Mayo V Galway - Connacht Final Thread

[Duine Eile]

From Hogan Stand:

McGarrity could yet face Tribesmen

Mayo's Ronan McGarrity
14 July 2009

Broken jaw victim Ronan McGarrity could yet see action for Mayo against Galway in Sunday's Connacht SFC final after making a surprise return to training last weekend.

Despite suffering multiple hairline fractures to his cheekbone following an off-the-ball incident in a club match last Sunday week, Mayo manager John O'Mahony is refusing to rule the Ballina midfielder out of the Pearse Stadium decider and will give him every chance to prove his fitness.



"Ronan was in with us over the weekend and did a little bit of running, but the situation is evolving all the time," O'Mahony said.

"It's a long shot, but we have to wait until the swelling goes down and until Ronan speaks to consultants this week. It's not something that we can give a definite answer on at the moment but we're putting all our energy into sorting it out. Everybody just needs space at the moment because the nature of the injury means that it's something that has to be monitored."

Defender Liam O'Malley is back in contention for a starting place after missing the semi-final rout of Roscommon with an ankle injury, but goalkeeper David Clarke and centre back Tom Cunniffe remain sidelined with groin injuries.

O'Mahony will name his starting XV tomorrow night.

Meanwhile, his Galway counterpart Liam Sammon is expected to make three changes to the team that edged out Sligo in the other semi-final with the suspended Gary O'Donnell and the injured Matthew Clancy set to be replaced by Niall Coleman and the returning Nicky Joyce.

The third change is expected to see Corofin's Gary Sice come in for the long-serving Declan Meehan in the half back line.

[The flame still burns]

McGarrity isn't out of the reckoning but I just can't see him starting. My own attempt at picking the team.

http://thereisalightthatnevergoesout.wordpress.com/2009/07/14/wholl-go-to-war-against-the-tribes/

[rosnarun]

why not throw a real curve ball and predict an S o shea Parsons midfield with Heaney as i predicted before Marking P Joyce
my team  which will look foolish tomorrow is

Kenneth O'Malley;
Liam O'Malley, Ger Cafferkey, Higgins;
Peadar Gardiner, Trevor Howley, David Heaney;
S oshea, Tom Parsons;
Pat Harte, Alan Dillon, Trevor Mortimer;
Aidan O'Shea,  Aidan Kilcoyne andy moran

[moysider]

McGarrity isn't out of the reckoning but I just can't see him starting. My own attempt at picking the team.

http://thereisalightthatnevergoesout.wordpress.com/2009/07/14/wholl-go-to-war-against-the-tribes/

You ve left Keith Higgins off that team.?

[Bod Mor]

McGarrity isn't out of the reckoning but I just can't see him starting. My own attempt at picking the team.

http://thereisalightthatnevergoesout.wordpress.com/2009/07/14/wholl-go-to-war-against-the-tribes/

You ve left Keith Higgins off that team.?

Higgins for Vaughan surely??

The old butterflies are working their way in the stomach as it is Wednesday. We need this win on Sunday. If we win on Sunday then I'll be guaranteed attendance (due to being overseas) at my first Mayo match since 1/4 final loss to Kerry '05, surely the lads can't deprive me of that!

[Tubberman]

Quote from: The flame still burns on July 14, 2009, 11:18:47 PM
McGarrity isn't out of the reckoning but I just can't see him starting. My own attempt at picking the team.

http://thereisalightthatnevergoesout.wordpress.com/2009/07/14/wholl-go-to-war-against-the-tribes/


You ve left Keith Higgins off that team.?

I think he meant Keith Higgins and Liam O'Malley for the corners because he said directly above that:

Liam O'Malley for Donal Vaughan and Tom Parsons for Ronan McGarrity.

That's the team I'd like to see start as well, assuming it's too rsky to start McGarrity. It would be a massive gamble to throw S O'Shea in there for his first championship start. TIALTNGO reckons he's flying in training but starting a Connacht final in Salthill is hardly the place to find out.
If P Joyce is giving Howley a roasting, Heaney could be moved back to CHB, and McGarrity brought on - that hardly weakens the team.

[Barney]

This talk of Seamus O'Shea starting is nonsensical. He may be flying in training but where has he been the last 12 months. He will not be up to championship football pace. The only way to bring these players along is to allow them have a league campaign and work from there.

Expecting Liam O'Malley to come in for Vaughan, and AN Other to be named at midfield.

