (or so they will have been if they win).

Quote from: Canalman on July 27, 2011, 01:10:08 PM

Quote from: Stevie g 8 on July 27, 2011, 12:14:10 PM
is anthony lynch still involved with cork,i kow he was injured the last year or 2 but was togged out in the final last year,i always thought he was a great corner back and man marker

I know it is a much abused cliché but if ever there was a man who deserved an AI medal (on the pitch variety) it is Anthony Lynch. A player who always kept at it even in the soul sapping defeats v Kerry over the years. Have massive respect for the guy.

Btw, Mayo lads here in Dublin are very confident (well the 3 I know anyway) of a win. They are raving about their forward line , I honestly don't know much about them myself tbh. 5/1 to win I believe. All of Mayo has to be on that (or so they will have been if they win).

I'm a Mayo man in Dublin as well, but I wouldn't say I'm very confident of a win. I'd be reasonably confident of a strong Mayo performance, and I'd be hopeful that we could surprise an awful lot of people.
I wouldn't rule out a win, because when Cork aren't playing well, they can definitely be beaten - e.g. Limerick could have easily beaten them last year, as could Dublin and Down.

Quote from: Tubberman on July 27, 2011, 01:24:40 PM
I wouldn't rule out a win, because when Cork aren't playing well, they can definitely be beaten - e.g. Limerick could have easily beaten them last year, as could Dublin and Down.

That's true but they didn't lose any of those games at the same time. When Mayo aren't playing well, they were beaten by both Longford and Sligo and they could have easily been beaten by London....

Taken from Mayo GAA

The Mayo Senior Football team to take on Cork this Sunday in the All-Ireland Senior Football Quarter-Final in Croke Park is as follows:
1) Robert Hennelly - Breaffy
2) Keith Higgins - Ballyhaunis
3) Ger Cafferkey - Ballina Stephenites
4) Tom Cunniffe - Castlebar Mitchels
5) Richie Feeney - Castlebar Mitchels
6) Donal Vaughan - Ballinrobe
7) Trevor Mortimer - Shrule-Glencorrib
8  Aidan O'Shea - Breaffy
9) Seamus O'Shea - Breaffy
10) Kevin McLoughlin - Knockmore
11) Alan Dillon - Ballintubber
12) Andy Moran - Ballaghaderreen
13) Enda Varley - Garrymore
14) Alan Freeman - Aghamore
15) Cillian O'Connor - Ballintubber

16) David Clarke - Ballina Stephenites
17) Alan Feeney - Castlebar Mitchels
18) Dermot Geraghty - Shrule-Glencorrib
19) Chris Barrett - Belmullet
20) Lee Keegan - Westport
21) James Kilcullen - Ballaghaderreen
22) Ronan McGarrity - Ballina Stephenites
23) Peadar Gardiner - Crossmolina
24) Aidan Campbell - Swinford
25) Jason Doherty - Burrishoole
26) Mark Ronaldson - Shrule-Glencorrib

Caff and Varley in from the start. Ronaldo on the bench...

Quote from: Canalman on July 27, 2011, 01:10:08 PM

Quote from: Stevie g 8 on July 27, 2011, 12:14:10 PM
is anthony lynch still involved with cork,i kow he was injured the last year or 2 but was togged out in the final last year,i always thought he was a great corner back and man marker

I know it is a much abused cliché but if ever there was a man who deserved an AI medal (on the pitch variety) it is Anthony Lynch. A player who always kept at it even in the soul sapping defeats v Kerry over the years. Have massive respect for the guy.

Btw, Mayo lads here in Dublin are very confident (well the 3 I know anyway) of a win. They are raving about their forward line , I honestly don't know much about them myself tbh. 5/1 to win I believe. All of Mayo has to be on that (or so they will have been if they win).

They've been away too long.

Quote from: macdanger2 on July 27, 2011, 02:02:48 PM

Quote from: Tubberman on July 27, 2011, 01:24:40 PM
I wouldn't rule out a win, because when Cork aren't playing well, they can definitely be beaten - e.g. Limerick could have easily beaten them last year, as could Dublin and Down.

That's true but they didn't lose any of those games at the same time. When Mayo aren't playing well, they were beaten by both Longford and Sligo and they could have easily been beaten by London....

Ah yeah, if we don't play well, there's no chance at all of us winning - that goes without saying when we're up against the likes of Cork. I just meant that Cork can be vulnerable. Everyone knows how vulnerable we can be  :D

I wouldn't have minded seeing both Feeney and Doherty given another chance.

Can't complain about the changes though.
Alan Feeney did well at FB against Cork in the league, but he was giving Shine far too much room against Ros, so Caff probably deserves his chance.
Doherty hasn't shown anything in the Championship so far, but I'd like to see him on a dry day on a big pitch like Croker - he could have nabbed a goal or two. But as with the other change, he hasn't done enough, and Varley has shown well when he came on.

What's the mood like in Mayo - are many planning on making the journey up?

Quote from: RedandGreenSniper on July 27, 2011, 11:22:21 AM

Quote from: AbbeySider on July 27, 2011, 10:54:19 AM
...
The other change is exactly what I would have done after the Roscommon game. Alan Feeney has some good attributes as a full back, he is good in the air and good enough on the ball, but he was miles off Donie Shine at times. What I cant understand is the rubbish that was written by Noel Connelly about the "Backs driving Mayo Forward" in last weeks Mayo News, describing Mayos defence as "outstanding" and saying Feeney did well on his direct opponent and also saying he did very little wrong. I dont think so; it was obvious Feeney struggled all be it against one of the best full forwards in the country, but if you were reading that article the defence won the game for Mayo which is untrue. Cillian O Connor won the game for Mayo.

Just to finish off, I do think Vaughan is another worry at CB. He did Ok against Galway but was exposed again against Roscommon. I would like to see what Richie would be like there and push Vaughan to the wing if he is struggling.

I agree with your first par but can't agree with you on Noel Connelly. He may have been a bit soft on Alan Feeney but Mayo's defenders were as significant, if not more significant, a reason for Mayo's win than Cillian O'Connor - who was immense too. Mayo kept the Rossies to two points in the whole second half. They kept Galway to one point in the second half. That needs to be remembered. Sunday will be another question and they will be much more severely tested but Mayo's defence has been very good in the championship up to now. Against Roscommon Richie Feeney, Trevor Mort, Keith Higgins and Tom Cunniffe really stood up when they were needed. They did drive Mayo on.

I see exactly where you are coming from, as a unit the defence did Ok but your not looking deep enough at the individual performances.

To say that Mayo kept the Rossies to two points in the second half is not a stat that should be used to back up an argument for the defence as the wind was next to impossible to kick against.

The fact remains that if Donie Shine converted those silly frees that Vaughan and Higgins gave away in the first half we were fcuked. We were extremely lucky to be in touching distance at half time and only being behind by 4 points.

I watched Cunniffe very closely and he was tight most of the game and finished very well but there were times he was in no mans land when Roscommon were in possession as he stood off and shadowed on a few occasions, instead of getting in on the tackle and pressuring, especially early in the second half. We have heard since that Kilbride was carrying an early shoulder injury so Cunniffe still needs to prove himself.

People were saying Keith Higgins was magnificent especially in the first half and it was remarked how much he came out with the ball. Firstly Keith Higgins was a free man as Roscommon made the elementary mistake of playing an extra man back when they had the wind. Of course he was going to get on a lot of ball, FFS its the least I expect from a free man but that does not make up for the silly fouls, especially off the ball stuff that has crept into his game.

As for Vaughan, he never looked comfortable on the ball and was getting caught in possession, and he too was guilty of silly fouling and handing Donal Shine needless frees when Roscommon were playing with the wind in the first half. One of the basic rules of defending is that you dont concede frees, especially against the breeze and against one of the best free takers out there. I cant reiterate that enough.

I already mentioned Alan Feeney's dual with Shine, which he lost IMO.

On the plus side, Richie Feeney played well and was in the right place at the right time on numerous occasions and Trevor Mortimor kept Cregg very quiet.

But I will go back to the point that the defence nearly lost the game if Shine was on form for the frees in the first half, and in the second half, against that wind, Roscommon were never going to be as much of a threat.

Quote from: Canalman on July 27, 2011, 01:10:08 PM
Btw, Mayo lads here in Dublin are very confident (well the 3 I know anyway) of a win. They are raving about their forward line ,

They scored 8 points aginst us in the second half of the CF with the gale and rain behind them. Four of those came from  frees for either totally silly off the ball fouls (2) or Michael Collins "the forward is always right " frees.
They are up against it v Cork but ifthey tear in to them from the start and show no respect ....... you'd never know.

Quote from: AbbeySider on July 27, 2011, 02:14:25 PM

Quote from: RedandGreenSniper on July 27, 2011, 11:22:21 AM

Quote from: AbbeySider on July 27, 2011, 10:54:19 AM
...
The other change is exactly what I would have done after the Roscommon game. Alan Feeney has some good attributes as a full back, he is good in the air and good enough on the ball, but he was miles off Donie Shine at times. What I cant understand is the rubbish that was written by Noel Connelly about the "Backs driving Mayo Forward" in last weeks Mayo News, describing Mayos defence as "outstanding" and saying Feeney did well on his direct opponent and also saying he did very little wrong. I dont think so; it was obvious Feeney struggled all be it against one of the best full forwards in the country, but if you were reading that article the defence won the game for Mayo which is untrue. Cillian O Connor won the game for Mayo.

Just to finish off, I do think Vaughan is another worry at CB. He did Ok against Galway but was exposed again against Roscommon. I would like to see what Richie would be like there and push Vaughan to the wing if he is struggling.

I agree with your first par but can't agree with you on Noel Connelly. He may have been a bit soft on Alan Feeney but Mayo's defenders were as significant, if not more significant, a reason for Mayo's win than Cillian O'Connor - who was immense too. Mayo kept the Rossies to two points in the whole second half. They kept Galway to one point in the second half. That needs to be remembered. Sunday will be another question and they will be much more severely tested but Mayo's defence has been very good in the championship up to now. Against Roscommon Richie Feeney, Trevor Mort, Keith Higgins and Tom Cunniffe really stood up when they were needed. They did drive Mayo on.

I see exactly where you are coming from, as a unit the defence did Ok but your not looking deep enough at the individual performances.

To say that Mayo kept the Rossies to two points in the second half is not a stat that should be used to back up an argument for the defence as the wind was next to impossible to kick against.

The fact remains that if Donie Shine converted those silly frees that Vaughan and Higgins gave away in the first half we were fcuked. We were extremely lucky to be in touching distance at half time and only being behind by 4 points.

I watched Cunniffe very closely and he was tight most of the game and finished very well but there were times he was in no mans land when Roscommon were in possession as he stood off and shadowed on a few occasions, instead of getting in on the tackle and pressuring, especially early in the second half. We have heard since that Kilbride was carrying an early shoulder injury so Cunniffe still needs to prove himself.

People were saying Keith Higgins was magnificent especially in the first half and it was remarked how much he came out with the ball. Firstly Keith Higgins was a free man as Roscommon made the elementary mistake of playing an extra man back when they had the wind. Of course he was going to get on a lot of ball, FFS its the least I expect from a free man but that does not make up for the silly fouls, especially off the ball stuff that has crept into his game.

As for Vaughan, he never looked comfortable on the ball and was getting caught in possession, and he too was guilty of silly fouling and handing Donal Shine needless frees when Roscommon were playing with the wind in the first half. One of the basic rules of defending is that you dont concede frees, especially against the breeze and against one of the best free takers out there. I cant reiterate that enough.

I already mentioned Alan Feeney's dual with Shine, which he lost IMO.

On the plus side, Richie Feeney played well and was in the right place at the right time on numerous occasions and Trevor Mortimor kept Cregg very quiet.

But I will go back to the point that the defence nearly lost the game if Shine was on form for the frees in the first half, and in the second half, against that wind, Roscommon were never going to be as much of a threat.

With the greatest of respect don't tell me I'm not looking at individual performances deeply enough. I was at the game and watched it twice the following week as well. Vaughan gave away two stupid frees - granted. I didn't say he played well. Higgins gave away one stupid one - the trip. He was pulled for handling on the ground, when he didn't do so. The type of ball he picked up in the first half was not easy ball, he went into a ruck of bodies time and time again and came away with it, saying that it was easy for him to do so because he was the free man is disingenuous.
I agree - Cunniffe still needs to prove himself because one swallow doesn't make a summer but in terms of his performance in the Connacht Final he was very good, in both halves. At times he can be a bit loose - and was - but, injury or no injury he was out in front of Kilbride time and time again. It was a shoulder injury, not a leg injury, so that shouldn't have held Kilbride back in this regard.

You're saying the wind was strong. Of course it was. But Mayo scored five points into it and when you consider this was done without any of the full-forward line offering much in the way of an outlet in the first half, it means holding a Roscommon team to two points in the second half, one in injury time, is a serious feat. And before you come back at me saying Cillian O'Connor was impressive in the first half, it was only in the second half he was a handful from play.
There have been huge questions marks over the Mayo defence up to now and some may remain unanswered until we see the Cork game but, up to now, they've done very well and Horan has to be credited with both his selections and his coaching in terms of Mayo playing with a good defensive structure. I do, of course, still have concerns over centre-half back. But that's an inherited problem.

Quote from: macdanger2 on July 27, 2011, 02:02:48 PM

Quote from: Tubberman on July 27, 2011, 01:24:40 PM
I wouldn't rule out a win, because when Cork aren't playing well, they can definitely be beaten - e.g. Limerick could have easily beaten them last year, as could Dublin and Down.

That's true but they didn't lose any of those games at the same time. When Mayo aren't playing well, they were beaten by both Longford and Sligo and they could have easily been beaten by London....

Where do you  find the will to get out of bed in the morning ?

lads this is not the time for navel gazing over anysis and mourning passed defeats that what winter is for.
Greato see caff get another chance :)

Quote from: seafoid on July 27, 2011, 03:21:08 PM

Quote from: macdanger2 on July 27, 2011, 02:02:48 PM

Quote from: Tubberman on July 27, 2011, 01:24:40 PM
I wouldn't rule out a win, because when Cork aren't playing well, they can definitely be beaten - e.g. Limerick could have easily beaten them last year, as could Dublin and Down.

That's true but they didn't lose any of those games at the same time. When Mayo aren't playing well, they were beaten by both Longford and Sligo and they could have easily been beaten by London....

Where do you  find the will to get out of bed in the morning ?

If he was a Galwayman, he'd be in a padded room.

Quote from: seafoid on July 27, 2011, 03:21:08 PM

Quote from: macdanger2 on July 27, 2011, 02:02:48 PM

Quote from: Tubberman on July 27, 2011, 01:24:40 PM
I wouldn't rule out a win, because when Cork aren't playing well, they can definitely be beaten - e.g. Limerick could have easily beaten them last year, as could Dublin and Down.

That's true but they didn't lose any of those games at the same time. When Mayo aren't playing well, they were beaten by both Longford and Sligo and they could have easily been beaten by London....

Where do you  find the will to get out of bed in the morning ?

To be honest, it's hard........but then I consider what it would be like to be from Galway and I hop straight out  ;)

Quote from: RedandGreenSniper on July 27, 2011, 02:56:44 PM
With the greatest of respect don't tell me I'm not looking at individual performances deeply enough.

Apologies, didnt mean to touch a nerve!  ;)

Quote from: RedandGreenSniper on July 27, 2011, 02:56:44 PM
I was at the game and watched it twice the following week as well. Vaughan gave away two stupid frees - granted. I didn't say he played well.

I didnt say you said he didnt play well.

I was merely backing up my point that the defence was not all that good against Roscommon and I used Vaughan as one of many examples. My whole point of these posts is that I dont necessarily agree with all the praise that the Mayo defence got against Roscommon, which is in stark contrast to what Connelly was on about in the Mayo news which I think you are sort of defending (no pun intended).

Quote from: RedandGreenSniper on July 27, 2011, 02:56:44 PM
Higgins gave away one stupid one - the trip. He was pulled for handling on the ground, when he didn't do so. The type of ball he picked up in the first half was not easy ball, he went into a ruck of bodies time and time again and came away with it, saying that it was easy for him to do so because he was the free man is disingenuous.

I still maintain that a free man should be at least that much involved, winning dirty ball, and always off the shoulder to help work possession out of defence. I wont congratulate a player for that. I am sticking to my point that the praise for Higgins from the likes of Connelly using the words like "outstanding" for his first half performance was a little overstated in my book as again the frees he gave away overshadowed it for me as well as the fact Higgins was a free man. 

Quote from: RedandGreenSniper on July 27, 2011, 02:56:44 PM
I agree - Cunniffe still needs to prove himself because one swallow doesn't make a summer but in terms of his performance in the Connacht Final he was very good, in both halves. At times he can be a bit loose - and was - but, injury or no injury he was out in front of Kilbride time and time again. It was a shoulder injury, not a leg injury, so that shouldn't have held Kilbride back in this regard.

Looking back on the game myself, initially I thought that Kilbride looked very uncomfortable and awkward when he made an attempt at a point but now I realise that he wasnt at full flight. Granted, Cunniffe had good spells in both halves but the jury is out until Sunday evening.

Quote from: RedandGreenSniper on July 27, 2011, 02:56:44 PM
You're saying the wind was strong. Of course it was. But Mayo scored five points into it and when you consider this was done without any of the full-forward line offering much in the way of an outlet in the first half it means holding a Roscommon team to two points in the second half, one in injury time, is a serious feat. And before you come back at me saying Cillian O'Connor was impressive in the first half, it was only in the second half he was a handful from play.

Roscommon laboured in possession with the wind and to be honest nobody expected them to be much better against it and everyone in Hyde Park knew they were not ahead enough at half time. Cillian was excellent from frees in the first half and was even more impressive from play in the second half. I thought I was the one defending Cillian and putting the win down to his performance rather than the magnificence of the defence?

Quote from: RedandGreenSniper on July 27, 2011, 02:56:44 PM
There have been huge questions marks over the Mayo defence up to now and some may remain unanswered until we see the Cork game but, up to now, they've done very well and Horan has to be credited with both his selections and his coaching in terms of Mayo playing with a good defensive structure. I do, of course, still have concerns over centre-half back. But that's an inherited problem.

A lot of my sentiments are in that last part so maybe you talked yourself around a bit.  ;) :P

There is huge question marks over the defence that are as of yet unanswered. Horan is doing an excellent job for those reasons you mentioned and is getting the best out of what he has, but Vaughan is not the answer at centre-half back.

