Cadbury's All-Ireland Under 21 FC 2009

[Trevor Hill]

from the corner back to the corner forward everyone seemed to play well.

Poor aul goalkeeper.

From the `keeper to the corner forward, though in truth the `keeper should have came for the ball that led to Mayo's second goal.

Is the game available anywhere on line? Is there a TG4 equivalent of the iplayer?

[Farrandeelin]

I have no complaints. Well actually I have. It was Mayo's half back line that cost us the game, not able to get tight or do anything to Down. The f**king ref was shocking for both teams I thought. Yes I berated him as much as everyone else in the ground. I expected more from Parsons and O'Shea today. I thought that Keane put up a good performance against McComiskey despite McComiskey scoring a lot for Down, then again the lack of any other defender's ability to do anything probably made Keane good in my books. Fair play to Down, I'd imagine ye will go on to win the thing now. I haven't seen the cork game but Down seem like a good team and as Whoareya said Down are a bloody good team. Mayo had too many wides from the forwards and one other thing, have we not got ANYBODY to strike a 45 over the bar from one of the forwards? Even at Senior we are struggling to do this. Anyone else think McLoughlin was poor today? He was out of it against Tyrone as well... So I'd doubt he will start in the Mayo championship 15.

[The flame still burns]

Match report on my blog here:  http://thereisalightthatnevergoesout.wordpress.com/2009/04/18/under-21s-end-year-at-semi-final-stage-again/

I agree with you Farrandeelin, Kevin McLoughlin hasn't been great in the last two games but I reckon he'll still be starting come championship. Donal Vaughan was very loose today on the other wing.

[blast05]

Done the Longford trip and now just after re-watching the game again on TG4......
A few random comments from a Mayo perspective:

- The ref ...... aggggghhhh ..... i can appreciate that both sides feel they were shafted which is a sure sig of a bad ref ..... but but but  ..... 1 thing that frustrated me to near dementia - the inconsistency in bringing the ball forward 14 yards. He brought it forward for us once but about 4 or 5 times for Down, 3 times for which it was the main contributing factor to Down scores. He almost seemed to pick on Aidan O'Shea in particular in this regard in that he brought it forward 3 times after he committed fouls. The first time O'Shea was verbally giving out and the other 2 were mere stares at the ref as if saying "what the f*ck did i do wrong there" - both of these 2 times lead to Down scores after the ball was brought up. Seperate to O'Shea there was a time in the first half when Down had committed a foul outside the 50 and threw the ball to the ref who in turn threw it to a Mayo player to take ..... move on to the second half - Mayo committ the foul, throw the ball to the ref, he brings it up about 25 yards and score.

- Putting your body on the line ..... Down did it, we didn't - and it was a major contributing factor to them winning the game. Two many times Mayo players didn't put the body on the line in their efforts to get the ball. I won't mention names but whe it happened (at least 3 times in the second half) i was standing screaming "well you go for the bloody ball when its there to be won"..... for men like Noel Connelly and Michael Collins on the sideline, this must gaul them

- Learn to be cyncial .... apllies to all the team. The reason Down won the game is cos they done what they had to do when the centre back was sent off (2nd yellow, correct decision), i.e.: they committed the cynical fouls - the ankle tap on Mikey Sweeney in particular springs to mind. We are a type of team that plays with this gay abandon regardless of what stage the game is at (and always do at underage level) wheres winners at this level have the steel and the cynical style of play when needed.

- Robert Hennelly  .... on the free he dropped short from about 6 or 7 yards ouside the 50 in the 2nd half  ........ i would bet any money that when he lined that up he realised it was an 80 to 20 against that he would convert it. The cross breeze, the way he strikes the ball, and a slight slope accross the pitch towards the stand (not the distance) - he was never going to kick that one. He also badly needs to work on his short kickouts as we were getting destroyed in the middle in the first half and nothing changed on the kickout front.
Comparing his performance from the minor championship last year versus today (i did not get to see any of the Connacht matches) it looks to me like the only part of his game he was worked on is getting extra length into his kickouts (wasn't even so much of a problem then anyway). This part of his game is now fine so time to work on the short and never as much as bother to kick a balll long in training.

- Seamus Parson ....... ring Willie Joe Padden and ask him for a few coaching sessions on how to get your hands to a ball. This crack of going up with soft hands, i.e.: waiting for the ball to land into your hands as you spring through the skys, is good enough while playing for Charlestown and Connacht U-21 matches and some county senior league and championship matches but when you come up against a midfield like Downs today then its not worth a toss. GRASP the ball with fierce aggression, think of the ball as having to be burst by the force of your hands clasping it, etc. Athleticism alone will not be good enough to be on a winning Mayo mdifield team in an All-Ireland final  ..... oh and Ronan McG, sit in on this coaching sesssion too.

