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Donegal are still playing the old rules.

Why does Joyce play injured players? Walsh should have been subbed before the first half ended, and then he came back out in the second half. He did it last year as well. That's serious short term thinking.

Down probably lacked the experience in the end. They briefly had Galway on the ropes but didn't make the most of it. Branagan's shooting was horrible at times. Never really felt like they were going to kick on.

Why did Carney not attempt to tackle Moore in that final play?
He just kept backing off him. Moore had no support runner. He just let him take the shot ffs

Carney was awful the whole game. I thought he might get subbed but they kept him til the end.

Patton took a big risk  rushing that last  kick out

If Mayo had won  the ball and scored, Donegal would  have finished third , and  away in the qualifiers to  maybe Dublin or Kerry

What was the thinking there?

Mayo hardly won a kickout all day so he probably had a fair idea it would work out.

The All Ireland talk around Donegal is premature. I'll be shocked if they even make a final. They aren't playing the new rules to their fullest. Had also forgotten how Murphy plays refs like a fiddle. He does whatever he likes out there.

Walsh such a strange player. Blows hot and cold within 70 minutes sometimes. Can pull off amazing stuff but then does utterly brain dead stuff - weird, unreliable player. Galway needed to win anyway and so they did. Nothing at stake for Armagh, however two goals conceded which could have been 4 if the penalties had been converted can't sit well with them. Still think something isn't quite right with Galway either - would be interesting if they drew Kerry. Kerry are in big trouble with injuries.

Derry are showing signs of improvement but got cleaned at midfield for nearly the entire game against Dublin. A stint in Div 2 won't do them any harm. Dublin will be lucky to make a semi imo.

Alot of people in the media and on forums afraid to write Mayo off this weekend after the results they produced against Tyrone

I just don't see how they win this weekend. Unless it's an absolute stinker of an evening which could effect Donegals running game.

But Donegal should win this.

Did you listen to the Football Pod with Paddy Andrews and James O'Donoghue? They have soundly written them off with O'Donoghue even going as far as to say that they don't "deserve" to progress to the next stage because they lost to Cavan, which is frankly a bizarre comment.

They won't win the game, but I don't think it'll be a hiding either. Think it'll be 3 or 4 points.

something off with galway's defensive structure under these new rules... derry were cutting through them today and dublin did it the last game too. they were quite lucky to get anything out of today's game in my view. maybe these group stages will harden them and bring them on, but i don't know...something doesn't look right. think they are getting the rub of the green with derry's second half implosion and armagh winning but i think they'll get caught later on.

dublin looked as bad as i've seen them since the 00s. they haven't adapted to the new rules at all and are toothless without con. cormac costello demonstrating once again why gavin never started him in the dublin heyday.

tyrone looked leggy against mayo but i did feel there would be a reaction from mayo. still think the abject result v cavan will be their undoing as i don't see them getting anything off donegal. mad to think that they still could feasibly top the group though.

didn't see anything controversial in mcstay's comments. he has a right to call it how he sees it and the scandalised reaction from some sections of the media speaks to the "golden boy" narrative around clifford- nothing can be said about him unless it's gushing, sycophantic praise. listen, he's a great player, he's also cute enough and knows how to buy a free. more than once at the weekend, he was reacting before the foul had even been committed and then turning around gesturing with the ref and calling for punishments to be doled out. it's behaviour deliberately intended to pressure a referee into making favourable calls. nothing wrong with mcstay raising it in the media either. the dubs in their day weren't shy about using their stakeholders in the media to get into the heads of refs and you can be sure kerry be at it plenty too.

all of the group winners will progress

Did any other Tyrone folk emotionally compromised watching that, Hoping for Derry to kick on and win - because of the Philistine antics of the odious personality this tread is named after?

Theres definitely an element of that for sure. Part of me thinks it would be hilarious to watch him squirm if they won the whole thing.

if they won the whole thing, he'd be fighting the stewards to get out on the pitch and lift the cup himself. he's an attention seeker.

That was a pure bottle job from Mayo. Playing at home against a team bereft of confidence, that was an awful way to finish the season. Playing that way Derry will go no further.

Yes, never a truer statement - Imagine losing to this Derry team on penalties. And Mayo riding on the crest of a wave after their fabulous draw against Dublin the week before that meant diddly squat. Complete Bottlers and should I add Flaky.

hardly riding on the crest of a wave. they were visibly devastated after drawing that match. that's why it was set up perfectly for derry.

All the Derry wans raging about the set up for the past month.  Are they stuffed or plucked tonight?

those problems aren't gone anywhere. they pulled it out of the bag today as a matter of pride, but they will be beaten comprehensively next weekend. mayo were never going to be the team to put them away.

Mayo were hot favourites this evening against Derry and a harder draw than Monaghan....Roscommon...and Louth...

Great stuff...

said it at the beginning of the week that it was the ideal draw for derry. the perfect game for them to retain dignity. mayo are flaky as f**k and they were visibly dejected after drawing with dublin. they put so much energy, mentally and physically, into winning that match and came up short. they were always gonna be there for the taking this week and the longer they left derry in it, the more likely it was that derry would win. derry will be facing the same dilemma as mayo next weekend - they spent so much energy winning today. they'll be bet next weekend.

Right away and dry your hole n let us enjoy the night FFS! The grim.

enjoy it!!! i've no horse in the race. just calling it as i see it. wouldn't mind seeing derry win the competition outright, would be a great story after all the whispers and supposed drama we've been hearing about

All the Derry wans raging about the set up for the past month.  Are they stuffed or plucked tonight?

those problems aren't gone anywhere. they pulled it out of the bag today as a matter of pride, but they will be beaten comprehensively next weekend. mayo were never going to be the team to put them away.

Mayo were hot favourites this evening against Derry and a harder draw than Monaghan....Roscommon...and Louth...

Great stuff...

said it at the beginning of the week that it was the ideal draw for derry. the perfect game for them to retain dignity. mayo are flaky as f**k and they were visibly dejected after drawing with dublin. they put so much energy, mentally and physically, into winning that match and came up short. they were always gonna be there for the taking this week and the longer they left derry in it, the more likely it was that derry would win. derry will be facing the same dilemma as mayo next weekend - they spent so much energy winning today. they'll be bet next weekend.

All the Derry wans raging about the set up for the past month.  Are they stuffed or plucked tonight?

those problems aren't gone anywhere. they pulled it out of the bag today as a matter of pride, but they will be beaten comprehensively next weekend. mayo were never going to be the team to put them away.