I think we should agree to disagree on the rest; yourself and many more seemed to be happy with the defensive performance against Roscommon, whereas I was not that happy with it.

Quote from: Chéad rogha on July 27, 2011, 02:04:20 PM
Taken from Mayo GAA

The Mayo Senior Football team to take on Cork this Sunday in the All-Ireland Senior Football Quarter-Final in Croke Park is as follows:
1) Robert Hennelly - Breaffy
2) Keith Higgins - Ballyhaunis
3) Ger Cafferkey - Ballina Stephenites
4) Tom Cunniffe - Castlebar Mitchels
5) Richie Feeney - Castlebar Mitchels
6) Donal Vaughan - Ballinrobe
7) Trevor Mortimer - Shrule-Glencorrib
8  Aidan O'Shea - Breaffy
9) Seamus O'Shea - Breaffy
10) Kevin McLoughlin - Knockmore
11) Alan Dillon - Ballintubber
12) Andy Moran - Ballaghaderreen
13) Enda Varley - Garrymore
14) Alan Freeman - Aghamore
15) Cillian O'Connor - Ballintubber

16) David Clarke - Ballina Stephenites
17) Alan Feeney - Castlebar Mitchels
18) Dermot Geraghty - Shrule-Glencorrib
19) Chris Barrett - Belmullet
20) Lee Keegan - Westport
21) James Kilcullen - Ballaghaderreen
22) Ronan McGarrity - Ballina Stephenites
23) Peadar Gardiner - Crossmolina
24) Aidan Campbell - Swinford
25) Jason Doherty - Burrishoole
26) Mark Ronaldson - Shrule-Glencorrib

Caff and Varley in from the start. Ronaldo on the bench...

Two good calls by Horan, Alan Feeney struggled on Shine & on a dry day he would have scored more than the 3pts from play. Doherty scored 2pts from 3 championship games it's no surprise to see him dropped also though he'll have a point to prove now & could be a useful impact sub.

Quote from: rosnarun on July 27, 2011, 03:30:57 PM
lads this is not the time for navel gazing over anysis and mourning passed defeats that what winter is for.
Greato see caff get another chance :)

Great indeed. Good old 'Mano de Piedra'. If we had 2 of him both would be starting ;)

Quote from: AbbeySider on July 27, 2011, 04:11:54 PM

Quote from: RedandGreenSniper on July 27, 2011, 02:56:44 PM
With the greatest of respect don't tell me I'm not looking at individual performances deeply enough.

Apologies, didnt mean to touch a nerve!  ;)

You didn't! Was just clearing up that I wasn't analysing the game in a skimpy fashion!

Quote from: AbbeySider on July 27, 2011, 04:11:54 PM

I didnt say you said he didnt play well.

I was merely backing up my point that the defence was not all that good against Roscommon and I used Vaughan as one of many examples. My whole point of these posts is that I dont necessarily agree with all the praise that the Mayo defence got against Roscommon, which is in stark contrast to what Connelly was on about in the Mayo news which I think you are sort of defending (no pun intended).

I don't think Vaughan's two boo-boos are reflective of the defence as a whole, which is the point I made in the first instance.

Quote from: AbbeySider on July 27, 2011, 04:11:54 PM

I still maintain that a free man should be at least that much involved, winning dirty ball, and always off the shoulder to help work possession out of defence. I wont congratulate a player for that. I am sticking to my point that the praise for Higgins from the likes of Connelly using the words like "outstanding" for his first half performance was a little overstated in my book as again the frees he gave away overshadowed it for me as well as the fact Higgins was a free man. 

I think you are generalising here. Higgins won a lot of ball that a lot of free guys wouldn't have done. He might have picked up no more hard ball than other free role players but in the conditions and in tight situations he did very well. One free he gave away stupidly, possibly thinking a goal was on. Aside from that, I'd agree with Connelly - he was outstanding in the first half. Less so in the second half, but he wasn't troubled either and made a serious block on Heneghan just before Donie Shine shot which was saved over the bar by Hennelly.

Quote from: AbbeySider on July 27, 2011, 04:11:54 PM

Looking back on the game myself, initially I thought that Kilbride looked very uncomfortable and awkward when he made an attempt at a point but now I realise that he wasnt at full flight. Granted, Cunniffe had good spells in both halves but the jury is out until Sunday evening.

I think you're coming around to my way of thinking here! It is hard to know how bad or otherwise Kilbride was. I wouldn't be a huge fan of Tom Cunniffe's but I thought he really stood up for Mayo in the Hyde, especially in the second half when the backs were under pressure and he won ball he had little right to do.

Quote from: AbbeySider on July 27, 2011, 04:11:54 PM
Roscommon laboured in possession with the wind and to be honest nobody expected them to be much better against it and everyone in Hyde Park knew they were not ahead enough at half time. Cillian was excellent from frees in the first half and was even more impressive from play in the second half. I thought I was the one defending Cillian and putting the win down to his performance rather than the magnificence of the defence?

Two points in one half of football when they scored nine in the first half is serious going. Re Cillian I'm saying that Mayo managed to score five points in the first half with a full-forward line that wasn't functioning from open play. The wind was a problem but if Mayo could score five points without firing on anything near full cylinders, then Roscommon could have been expected to do more than score one point in 36 minutes. They didn't, even when they needed to. Main reason was that Mayo's defence stood tall. Feeney, Mortimer, Cunniffe especially. Higgins to a lesser extent. What's that old line about defenders decide who wins the game and forwards decide by how much? It is a bit inaccurate but I think Mayo's defence held Roscommon at bay enough in the second half that Mayo were always within range, even when the forwards took a while to kick into any sort of gear.

Quote from: AbbeySider on July 27, 2011, 04:11:54 PM

A lot of my sentiments are in that last part so maybe you talked yourself around a bit.  ;) :P

There is huge question marks over the defence that are as of yet unanswered. Horan is doing an excellent job for those reasons you mentioned and is getting the best out of what he has, but Vaughan is not the answer at centre-half back.

I think we should agree to disagree on the rest; yourself and many more seemed to be happy with the defensive performance against Roscommon, whereas I was not that happy with it.

I wouldn't agree with ya there! The context I'm placing on the defence is that given how maligned they have been up to now, they've done very well in the Galway and Roscommon games. Are they the finished product? Not at all. But have they done better than a lot of us thought they would? Absolutely.
We will find out exactly how much progress they've made against Cork but, right now, they've done well and are the main reason we've a Connacht title in my opinion.
Anyway, I've work to do, enough of this for one day!

5-1 are damning odds in a football match. It says a lot about the esteem the county is held in. It may be as much about the sins of the past rather than than anything this team has done. Since Horan took over the team has done as much as could be expected of them really - apart from the near disaster in Ruislip. It is now clear - if still not very comforting - that London was used as a final trial, as well as keeping some powder dry before Galway came to town. We got away with it but at least Horan was thinking down the line, and it is a silly man that reveals his full hand so early in the summer.

It remains to be seen if we can raise our game. Because of the nature of the conditions in McHale Park and Dr Hyde Park, we re going to be like a newly designed engine that has not been fully tested and is expected to get up to racing speed immediately on the biggest stage of the lot. There is the danger of a few failing parts followed by a puff of billowing smoke. We have to thrust the designers have done their job well.

Unlike all neutrals and the bookies I don t know what we ll get although I do know what I expect. I think that if this Mayo team is going to emerge as a top team it will be a quick breakthrough rather than a slog over a number of years. If we lose the next day - even narrowly - there is no guarantee we ll be a lot better next year. League matches and league form doesn t seem to matter and if you look at it teams have to be back consistently at semi-final stage to be contenders like Cork, kerry and Tyrone too. Counties can hibernate for the winter if they want and take up where they left off the previous year the following Summer, tweaking the team a bit as it gets older. It s going to be very hard to break into this exclusive club. A sudden surge nearly got Down over the line last year. Mayo ll have to do something similar to make a breakthrough.

a roscommon mayo donegal  and limerick accumulator is almost 1000/1 with paddy power . worth a euro of my money .(not a lot more)

Quotethink that if this Mayo team is going to emerge as a top team it will be a quick breakthrough rather than a slog over a number of years

Couldn't agree more. This year is our best chance of a breakthrough. I think that despite the conditions in the last 2 match's the teams frame of mind was very good and when they were not in possession they harried and chased the opposition as if their lives depended on it and also at a high pace. The 'experts' on the Sunday Game etc miss this type of thing and are only interested in high scoring and fluent games. I also didn't think that Aidan O'Shea could run as fast, he chased back in the Ros game like never before.

If we approach the Cork game with this same attitude and approach (which I think we will) I believe we will win this match and win it comfortably. For the first time in a long time we look to have 10 or so players that are more than comfortable on the ball and are prepared to work hard without it.

5/1odds on a game between 2 Division 1 teams is very unusual, especially with Cork's injuries.

Quote from: RedandGreenSniper on July 27, 2011, 05:08:25 PM
I don't think Vaughan's two boo-boos are reflective of the defence as a whole, which is the point I made in the first instance.

Neither do I, which as I said, is why I used it as one of many examples of poor defending in an original post.

Quote from: RedandGreenSniper on July 27, 2011, 05:08:25 PM
I think you are generalising here. <Higgins> was outstanding in the first half.
...

I was definitely generalising.
Generally I still think if your a free man and nobody is marking you, you tend to stand out and its easier to play well which is why I would put an asterix beside his first half performance.

Quote from: RedandGreenSniper on July 27, 2011, 05:08:25 PM
I'd agree with Connelly - he was outstanding in the first half. Less so in the second half, but he wasn't troubled either and made a serious block on Heneghan just before Donie Shine shot which was saved over the bar by Hennelly.
...

Exactly, the defence was not troubled much in the second half; because as I said, Roscommon laboured in the first half so they were never going to push on much in the second half against the wind.
They kind of beat themselves as they were not even kicking it into Shine and Kilbride near enough with the wind, so against it they had no ideas as they were not moving it quick enough and at pace in the first place. Also Shine missed those frees in the first half, if he did convert them it would have been a different game.
Thats not really a reflection on how good the Mayo defence was; it was more a reflection on Roscommon not being able to work the ball as well as Mayo did. Roscommon will admit that themselves.

Quote from: highorlow on July 28, 2011, 09:08:18 AM
If we approach the Cork game with this same attitude and approach (which I think we will) I believe we will win this match and win it comfortably. For the first time in a long time we look to have 10 or so players that are more than comfortable on the ball and are prepared to work hard without it.

You gotta love the Mayo naivety optimism !!!  :D

We have a chance, but I dont see anything being comfortable!

Quote from: ross4life on July 27, 2011, 04:50:20 PM

Quote from: Chéad rogha on July 27, 2011, 02:04:20 PM
Taken from Mayo GAA

The Mayo Senior Football team to take on Cork this Sunday in the All-Ireland Senior Football Quarter-Final in Croke Park is as follows:
1) Robert Hennelly - Breaffy
2) Keith Higgins - Ballyhaunis
3) Ger Cafferkey - Ballina Stephenites
4) Tom Cunniffe - Castlebar Mitchels
5) Richie Feeney - Castlebar Mitchels
6) Donal Vaughan - Ballinrobe
7) Trevor Mortimer - Shrule-Glencorrib
8  Aidan O'Shea - Breaffy
9) Seamus O'Shea - Breaffy
10) Kevin McLoughlin - Knockmore
11) Alan Dillon - Ballintubber
12) Andy Moran - Ballaghaderreen
13) Enda Varley - Garrymore
14) Alan Freeman - Aghamore
15) Cillian O'Connor - Ballintubber

16) David Clarke - Ballina Stephenites
17) Alan Feeney - Castlebar Mitchels
18) Dermot Geraghty - Shrule-Glencorrib
19) Chris Barrett - Belmullet
20) Lee Keegan - Westport
21) James Kilcullen - Ballaghaderreen
22) Ronan McGarrity - Ballina Stephenites
23) Peadar Gardiner - Crossmolina
24) Aidan Campbell - Swinford
25) Jason Doherty - Burrishoole
26) Mark Ronaldson - Shrule-Glencorrib

Caff and Varley in from the start. Ronaldo on the bench...

Two good calls by Horan, Alan Feeney struggled on Shine & on a dry day he would have scored more than the 3pts from play. Doherty scored 2pts from 3 championship games it's no surprise to see him dropped also though he'll have a point to prove now & could be a useful impact sub.

I would be more confident if we had a fit McGarrity in the middle in place of Aiden O'Shea. I reckon Doherty should have been given the chance in the space of Croke Park, he has the potential to get us a goal or three up there. Perhaps Horan is hoping for Varley to keep us in it with points and bring on Doherty in the last 25 minutes to poach a goal or two late on. However as we all know if we cannot win in the centre those 5-1 odds might be right on the money. I would persist with Alan Feeney if I recall he did a good job against Cork in the league (I appreciate the league and championship are like chalk and cheese). Cillian with the frees again!

hope the Ballintubber all-black has his ducks in aline for Sunday.Eiri suas a mhaigheo!

Last time posting on here before the match. As expected, I'm a lot more hopeful as the game approaches!! Looking forward to being back in Croker.

It's a massive task for JH and the lads but if we can match Cork's intensity and get the rub of the green we could sneak it.

A reasonable showing and demonstrating pride in playing for Mayo is the minimum needed though.

Maigh Eo abú

Quote from: highorlow on July 28, 2011, 09:08:18 AM

Quotethink that if this Mayo team is going to emerge as a top team it will be a quick breakthrough rather than a slog over a number of years

Couldn't agree more. This year is our best chance of a breakthrough. I think that despite the conditions in the last 2 match's the teams frame of mind was very good and when they were not in possession they harried and chased the opposition as if their lives depended on it and also at a high pace. The 'experts' on the Sunday Game etc miss this type of thing and are only interested in high scoring and fluent games. I also didn't think that Aidan O'Shea could run as fast, he chased back in the Ros game like never before.

If we approach the Cork game with this same attitude and approach (which I think we will) I believe we will win this match and win it comfortably. For the first time in a long time we look to have 10 or so players that are more than comfortable on the ball and are prepared to work hard without it.

I remember when he was part of the minor team in '08, especially in the semi against Kerry, he harried and hassled extremely well along with the rest of that team. When he came into the senior setup he done the same in '09 but as his confidence dropped over the last couple of yrs he lost this a bit. Great to see him back playing with that attitude

Quote from: macdanger2 on July 28, 2011, 12:14:42 PM
.

Maigh Eo ( agus Bealach a' Doirín ) abú

Cheartaigh mé sin duit. ;)

This will be a lot closer game than most expect, Cork are missing some key players & Mayo off the back of their Connacht success will be in no mood to just make up the numbers.

I think Cork will win a tight game however i have a feeling a lot of the Mayo fans will have a lot of ifs buts & maybes after the game.

QuoteI think Cork will win a tight game

The only tight thing about this game will be the hould Cadigan will have of his opponents geansai (and other things)

Nicky Murphy at full forward for the langers. Darragh O'Se is out training for a potential return at full back in the semi .

The Cork Senior Football team to play Mayo in Sunday's All-Ireland Football Quarter-Final at 4pm in Croke Park will line out as follows:
                                  1. Alan Quirke
                                      Valley Rovers

2. Eoin Cotter               3. Michael Shields       4. Eoin Cadogan
Douglas                            St. Finbarr's                   Douglas

5. Noel O'Leary             6. John Miskella         7. Paudie Kissane
Cill na Martra                     Ballincollig                Clyda Rovers

                     8. Alan O'Connor     9. Aidan Walsh
                         St. Colum's             Kanturk

10. Fintan Goold          11. Patrick Kelly       12. Pearse O'Neill
     Macroom                     Ballincollig               Aghada

13. Donncha O'Connor 14. Nicholas Murphy 15. Paul Kerrigan
     Ballydesmond              Carrigaline               Nemo Rangers

Not sure if this is it. Not so sure about Nicholas Murphy has ha a long running back problem. Otherwise as expected.

Quote from: Kerry Mike on July 28, 2011, 09:39:03 PM
Nicky Murphy at full forward for the langers. Darragh O'Se is out training for a potential return at full back in the semi .

Is my memory deceiving me or did he play there in one of the International Rules tests in 2002?

Cork are certainly down to the bare bones in the forward division if they have to play Nicholas Murphy in the forward line.

Quote from: ross4life on July 29, 2011, 12:27:18 AM
Cork are certainly down to the bare bones in the forward division if they have to play Nicholas Murphy in the forward line.

who said he'd play there.

Hint Hint

Quote from: Kerry Mike on July 28, 2011, 07:27:03 PM

QuoteI think Cork will win a tight game

The only tight thing about this game will be the hould Cadigan will have of his opponents geansai (and other things)

Shur imitation is the best form of flattery. Take a bow Moynihan and Mike Mac.

Murphy knocked the ball down to colm oNeil to win the penalty against the dubs last year. I think he could do huge damage laying it off to kerrigan running thru, also will take the Mayo focus off Donnacha who's bound to get some special treatment given his form.

Genuine best wishes Mayo. Keep the Connacht flame burning. This Mayo side have improved in every match this season and have learnt how to win ugly. They have yet to hit top form. Horan will have them set up in such a way Cork wont just run though them. If Mcgarrity can be sprung early Mayo might sneak this one. They are very composed and organised plus alot physically stronger than people realise. Cork with the recent run of injuries may struggle to get scores.

Quote from: Chéad rogha on July 27, 2011, 02:04:20 PM
Taken from Mayo GAA

The Mayo Senior Football team to take on Cork this Sunday in the All-Ireland Senior Football Quarter-Final in Croke Park is as follows:
1) Robert Hennelly - Breaffy
2) Keith Higgins - Ballyhaunis
3) Ger Cafferkey - Ballina Stephenites
4) Tom Cunniffe - Castlebar Mitchels
5) Richie Feeney - Castlebar Mitchels
6) Donal Vaughan - Ballinrobe
7) Trevor Mortimer - Shrule-Glencorrib
8  Aidan O'Shea - Breaffy
9) Seamus O'Shea - Breaffy
10) Kevin McLoughlin - Knockmore
11) Alan Dillon - Ballintubber
12) Andy Moran - Ballaghaderreen
13) Enda Varley - Garrymore
14) Alan Freeman - Aghamore
15) Cillian O'Connor - Ballintubber

16) David Clarke - Ballina Stephenites
17) Alan Feeney - Castlebar Mitchels
18) Dermot Geraghty - Shrule-Glencorrib
19) Chris Barrett - Belmullet
20) Lee Keegan - Westport
21) James Kilcullen - Ballaghaderreen
22) Ronan McGarrity - Ballina Stephenites
23) Peadar Gardiner - Crossmolina
24) Aidan Campbell - Swinford
25) Jason Doherty - Burrishoole
26) Mark Ronaldson - Shrule-Glencorrib

Caff and Varley in from the start. Ronaldo on the bench...