- Kevin McLoughlin really needs to change his free taking style if he is to be an option in the future. We all know that all things being equal that you are better off hitting a fee from the ground. While McLoughlin hits them from the hands he further puts himself at disadvantage by spinning the ball with his right hand on to his left and straight down on to the left boot. This is crazy stuff which i would send an U-12 player home for even trying (well ok, slight exaggeration but you get my drift). For the 2 frees he missed today - i have watched them both 5 or 6 times - the spinning ball in his left hand was not under control as he dropped it on to his left foot and hence the kicks went wide

- Again, Kevin McLoughlin - very classy, stylish, intelligent footballer ..... but, but, but  ..... look at the way Noel Connelly played the game. Watch the video of Connellys debut in autumn '95 when he hit Galway midfielder Fergal Gavin under the stand in McHale Park with such ferocity that i thought Gavin (a 6' 3" 15 stone midfielder) was going to have to be hosptialised. You need to develop steel in your game .... and pick it up quite a bit - not good enough today

- Donal Vaughan ...... same comment re the Noel Connelly steel factor - and for God sake, tighten up a bit. A loose player with no steel has no future in the Mayo jersey .... and the only reason i say this is cos i think he can bring this to his game. There are other players one could be critical of but whats the point as they have no future in the Mayo senior jersey.

- Kevin Keane ..... are you a clone of Kevin Cahill (but better) ?!?! Of course though there is room for improvement ..... coming up against real pace is a problem - well actually more that its the first half a yard that has him struggling and playing catchup. Its seems to be the flat footed thing again - like Ger Cafferkey - but this is just something to be worked on

- Breaking ball ...... i done a freeze frame on most kickouts from the match - just that fraction of a second before the ball was about to be contested, when guys were just leaving the ground to catch the ball ...... in most cases it looked like Mayo lads were well positioned to contest any breaking ball. I let plays runs on and in the first half in particular Down seemed to win about 8 out of 10 breaking balls. When you look in closer detail in real time you can see the Down guys are moving into the breaking ball zone at speed and are thus more likely to win the breaking ball as they can react quicker to the ball that does not go straight into someones arms. More often that not, the Mayo lads were in a stationery position as the ball was breaking so unless the ball drops straight to you then you are have no hope of winning the break in that scenario ........... hope i am making sense on this one as it hard to describe.

- Apparently there was an Aussie scout there today looking at O'Shea and Parsons. Thankfully the Down midfielder was the standout player ...... for every ill wind....

- Oh to have had Pierce Hanley

And final footnote - by my reckoning, Michael Collins has been a Mayo U-21 selector for 6 seasons (94, 95, 2006, 07, 08 & 09) and Mayo never lost a Connacht championship game in those 6 seasons .... impressive

[blast05]

Match report on my blog here:  http://thereisalightthatnevergoesout.wordpress.com/2009/04/18/under-21s-end-year-at-semi-final-stage-again/

I agree with you Farrandeelin, Kevin McLoughlin hasn't been great in the last two games but I reckon he'll still be starting come championship. Donal Vaughan was very loose today on the other wing.

I think you are being very harsh on Keane. Yes he was having to deal with a real live wire but when McComiskey done him it was more down to the quality of bal he was getting. As the line goes, a full forward is only as good as the ball he gets - and McComiskey got good ball ....... and the goal was all down to the Down wing back charging forward creating the extra man, Brian Gallagher wasn't up to that chase and was subbed off straight after.

As for the goal - definitely defintely Douglas. The ball came down off the crossbar and hit the ground about 2 yards right beside the keeper.

[RedandGreenSniper]

Very good analysis Blast, I'd agree with pretty much all of it. I wouldn't worry too much about McLoughlin's free-taking technique though because he'll hardly be taking them again.

[The flame still burns]

Match report on my blog here:  http://thereisalightthatnevergoesout.wordpress.com/2009/04/18/under-21s-end-year-at-semi-final-stage-again/

I agree with you Farrandeelin, Kevin McLoughlin hasn't been great in the last two games but I reckon he'll still be starting come championship. Donal Vaughan was very loose today on the other wing.

