Mayo V Galway - Connacht Final Thread

[moysider]

I would expect O Malley - Liam that is, to start in the corner the next day. Not having a cut at Vaughan or anything but we need a bit of experience back there - even if it has not always been a good experience. I know Liam has his doubters on here but he is in the credit column as far as I m concerned. In the past he s often had to handle the opposition s best player in a defensive system that could nt  help out an old lady to cross the road. Other times he was asked to fill in at full-back against men twice as big as him. Vaughan is a good one and great bursting forward. Not sure his radar is well enough tuned in to mark though and he seems to struggle with his footwork if twisted and turned. I d see him at this stage as impact for hb line with Kevin McL as a better option as a marker in reserve.

[Barney]

Fair comments by John Maughan in the Mayo Advertiser this week

A win but I couldn't help feeling miserable
Mayo Advertiser, July 10, 2009.
By John Maughan

I drove away from Ballina last Sunday afternoon feeling pretty miserable if I am to be totally honest. Yes, Crossmolina had won the championship encounter against their near neighbours Ballina Stephenites, but the game had attracted much attention for all the wrong reasons. There was an ugliness and a nasty undercurrent from start to finish throughout this encounter. Two players were sent off during the game and, as we now know, Ronan McGarrity suffered a serious injury that may possibly jeopardise his participation in the Connacht final on Sunday week. I am conscious of not elaborating on the issue to any great extent, as I am led to believe that there is to be an investigation into the game and a number of incidents that took place during it. I fully endorse and welcome this investigation and if any player from either club is found to have broken the rules, then there is a mechanism in place to deal with those issues. I sincerely hope McGarrity is fit to play against Galway as I fully recognise his importance to the Mayo football team. Needless to say his loss would be significant as Mayo do not have another midfield player of comparable ability to replace him. I wish him well and sincerely hope he recovers sufficiently to take his place in Pearse Stadium.

The win leaves us on three points, the same tally as Knockmore in our group. Knockmore were pushed all the way by Ballinrobe last Saturday and were mightily relieved to come away with a win. That victory means that Ballinrobe have no chance of making it to the quarter finals as they lost their first round match to Ballina. Crossmolina play Ballinrobe in a months time and I want to make it known right now that Crossmolina will be taking nothing for granted for this encounter. Needless to say the big match in this group will be between Ballina and Knockmore. A win for either team will guarantee its progress through to the next stage. The Knockmore boys were there in numbers last Sunday, no doubt devising their strategy for what could potentially be a cracking game in four weeks time.

[Farrandeelin]

As SLIGONIAN has it for the Kerry/Sligo game, bring it on. A week's time we'll know who the winner is, unless it goes to a replay.

[Barney]

As we all know the weather in Salthill can have a huge impact on a game.

Expecting this to be a very close affair. Toss of a coin and hopefully we can come out the right side.

Early forecast is for light rain:

http://uk.weather.com/weather/10day-Galway-EIXX0017

[AbbeySider]

Im expecting it to be closer than people think too.

The wind is often a factor in Salthill. If its breezy it will be to Galways advantage as they are at home and would know and judge it better.
A wet day often suits a bigger team. In that respect I dont think it will be a factor as there isnt a hug difference in size between the two teams.
Both Galway and Mayo have big and small men.

There probably wont be a squeeze for tickets will there?
The game is on TV and Salthill is not the most popular venue among supporters as its so hard to get in and out.

I heard at work here in Galway and can see on galwaygaa.ie that tickets are available from the Stadium all week as well as from Tuam Stadium and Ionad Peile na Gaillimhe.

Is that a bit odd?

In Mayo, tickets are dispersed through the clubs. I cant remember if tickets were ever available at McHale park or other outlets for a Connaught Final in Mayo.

[Farrandeelin]

Well it is odd surely, us Mayo ones snap up tickets (for all occasions if we can) like there's no tomorrow!

[moysider]

Im expecting it to be closer than people think too.

The wind is often a factor in Salthill. If its breezy it will be to Galways advantage as they are at home and would know and judge it better.
A wet day often suits a bigger team. In that respect I dont think it will be a factor as there isnt a hug difference in size between the two teams.
Both Galway and Mayo have big and small men.

There probably wont be a squeeze for tickets will there?
The game is on TV and Salthill is not the most popular venue among supporters as its so hard to get in and out.

I heard at work here in Galway and can see on galwaygaa.ie that tickets are available from the Stadium all week as well as from Tuam Stadium and Ionad Peile na Gaillimhe.

Is that a bit odd?