I like that selection; it's the best one Horan can field.
The days of chopping and changing are over and thank God for that.
I think the two changes he has made since the last game are justified and he is fielding the most settled side available to him.
I'd be happier if we had McGar and Conoreen fit and rarin' to go but that's only "If me auntie...." stuff.
Bring on the langers and we'll take our chances! ;D

Murphy's ongoing back problems  is directly related to Dara o Shea's knee problems(if he has knee problems-he should have,he used them often enough!!!!!)

Quote from: INDIANA on July 29, 2011, 01:02:11 AM

Quote from: ross4life on July 29, 2011, 12:27:18 AM
Cork are certainly down to the bare bones in the forward division if they have to play Nicholas Murphy in the forward line.

who said he'd play there.

Hint Hint

Maybe but i don't see the point of playing a three man midfield in this game. The Cork heads reckon come throw in Murphy won't start & Fiachra Lynch will instead.

From today's De Paper

The serious strain that has been put on Cork's attacking resources by a succession of recent injuries has been reflected in the selection of Murphy at full-forward. A recognised midfielder over the last decade, Murphy has endured his own injury travails in recent seasons and has not started a championship game for Cork since the 2009 All-Ireland final defeat to Kerry. His injury struggles have persisted and fitness problems may yet cause the Cork management to reconsider his selection before throw-in against Mayo on Sunday. In that eventuality, Fiachra Lynch would be in pole position for inclusion from the off.


http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/gaa/murphy-at-full-forward-for-cork-162547.html (http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/gaa/murphy-at-full-forward-for-cork-162547.html)

QuoteMurphy's ongoing back problems  is directly related to Dara o Shea's knee problems

No proof of this at all, lots of people have bad backs and none of them got a knee up from Darragh O'Se. From what I know Darragh is still playing great stuff for the club, with not even an itch to worry about on his knees !

Methinks here  http://shane-sportsramblings.blogspot.com/2011/07/bank-holiday-bonanza.html (http://shane-sportsramblings.blogspot.com/2011/07/bank-holiday-bonanza.html)

I know Doherty hasn't done much in the games to date but do ye Mayo lads reckon it would have been worth persevering with him for Croker? The wide open spaces of HQ would maybe suit his game?

Quote from: galwayman on July 29, 2011, 08:32:12 PM
I know Doherty hasn't done much in the games to date but do ye Mayo lads reckon it would have been worth persevering with him for Croker? The wide open spaces of HQ would maybe suit his game?

I do agree with you there galwayman. However he may come on if there's a point or three in it with a few minutes to go.

PS, despite 'Cork's mounting injury list' they still have a very impressive team out.

Lads if anyone is staying up Sunday night there is a free gig at the event link below.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=134337399987752

Quote from: galwayman on July 29, 2011, 08:32:12 PM
I know Doherty hasn't done much in the games to date but do ye Mayo lads reckon it would have been worth persevering with him for Croker? The wide open spaces of HQ would maybe suit his game?

As of now varley is a much better option',  with ronakdson in reserve . Doherty is far from the finished article and torrow is a serious affair. Good to see jh has balls to drop a favourite

Quote from: rosnarun on July 31, 2011, 01:58:19 AM

Quote from: galwayman on July 29, 2011, 08:32:12 PM
I know Doherty hasn't done much in the games to date but do ye Mayo lads reckon it would have been worth persevering with him for Croker? The wide open spaces of HQ would maybe suit his game?

As of now varley is a much better option',  with ronakdson in reserve . Doherty is far from the finished article and torrow is a serious affair. Good to see jh has balls to drop a favourite

Can see where you are coming from (Nephin) but after sticking with Doherty to now this game IMO would suit him a lot better with bigger pitch and hopefully drier sod. Be great if Varley knocks first one over early and gets confidence up.

Liam Hayes on Newstalk during the week reckoned Mayo could cause a shock here. They have nothing to loose.

Due to the inclement weather in Dublin I'm changing my prediction from a Mayo 7 point win to a 4 point win.

any links for the game?

O'Connor manufactures the penalty. It must be about 50% of frees now that are given the wrong way because of the "fouled" player holding the "fouler's" arm.

o'connor bought that penalty. tucked the hand in and fell over.

Soft penalty

He is a great man to take a penalty though.

Why is this not on tv?

Quote from: Radda bout yeee on July 31, 2011, 04:15:33 PM
Why is this not on tv?

It's on TV3 - not much use to some of us eh?

How many yellow cards is that?
Would someone get a hold of these fckin refs and tell them to cop on.

The first match was on here. Not sure if it still going.       http://tykestv.eu/channel1.php.

It's on tv3

Mayo well in this, a dodgy penalty between the sides at the moment. Mayo are a 2nd half side this year & will need a big performance in the next 35mins to pull off a shock.

Aidan O'Shea needs to stop running with the ball.
He was directly at fault for the goal.
Way too cumbersome.

You would have to feel that Cork will get enough scores to keep Mayo at arm's length. I think Mayo will need a goal or two to have a serious chance to win this. Great effort from them so far though. Aidan O'Shea will be feeling a bit bad if they lose a tight one.

Only a 2 point game, hopefully mayo can do it in the second half

From the sound of the crowd, it looks like the Limerick and Kerry fans have abandoned their Munster Brethren!

So the TV3 pundits reckon cheating is good forward play!  :D

It's very sad that the whole TV3 panel think that buying a penalty by pretending to be fouled is not only wholly acceptable but "good play".

Quote from: J70 on July 31, 2011, 04:45:39 PM
So the TV3 pundits reckon cheating is good forward play!  :D

That's the way they played in their day, it's accepted. If it was not it would be a different story. Mayo will buy a free or two before the game is out.

Spot on Hardy.

I think the free O'Leary gave away at the end of the half was for the same thing. It pisses me off.

If Mayo win this, the gaaboard will have to get a new  server.

Chill, Cork have another gear. They will come good yet!

I'm not sure who's going to get the scores for them.

This game reminds me of our game v Cork last year but it's unlikely they will fall away like we did. Mayo 8/5 with the bookies now.

Relying on net updates... What's the score?

Mayo 1-10
Cork 2-6
58 mins

1-11 to 2-6

Even if Mayo go on to beat Cork -  Kerry will kick them out of Croke Park in the semi as happened so many times before

1-12 to 2-6

61 mins

Mayo 1/2 now on Betfair.

If mayo win Joe Brolly will be the smuggest man in ireland

Mayo by far the better team,only 1 point so far in the nd half from the all ireland champions

Cork on the ropes, only one Cork point in this 2nd half  :o

13m free for Mayo

Fair fucks to Mayo. Some performance!

Scored

1-13 to 2-6

64 mins

Joe Brolly will love it...

45 for Cork

68 mins

45 misssed

Unbelieavable performance from Mayo. Fancy Dans no more

Miskella sent off - don't know what for.

3 additional minutes.

45 for Cork

Thanks for the updates lads!

Another.

Because Cork can't help acting the knackers when they are being beaten. Sneaky lot with the fists.

Another.

Quote from: randomtask on July 31, 2011, 05:21:26 PM
If mayo win Joe Brolly will be the smuggest man in ireland

He'd be smugger if he hadn't completely dismissed the possibility of a Mayo win a couple of hours ago.

Short 45. Then wide

All over. Well done Mayo.

Well done Mayo. A massive win for Connacht football - badly needed. I'd love to see them go all the way.

Well done Mayo fantastic result superb performance without doubt a 2nd half team. In the Semi final ye will have the added bonus of the Rossies to cheer ye on v Kerry as the Minor game is on before it.

Well done Mayo.

Excellent man markers on Kerrigan and O'Connor.

Moran was brillant on shields.

A big win for Mayo. They are beginning to see the results of some of the minor teams they had in the last few years bringing progress at senior level. Aidan OSe and O'Connor could be there for the next 10 -12 years for them.

Quote from: Bud Wiser on July 31, 2011, 05:30:38 PM
Because Cork can't help acting the knackers when they are being beaten. Sneaky lot with the fists.

true

Great performance from Mayo outstanding all over the field . Miskella deserved it always at that sneaky hitting off the ball . O Leary not as effective when he picks up an early yellow . Well done Mayo

Well done Mayo, they fought for everything I couldn't ask for more

Typical Mayo, honest, hard work, committed display and edge a thriller against the favourites. All they have to do now is flop against Kerry.

An excellent display by Mayo in fairness.

I thought TV3 really under estimated the performance of Trevor Mortimer. From what I could gather, it was him that was marking Paddy Kelly. I dont think I ever saw Kelly have such a quiet game. Mortimer got on the ball time & time again and set up a lot of Mayo attacks. He rarely wasted any ball he had. While Moran was excellent, Mortimer would have been my MOTM.

This whole "Nobody gave us a chance" argument from Mayo is a bit annoying. Many people suggested Mayo could put in a good performance today. Everybody predicted Cork but why shouldnt they? Mayo didnt do anything to suggest in Connacht that they were capable of putting in such a performance.

As impressive as Mayo were today, I can't see them beating Kerry at all.

Well done Mayo

Quote from: mckieran on July 31, 2011, 05:41:02 PM
An excellent display by Mayo in fairness.

I thought TV3 really under estimated the performance of Trevor Mortimer. From what I could gather, it was him that was marking Paddy Kelly. I dont think I ever saw Kelly have such a quiet game. Mortimer got on the ball time & time again and set up a lot of Mayo attacks. He rarely wasted any ball he had. While Moran was excellent, Mortimer would have been my MOTM.

This whole "Nobody gave us a chance" argument from Mayo is a bit annoying. Many people suggested Mayo could put in a good performance today. Everybody predicted Cork but why shouldnt they? Mayo didnt do anything to suggest in Connacht that they were capable of putting in such a performance.

As impressive as Mayo were today, I can't see them beating Kerry at all.

I dont think kerry should be mentioned really. That was a great performance by Mayo today. Should have won by a lot more.

Never thought i would be happy for a Mayo win. TV3 pundits are fairly shite. This was a great game of football, Ref i thought was brilliant let alot go, it was a hard game and when Mayo put it up to Cork physically and they won. Cork weren't bad just Mayo didn't let them play their game and never tired.

All this neagtive stuff about connacht football should be put to bed. Conditions for the Mayo-Galway and Mayo-Ros game were terrible and were just to to be won there was never going to be great football at them. Great game of actual football yesterday for 50-60 minutes from Ros and today from Mayo. Good luck against Kerry

Can't believe this!!

Well done Mayo, played some lovely football.
Take the field with the same attitude against Kerry and you're in with a shout.

Fair play to Mayo. Great performance overall but defence deserves a special mention. Paddy Kelly was never marked as well. Moran is some outlet- never hides in any game

Standard of football might not be as high as the Tyrone/Kerry and lesser extent Armagh era of 2002-2008 but this levelling off in standards has reintroduced an element of surprise. Great for the neutrals

Quote from: Jinxy on July 31, 2011, 05:53:02 PM
Well done Mayo, played some lovely football.
Take the field with the same attitude against Kerry and you're in with a shout.

Jinxy, as you say they were showing the 'Love'.

Donkeys don't win Derbys. We had Cork sussed our years ago. Well done  mayo great day in Croker

Well done to mayo. They played with great intensity and totally deserved the win. Cork looked clueless in the 2nd half. Hopefully mayo won't do their usual and lie down against Kerry.

Fine win by Mayo great to see the under dog win & leave pundits with egg on there face.

Just back in now, fantastic win for Mayo. Hopefully we can show the same steel against Kerry. Thought Trev and Andy were great today, but it was terrific performace all over the pitch. The man marking and the hits put in by Mayo were as good as the class football played today. Cork were not bad, Mayo just didn't allow them to look good. That penalty was a disaster, a free out in my opinion. I will keep quite on the turnover to allow the second Cork goal, water under the bridge and all that. I thought the ref. was very liberal in handing out yellows to Mayo and shy enough when it came to handing them out to the Cork lads.

Well done lads.

Did us proud.

Fantastic. I love the GAA.

Delighted for Mayo, and all the Mayo lads on here, and delighted for Connacht football as a whole. We laugh at the Mayo lads for their collective neuroses, but they regularly get days like this, which a lot of counties would kill for. (My own included).

Delighted that the win went to the team that rolled up their sleeves and battled for every single ball. They wiped Cork out in the area where Cork are strongest and they should build statues to the two O'Sheas in Breaffy.


I hope they don't crash to earth against Kerry, but it certainly is a two fingers to every pundit and prognosticator, myself included. Well done to ye lads, 100% deserved, and 100% the better team on the day.

Fair play to the Mayo fans as well.
They made the crowd sound twice as big as it was.

what a performance by the lads today absolutely brilliant and even better that i had a few quid on them as well . don't know where to start great peformance all over the pitch plus we played a lovely brand of football lots of kickpassing and early balls into the forwards plus we hit hard and fair and really rattled the cork players. Off for a few pints now to talk some football  ;) 

Football is 80% in the head and mayo  believed today. Fair fucks to them.

I wonder will Pat upgrade Connacht from Junk status?

thats 1 way for cork to avoid being beaten by the kingdom in the semis again. ;)

Well done Mayo.

Quote from: Kerry Mike on July 31, 2011, 06:54:53 PM
Football is 80% in the head and mayo  believed today. Fair f**ks to them.

No wonder Kerry people have such big heads.

Quote from: Chimley on July 31, 2011, 07:09:00 PM
I wonder will Pat upgrade Connacht from Junk status?

Who gives a shit
I thought we would be in contention with 10 to go but never dreamed we had the mental fortitude to seal the deal.
Kerry lads are all on with the fake talk on the train here ... saying it will be a tough semi but thinking different.

Quote from: mckieran on July 31, 2011, 05:41:02 PM
? Mayo didnt do anything to suggest in Connacht that they were capable of putting in such a performance.

They bet us didnt they?
The hoors played well today but Cork were not good to say the least.
1-3 to 0-1 up and lost by 4 on the scoreboard but really deserved to lose by much more.
Still the MWR bucks burst every gut today and are well desreving of their success. Hopefuly that wasn't their All Ireland as the last thing Ireland needs is feckin Kerry sauntering to another title.

And of course Andy Moran ( Ballagh , Co Roscommon) was man of match. ;D

Quote from: AZOffaly on July 31, 2011, 06:43:29 PM
Fantastic. I love the GAA.

Delighted for Mayo, and all the Mayo lads on here, and delighted for Connacht football as a whole. We laugh at the Mayo lads for their collective neuroses, but they regularly get days like this, which a lot of counties would kill for. (My own included).

Delighted that the win went to the team that rolled up their sleeves and battled for every single ball. They wiped Cork out in the area where Cork are strongest and they should build statues to the two O'Sheas in Breaffy.


I hope they don't crash to earth against Kerry, but it certainly is a two fingers to every pundit and prognosticator, myself included. Well done to ye lads, 100% deserved, and 100% the better team on the day.

Cheers AZ, two fingers up to a whole lot of clueless dickheads in the media today indeed. A win for Connacht football as well as for Mayo, hope we get some respect from now on. Still no expectations for the semi, all we ask is that they give their all and leave the field with no regrets. The is the beginning of a new era for us, it will take a while for this team to peak.

I travel a fair bit to watch Mayo play and sitting in Dublin Airport as I am right now, I know that it's days like today that make it worth every bit of the effort. So thanks to the team, management and everybody involved for their effort and performance in Croke Park today.

How many people at the start of the year would have believed you if you said that Mayo would beat Cork twice in 2011?

In Kinnegad on the way home. Well done to James Horan and his team. The players have shown us all what they are about. The chest is well out this evening! Unreal!

Mayo are always capable of doing something like this (even though I thought it wouldn't be against Cork). I hope they can keep it up the next day because that today was sensational.

Quote from: Kerry Mike on July 31, 2011, 06:54:53 PM
Football is 80% in the head and mayo  believed today. Fair f**ks to them.

When the Cork boys saw two O'Sheas playing midfield for Mayo they must have known there would be trouble ahead.

Congratulations Mayo. Knew ye were in with a chance because like I said before Horan has moulded this in to a much mentally tougher Mayo team than we've seen before and they're improving with every match. Puts all the negative criticism of Connacht football in to perspective now. Mayo have really genuine and loyal supporters. Delighted for those here like Moysider, Lar, MGHU, Blast etc and the others.

Mayo really wanted it more than cork and fully deserved their victory.cork thought it was going to be another route like the down game when they went 4 up and were in complete control and then just stopped playing and couldn't get going again

In all fairness, the Mayo supporters didn't travel today in any great numbers so it wasn't just the "meeja" that had them written off. Alot easier though to give "the two fingers" to the Aunt Sallies in the media.



And yes I know today is Reek Sunday.

Quote from: An Gaeilgoir on July 31, 2011, 07:21:55 PM
In Kinnegad on the way home. Well done to James Horan and his team. The players have shown us all what they are about. The chest is well out this evening! Unreal!

Good girl yourself.

Quotea free out in my opinion.

How on earth was it a free out???? To me it was penalty. I cannot see on what grounds it could possible have been a free out?

Quotetwo fingers up to a whole lot of clueless d**kheads in the media today indeed.

The media predicted a Cork win because all form suggested that Cork would win. This craic of Mayo people saying nobody gave them a chance is bullshit. People gave them an outside chance of winning and they did it. But come on, Who in their right mind would have predicted a Mayo win today? I wouldnt blame any journalist for opting for Cork to win. If there were pundits that were saying Cork were going to wipe the floor with Mayo, then that would be a different story. But anything I read or heard suggested that Mayo were capable of putting in a performance; something which I agreed with. I didnt think the performance would be quite so good but there you go....

I'll re-iterate that I thought Trevor Mortimer had an absolutely huge influence on that game today. Keeping kelly quiet is one thing but he always seemed to take the right option when he was the ball (unlike Aidan O'Se for example). It was an absolutely wonderful performance by him. Moran was excellent too but Canavan was making the point that Shields should not have been left on him and it was a strange decision alright. Doherty's introduction came at perfect timing for Mayo too; He caused a lot of damage when introduced. I am a fan of McLoughlin having seen him play a number of times and I did question why he was in the forwards this year (He always excelled at no.7 when I saw him) but that was one hell of a goal.