I think you are being very harsh on Keane. Yes he was having to deal with a real live wire but when McComiskey done him it was more down to the quality of bal he was getting. As the line goes, a full forward is only as good as the ball he gets - and McComiskey got good ball ....... and the goal was all down to the Down wing back charging forward creating the extra man, Brian Gallagher wasn't up to that chase and was subbed off straight after.

As for the goal - definitely defintely Douglas. The ball came down off the crossbar and hit the ground about 2 yards right beside the keeper.

Thank you regarding Douglas!!!
On Kevin Keane, I'd hold out good hope for him and he has a fantastic attitude too. But I do worry when pacey forwards run at him. As I said in the blog it was a big ask for an 18 year old to take McCommiskey and I reckon we'd have been better served with McLoughlin picking him up. Yeah, you are right about the goal though. That wing-back was responsible for at least 2 first half points too - Brian Gallagher was left on for way too long.

[Fenway]

Fiistly fair dues to Down today - the best team won taking some great points and I thought the quality of their foot passing at times was class.

My one and only gripe with mayo comes from a strategic planning for the senior team point of view - To win an All Ireland we badly need to get another Maurice Sheridan / Michael Fitzmaurice type player who when he puts the ball on the ground will give you an 70/80 % strike rate up to and including the 45 yard line. Aiden Walsh last year in the minor team is the only lad I have seen who may grow into this role but to my eye there has been no effort on any of the U 21 teams to find,coach and develop a player of this kind. For a county which has a dearth of class finishing forwards surely finding this type of player is something we should be looking at.

Its been been a good few years for underage football in Mayo and I can see talent coming through to fill most of the positions on the senior team of the future - but this is something I feel badly needs to be targeted. Maybe somebody knows if it already happens ? Heres hoping!

[Zulu]

In fairness I don't think that is the role of the county managements but rather something the clubs and club free takers should be working on themselves. However I do think the CB and those involved with games development in Mayo should be looking at how they can produce more players who have all the skills necessary. IMO a data base should be set up where all players from U14 upwards can be monitored, weaknesses and strengths assessed as they progress and any glaring weaknesses should be tackled through development squads, schools and clubs. Camps should be run throughout the county every year focusing on different aspects of the game e.g. tackling camps, point and goal scoring camps, how to play in the full forward line camps etc. There is no point looking at a 15 year old and saying he'll be some player in a few years and leaviing it at that, talanted players in particular should be monitored and their weaknesses addressed through the clubs, schools and county from 14 years of age up.

[Dubh driocht]

Have to say the Mayomen on here are balanced, gracious in defeat and the best informed of any county -IMO.
However, regarding the final ,Cork are a big strong team and I think we will have our work cut out. Good luck to you in Connaught.

[RedandGreenSniper]

Have to say the Mayomen on here are balanced, gracious in defeat and the best informed of any county -IMO.
However, regarding the final ,Cork are a big strong team and I think we will have our work cut out. Good luck to you in Connaught.

We've had plenty of practice!

[behind the wire]

once again excellent performance from down, didnt make it to the game so can't really give any sort of analysis but i thought downs attacking play was first class. peter fitzpatrick was outstanding from what i saw. he should have been mom.

[Davitt Man]

Very good analysis Blast, I'd agree with pretty much all of it. I wouldn't worry too much about McLoughlin's free-taking technique though because he'll hardly be taking them again.

Surely O'Shea would have been a better man to take these fress.

The Mayo senior team and u-21 team both with no comfortable steady free taker that can take a 45, thats a worry

[Hound]

Totally disgusted....Dublin kicked that semi final away.....same old same old....... Still feel that our future full back will be O'Carroll who was outstanding today imo. THe sooner he gets into the senior team the better.

Anyway congrats to both Down and Cork.

To a point canalman- did you not feel that game was a microcosm of dublin football for the last decade. All huff and puff. Thought the lads worked fantastically well but lacked a little bit. I thought our backs were ropey in general and we missed too much. Cork had the little bit extra.

Thought Down were fantastic- where the f*** do all the players go up there. Mayo a bit like dublin- lacked a little bit. Definitely the two sides in the final for me anyway.

Jaysus, don't no about Cork having "that little bit extra". I thought it was a remarkable achievement of the Dubs to lose a game when we were dominant is so many positions all over the pitch. 16 bladdy wides, and Paddy Andrews will never miss as many chances.

Down look the class act of the four alright, but with Cork having rode their luck considerably against both Tipp and Dublin, maybe their name is on it.

[Trevor Hill]

Cadburys GAA Football All Ireland U21 Championship
Mon 4th May
Final: Cork V Down
venue: Portlaoise, time:3 30 pm, (Ref:TBC) TG4 (Live)