Its going to be a big task to win but hopefully the same focus as was there against the Rossies will see us through.

[Lar Naparka]

They seem to have the knack of beating us economically. I recall 89 when we were a much better side we could only draw in Tuam. In replay in Castlebar we were nt spoiled with an 8 point win. I m still troubled by the fact that we seemed to have to be much better than Galway to actually win against them - especially away.
If we re good enough no reason not to win it, even away.

Moysider, do you remember that there used to be a general acceptance that Galway were always more streetwise than either Mayo or Roscommon?
I first heard of their alleged superior mental toughness back in the mid-60s and I felt that Mayo and indeed Rossie fans generally accepted it as a fact. Certainly, of the three teams in question, Galway always seemed the best bet to give a good account of themselves whenever they crossed the Shannon.
When they won in Connacht, Mayo and Roscommon did not perform well when they came to Headquarters. Galway, it was felt could always stay composed under pressure and Mayo or Ross would need to be a few points the better side to have any chance.
The figures in question were generally put at three for Mayo and up to five for Roscommon.
Sadly for Sligonian, Sligo or the Ridgebacks were never even considered.
I haven't heard much of this sort of talk since Mayo broke the so-called hoodoo in Tuam but it was definitely widespread and was much used by the herrin' chokers whenever there were verbals between rival sets of fans.

[IolarCoisCuain]

They seem to have the knack of beating us economically. I recall 89 when we were a much better side we could only draw in Tuam. In replay in Castlebar we were nt spoiled with an 8 point win. I m still troubled by the fact that we seemed to have to be much better than Galway to actually win against them - especially away.
If we re good enough no reason not to win it, even away.

Moysider, do you remember that there used to be a general acceptance that Galway were always more streetwise than either Mayo or Roscommon?
I first heard of their alleged superior mental toughness back in the mid-60s and I felt that Mayo and indeed Rossie fans generally accepted it as a fact. Certainly, of the three teams in question, Galway always seemed the best bet to give a good account of themselves whenever they crossed the Shannon.
When they won in Connacht, Mayo and Roscommon did not perform well when they came to Headquarters. Galway, it was felt could always stay composed under pressure and Mayo or Ross would need to be a few points the better side to have any chance.
The figures in question were generally put at three for Mayo and up to five for Roscommon.
Sadly for Sligonian, Sligo or the Ridgebacks were never even considered.
I haven't heard much of this sort of talk since Mayo broke the so-called hoodoo in Tuam but it was definitely widespread and was much used by the herrin' chokers whenever there were verbals between rival sets of fans.

Unfortunately Lar, the facts back up that theory. Galway have nine All-Irelands, Mayo three, Roscommon two and Sligo and Leitrim none. That's where the streetwise stuff comes from.

Mayo people spend too much time looking for hoodoos, curses and bogeymen. It takes more than six years to build a hoodoo and Galway are only back in Salthill six years. Anybody in Mayo talking about a hoodoo is just lonesome for Tuam and should be under supervision, for his or her own safety.

That story about a curse on the '51 team is all my hat as well. The first I heard about that curse was outside the Big Tree on Dorset Street, Dublin 7, the evening of the 2004 final. For the fifty-three years before that, not a dicky-bird. It must have been on a slow fuse, that particular curse.

If Mayo are good enough, they'll win. If they're not, they won't.

Of course, if anybody wants to go into Páirc an Phiarsaigh with the jacket on inside-out in respect to the little people on whose fairy-fort the place is built, that's fine. There's no sense in being bolshy about these things either. 

[An Gaeilgoir]

They seem to have the knack of beating us economically. I recall 89 when we were a much better side we could only draw in Tuam. In replay in Castlebar we were nt spoiled with an 8 point win. I m still troubled by the fact that we seemed to have to be much better than Galway to actually win against them - especially away.
If we re good enough no reason not to win it, even away.

Moysider, do you remember that there used to be a general acceptance that Galway were always more streetwise than either Mayo or Roscommon?
I first heard of their alleged superior mental toughness back in the mid-60s and I felt that Mayo and indeed Rossie fans generally accepted it as a fact. Certainly, of the three teams in question, Galway always seemed the best bet to give a good account of themselves whenever they crossed the Shannon.
When they won in Connacht, Mayo and Roscommon did not perform well when they came to Headquarters. Galway, it was felt could always stay composed under pressure and Mayo or Ross would need to be a few points the better side to have any chance.
The figures in question were generally put at three for Mayo and up to five for Roscommon.
Sadly for Sligonian, Sligo or the Ridgebacks were never even considered.
I haven't heard much of this sort of talk since Mayo broke the so-called hoodoo in Tuam but it was definitely widespread and was much used by the herrin' chokers whenever there were verbals between rival sets of fans.