David Brady is becoming one of my favourite pundits; "I'm not condoning violence but Mayo need to get stuck in from the start". He was saying on Newstalk yesterday that he wants to be an inter county manager one day; cant wait to see what his team is like out on the pitch!

I thought the ref did a good job in this game. The cork peno was definitely called correct. The one mayo wanted was outside the box. The sending off for miskila was also correct. Well done ref.

Thought at the time that the Mayo lad had taken too many steps for the goal, look forward to seeing it again tonight on the SG.

Well deserved win by the way.

Just read somewhere before today, only Kerry have beaten Cork in the Championship in the last 7 years, surely that cannot be true.

Well done to Mayo. Great football to watch. Youse really put some manners in Cork today. Lovely to see. I reckon Cork just figured they have to show up and they had this game won. Oh, well.. :D :D :D

I had a feeling all week that this would happen. One year ago today, Down beat Kerry, under very similiar circumstances. Why couldn't it happen again I said. Too bad I didn't put any money on Mayo, but the boyos here in Chicago weren't interested.

Congrats to the players and the backroom team.

Mrs. redandblack4ever

Not any more  ;)
But it was true. Fermanagh bet Cork in 04 I believe

Quote from: mckieran on July 31, 2011, 07:34:25 PM

Quotea free out in my opinion.

It appeared to me that Donncha O'Connor was dragging Keith Higgins in the square.

Quote from: Rossfan on July 31, 2011, 07:42:51 PM
Not any more  ;)
But it was true. Fermanagh bet Cork in 04 I believe

Well thats an amazing stat. almost as amazing as it would be Mayo that what end that run

hopefully mayo fans will support their team in the semi.

Pity a lot of them gave up on them.

INDIANA weren't you one of the guys that hyped Cork up as the team to beat this year? i also seem to remember you hyped up the Cork Minors too.

Quote from: INDIANA on July 31, 2011, 08:05:53 PM
hopefully mayo fans will support their team in the semi.

Pity a lot of them gave up on them.

On that note, thanks to the Kerry and Limerick fans who added their voice to the Mayo contingent. I'd say there were alot of fans heading to the south- west happy this evening!

Thank god TV3 were covering the game. Analysts are fresh and we don't have to listen to Marty 'count the wides' Morrissey or Ger 'in the accendancy' Canning.

Quote from: Blowitupref on July 31, 2011, 08:13:10 PM
INDIANA weren't you one of the guys that hyped Cork up as the team to beat this year? i also seem to remember you hyped up the Cork Minors too.

Always notice a strange hostility from Dublin GAA fans towards Mayo's prospects. I think it might have alot to do with they are the media darlings but its Mayo that does the giant killing. It just never works out like the media tell them.

well done Mayo. Cork blew their load against a very poor Down defence last week but couldnt perform against a well organised unit. Hard to believe London nearly beat ye.
Cork totally underestimated ye and got what they deserved/
Dare i say it but maybe Brolly was right in his analysis of Cork. Hope he is on the sunday game tonight to hear what he has to say

Quote from: mayogodhelpus@gmail.com on July 31, 2011, 08:38:14 PM

Quote from: Blowitupref on July 31, 2011, 08:13:10 PM
INDIANA weren't you one of the guys that hyped Cork up as the team to beat this year? i also seem to remember you hyped up the Cork Minors too.

Always notice a strange hostility from Dublin GAA fans towards Mayo's prospects. I think it might have alot to do with they are the media darlings but its Mayo that does the giant killing. It just never works out like the media tell them.

Mayo may do Giant kiliing- but you havent won an all-ireland since the 50's. Just thought I'd point that out.

No hostility whatsoever. Some of my best friends are from Mayo. The difference is they were in CP today. Many of Mayo's fans werent. Hopefully we can scratch off one county moralising to Dublin about fair weather fans

Quote from: Blowitupref on July 31, 2011, 08:13:10 PM
INDIANA weren't you one of the guys that hyped Cork up as the team to beat this year? i also seem to remember you hyped up the Cork Minors too.

Absolutely I hyped Cork up. Same as most people did and they imploded. The last time I looked the Cork minors were still in. Hopefully not after we beat them in Portlaoise tomorrow. You expecting me to shout for Cork tomorrow :D

Well done Mayo!!

I see the Mitchels goalie colours were the choice of the day. Am I imagining that they were the inspiration?

(http://img.rasset.ie/0004d76c-674.jpg)

Quote from: INDIANA on July 31, 2011, 08:05:53 PM
hopefully mayo fans will support their team in the semi.

Pity a lot of them gave up on them.

Thats a bit unfair. I dont think you appreciate the significance of summer bank holiday weekends in western counties - the Aug one in particular when everyone heads home and its the only weekend of the year you get to meet old friends. A lot of people where I am originally from were very undecided until the last minute.

Quote from: INDIANA on July 31, 2011, 09:03:30 PM
Hopefully we can scratch off one county moralising to Dublin about fair weather fans

If next Saturday's game was in McHale Park,how many Dublin fans would travel?  ::)

Quote from: cornafean on July 31, 2011, 09:44:04 PM

Quote from: INDIANA on July 31, 2011, 09:03:30 PM
Hopefully we can scratch off one county moralising to Dublin about fair weather fans

If next Saturday's game was in McHale Park,how many Dublin fans would travel?  ::)

Travel? We'd jump at it. We're bored playing in CP. ;)

Quote from: INDIANA on July 31, 2011, 09:58:56 PM

Quote from: cornafean on July 31, 2011, 09:44:04 PM

Quote from: INDIANA on July 31, 2011, 09:03:30 PM
Hopefully we can scratch off one county moralising to Dublin about fair weather fans

If next Saturday's game was in McHale Park,how many Dublin fans would travel?  ::)

Travel? We'd jump at it. We're bored playing in CP. ;)

Nice big stand for ye, if its a Mayo V Dublin Final, its agreed, we can play it in McHale.

Quote from: mckieran on July 31, 2011, 05:41:02 PM
An excellent display by Mayo in fairness.

I thought TV3 really under estimated the performance of Trevor Mortimer. From what I could gather, it was him that was marking Paddy Kelly. I dont think I ever saw Kelly have such a quiet game. Mortimer got on the ball time & time again and set up a lot of Mayo attacks. He rarely wasted any ball he had. While Moran was excellent, Mortimer would have been my MOTM.

This whole "Nobody gave us a chance" argument from Mayo is a bit annoying. Many people suggested Mayo could put in a good performance today. Everybody predicted Cork but why shouldnt they? Mayo didnt do anything to suggest in Connacht that they were capable of putting in such a performance.

As impressive as Mayo were today, I can't see them beating Kerry at all.

Maybe many others will agree with you but the "at all" bit is what I'd like to comment on.
You also wrote:
This whole "Nobody gave us a chance" argument from Mayo is a bit annoying.
You may not agree but I find a contradiction of sorts here.
Regardless of the result today or the manner in which Mayo won the game, you are writing off their chances for the next day before a ball is kicked. Why?
Now, if Mayo had somehow managed to go five points ahead after 10 minutes or thereabouts and if Cork had rallied, wiped out the deficit and restricted Mayo to just a single point in the second half, would you baldly state "I can't see them beating Kerry at all?"
You might indeed but you'd be in a very small minority if you did.
I think Mayo people have every right to complain because the reality is that most outsiders gave their team no chance whatsoever - purely because they are from "Mayo, God help us."
Certainly many did say that they expected Mayo could put in a "good performance" – polite speak for battling bravely until Cork stepped up a gear in the closing stages and put them out of their misery.
The Langers had every chance to win it and were still on course to do so until the 50 minute mark or thereabouts. Mayo didn't catch them cold but had to win through graft, courage and not a little skill.
Kerry were very impressive today but then Limerick were useless so I find it hard to assess Kerry's true worth.
I expect the win today will bring Mayo on by leaps and bounds, whereas Kerry stand to gain little from their demolition job on Limerick. It was a training exercise; a chance to get a bit of rust out of their systems and no more.
I expect Kerry will be odds-on favourites alright but you'd give Mayo no chance at all?
I'd say a lot of cute Kerry hoors won't agree with you.

Quote from: blast05 on July 31, 2011, 07:15:52 PM

Quote from: Chimley on July 31, 2011, 07:09:00 PM
I wonder will Pat upgrade Connacht from Junk status?

Who gives a shit
I thought we would be in contention with 10 to go but never dreamed we had the mental fortitude to seal the deal.
Kerry lads are all on with the fake talk on the train here ... saying it will be a tough semi but thinking different.

you Mayo lads are hard to please. Jumping around giving the two fingers to those who wrote you off , then accusing lads of being fake when they dont write you off !

 
 

QuoteDue to the inclement weather in Dublin I'm changing my prediction from a Mayo 7 point win to a 4 point win. 

 

;D ;D ;D ;D

Absolutely incredible win for Mayo. Congrats to James Horan and his team... he has a great job made of Mayo and it seems that we are beginning to play with some confidence at last. There is a steely edge to the team and it was great to see some hits and Mayo play with physicality. 

Mayo had the surprise element today and perhaps Cork were too complacent so those things were in our favour and we seized our chance. Mayo hit them with everything and Cork looked shell shocked in that second half so it all paid off.

I still cant believe it, its fairytale stuff considering the position we were in in Ruslip with a few minutes to go. All of that is dead and buried now and some of the daemons have been exercised but to perform in Croke Park like we did there is no reason why we wont be able to get at least a performance against Kerry too.

On the game I was worried about the fullback line early in the game as Cafferkey and Higgns seemed a bit loose but they settled well after a switch with Cunniffe I think. As a unit the defence really were excellent and Tom Cunnife especially had a fine game. I cant fault Trev and Richie either and even Vaughan did well in the second half after a shaky start with Cork bombing up the middle.

The O Sheas raised the eyebrows again today. Being honest I thought they didnt have the mobility but Seamus especially surprised me. I know there was a couple of mistakes made when the ball was in hand but that can be worked on and I think they are a serious partnership.

Up front it was an incredible display from the forwards. Its amazing how well we played with the tails up and again when we found some confidence. Cillian, McLoughlin and Andy were fantastic. Dillon came good as the game progressed although I thought he didnt look very comfortable and could have been carrying a niggle. 

All in all I would be very proud of every Mayo player today, fair play to them. Its great to have days like this!  ;D

Is it wrong to win 2 quarter finals in one day  ? Wasn't going to drink today but f**k me its a sweet day.

Terrific win for Mayo. It's sweet to be a Mayo man in Cork tonight  ;)

Great to see the guts and determination the team showed from start to finish. That's all I was hoping for from the game - the win was a fantastic bonus.

There were mistakes - both of the O'Sheas (Aidan especially) need to give the ball once they've won it rather than walk into contact. And we wasted a lot of possession in the ten minutes after we went a point up. Kerry will punish those mistakes. But really, those are minor complaints on a day like this. Mayo and Connacht football are standing tall once more.

The semi-final? We're underdogs, but as long as the team fight to the end - as they've done all year - this fan will be content whatever the result.

Fair play to Mayo. Fantastic result and performance. Completely cleaned Cork around midfield sector and showed more hunger and movement in attack.

Someone recently said that when there is 0 pressure players can improve by 20%. Mayo definitely improved by at least that on the Ros game.

Cork and Kildare both play a similiar way in the way they work the ball out of defence with a man always in support to break the tackles. Where they both fell down was that when the hit the opposition 45 they came up against well organised defences and did not have cute enough forwards to find opportunites whereas Donegal/Mayo had a bit more creativity in their forward lines.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p915H1H7YjU (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p915H1H7YjU)

"first time since 1916"  :o

Quote from: mckieran on July 31, 2011, 07:34:25 PM

Quotetwo fingers up to a whole lot of clueless d**kheads in the media today indeed.

The media predicted a Cork win because all form suggested that Cork would win. This craic of Mayo people saying nobody gave them a chance is bullshit. People gave them an outside chance of winning and they did it. But come on, Who in their right mind would have predicted a Mayo win today? I wouldnt blame any journalist for opting for Cork to win. If there were pundits that were saying Cork were going to wipe the floor with Mayo, then that would be a different story. But anything I read or heard suggested that Mayo were capable of putting in a performance; something which I agreed with. I didnt think the performance would be quite so good but there you go....

My comment did not relate to people predicting a Cork win today, of course that was the obvious prediction to make, they were the All Ireland Champions after all. Its the sheer uneducated disrespect that has been shown to Mayo football all summer from the likes of Spillane, O'Rourke, Brolly, Hayes etc. that is the issue. Not just Mayo actually but Connacht football as a whole. So, as the mayo gaa blog says tonight, f**k them. This ''exclusive' article is typical of the crap we've had to listen to and read. I mean presumably this Stapleton **** gets paid to write shite like this. So f**k him too.

http://eircomsports.eircom.net/News/news/gaa/Man-and-ball-July-28.aspx (http://eircomsports.eircom.net/News/news/gaa/Man-and-ball-July-28.aspx)

Man and ball: Connacht teams don't really do August anymore

exclusive

Shane Stapleton

When last did a Connacht team cause an upset? A positive one, that is. No, games against each other don't count, so Sligo beating traditional powerhouses Galway and Mayo last year doesn't count. Nor should it in any case, when you consider how meekly both teams exited the championship. Come to think of it, Sligo went out to the tune of 19 points to Down; make what you will of that six-day turnaround.

So just to get this straight, let's look at who eliminated Connacht's representatives in the All Ireland series in 2010: Mayo lost to Longford, Leitrim to Kildare, London and Galway to Wexford, Sligo to Down, and Roscommon to Cork. Outside the Connacht championship where it is unavoidable that someone should win, no side from the western province won a single game outside their own championship. Not one.

The All Ireland series wasn't a whole lot better in 2009: Roscommon drew with and then beat Wexford, Sligo beat Tipperary and then all the cards fell in on the Connacht house thereafter. Again, no big wins. How about 2008? Well no wins outside Connacht there either as three teams – Sligo, Leitrim and London – were all Division 4 so they never even got to go into the qualifiers, instead regressing to the Tommy Murphy Cup. The mud thickens.

The last time a Connacht side even got to an All Ireland semi-final was in 2006 when Mayo made it to the final, and they got spanked by Kerry – 4-15 to 3-05; only three points scored in the second half too with the game still alive. Just two men who started that final – Keith Higgins and Alan Dillon – will line out in the first XV against Cork, while Trevor Mortimer and Andy Moran featured from the bench in that final five years ago.

Then again, that can be seen as a positive. Mayo have been at nothing these past couple of years so manager James Horan has changed tack, brought in youngsters, reshuffled those who've stayed, and still delivered a Connacht title. Whether the title is even worth the leftover shavings from when their name was etched into the Nestor Cup is another matter. It represented progress, as does an All Ireland quarter-final. They would have taken it before the start of the year.

Getting any farther than that is unrealistic. Cork are too strong, too fast, too athletic, and too indomitable a team. Donncha O'Connor was in sparkling form against Down and there is no reason to suggest that won't continue against the Westerners. The O'Shea brothers – Seamus and Aidan – have been sometimes impressive and sometimes sluggish in midfield for Mayo but they will be cleaned out by Alan O'Connor and Aidan Walsh, particularly if the latter's form improves from the Down game.

It's heavyweights against flyweights all over the pitch. Whether you believe Joe Brolly's assertion that the Rebels are just a battering ram of a team or not, you can't deny their effectiveness. Plus, the Down game did, as has been roundly agreed upon, show Cork at their most fluid since 2009. Paul Kerrigan and Paddy Kelly are two of the more clever forwards in football, and they will open up doors. Fintan Goold have been waiting in the shadows for a long time but he had Down chasing that very thing. There are many prongs to the Rebel attack.

A surprise just isn't going to happen, even if the All Ireland champions have plenty of forwards missing: Colm O'Neill, Ciarán Sheehan and Daniel Goulding. The bigger shocks tend to be against sides from Connacht against sides that are nominally in the same province. By all accounts, London should have beaten Mayo a few months ago. Oh the laughing that would have been had at Horan's expense.

That was saved instead for Fermanagh and manager John O'Neill, as the Erne County gave the Exiles a first championship win since 1977. Not that the other Connacht counties can share in the joke, London are after all the only western team – again, nominally – to win a game outside their province in 2011.

Roscommon and Mayo get their chances this weekend against Tyrone and Cork respectively. We fancy both non-western teams to beat the handicaps of five points.

Connacht teams don't really do August anymore.

Chat to Shane Stapleton on Twitter @shanesaint

Yes was a thread started on that above subject this week http://gaaboard.com/board/index.php?topic=19912.0

Well done mayo.  Excellent second half.
Very poor peedormance from cork but mayo shut them down and the best  team won
Good luck in the semis

Quote from: Cosmo Kramer on August 01, 2011, 01:32:11 AM

Quote from: mckieran on July 31, 2011, 07:34:25 PM

Quotetwo fingers up to a whole lot of clueless d**kheads in the media today indeed.

The media predicted a Cork win because all form suggested that Cork would win. This craic of Mayo people saying nobody gave them a chance is bullshit. People gave them an outside chance of winning and they did it. But come on, Who in their right mind would have predicted a Mayo win today? I wouldnt blame any journalist for opting for Cork to win. If there were pundits that were saying Cork were going to wipe the floor with Mayo, then that would be a different story. But anything I read or heard suggested that Mayo were capable of putting in a performance; something which I agreed with. I didnt think the performance would be quite so good but there you go....

My comment did not relate to people predicting a Cork win today, of course that was the obvious prediction to make, they were the All Ireland Champions after all. Its the sheer uneducated disrespect that has been shown to Mayo football all summer from the likes of Spillane, O'Rourke, Brolly, Hayes etc. that is the issue. Not just Mayo actually but Connacht football as a whole. So, as the mayo gaa blog says tonight, f**k them. This ''exclusive' article is typical of the crap we've had to listen to and read. I mean presumably this Stapleton **** gets paid to write shite like this. So f**k him too.

http://eircomsports.eircom.net/News/news/gaa/Man-and-ball-July-28.aspx (http://eircomsports.eircom.net/News/news/gaa/Man-and-ball-July-28.aspx)

Man and ball: Connacht teams don't really do August anymore

exclusive

Shane Stapleton

When last did a Connacht team cause an upset? A positive one, that is. No, games against each other don't count, so Sligo beating traditional powerhouses Galway and Mayo last year doesn't count. Nor should it in any case, when you consider how meekly both teams exited the championship. Come to think of it, Sligo went out to the tune of 19 points to Down; make what you will of that six-day turnaround.