In Mayo, tickets are dispersed through the clubs. I cant remember if tickets were ever available at McHale park or other outlets for a Connaught Final in Mayo.

Not being smart or anything Abbeysider but what are people thinking? You seem to be suggesting people are expecting a biggish win for one of the teams? Which one?

[mannix]

it could be a close one but as the fella says its all on the day and who gets the breaks.is it really that hard to get to and from pearse stadium with traffic?

[mckieran]

is it really that hard to get to and from pearse stadium with traffic?

It requires patience

[GalwayBayBoy]

it could be a close one but as the fella says its all on the day and who gets the breaks.is it really that hard to get to and from pearse stadium with traffic?

Fairly hard alright. Pearse Stadium is smack bang in the middle of a huge housing estate so you have to negotiate a maze of roads to get into and out of Salthill and the main road from Salthill back into the city centre is sure to be jammers. The traffic is woeful there even after club games played in front of 10,000 so you can imagine what it's like with 30,000+ there.

[Farrandeelin]

I have patience anyway. I don't think the lads who I'll be bringing to the game will have the same level of tolerance as I do though..

[thebackbar]

it could be a close one but as the fella says its all on the day and who gets the breaks.is it really that hard to get to and from pearse stadium with traffic?

Fairly hard alright. Pearse Stadium is smack bang in the middle of a huge housing estate so you have to negotiate a maze of roads to get into and out of Salthill and the main road from Salthill back into the city centre is sure to be jammers. The traffic is woeful there even after club games played in front of 10,000 so you can imagine what it's like with 30,000+ there.

not many club matches in Galway attract crowds of 10,000+, i would say only the hurling club final attracts that type of crowd. Galway people aren't great for following their teams, take for example Galway V Ros in the minors last year, we were out numbers in Tuam.

Tuam is not without its traffic problems, the league match this year was delayed by 15 minutes due to crowd congestion. The traffic going into Tuam that day was crazy.

[GalwayBayBoy]

it could be a close one but as the fella says its all on the day and who gets the breaks.is it really that hard to get to and from pearse stadium with traffic?

Fairly hard alright. Pearse Stadium is smack bang in the middle of a huge housing estate so you have to negotiate a maze of roads to get into and out of Salthill and the main road from Salthill back into the city centre is sure to be jammers. The traffic is woeful there even after club games played in front of 10,000 so you can imagine what it's like with 30,000+ there.

not many club matches in Galway attract crowds of 10,000+, i would say only the hurling club final attracts that type of crowd. Galway people aren't great for following their teams, take for example Galway V Ros in the minors last year, we were out numbers in Tuam.

Tuam is not without its traffic problems, the league match this year was delayed by 15 minutes due to crowd congestion. The traffic going into Tuam that day was crazy.

Hurling final often gets up to 15,000 there alright depending on the teams involved. Football final only seems to attract somewhere between 5,000 to 7,000 in recent years.

[AbbeySider]

Im expecting it to be closer than people think too.
...

Not being smart or anything Abbeysider but what are people thinking? You seem to be suggesting people are expecting a biggish win for one of the teams? Which one?

Moy, everyone I talk to seems to think that we will beat Galway. Some even say we are going to win it comfortably.
Im not talking about people on this board, although there is an air of confidence here too.

I dont see it that way, in fact we could be in for a rude awakening. We are still untested in areas, especially the defence and we have not had a competitive game yet.

The favourites tag never suited us and Galway will only love Mayo going into this game, c**k-the-walk after giving Roscommon a hiding. People are saying that Galway were poor against Sligo, but how hard were they really trying? They were guilty of settling back and using their lead as a cushion but the Connaught final will be totally different.

Galway are a sleeping giant, capable of a big win every now and then and if they get their tactics right we could be in trouble. I expect Galway to be first out of the traps and set the tempo. They are a different animal when they see the green and red so it will be a tight, hard fought game.
I wouldnt at all be surprised with Galway winning narrowly. Especially in Salthill and even more so if Mcgarity is out. Im treading cautiously on this one. 

[moysider]

Totally agree. As a county we never seem to learn from the lessons of the past. Where this confidence is coming from I cant see.

Our display v Roscommon said as much about them on the day as it did us. Galway did what they had to do against Sligo. Not brilliant but I was impressed with a lot of their game. Dont think either of those games give any real indication of what will happen the next day.

If McGarrity fit to start[ and I believe now there is a chance he will be] then I give us a 50/50 call but with a large dose of heart in there. If Ronan is absent I would nt be that hopeful. Hard to quantify one players influence but if he s not able to play I would call it the region of a 3-5 point swing to Galway.