Unfortunately Lar, the facts back up that theory. Galway have nine All-Irelands, Mayo three, Roscommon two and Sligo and Leitrim none. That's where the streetwise stuff comes from.

Mayo people spend too much time looking for hoodoos, curses and bogeymen. It takes more than six years to build a hoodoo and Galway are only back in Salthill six years. Anybody in Mayo talking about a hoodoo is just lonesome for Tuam and should be under supervision, for his or her own safety.

That story about a curse on the '51 team is all my hat as well. The first I heard about that curse was outside the Big Tree on Dorset Street, Dublin 7, the evening of the 2004 final. For the fifty-three years before that, not a dicky-bird. It must have been on a slow fuse, that particular curse.

If Mayo are good enough, they'll win. If they're not, they won't.

Of course, if anybody wants to go into Páirc an Phiarsaigh with the jacket on inside-out in respect to the little people on whose fairy-fort the place is built, that's fine. There's no sense in being bolshy about these things either. 

When Galway won the three in a row in the sixties, Mayo were always within a couple of points of Galway. My father always maintains that man for man we had the same ability as the Galway lads, but when the game went into the final ten minutes Galway had that extra bit, call it luck, craft, leadership. There is no doubt that we have lacked those qualities in the big games over the past 4 decades. As for the hodoo, remember Biddy Early and the Clare hurlers? if we are good enough on Sunday evening to win the game we will and curses or the salthill sand wont make a difference.

[kevmy]

I'd pretty much expect the team The flame still burns named to be the one picked.

However I think Conor would be unlucky not to start more due to Barry Moran troubles than any great performances by him this year. Although it has to be said I don't think a change will be made as the twin towers is obviously a key tactic.

[Farrandeelin]

I first heard of the famous '51 curse before the 1996 All-Ireland final. Of course, we all laughed and shrugged it off back then but...

[muppet]

I first heard of the famous '51 curse before the 1996 All-Ireland final. Of course, we all laughed and shrugged it off back then but...

The only relevant curse is the one you hear at the final whistle of our last game every summer.

[heineken_on_tap]

Is it easy to put a curse on Mayo? Might come in handy next time we have to go to Castlebar.

[Lar Naparka]

I first heard of the famous '51 curse before the 1996 All-Ireland final. Of course, we all laughed and shrugged it off back then but...

The only relevant curse is the one you hear at the final whistle of our last game every summer.

Bang on, Muppet.
Most counties that are unsuccessful have stories of a similar type. I say that the reason for the abundance of pisreogs and mí-adh stories is that some supporters won't accept that their side wasn't up to it at a given time and want to blame outside forces instead of accepting the obvious. For instance,, a widely-held Sligo excuse is that their team missed mass when heading to Dublin for the semis after winning their first Connacht title in 1928. The priest is supposed to have cursed them on the altar when they failed to show up. Good luck to them against Kerry but I hope they don't turn up blaming some unfortunate priest for their expected failure before a ball is thrown in! If the team and fans paid even the slightest heed to this nonsense,  the likelihood indeed is that they will wind up on the losing side once more.
Mayo certainly have had an above average share of bad luck but then so have lots of others. Kerry have lost more All-Irelands than we have!
I wouldn't bother with the bullsugar about any priest's curse at any time. Sometimes the cause mightn't be immediately obvious but they usually is a human element involved.
Remember the loss to Meath in '96.
The common moan is that we wuz robbed when the ref sent McHale to the line, isn't it?
We can blame the bleddy ref for allowing Geraghty to take a quick free that got a goal in the closing stages alright but McHale was the author of his own misfortune.
After the first game, he sounded off in public about the rough tactics of the Meath gang and said he'd be ready the next time. When he sailed in to wave his handbag about as the scrap started, the ref may been reacting this promise.

I think we should take the advice of Ciaran McDonald when a reporter asked him what it felt like to finally break the Tuam hoodoo.
"F**k the hoodoo," Mac is supposed to have replied and he went on his merry way.
Let's hope the lads on Sunday will adopt the same attitude.