So just to get this straight, let's look at who eliminated Connacht's representatives in the All Ireland series in 2010: Mayo lost to Longford, Leitrim to Kildare, London and Galway to Wexford, Sligo to Down, and Roscommon to Cork. Outside the Connacht championship where it is unavoidable that someone should win, no side from the western province won a single game outside their own championship. Not one.

The All Ireland series wasn't a whole lot better in 2009: Roscommon drew with and then beat Wexford, Sligo beat Tipperary and then all the cards fell in on the Connacht house thereafter. Again, no big wins. How about 2008? Well no wins outside Connacht there either as three teams – Sligo, Leitrim and London – were all Division 4 so they never even got to go into the qualifiers, instead regressing to the Tommy Murphy Cup. The mud thickens.

The last time a Connacht side even got to an All Ireland semi-final was in 2006 when Mayo made it to the final, and they got spanked by Kerry – 4-15 to 3-05; only three points scored in the second half too with the game still alive. Just two men who started that final – Keith Higgins and Alan Dillon – will line out in the first XV against Cork, while Trevor Mortimer and Andy Moran featured from the bench in that final five years ago.

Then again, that can be seen as a positive. Mayo have been at nothing these past couple of years so manager James Horan has changed tack, brought in youngsters, reshuffled those who've stayed, and still delivered a Connacht title. Whether the title is even worth the leftover shavings from when their name was etched into the Nestor Cup is another matter. It represented progress, as does an All Ireland quarter-final. They would have taken it before the start of the year.

Getting any farther than that is unrealistic. Cork are too strong, too fast, too athletic, and too indomitable a team. Donncha O'Connor was in sparkling form against Down and there is no reason to suggest that won't continue against the Westerners. The O'Shea brothers – Seamus and Aidan – have been sometimes impressive and sometimes sluggish in midfield for Mayo but they will be cleaned out by Alan O'Connor and Aidan Walsh, particularly if the latter's form improves from the Down game.

It's heavyweights against flyweights all over the pitch. Whether you believe Joe Brolly's assertion that the Rebels are just a battering ram of a team or not, you can't deny their effectiveness. Plus, the Down game did, as has been roundly agreed upon, show Cork at their most fluid since 2009. Paul Kerrigan and Paddy Kelly are two of the more clever forwards in football, and they will open up doors. Fintan Goold have been waiting in the shadows for a long time but he had Down chasing that very thing. There are many prongs to the Rebel attack.

A surprise just isn't going to happen, even if the All Ireland champions have plenty of forwards missing: Colm O'Neill, Ciarán Sheehan and Daniel Goulding. The bigger shocks tend to be against sides from Connacht against sides that are nominally in the same province. By all accounts, London should have beaten Mayo a few months ago. Oh the laughing that would have been had at Horan's expense.

That was saved instead for Fermanagh and manager John O'Neill, as the Erne County gave the Exiles a first championship win since 1977. Not that the other Connacht counties can share in the joke, London are after all the only western team – again, nominally – to win a game outside their province in 2011.

Roscommon and Mayo get their chances this weekend against Tyrone and Cork respectively. We fancy both non-western teams to beat the handicaps of five points.

Connacht teams don't really do August anymore.

Chat to Shane Stapleton on Twitter @shanesaint

Mayo are a fantastic side. Having beaten the reigning AI champions you would have to have them as favourites at this stage.

Who in Gods name is Shane Stapelton? Some anorak who thinks he knows about sport I would hazard. Does he actually get paid for this?

What a day! What a night!! And it still feels so good this morning. Boy did those lads give every ounce of energy to the Mayo cause yesterday. They have worked so hard since the disaster of last year to get themselves to this spot and they should revel in it, and give the rest of the Summer one hell of a go because you never know what might happen.

It was unbelievable being in Croke Park yesterday. It was a real day for the die-hard supporters. Many gave up on the team and didn't bother travelling. Those that were there stood by the team and were the 16th man that helped push us over the line.

Can we beat Kerry? Well we're in the very same position as yesterday but with more expectation. We actually need to improve on that performance to do so. Nobody will be talking about All Irelands. It is one game at a time - we are in bonus territory and I for one am bloody well going to enjoy it.

Quote from: southsidejohnny on August 01, 2011, 10:15:50 AM
Who in Gods name is Shane Stapelton? Some anorak who thinks he knows about sport I would hazard. Does he actually get paid for this?

Twitter address at bottom of previous post so you can send him some love. Not arsed myself, too happy after that win to be dragged down by reading old page fillers. Fantastic result and full credit to James Horan for turning the shambolic previous regime around to playing a style of football suitable to the players at his disposal. The heart and guts showed yesterday along with no little skill filled me with immense pride. Was great to be in the pubs last night talking positive again about Mayo football. Will go into Kerry game as big underdogs again, nice position to be in as I feel the days of mass hysteria by the Mayo fans is gone with our history with Kerry. Walking tall today.

QuoteMy comment did not relate to people predicting a Cork win today, of course that was the obvious prediction to make, they were the All Ireland Champions after all. Its the sheer uneducated disrespect that has been shown to Mayo football all summer from the likes of Spillane, O'Rourke, Brolly, Hayes etc. that is the issue. Not just Mayo actually but Connacht football as a whole. So, as the mayo gaa blog says tonight, f**k them. This ''exclusive' article is typical of the crap we've had to listen to and read. I mean presumably this Stapleton **** gets paid to write shite like this. So f**k him too.

In fairness, that Stapleton article is going a bit too far.

However, Mayo were atrocious this year up until the Cork game. I was at their matches against London and Galway where they struggled to beat 2 very poor teams. Respect is earned and Mayo did nothing to earn any respect before yesterday. Yesterday, they put in a wonderful performance and many of the critics you list talked glowingly about them afterwards. What do you expect? That pundits speak glowingly of Mayo after their showings against London, Galway & Roscommon; A team needs to do an awful lot more than that for these pundits to say good things about them. Yesterday, Mayo did that. Anybody could see Mayo needed to improve a lot from their Connacht performances to beat Cork and that is what they did. However, they did little to suggest they would be able to put in that kind of performance and most of the pundits were correct in their analysis. It seems some people expect pundits to be pyschics rather than analysts! 

QuoteNobody will be talking about All Irelands. It is one game at a time - we are in bonus territory and I for one am bloody well going to enjoy it.

Haha, All I have been hearing since yesterday is talk of All-Ireland's. I logged into my FB a/c and nearly everyone of my Mayo friends had some sort of status stating something like 'SAM here we come'. I wish I had been able to hit the town last night to hear first hand what some of these deluded supporters were saying. Dont get me wrong, Mayo have a chance but talk of winning an all-ireland after one good performance is being premature.

QuoteCan we beat Kerry? Well we're in the very same position as yesterday but with more expectation.

There is more expectation which doesnt usually sit well with Mayo. However, Kerry have a lot of problems in their team; probably more obvious ones than Cork. It was difficult to see a huge amount of weak links on the Cork team before yesterday (Who must have the worst subs in the world as I have never seen a team struggling so much so reluctant to use subs). But Kerry have serious issues in their defence where Brosnan & O'Mahony are weak links. Have a very poor midfield. And have some players in the forward line that are really carried by the star names (Donncha Walsh has never impressed me for example). The new O'Leary guy hasnt done anything to suggest he is of the calibre of the O'Sullivans or Cooper yet either.

Barney I knew Mayo would win this after 20 mins of football where the Mayo lads were making some great tackles, they were puttin ther bodies on the line and were not holdin back. Cork didn't know what to do. Great win for the county hope Mayo give Kerry a real going over.

Sore head this morning, well worth it, what a day in Croke Park

The only point I'd make is regarding AOS, I was of the same opinion as others here that he wasted a lot of ball but all the players I talked to yesterday picked him out, without fail, and I think it comes down to the hit on O'leary, he fuckin buried him and laid down a marker, we weren't going to be rolled over

Backed mayo at 6-1 at half time, ridiculous odds when we were 2 points down

Fair play to mayo, ye did a great thing yesterday and put cork in their place.......................dont let that be your only day in the sun lads  ;)

I actually recorded the game yesterday as it was the young lads birthday.........................no texts or winks were issued during the day to confirm the score...............................sat down after cleaning up last night and was left gobsmacked by the display

An absolutely brilliant result.Moran was astounding yesterday,he upped another level with his shot and pass selection and macnificent workrate,and Mortimer was a fearless hound terrorising any rebel jersey  within his grasp.For me the turning point was the response immediately after the second cork goal,fennelly had the ball out and kicked before the green flag was lowered as if if to say "no way, this games belongs to us" and moran fires over an automatic response.I rolled up me sleeves and said to the connacht men with me theres going to be a fight here and so it was as bravery displayed itself in every quarter of the field to the final whistle.Those proud men of the heather county gave a new lustre to mayo football and all us green and red walk two foot taller today.

One swallow does not a summer make said the kerryman next to me,my reply "maybe but isnt it a grand bird.

Good fun this evening,bumping into all me rebel buddies who spent all week fronting me for bets thinking easy money,might hire a photographer for the exchanges.Mhuigeo abu

Quote from: Mayo4Sam on August 01, 2011, 11:29:30 AM
Sore head this morning, well worth it, what a day in Croke Park

The only point I'd make is regarding AOS, I was of the same opinion as others here that he wasted a lot of ball but all the players I talked to yesterday picked him out, without fail, and I think it comes down to the hit on O'leary, he fuckin buried him and laid down a marker, we weren't going to be rolled over

Backed mayo at 6-1 at half time, ridiculous odds when we were 2 points down

That hit was a turning point. He got a yellow for it but it was well worth it. We hadn't harried enough up until then and A O'Se showed the way around midfield in those few mins. I agree he done a couple of stupid things with the ball and needs to work on those but his work rate was unbelievable y'day.
Also for the 2nd goal Caff was just as much at fault coming of his man to get an interception and missing it leaving his man free when really there was no need to go for the ball.

Overall we played well, worked hard and hit like I've never seen a Mayo team do before. We have a bit of improvement to do in the forward line for the Kerry game as we left a few points behind us.

I was not impressed with Kerry y'day. Limerick didn't show up and still missed an easy 1-3 before Kerry got the goal. Kerry's midfield is untested and Brosnan is a weak link at CB. Also it looked like Darran O'Sullivan picked up a serious enough injury. But with Galvin and T O'Se back and the best forward unit in Ireland they will still be undoubted favourites.

Very impressive display from Mayo. Recovered well from a tentative opening and got to grips at midfield, then started laying into Cork, especially AOS. Great drive from there to the finish to keep Cork living off scraps. Horan has certainly brought grit and toughness to Mayo, both mentally and physically. Kerry with their ageing defence and suspect midfield are vulnerable I reckon, if Mayo stay grounded. Best of Luck Mayo.

In my pub last night sitting at the bar the conversation between myself and a Rossie went like this.
B.W. ;  Jaze, that was a great win for Mayo.
Rossie; Feck them anyway, they are after taking the county hospital off us, they are after taking the Connaught Final off us and now they are in the A.I.F. Semi-Final.
B.W.; I'd say there was not one other county that would begrudge them todays win all the same, I was delighted for them anyway.......
(Now this is when the Cork man, without being asked his opinion stood in between where we were sitting at the bar to educate us)
Corkonian; "Well that was a disgrace from Counihan, he threw the match away.
B.W.; "What are you talking about, if its todays game then Mayo were better by far"
Corkonian; "It doesn't matter, Kerry will walk through them, they only won because Counihan threw the game away"
B.W. "Tell me this ?  Why the fook is it that any time Cork are bet that ye have to blame the manager, did ye not threathen to shoot one of them one time? Next you will be telling us that it was Frank Murphys fault!"

And that is when the powder keg ignited, and if said Corkman happens to read this may I return the compliments you extended when making your sudden departure  --   Foook you too and your friend that Frank Murphy kept off the team by deliberately changing training to a Wednesday night because he knew he couldn't train on that night.  Cork are history, gone, out of the championship, end of and in terms of accepting defeat Reillers is a walking saint compared with some of the street walkers.

Quote from: Bud Wiser on August 01, 2011, 02:44:16 PM
In my pub last night sitting at the bar the conversation between myself and a Rossie went like this.
B.W. ;  Jaze, that was a great win for Mayo.
Rossie; Feck them anyway, they are after taking the county hospital off us, they are after taking the Connaught Final off us and now they are in the A.I.F. Semi-Final.
B.W.; I'd say there was not one other county that would begrudge them todays win all the same, I was delighted for them anyway.......
(Now this is when the Cork man, without being asked his opinion stood in between where we were sitting at the bar to educate us)
Corkonian; "Well that was a disgrace from Counihan, he threw the match away.
B.W.; "What are you talking about, if its todays game then Mayo were better by far"
Corkonian; "It doesn't matter, Kerry will walk through them, they only won because Counihan threw the game away"
B.W. "Tell me this ?  Why the fook is it that any time Cork are bet that ye have to blame the manager, did ye not threathen to shoot one of them one time? Next you will be telling us that it was Frank Murphys fault!"

And that is when the powder keg ignited, and if said Corkman happens to read this may I return the compliments you extended when making your sudden departure  --   Foook you too and your friend that Frank Murphy kept off the team by deliberately changing training to a Wednesday night because he knew he couldn't train on that night.  Cork are history, gone, out of the championship, end of and in terms of accepting defeat Reillers is a walking saint compared with some of the street walkers.

:D Jaz that Cork lad really got on your nerves.

Quote from: Bud Wiser on August 01, 2011, 02:44:16 PM
In my pub last night sitting at the bar the conversation between myself and a Rossie went like this.
B.W. ;  Jaze, that was a great win for Mayo.
Rossie; Feck them anyway, they are after taking the county hospital off us, they are after taking the Connaught Final off us and now they are in the A.I.F. Semi-Final.
B.W.; I'd say there was not one other county that would begrudge them todays win all the same, I was delighted for them anyway.......
(Now this is when the Cork man, without being asked his opinion stood in between where we were sitting at the bar to educate us)
Corkonian; "Well that was a disgrace from Counihan, he threw the match away.
B.W.; "What are you talking about, if its todays game then Mayo were better by far"
Corkonian; "It doesn't matter, Kerry will walk through them, they only won because Counihan threw the game away"
B.W. "Tell me this ?  Why the fook is it that any time Cork are bet that ye have to blame the manager, did ye not threathen to shoot one of them one time? Next you will be telling us that it was Frank Murphys fault!"

And that is when the powder keg ignited, and if said Corkman happens to read this may I return the compliments you extended when making your sudden departure  --  Foook you too and your friend that Frank Murphy kept off the team by deliberately changing training to a Wednesday night because he knew he couldn't train on that night.  Cork are history, gone, out of the championship, end of and in terms of accepting defeat Reillers is a walking saint compared with some of the street walkers.

Another contender for post of the year !! Class stuff Bud.

Being a Mayo football supporter is a drug - an irrepressible, sometimes cruel, sometimes exhilerating drug.
Walking out of Croke Park yesterday in the mist, I said to one of the lads "Just when I thought the buzz was going out of following Mayo, they do this".
We go through bad days, we don't credit when we think we deserve it, we lose the run of ourselves when we actually put in decent performances. We sit there and listen to Spillane and Brolly sniggering at the state of us, and we have to bite the tongue.
The answer to those boys came yesterday - a performance full of confidence, committment and intelligence. Pride restored, and the summer's not over yet.

Massive result yesterday, despite the small crowd (< 23k apparently), there was some noise when Mayo started moving.

Plenty of things to improve on but JH and the team can enjoy this one for now.

Oh what can one say, Christ it's nearly 24 hours after throw in and I'm still delira about the win. Yesterday morning I was hoping they'd put up a good performance and not let Cork run through us like they did against Down. I certainly wasn't expecting a win however.

Hats off to all the Mayo team and panel and JH who's doing a good job (actually great job) with the rubble he had to take over from, Longford and Sligo last year.

Defensively got stuck in in the second half, couldn't fault any of them. Midfielders dominated possession all through and the forwards were absolutely immense as well. I thought it was going to be the same old story until McLoughlin fired the bullet of a shot into the net. Jesus it was a great goal.

Just also want to say thanks to all on here who wished us well from other counties. We definitely made lots of noise yesterday in Croker. I'm so so happy that went. Tubberman is correct. Mayo following is a drug, and it's performances like yesterday that make it so bloody addictive!

What i said after the Mayo v Galway game.

Quote from: ross4life on June 26, 2011, 05:54:24 PM
I always believed that London game would be a blessing in disguise! it's going to take a good team to beat them now.

I still believe this but the question is will Kerry be that good team?

Just looking back through some of the posts and its great to see a strong contingent of Mayo supporters resuming their positions on the board/field of play.

Aye, orangeman, he said (I think it was his brother) that was kept off the team by Frank Murphy because he changed training to the night he had to work, and he banging the counter with his fist (in the wrong pub) and then he started roaring "Foook you, fooook you fook you and Frank Murphy....

The old Sligo man beside me that trains the greyhounds had it bang on, he said "Everyone though once England took Mayo to extra time that they were no use, the same happened to us (Sligo) one year, we had to go over and bate America and then come back and play Mayo and after all that sez he, after batin America and Mayo they wanted us to play a team that were after been knocked out of the championship that were been given a second go though a side door" and me looking at yer man nearly eating the glass instead of drinking the pint out of it.

Quote from: ross4life on August 01, 2011, 04:02:30 PM
What i said after the Mayo v Galway game.

Quote from: ross4life on June 26, 2011, 05:54:24 PM
I always believed that London game would be a blessing in disguise! it's going to take a good team to beat them now.

I still believe this but the question is will Kerry be that good team?

Even if we do beat Kerry, and its a big if. Donegal, Dublin and Tryone are seruious opposition for Mayo. Back of the pack is about or correct position and Paddy Powers agree.

Well done Mayo. Stayed on to watch the game and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Kerry will be well advised to learn from the lesson that Cork received yesterday.

That was a great performance by the team and the management and was as enjoyable a day in Croker as I've ever had.

I agree with Mayo4sam regarding the hit on O'Leary. It turned the game and suddenly hard but fair hits started going in everywhere. We went from watching Cork win the breaks to dominating the breaks.

At half time we were two points down and I said to my companions that if two or three more players raised their games we would win it. At the time I felt that only really midfield, Trevor, Richie and Andy were really outgunning their direct opponent. After the game of course we all said that everyone played well which they did but it was only really in the second half. For example Kevin McLaughlin scored 1-1 in the first half (I think) but apart from that I didn't think at half time he was doing much else. In the second half though he improved enormously. I don't mean to be critical but that imho is an area where we need to improve the next day.

As for the performance:

Hennelly had a good game and will gain from the experience. He can take funny options when the ball arrives near the goal but he hasn't been caught out and is  becoming a big figure for us. Scored his 45 too at an important time.

FB line: This was the line that started the slowest but finished the strongest. Caff was unlucky to have a peno called against him but O'Connor had gone past him rather easily. However this was also the line that provided the fantastic resistance that saw Cork only score once in the second half. Again Cunniffe stopped another serious forward, I rate only Declan O'Sullivan higher than Donncha O'Connor at the moment. Higgins had the pace to keep Kerrigan, quiet particularly in the second half and he finished the point of the match.

HB line: On paper I was worried but they improved as the game went on. Richie was a bit quieter than usual but kept his man quiet and still got through a lot of work. Donal Vaughan struggled in the first half I thought but had a big big second half. I didn't think he was a CHB up to now but I might have to change my mind. Trevor had one of his best days in a Mayo jersey and I have to hold my hand up and say I was wrong about my reservations about him being a half back. He was as good as any half back on view over the weekend.

MF: SOS put in a great shift. His handling needs a bit of work but his fielding and work-rate were fantastic even when no one else was playing well he was putting up a fight. AOS got better as the game progressed and overall was a huge player for us. He needs to let the ball do the work a bit more but he will learn. Ronan also did well when he came in and now we have a serious looking set of midfielders.

HF: Alan had a great second half as did Kevin who struggled with cramp towards the end. Andy played more of a FF/CF but secured a huge amount of possession. If Alan Dillon is the best out-ball for our defenders Andy has become the best out-ball for everyone Alan. Time and time again he beat Sheilds to the ball and made good use of it.

FF: Varley was doing quite well when he got on the ball and scored the free to put us ahead. Doherty did well though when he came on. Freeman put in a monumental amount of work. It was amazing watching him pop up everywhere winning ball and finding a teammate. I'm guessing he was substituted due to tiredness as I was tired myself just watching him. COC, the sky is the limit for him. Strong, two footed, solid free-taker, gave a superb pass to set up a point. If he applies himself as professionally as his club-mate Alan Dillon has, he will be a star.

Pride restored. Now time to move on.

Higgins or Cunniffe v Gooch? Trevor or Richie v Galvin? I am really looking forward to it already.

Congratulations to Mayo, a great display at headquarters. All that talk about Cork being unbeatable this year now that they were at the Business end of the Championship - the truth is that any of the teams left in it can win it - you have to have belief that you can win it but you also have to respect and even a degree of fear that the opposition have a chance. If you don't then complacency sets in. Well done again to Mayo.

Muppet, can't agree with you on Kevin Mc, he was my MOTM, he won an amount of ball in the first half, a savage display

Quote from: muppet on August 01, 2011, 08:28:41 PM
That was a great performance by the team and the management and was as enjoyable a day in Croker as I've ever had.

I agree with Mayo4sam regarding the hit on O'Leary. It turned the game and suddenly hard but fair hits started going in everywhere. We went from watching Cork win the breaks to dominating the breaks.

At half time we were two points down and I said to my companions that if two or three more players raised their games we would win it. At the time I felt that only really midfield, Trevor, Richie and Andy were really outgunning their direct opponent. After the game of course we all said that everyone played well which they did but it was only really in the second half. For example Kevin McLaughlin scored 1-1 in the first half (I think) but apart from that I didn't think at half time he was doing much else. In the second half though he improved enormously. I don't mean to be critical but that imho is an area where we need to improve the next day.

As for the performance:

Hennelly had a good game and will gain from the experience. He can take funny options when the ball arrives near the goal but he hasn't been caught out and is  becoming a big figure for us. Scored his 45 too at an important time.

FB line: This was the line that started the slowest but finished the strongest. Caff was unlucky to have a peno called against him but O'Connor had gone past him rather easily. However this was also the line that provided the fantastic resistance that saw Cork only score once in the second half. Again Cunniffe stopped another serious forward, I rate only Declan O'Sullivan higher than Donncha O'Connor at the moment. Higgins had the pace to keep Kerrigan, quiet particularly in the second half and he finished the point of the match.

HB line: On paper I was worried but they improved as the game went on. Richie was a bit quieter than usual but kept his man quiet and still got through a lot of work. Donal Vaughan struggled in the first half I thought but had a big big second half. I didn't think he was a CHB up to now but I might have to change my mind. Trevor had one of his best days in a Mayo jersey and I have to hold my hand up and say I was wrong about my reservations about him being a half back. He was as good as any half back on view over the weekend.

MF: SOS put in a great shift. His handling needs a bit of work but his fielding and work-rate were fantastic even when no one else was playing well he was putting up a fight. AOS got better as the game progressed and overall was a huge player for us. He needs to let the ball do the work a bit more but he will learn. Ronan also did well when he came in and now we have a serious looking set of midfielders.

HF: Alan had a great second half as did Kevin who struggled with cramp towards the end. Andy played more of a FF/CF but secured a huge amount of possession. If Alan Dillon is the best out-ball for our defenders Andy has become the best out-ball for everyone Alan. Time and time again he beat Sheilds to the ball and made good use of it.

FF: Varley was doing quite well when he got on the ball and scored the free to put us ahead. Doherty did well though when he came on. Freeman put in a monumental amount of work. It was amazing watching him pop up everywhere winning ball and finding a teammate. I'm guessing he was substituted due to tiredness as I was tired myself just watching him. COC, the sky is the limit for him. Strong, two footed, solid free-taker, gave a superb pass to set up a point. If he applies himself as professionally as his club-mate Alan Dillon has, he will be a star.

Pride restored. Now time to move on.

Higgins or Cunniffe v Gooch? Trevor or Richie v Galvin? I am really looking forward to it already.

Good post Muppet. Still on a high from yesaterday. What a job James Horan has done along with his back room team. How good it was to see james Nallen out on the field talking to some of the younger lads.

Kerry next, we have had false dawns before, so the same again and i for one will be happy regardless of the result.

Also no more talk of "fair weather" fans, people have a lot of reasons for not turning up last sunday, some of them financial unfortunately. That goes for Billy Fitz. on MWR as well.

Still a day to savour.

I have to agree Kevin McLoughlin was superb.  Very strong and robust for a light looking lad.  He handled a power of ball and wasted nothing apart fromthe wide.

Well, what can I say about that. A super performance from the boys in green and red. All over the pitch men fighting with real pride in the jersey.

Management, players everyone fighting for the cause. No doubt about it the two O'Shea brothers have turned this team around. These men really give it everything. Aiden O'Shea got some criticism for a couple of handling errors but by god he made up for it with fight and steel. Hiomself and the brother really relished the midfield battle. I honestly couldn't see Seamus making it at senior level after last year. Without a league under his belt I wasnt even considering him an option for us in 2011. Well my God has he proved me wrong. The performances he is putting in this year are phenomenal. He is playing like a man who is at this for years. Himself and the brother beat the cork midfield hands down yesterday. 

Some of the new lads on the team are taking to this craic like a ducks to water. Richie Feeney is some half back. Tough as nails and great ability. Cillian O Connor, cool as the breeze under pressure and plenty of spirit in the lad.

Ive seen lads in league games over the past few years, Donie Vaughan, Kevin McLoughlin, Ger Cafferkey. Lads who to me looked like fine footballers. Great to see them starting to click as a team.

One thing that stands out for me yesterday. Around the 20 minute mark, things weren't going to great around the middle. James Nallen came on the pitch and spoke to the goalie, a couple of the half backs and Aiden O'Shea. I dont know what he said but the whole thing just seem to click into place after this.

So now its on to the Kingdom. Im not going to say much about this. Ill tell you one thing for sure though after seeing the attitude and dedication of this squad of players and management since the London game, I believe. I want to thank them for getting the belief back into the Mayo supporters and allowing us to dream once again

Quote from: An Gaeilgoir on August 01, 2011, 09:00:43 PM

Quote from: muppet on August 01, 2011, 08:28:41 PM
That was a great performance by the team and the management and was as enjoyable a day in Croker as I've ever had.

I agree with Mayo4sam regarding the hit on O'Leary. It turned the game and suddenly hard but fair hits started going in everywhere. We went from watching Cork win the breaks to dominating the breaks.

At half time we were two points down and I said to my companions that if two or three more players raised their games we would win it. At the time I felt that only really midfield, Trevor, Richie and Andy were really outgunning their direct opponent. After the game of course we all said that everyone played well which they did but it was only really in the second half. For example Kevin McLaughlin scored 1-1 in the first half (I think) but apart from that I didn't think at half time he was doing much else. In the second half though he improved enormously. I don't mean to be critical but that imho is an area where we need to improve the next day.

As for the performance:

Hennelly had a good game and will gain from the experience. He can take funny options when the ball arrives near the goal but he hasn't been caught out and is  becoming a big figure for us. Scored his 45 too at an important time.

FB line: This was the line that started the slowest but finished the strongest. Caff was unlucky to have a peno called against him but O'Connor had gone past him rather easily. However this was also the line that provided the fantastic resistance that saw Cork only score once in the second half. Again Cunniffe stopped another serious forward, I rate only Declan O'Sullivan higher than Donncha O'Connor at the moment. Higgins had the pace to keep Kerrigan, quiet particularly in the second half and he finished the point of the match.

HB line: On paper I was worried but they improved as the game went on. Richie was a bit quieter than usual but kept his man quiet and still got through a lot of work. Donal Vaughan struggled in the first half I thought but had a big big second half. I didn't think he was a CHB up to now but I might have to change my mind. Trevor had one of his best days in a Mayo jersey and I have to hold my hand up and say I was wrong about my reservations about him being a half back. He was as good as any half back on view over the weekend.

MF: SOS put in a great shift. His handling needs a bit of work but his fielding and work-rate were fantastic even when no one else was playing well he was putting up a fight. AOS got better as the game progressed and overall was a huge player for us. He needs to let the ball do the work a bit more but he will learn. Ronan also did well when he came in and now we have a serious looking set of midfielders.

HF: Alan had a great second half as did Kevin who struggled with cramp towards the end. Andy played more of a FF/CF but secured a huge amount of possession. If Alan Dillon is the best out-ball for our defenders Andy has become the best out-ball for everyone Alan. Time and time again he beat Sheilds to the ball and made good use of it.

FF: Varley was doing quite well when he got on the ball and scored the free to put us ahead. Doherty did well though when he came on. Freeman put in a monumental amount of work. It was amazing watching him pop up everywhere winning ball and finding a teammate. I'm guessing he was substituted due to tiredness as I was tired myself just watching him. COC, the sky is the limit for him. Strong, two footed, solid free-taker, gave a superb pass to set up a point. If he applies himself as professionally as his club-mate Alan Dillon has, he will be a star.

Pride restored. Now time to move on.

Higgins or Cunniffe v Gooch? Trevor or Richie v Galvin? I am really looking forward to it already.

Good post Muppet. Still on a high from yesaterday. What a job James Horan has done along with his back room team. How good it was to see james Nallen out on the field talking to some of the younger lads.

Kerry next, we have had false dawns before, so the same again and i for one will be happy regardless of the result.

Also no more talk of "fair weather" fans, people have a lot of reasons for not turning up last sunday, some of them financial unfortunately. That goes for Billy Fitz. on MWR as well.

Still a day to savour.

Your right, saw him telling Hennelly what to do with the kick outs after they were going against us. Just before the turn around if I remember rightly.

Seen as there are no cork men here, you'd have to say they'd be disappointed with counihan yesterday, how was shields left on Moran, he was destroyed, surely switching cadogan or cotter onto him would have been an idea?

Quote from: north down on August 01, 2011, 08:41:26 PM
Congratulations to Mayo, a great display at headquarters. All that talk about Cork being unbeatable this year now that they were at the Business end of the Championship - the truth is that any of the teams left in it can win it - you have to have belief that you can win it but you also have to respect and even a degree of fear that the opposition have a chance. If you don't then complacency sets in. Well done again to Mayo.

+1 Very well put.

Quote from: Mayo4Sam on August 01, 2011, 10:02:19 PM
Seen as there are no cork men here, you'd have to say they'd be disappointed with counihan yesterday, how was shields left on Moran, he was destroyed, surely switching cadogan or cotter onto him would have been an idea?

Ever tried marking someone good in 80 yards of space with your midfield catching absolutely nothing? I have and it ain't fun.

Cork's lack of a defensive system cost them yesterday. they could have had Cahalalane marking Moran yesterday and he'd have been roasted.

Corks entire gameplan was built around winning midfield. Yesterday was the first day they didnt for 2 years.

Expect Cork to come back with a radically different game-plan next year.

Quote from: INDIANA on August 01, 2011, 10:06:14 PM

Quote from: Mayo4Sam on August 01, 2011, 10:02:19 PM
Seen as there are no cork men here, you'd have to say they'd be disappointed with counihan yesterday, how was shields left on Moran, he was destroyed, surely switching cadogan or cotter onto him would have been an idea?

Ever tried marking someone good in 80 yards of space with your midfield catching absolutely nothing? I have and it ain't fun.

Cork's lack of a defensive system cost them yesterday. they could have had Cahalalane marking Moran yesterday and he'd have been roasted.

Corks entire gameplan was built around winning midfield. Yesterday was the first day they didnt for 2 years.

Expect Cork to come back with a radically different game-plan next year.

Cork didn't win midfield v us last year it wasn't until Murphy came on did they break even & Shine roasted Shields then Counihan switched Canty onto him to limit the influence.

Quote from: ross4life on August 01, 2011, 10:16:24 PM

Quote from: INDIANA on August 01, 2011, 10:06:14 PM

Quote from: Mayo4Sam on August 01, 2011, 10:02:19 PM
Seen as there are no cork men here, you'd have to say they'd be disappointed with counihan yesterday, how was shields left on Moran, he was destroyed, surely switching cadogan or cotter onto him would have been an idea?

Ever tried marking someone good in 80 yards of space with your midfield catching absolutely nothing? I have and it ain't fun.

Cork's lack of a defensive system cost them yesterday. they could have had Cahalalane marking Moran yesterday and he'd have been roasted.

Corks entire gameplan was built around winning midfield. Yesterday was the first day they didnt for 2 years.

Expect Cork to come back with a radically different game-plan next year.

Cork didn't win midfield v us last year it wasn't until Murphy came on did they break even & Shine roasted Shields then Counihan switched Canty onto him to limit the influence.

I would have said his influence was limited because he didnt get the ball.

Doesnt matter how good the back is.

In a pitch that size with ample possession the forward will always win in the abscence of a defensive system.

Dublin used to play like that and even the likes of Paddy Christie had rough days. You cant play in CP without some sort of a screen.

I'm not advocating Donegal's style. In my view thats going too far.

Quote from: INDIANA on August 01, 2011, 10:20:40 PM

Quote from: ross4life on August 01, 2011, 10:16:24 PM

Quote from: INDIANA on August 01, 2011, 10:06:14 PM

Quote from: Mayo4Sam on August 01, 2011, 10:02:19 PM
Seen as there are no cork men here, you'd have to say they'd be disappointed with counihan yesterday, how was shields left on Moran, he was destroyed, surely switching cadogan or cotter onto him would have been an idea?

Ever tried marking someone good in 80 yards of space with your midfield catching absolutely nothing? I have and it ain't fun.

Cork's lack of a defensive system cost them yesterday. they could have had Cahalalane marking Moran yesterday and he'd have been roasted.

Corks entire gameplan was built around winning midfield. Yesterday was the first day they didnt for 2 years.

Expect Cork to come back with a radically different game-plan next year.

Cork didn't win midfield v us last year it wasn't until Murphy came on did they break even & Shine roasted Shields then Counihan switched Canty onto him to limit the influence.

I would have said his influence was limited because he didnt get the ball.

Doesnt matter how good the back is.

In a pitch that size with ample possession the forward will always win in the abscence of a defensive system.

Dublin used to play like that and even the likes of Paddy Christie had rough days. You cant play in CP without some sort of a screen.

I'm not advocating Donegal's style. In my view thats going too far.

Plenty of ball was played in remember O'Gara was fit for us last year once they won more possession in midfield (thanks to the introduction of Murphy) they had a platform to beat us.

On Saturday both ourselves & Tyrone didn't play any sort of screen in front of the back line but you can be sure Mickey Harte will change his tactics for ye.

Going back to Mayo, Horan did his homework on Cork he put his best footballing forward on Shields because he has struggled in a battle before & the Cork midfield is over rated, again he crowded the midfield & won most of the "dirty ball" Horan learned loads from the midfield battle they had in the Connacht final.

I thought Mayo had a very slim chance of winning that game and if they were to win, two things had to happen. They had to start well and stick a couple of sucker punch goals in the second half. They did the opposite and won with a bit to spare. They were remarkable. The workrate was phenomenal. Horan has to take immense credit here for the attitude but, equally, for a huge attribute for their workrate - Mayo's phenomenal fitness levels. They talked about peaking at this time of year fitness wise, that wasn't idle talk. Add in that some players played well below their best and more made mistakes they won't be happy with and we can take confidence - Kerry will be a step up but we can improve too.

Mayo, we really are unique. Just when you least expect it, boom. They pull it out of the bag. I think another thing worth reflecting on is our defence. We had some arguments on here about the defence post Roscommon and there were concerns in the first fifteen minutes yesterday but, by the game's end, each Mayo defender was dominant on their opponent. We've conceded a combined total of four points in the last three second halves. Phenomenal.

On a different matter, there appears to be a clash over the club championship games this weekend. Horan wants them off, the board want them on and the latter appear to be staying firm.

But Sunday was special. Moysider rightly said that this was a game we had to win, strike in the first year and I was thinking that with twenty minutes to go. Heroic failure was not an option and no one knew that more than the players. A long way to go yet but we're All-Ireland contenders now. We'll take that.

Delighted with that win yesterday, been a good while since feeling like that after coming out of Croker. Writing here now with the influence of alcohol well gone and having watched the highlights on RTE player. Thought we were going to get steam rolled after 10 mins, but after that the lads were fantastic. On top of all that has been said here, it was also a great sight to see Mayo lads willing to really put their bodies on the line just to win breaks. That, the workrate and determination and a large dash of good football was great to see. Overall a lot of positives and a few small negatives which I'll save for the semi thread. But for now thanks to the players, James Horan and selectors, for a class performance yesterday.

Quote from: ross4life on August 01, 2011, 10:58:19 PM

Quote from: INDIANA on August 01, 2011, 10:20:40 PM

Quote from: ross4life on August 01, 2011, 10:16:24 PM

Quote from: INDIANA on August 01, 2011, 10:06:14 PM

Quote from: Mayo4Sam on August 01, 2011, 10:02:19 PM
Seen as there are no cork men here, you'd have to say they'd be disappointed with counihan yesterday, how was shields left on Moran, he was destroyed, surely switching cadogan or cotter onto him would have been an idea?

Ever tried marking someone good in 80 yards of space with your midfield catching absolutely nothing? I have and it ain't fun.

Cork's lack of a defensive system cost them yesterday. they could have had Cahalalane marking Moran yesterday and he'd have been roasted.

Corks entire gameplan was built around winning midfield. Yesterday was the first day they didnt for 2 years.

Expect Cork to come back with a radically different game-plan next year.

Cork didn't win midfield v us last year it wasn't until Murphy came on did they break even & Shine roasted Shields then Counihan switched Canty onto him to limit the influence.

I would have said his influence was limited because he didnt get the ball.

Doesnt matter how good the back is.

In a pitch that size with ample possession the forward will always win in the abscence of a defensive system.

Dublin used to play like that and even the likes of Paddy Christie had rough days. You cant play in CP without some sort of a screen.

I'm not advocating Donegal's style. In my view thats going too far.

Plenty of ball was played in remember O'Gara was fit for us last year once they won more possession in midfield (thanks to the introduction of Murphy) they had a platform to beat us.

On Saturday both ourselves & Tyrone didn't play any sort of screen in front of the back line but you can be sure Mickey Harte will change his tactics for ye.

Going back to Mayo, Horan did his homework on Cork he put his best footballing forward on Shields because he has struggled in a battle before & the Cork midfield is over rated, again he crowded the midfield & won most of the "dirty ball" Horan learned loads from the midfield battle they had in the Connacht final.

Maybe - and Ros s Mannion and Finneran are as good a pair as there is in it but Cork have more than a pairing. Huge men like Miskella and Leary and Kissane driving onto everything that moves around 2 massive midfielders. Thats a huge ask and I ve never seen that a middle third as intimidating as that before to be honest. It would be easy enough to hang your hat at it.

  Alright, nobody can mention league games, but the Cork match in McHale Park was very revealing. Alan O Connor and Pierce O Neill huffed and puffed like the big bad wolf that day but looked ordinary. Most people thought they had a different level. I didn t and neither did the Mayo players, JH or CC either by the looks of things. Those big guys look scary but don t like it out of their comfort zone. Unlike the O Se boys - I wouldn t swap them for a midfield pairing in the country. And then McGarrity. If he can get back to fitness, he would be 'the man' as regards midfielders around. And maybe he will be needed to do another job but more than aboiut this anon.

I m sure McGar and other Mayo lads are aware of how Jack O Connor dissed them and yearrah'd them away in his book a few years ago. Good book as well for the most part. Mayo have alot to bring into this game and any motivation is good motivation.

Cork seemed to realise they had to win the game fast and early on Sunday. They also realised - contrary to expert opinion that they would not win their own kick outs long and smashed up Mayo s long kicks early. Again that was a lesson they learned in Castlebar, and once they could not dominate they began to visibly lose belief.

Well done James Horan and Mayo. Brilliant display of work, pressure, tackling and heart. Kicked over some great scores when needed, but we will have to more clinical the next day and avoid dropping the ball into the keepers hands when the game is the melting pot.

The type of workrate the team displayed will keep us competitive for the rest of the championship

QuoteOn a different matter, there appears to be a clash over the club championship games this weekend. Horan wants them off, the board want them on and the latter appear to be staying firm.

I dont think managers should have any qualms about players playing club championship 2 weeks before an inter county match. I agree 1 week is too much but managers should be reasonable and allow players to play 2 weeks beforehand.

People have been saying how Cork have a team to dominate the future but of those that played on Sunday, the following 8 players will be in their 30s for next year's championship
A Quirke (36), N O'Leary (30), G Canty (32), J Miskella (34), P Kissane (32), N Murphy (34), D O'Connor (31), P O'Neill (33)

So with Cork, Kerry and Tyrone marquee players of the last 6 years hitting their 30s there's room for other teams to come in and dominate.

Starting this year ?

Quote from: blanketattack on August 02, 2011, 11:49:11 AM
People have been saying how Cork have a team to dominate the future but of those that played on Sunday, the following 8 players will be in their 30s for next year's championship
A Quirke (36), N O'Leary (30), G Canty (32), J Miskella (34), P Kissane (32), N Murphy (34), D O'Connor (31), P O'Neill (33)

So with Cork, Kerry and Tyrone marquee players of the last 6 years hitting their 30s there's room for other teams to come in and dominate.

Cork have a serious amount of underage players to come through yet. They aint going anywhere.

Quote from: moysider on August 02, 2011, 12:09:13 AM
Maybe - and Ros s Mannion and Finneran are as good a pair as there is in it but Cork have more than a pairing. Huge men like Miskella and Leary and Kissane driving onto everything that moves around 2 massive midfielders. Thats a huge ask and I ve never seen that a middle third as intimidating as that before to be honest. It would be easy enough to hang your hat at it.

  Alright, nobody can mention league games, but the Cork match in McHale Park was very revealing. Alan O Connor and Pierce O Neill huffed and puffed like the big bad wolf that day but looked ordinary. Most people thought they had a different level. I didn t and neither did the Mayo players, JH or CC either by the looks of things. Those big guys look scary but don t like it out of their comfort zone. Unlike the O Se boys - I wouldn t swap them for a midfield pairing in the country. And then McGarrity. If he can get back to fitness, he would be 'the man' as regards midfielders around. And maybe he will be needed to do another job but more than aboiut this anon.

I m sure McGar and other Mayo lads are aware of how Jack O Connor dissed them and yearrah'd them away in his book a few years ago. Good book as well for the most part. Mayo have alot to bring into this game and any motivation is good motivation.

Cork seemed to realise they had to win the game fast and early on Sunday. They also realised - contrary to expert opinion that they would not win their own kick outs long and smashed up Mayo s long kicks early. Again that was a lesson they learned in Castlebar, and once they could not dominate they began to visibly lose belief.

Will Horan have the cojones for the basketball match up from the start? I'd say Mickey Moran would tell him not to wait till the damage is done.

Quote from: passedit on August 02, 2011, 12:10:30 PM

Quote from: moysider on August 02, 2011, 12:09:13 AM
Maybe - and Ros s Mannion and Finneran are as good a pair as there is in it but Cork have more than a pairing. Huge men like Miskella and Leary and Kissane driving onto everything that moves around 2 massive midfielders. Thats a huge ask and I ve never seen that a middle third as intimidating as that before to be honest. It would be easy enough to hang your hat at it.

  Alright, nobody can mention league games, but the Cork match in McHale Park was very revealing. Alan O Connor and Pierce O Neill huffed and puffed like the big bad wolf that day but looked ordinary. Most people thought they had a different level. I didn t and neither did the Mayo players, JH or CC either by the looks of things. Those big guys look scary but don t like it out of their comfort zone. Unlike the O Se boys - I wouldn t swap them for a midfield pairing in the country. And then McGarrity. If he can get back to fitness, he would be 'the man' as regards midfielders around. And maybe he will be needed to do another job but more than aboiut this anon.

I m sure McGar and other Mayo lads are aware of how Jack O Connor dissed them and yearrah'd them away in his book a few years ago. Good book as well for the most part. Mayo have alot to bring into this game and any motivation is good motivation.

Cork seemed to realise they had to win the game fast and early on Sunday. They also realised - contrary to expert opinion that they would not win their own kick outs long and smashed up Mayo s long kicks early. Again that was a lesson they learned in Castlebar, and once they could not dominate they began to visibly lose belief.

Will Horan have the cojones for the basketball match up from the start? I'd say Mickey Moran would tell him not to wait till the damage is done.

I d say he will have sleepless nights deciding this one. Even with the likes of Freeman and McL covering back we ll struggle man to man. There are no satisfactory match ups in my opinion. Tyrone have shown how to cope with the threat and you can be sure it has not been lost on JH.

Quote from: moysider on August 02, 2011, 12:19:46 PM

Quote from: passedit on August 02, 2011, 12:10:30 PM

Quote from: moysider on August 02, 2011, 12:09:13 AM
Maybe - and Ros s Mannion and Finneran are as good a pair as there is in it but Cork have more than a pairing. Huge men like Miskella and Leary and Kissane driving onto everything that moves around 2 massive midfielders. Thats a huge ask and I ve never seen that a middle third as intimidating as that before to be honest. It would be easy enough to hang your hat at it.

  Alright, nobody can mention league games, but the Cork match in McHale Park was very revealing. Alan O Connor and Pierce O Neill huffed and puffed like the big bad wolf that day but looked ordinary. Most people thought they had a different level. I didn t and neither did the Mayo players, JH or CC either by the looks of things. Those big guys look scary but don t like it out of their comfort zone. Unlike the O Se boys - I wouldn t swap them for a midfield pairing in the country. And then McGarrity. If he can get back to fitness, he would be 'the man' as regards midfielders around. And maybe he will be needed to do another job but more than aboiut this anon.

I m sure McGar and other Mayo lads are aware of how Jack O Connor dissed them and yearrah'd them away in his book a few years ago. Good book as well for the most part. Mayo have alot to bring into this game and any motivation is good motivation.

Cork seemed to realise they had to win the game fast and early on Sunday. They also realised - contrary to expert opinion that they would not win their own kick outs long and smashed up Mayo s long kicks early. Again that was a lesson they learned in Castlebar, and once they could not dominate they began to visibly lose belief.

Will Horan have the cojones for the basketball match up from the start? I'd say Mickey Moran would tell him not to wait till the damage is done.

I d say he will have sleepless nights deciding this one. Even with the likes of Freeman and McL covering back we ll struggle man to man. There are no satisfactory match ups in my opinion. Tyrone have shown how to cope with the threat and you can be sure it has not been lost on JH.

There won't be any backing down this time i feel. Forget about the national anthem as there will be plenty of digs during it.

McGarrity at full-back? A great shout. I don't think there'll be sleepless nights at all. Cafferkey isn't up to it in the air against Donaghy and while people might say that Alan Feeney did well vs Donaghy in the League game, the reality is that he was hanging on by his fingertips and Donaghy didn't leave first gear.

Quote from: INDIANA on August 02, 2011, 12:03:40 PM

Quote from: blanketattack on August 02, 2011, 11:49:11 AM
People have been saying how Cork have a team to dominate the future but of those that played on Sunday, the following 8 players will be in their 30s for next year's championship
A Quirke (36), N O'Leary (30), G Canty (32), J Miskella (34), P Kissane (32), N Murphy (34), D O'Connor (31), P O'Neill (33)

So with Cork, Kerry and Tyrone marquee players of the last 6 years hitting their 30s there's room for other teams to come in and dominate.

Cork have a serious amount of underage players to come through yet. They aint going anywhere.

Yes but nothing like the underage talent they got from the 07,09 U21 All Irelands. The one thing we learned about Cork this year was they don't have that huge panel that's better than the rest as a few injuries showed that. Also Kerry have a lot of 30 something players.

Ust watching it again on Setanta, unreal block from Higgins on Kerrigan.

Also vaughans yellow, I was watching him at the time, O'Neill hit him two elbows on the top of the head before he hit him a belt, should have been booked as well

Quote from: RedandGreenSniper on August 02, 2011, 02:40:21 PM
McGarrity at full-back? A great shout. I don't think there'll be sleepless nights at all. Cafferkey isn't up to it in the air against Donaghy and while people might say that Alan Feeney did well vs Donaghy in the League game, the reality is that he was hanging on by his fingertips and Donaghy didn't leave first gear.

McGarrity would be great for the highballs in, but I would worry that his habit of indiscipline (well previous years) might cost us a penalty.

Quote from: Blowitupref on August 02, 2011, 03:39:16 PM

Quote from: INDIANA on August 02, 2011, 12:03:40 PM

Quote from: blanketattack on August 02, 2011, 11:49:11 AM
People have been saying how Cork have a team to dominate the future but of those that played on Sunday, the following 8 players will be in their 30s for next year's championship
A Quirke (36), N O'Leary (30), G Canty (32), J Miskella (34), P Kissane (32), N Murphy (34), D O'Connor (31), P O'Neill (33)

So with Cork, Kerry and Tyrone marquee players of the last 6 years hitting their 30s there's room for other teams to come in and dominate.

Cork have a serious amount of underage players to come through yet. They aint going anywhere.

Yes but nothing like the underage talent they got from the 07,09 U21 All Irelands. The one thing we learned about Cork this year was they don't have that huge panel that's better than the rest as a few injuries showed that. Also Kerry have a lot of 30 something players.

Believe me when I say this Cork will have a better side then the current one in 2 years. Cork will rule the roost in Munster for quite some time very soon.

No panel could sustain the losses of 3 key forwards. Mayo wouldnt look too clever without O Connor, Moran and Freeman.

Kerry will struggle for a little while alright.

Id also retract my MOTM call for KMcL, good game but saffron and blue tinted glasses. Instead I'd go for AOS, phenomenal amount of ball, just pipping Andy IMO

Quote from: Mayo4Sam on August 02, 2011, 05:45:42 PM
Id also retract my MOTM call for KMcL, good game but saffron and blue tinted glasses. Instead I'd go for AOS, phenomenal amount of ball, just pipping Andy IMO

I actually thought MOTM was SOS, followed by AOS, followed by Andy Moran.

Quote from: AZOffaly on August 02, 2011, 05:47:03 PM

Quote from: Mayo4Sam on August 02, 2011, 05:45:42 PM
Id also retract my MOTM call for KMcL, good game but saffron and blue tinted glasses. Instead I'd go for AOS, phenomenal amount of ball, just pipping Andy IMO

I actually thought MOTM was SOS, followed by AOS, followed by Andy Moran.

Same as Az thought he was excellent also off topic  thought he looks the cut of Richard Dunne

Quote from: AZOffaly on August 02, 2011, 05:47:03 PM

Quote from: Mayo4Sam on August 02, 2011, 05:45:42 PM
Id also retract my MOTM call for KMcL, good game but saffron and blue tinted glasses. Instead I'd go for AOS, phenomenal amount of ball, just pipping Andy IMO

I actually thought MOTM was SOS, followed by AOS, followed by Andy Moran.

Me too, I thought the others took time to get into the game but SOS was winning ball from the start.

Quote from: INDIANA on August 02, 2011, 05:39:08 PM

Quote from: Blowitupref on August 02, 2011, 03:39:16 PM

Quote from: INDIANA on August 02, 2011, 12:03:40 PM

Quote from: blanketattack on August 02, 2011, 11:49:11 AM
People have been saying how Cork have a team to dominate the future but of those that played on Sunday, the following 8 players will be in their 30s for next year's championship
A Quirke (36), N O'Leary (30), G Canty (32), J Miskella (34), P Kissane (32), N Murphy (34), D O'Connor (31), P O'Neill (33)

So with Cork, Kerry and Tyrone marquee players of the last 6 years hitting their 30s there's room for other teams to come in and dominate.

Cork have a serious amount of underage players to come through yet. They aint going anywhere.

Yes but nothing like the underage talent they got from the 07,09 U21 All Irelands. The one thing we learned about Cork this year was they don't have that huge panel that's better than the rest as a few injuries showed that. Also Kerry have a lot of 30 something players.

Believe me when I say this Cork will have a better side then the current one in 2 years. Cork will rule the roost in Munster for quite some time very soon.

No panel could sustain the losses of 3 key forwards. Mayo wouldnt look too clever without O Connor, Moran and Freeman.

Kerry will struggle for a little while alright.

All well in hindsight however here's what you said before the game.

Quote
Who will they be missing?

Goulding's injury isnt serious and they can probably get away with not playing him next week.

Colm O Neill is  a loss but he didnt start for Cork last year.

Sheehan is a  loss and Canty is back fit now.

This injury list is a red herring in my view.

Mayo need a miracle.

I cant see anyone beating Cork.

It's worth giving a shout out for Tipp talent coming through & Cork,Kerry won't have it their own way in Munster.

Quote from: muppet on August 02, 2011, 05:57:47 PM

Quote from: AZOffaly on August 02, 2011, 05:47:03 PM

Quote from: Mayo4Sam on August 02, 2011, 05:45:42 PM
Id also retract my MOTM call for KMcL, good game but saffron and blue tinted glasses. Instead I'd go for AOS, phenomenal amount of ball, just pipping Andy IMO

I actually thought MOTM was SOS, followed by AOS, followed by Andy Moran.

Me too, I thought the others took time to get into the game but SOS was winning ball from the start.

No one with a word for Trevor Mortimer? I thought he did an outstanding job on Paddy Kelly who is the one who makes Cork tick. Any time Mayo got the ball he was away up the field like a march hare. Not much between him and the three named above but Mortimer pips it for me.

Quote from: Croí na hÉireann on August 03, 2011, 11:36:43 AM

Quote from: muppet on August 02, 2011, 05:57:47 PM

Quote from: AZOffaly on August 02, 2011, 05:47:03 PM

Quote from: Mayo4Sam on August 02, 2011, 05:45:42 PM
Id also retract my MOTM call for KMcL, good game but saffron and blue tinted glasses. Instead I'd go for AOS, phenomenal amount of ball, just pipping Andy IMO

I actually thought MOTM was SOS, followed by AOS, followed by Andy Moran.

Me too, I thought the others took time to get into the game but SOS was winning ball from the start.

No one with a word for Trevor Mortimer? I thought he did an outstanding job on Paddy Kelly who is the one who makes Cork tick. Any time Mayo got the ball he was away up the field like a march hare. Not much between him and the three named above but Mortimer pips it for me.

Prpbably his best performance in a Mayo jersey and as you said Kelly is some player. Galvin the next day or Declan O'Sullivan for Trevor?

Would probably have Trevor on Galvin, in terms of stamina and physicality he is probably the best suited to him. While I reckon Vaghan could track Declan O'Sullivan well enough, would he have the pace to stay with him when O'Sullivan runs at him?

Well done Mayo, much the hungrier team and deserving of your win.
If you bring the same intensity and aggression to Kerry you will beat them, theyre no great shakes, they should hold no fear for you now.

12mins 21 seconds...one very happy ballinman  :D....even got a shake of a hand from a friend from Meath...shows you what type of day it was.jeez!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgKrctUQDPU

Quote from: ballinaman on August 03, 2011, 02:43:57 PM
12mins 21 seconds...one very happy ballinman  :D....even got a shake of a hand from a friend from Meath...shows you what type of day it was.jeez!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgKrctUQDPU

Congrats to ballinaman for getting televised not once, but TWICE! ;D

Quote from: Farrandeelin on August 03, 2011, 03:34:26 PM

Quote from: ballinaman on August 03, 2011, 02:43:57 PM
12mins 21 seconds...one very happy ballinman  :D....even got a shake of a hand from a friend from Meath...shows you what type of day it was.jeez!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgKrctUQDPU

Congrats to ballinaman for getting televised not once, but TWICE! ;D

Cameras must have picked up on the severe tension coming from that part of the hogan alright  :D

Quote from: muppet on August 03, 2011, 12:01:41 PM

Quote from: Croí na hÉireann on August 03, 2011, 11:36:43 AM

Quote from: muppet on August 02, 2011, 05:57:47 PM

Quote from: AZOffaly on August 02, 2011, 05:47:03 PM

Quote from: Mayo4Sam on August 02, 2011, 05:45:42 PM
Id also retract my MOTM call for KMcL, good game but saffron and blue tinted glasses. Instead I'd go for AOS, phenomenal amount of ball, just pipping Andy IMO

I actually thought MOTM was SOS, followed by AOS, followed by Andy Moran.

Me too, I thought the others took time to get into the game but SOS was winning ball from the start.

No one with a word for Trevor Mortimer? I thought he did an outstanding job on Paddy Kelly who is the one who makes Cork tick. Any time Mayo got the ball he was away up the field like a march hare. Not much between him and the three named above but Mortimer pips it for me.

Prpbably his best performance in a Mayo jersey and as you said Kelly is some player. Galvin the next day or Declan O'Sullivan for Trevor?

Has to be Declan O'Sullivan for me, that's the form guy Mayo have to target. Get him thinking by having Mortimer bombing forward at every opportunity.

Quote from: Croí na hÉireann on August 03, 2011, 03:56:15 PM

Quote from: muppet on August 03, 2011, 12:01:41 PM

Quote from: Croí na hÉireann on August 03, 2011, 11:36:43 AM

Quote from: muppet on August 02, 2011, 05:57:47 PM

Quote from: AZOffaly on August 02, 2011, 05:47:03 PM

Quote from: Mayo4Sam on August 02, 2011, 05:45:42 PM
Id also retract my MOTM call for KMcL, good game but saffron and blue tinted glasses. Instead I'd go for AOS, phenomenal amount of ball, just pipping Andy IMO

I actually thought MOTM was SOS, followed by AOS, followed by Andy Moran.

Me too, I thought the others took time to get into the game but SOS was winning ball from the start.

No one with a word for Trevor Mortimer? I thought he did an outstanding job on Paddy Kelly who is the one who makes Cork tick. Any time Mayo got the ball he was away up the field like a march hare. Not much between him and the three named above but Mortimer pips it for me.

Prpbably his best performance in a Mayo jersey and as you said Kelly is some player. Galvin the next day or Declan O'Sullivan for Trevor?

Has to be Declan O'Sullivan for me, that's the form guy Mayo have to target. Get him thinking by having Mortimer bombing forward at every opportunity.

It is a bit scary actually when you think about it.

Ideally I would like Keith Higgins on Declan but we need his pace for Darren and maybe his defending for the Gooch. Tom Cunniffe is having a great year as a marker and is very quick, so maybe he could follow Gooch  leaving Keith on Darren. Trevor could go around the field with Galvin which might suit us leaving probably Richie on Donncha Walsh and Vaughan on Declan.

Simple, did I leave anyone out?

Quote from: ballinaman on August 03, 2011, 02:43:57 PM
12mins 21 seconds...one very happy ballinman  :D....even got a shake of a hand from a friend from Meath...shows you what type of day it was.jeez!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgKrctUQDPU

good stuff ballinaman . Ya have a friend from Meath  :o

Quote from: the Deel Rover on August 03, 2011, 04:05:49 PM

Quote from: ballinaman on August 03, 2011, 02:43:57 PM
12mins 21 seconds...one very happy ballinman  :D....even got a shake of a hand from a friend from Meath...shows you what type of day it was.jeez!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgKrctUQDPU

good stuff ballinaman . Ya have a friend from Meath  :o

I know  :D I was as shocked as anyone!

Quote from: muppet on August 03, 2011, 04:05:12 PM

Quote from: Croí na hÉireann on August 03, 2011, 03:56:15 PM

Quote from: muppet on August 03, 2011, 12:01:41 PM

Quote from: Croí na hÉireann on August 03, 2011, 11:36:43 AM

Quote from: muppet on August 02, 2011, 05:57:47 PM

Quote from: AZOffaly on August 02, 2011, 05:47:03 PM

Quote from: Mayo4Sam on August 02, 2011, 05:45:42 PM
Id also retract my MOTM call for KMcL, good game but saffron and blue tinted glasses. Instead I'd go for AOS, phenomenal amount of ball, just pipping Andy IMO

I actually thought MOTM was SOS, followed by AOS, followed by Andy Moran.

Me too, I thought the others took time to get into the game but SOS was winning ball from the start.

No one with a word for Trevor Mortimer? I thought he did an outstanding job on Paddy Kelly who is the one who makes Cork tick. Any time Mayo got the ball he was away up the field like a march hare. Not much between him and the three named above but Mortimer pips it for me.

Prpbably his best performance in a Mayo jersey and as you said Kelly is some player. Galvin the next day or Declan O'Sullivan for Trevor?

Has to be Declan O'Sullivan for me, that's the form guy Mayo have to target. Get him thinking by having Mortimer bombing forward at every opportunity.

It is a bit scary actually when you think about it.

Ideally I would like Keith Higgins on Declan but we need his pace for Darren and maybe his defending for the Gooch. Tom Cunniffe is having a great year as a marker and is very quick, so maybe he could follow Gooch  leaving Keith on Darren. Trevor could go around the field with Galvin which might suit us leaving probably Richie on Donncha Walsh and Vaughan on Declan.

Simple, did I leave anyone out?

Scary is right. I was gonna suggest Higgins for Declan alright but then I saw the Gooch completely unmarked inside in the corner so back Higgins had to go. Darran's strain has done ye a favour though, even if he starts he won't be 100% right/on his game in 3 weeks. I'd have Cunniffe picking him up and switching onto Declan when he moves inside. I'd be most worried about Cafferkey in full back, O'Connor had him in all sorts of bother the last day. Who'd be a manager?

Quote from: Croí na hÉireann on August 03, 2011, 04:25:37 PM

Quote from: muppet on August 03, 2011, 04:05:12 PM

Quote from: Croí na hÉireann on August 03, 2011, 03:56:15 PM

Quote from: muppet on August 03, 2011, 12:01:41 PM

Quote from: Croí na hÉireann on August 03, 2011, 11:36:43 AM

Quote from: muppet on August 02, 2011, 05:57:47 PM

Quote from: AZOffaly on August 02, 2011, 05:47:03 PM

Quote from: Mayo4Sam on August 02, 2011, 05:45:42 PM
Id also retract my MOTM call for KMcL, good game but saffron and blue tinted glasses. Instead I'd go for AOS, phenomenal amount of ball, just pipping Andy IMO

I actually thought MOTM was SOS, followed by AOS, followed by Andy Moran.

Me too, I thought the others took time to get into the game but SOS was winning ball from the start.

No one with a word for Trevor Mortimer? I thought he did an outstanding job on Paddy Kelly who is the one who makes Cork tick. Any time Mayo got the ball he was away up the field like a march hare. Not much between him and the three named above but Mortimer pips it for me.

Prpbably his best performance in a Mayo jersey and as you said Kelly is some player. Galvin the next day or Declan O'Sullivan for Trevor?

Has to be Declan O'Sullivan for me, that's the form guy Mayo have to target. Get him thinking by having Mortimer bombing forward at every opportunity.

It is a bit scary actually when you think about it.

Ideally I would like Keith Higgins on Declan but we need his pace for Darren and maybe his defending for the Gooch. Tom Cunniffe is having a great year as a marker and is very quick, so maybe he could follow Gooch  leaving Keith on Darren. Trevor could go around the field with Galvin which might suit us leaving probably Richie on Donncha Walsh and Vaughan on Declan.

Simple, did I leave anyone out?

Scary is right. I was gonna suggest Higgins for Declan alright but then I saw the Gooch completely unmarked inside in the corner so back Higgins had to go. Darran's strain has done ye a favour though, even if he starts he won't be 100% right/on his game in 3 weeks. I'd have Cunniffe picking him up and switching onto Declan when he moves inside. I'd be most worried about Cafferkey in full back, O'Connor had him in all sorts of bother the last day. Who'd be a manager?

This is something along the likes of what I would like to see:

Trev Mort         Vaughan                       Richie Feeney
Paul Galvin    Declan O'Sullivan    Donnchadh Walsh

Cunniffe            Alan Feeney                  Keith Higgins                                                
Colm Cooper    Kieran Donaghy       Darren O'Sullivan

RTE player now showing the Sunday game for the rest of us not on the Island of Ireland. Just saw McLoughlins goal there for the first time since Sunday and it was some distance he brought it. More impressed than I was on the day. His point was impressive too. Wonder had Paul Kerrigans first point chance have come to a Kerry forward, would it have been a goal shot! The importance of Keith Higgins save cannot be underestimated, another goal there and it might have been curtains.

Right back to the match.

My thoughts on it... http://shane-sportsramblings.blogspot.com/2011/08/rock-on-rockall-and-wests-awake.html (http://shane-sportsramblings.blogspot.com/2011/08/rock-on-rockall-and-wests-awake.html)

Quote from: AZOffaly on August 04, 2011, 01:13:47 PM
My thoughts on it... http://shane-sportsramblings.blogspot.com/2011/08/rock-on-rockall-and-wests-awake.html (http://shane-sportsramblings.blogspot.com/2011/08/rock-on-rockall-and-wests-awake.html)

Well done on the blog AZ

*bookmarked*  ;D

Quote from: AbbeySider on August 04, 2011, 01:48:58 PM

Quote from: AZOffaly on August 04, 2011, 01:13:47 PM
My thoughts on it... http://shane-sportsramblings.blogspot.com/2011/08/rock-on-rockall-and-wests-awake.html (http://shane-sportsramblings.blogspot.com/2011/08/rock-on-rockall-and-wests-awake.html)

Well done on the blog AZ

*bookmarked*  ;D

Ditto & ditto.

Good stuff AZ.

Good stuff Az  :) Heres are Dara o'se's thoughts on the match


GAA: THE MIDDLE THIRD: Their close call in London seems so long ago now as James Horan's men have pushed on in the championship to a point where they will pose Kerry a real challenge in the semi-final

YOU KNOW the attendance figure is Croke Park is going to be in trouble when you turn up looking to park your car and find that it's an absolute doddle. I couldn't believe how simple it was to get in and out of Drumcondra on Sunday. There was just nobody there. It was nearly surreal actually. I heard they got 22,000 in the end, but the place is that big you wouldn't see 22,000 inside it. The atmosphere was non-existent, especially for the first game.

Even so, it was Mayo's day. No doubt about it. Right from the throw-in, you could see that they were going to give Cork a game. Being very honest about it, I didn't think they were going to win, especially with Cork six points up after 15 minutes. But you could still see they were going to throw everything at it.

Once they found their feet, they kicked on and got good scores any time Cork looked like making a shape.

The thing that stood out for me – and it's something I've never seen from a Mayo side in my time – was that they were fairly physical. They're big right across the pitch. Even the young corner forward Cillian O'Connor, who was playing in his first match at Croke Park, had serious size and definition in his thighs. He looked like anything but a typical corner forward playing his first year out of minor. He's probably about 13 or 14 stone, a big garsún.

Mayo's tactics were perfect. It was a classic case of attacking a team at its strongest point. Andy Moran gave Michael Shields a chasing and players like Kevin McLoughlin and Alan Dillon ran right at their half-back line.

I remember we did something similar with Kerry in the 2009 All-Ireland final. Cork's midfield and half-back line was where they were perceived to be strongest so we sent Tadhg Kennelly to bring Graham Canty on a tour of Croke Park. It was purely to put them on the back foot. If they saw their strongest line struggling, they could lose heart.

Mayo did the same on Sunday. With Shields in trouble at full back and with Noel O'Leary and John Miskella under serious pressure, Cork struggled. Alan O'Connor was probably one of the top two or three midfielders in the country coming into Sunday's game but the two young O'Sheas got in amongst him and put him off his stride. I know Aidan has taken a lot of the plaudits, but I actually would have said that Séamus had the bigger impact of the two. The overall effect was to disrupt Cork in the very areas they'd expect to dominate.

Take a bow, James Horan.

He and Jimmy McGuinness deserve huge praise for the way they've kicked on since winning their provincial titles. They haven't rested on their laurels, they haven't folded their tents and treated the rest of the year as a bonus, despite the fact that they had every reason to. If both Mayo and Donegal ended the year with provincial titles and quarter-final appearances, there wouldn't be a man, woman or child who'd find fault with them.

But they knuckled down and went after it and knocked out two of the fancied teams for the All-Ireland. More than anything, it's that attitude that was impressive.

Because it's very easy when the whole country expects you to get beaten to just give into it and accept the consensus. They were written off by everybody, myself included on this page last week. I didn't give them the credit they deserved. When a manager can take that and turn it around, get his players to use it as motivation, he's done his job. That comes from knowing your players and getting them to trust you and each other.

Whether they can do it against Kerry is another matter. One thing they will have going for them is that they'll be coming in on a high, as opposed to Kerry who will have to lift themselves for it after a nothing quarter-final.

The long and short of it is Kerry would have benefited more from an A versus B game in Killarney. The only real worth of it was to get game-time into the likes of Paul Galvin and Tomás Ó Sé.

I heard people being critical afterwards about Galvin's performance, but I thought they were judging him on the wrong basis.

If you take the little bits and pieces of his game that are the most important – turning over possession, gathering up breaking ball, linking play – he did what he needed to. He didn't score, but there were plenty of men around him who did.

You have to remember this was the first time he started a championship game since May, 2010. He hasn't actually played a full 70 minutes for Kerry in the championship since the 2009 final. This was a game he badly needed so that he could get sharpened up again. The same goes for Tomás, who is also returning to fitness.

I'd be more concerned about Kieran Donaghy's form than Paul Galvin's, to be honest. After his excellent performance against Cork, he just didn't look tuned in on Sunday. Whether it was through lack of interest or what, I don't know. But they'll need him firing on all cylinders to beat Mayo.

The game itself went according to everything that had been predicted for it. You've got to hand it to the bookies – it's not often they're very far out. The over/under bet for the score Kerry would run up was 22.5 before the game and they ended up scoring 1-20. The handicap was nine points and they won by 13. It was one-way traffic.

The highlight was Darran O'Sullivan's goal, of course. I would give it goal of the season, although because it was a soccer-style goal, people will probably have a problem with it. I was sitting beside Mick Galwey at the game and when Darran scored it, Mick just laughed and said it was Jamaica all over again.

Mick had been out there on a Kerry team holiday with us in 2009 when Darran was captain of the team that won the All-Ireland. We were playing a soccer match one day and Darran was full of these little flicks and tricks.

I didn't think we'd ever see him try it on Croke Park though.

But then, did we ever think we'd see Kevin Cassidy launch a 50-yard point to win an All-Ireland quarter-final with the last kick of extra-time? That was the moment of the weekend without question. It doesn't matter a damn that the football from Donegal and Kildare in the first half was played between the two 45s and was very hard to watch.

This turned into a riveting occasion.

You couldn't look away.

It was spectacular stuff, full of guts and bravery and even at times just some tough, honest flaking. Guys were leaving everything they had out there on the pitch. This is what football can be when you have two teams who are willing to empty themselves. You have to be delighted for a fella like Cassidy, a very manly player who has soldiered through some awful times with Donegal over the years.

He has had to store away a fair bit of hurt in his time and there were Kildare players lying on the pitch at the end who will have to do the same now. I'd say most people are sorry to see them go out of the championship. Their games tend to be dramatic because they're so full of running and they tend to grind teams into submission. But they finally met a team that wasn't going to go away and wasn't going to lie down.

The game was a product of the team ethic. You can see that both managers seem to be hugely popular with their players. I'd say it's partly because they're close to them in age, but also because you get the impression from both men that they wouldn't ask players to do anything they wouldn't be prepared to do themselves. That reduces the distance between a manager and his players and makes for a great work ethic.

It all leaves the championship in a sort of confused state as far as I can make out.

It's all perception at this stage. I can see Dublin beating Tyrone on Saturday and if Kerry get past Mayo, I can see them beating Dublin in the final. But if Tyrone beat Dublin, I can really see Kerry struggling against them. It's like heavyweight boxing back in the '70s. Foreman beat Frazier, Ali beat Foreman, Frazier beat Ali. Ali came back and beat Frazier, but needed maybe the greatest fight of all time to do it. Maybe that's what Kerry would need to finally get over Tyrone in a final if the two teams make it there.

There's plenty of road to travel before we get anywhere near that scenario.

We saw last weekend where writing off a team prematurely will get you. Neither Dublin nor Tyrone will be rubbing their hands at the thought of meeting Donegal now, just as Kerry know they'll be facing a different type of Mayo team to what they've seen in the recent past.

I do think Dublin have a massive chance on Saturday. This looks like a last hurrah for a lot of Tyrone players and that makes them very dangerous. I haven't seen Seán Cavanagh play this well since they won the All-Ireland in 2008. Add to that the fact that they have enough craft and skill to score in two or three attacks what it takes the likes of Kildare and Donegal seven or eight attacks to get and they're a very tough proposition.

But Dublin can beat them.

I think they'll put their Leinster final performance behind them and wear Tyrone down. Bernard Brogan won't have an off-day as bad as that again and between him and his brother, I think Dublin will have enough firepower to do the job.

for those who missed this match or wanto to see it again it's now on official DVD release

http://www.dvdsales.ie/shop/mayo_v_cork_all_ireland_qfinal_2011.417.1.10634.sports.html (http://www.dvdsales.ie/shop/mayo_v_cork_all_ireland_qfinal_2011.417.1.10634.sports.html)