Mayo V Kerry semi final

[joemamas]

I don't think they eased off Cooper they just stopped doing what they were doing in the first half.
I think Horan realised that they weren't going to win by trying to simply containing Kerry so they adopted a more attacking formation.
That's when Gooch got the run of the field.
Mayo don't have the class of forwards that can convert a very high % of their chances plus the midfield pairing contributed very little.
Kerry were made to look very good in the 2nd half.

I agree with this analysis. We need two more forwards with pace that can score. Our midfield was also under a lot of pressure from a Kerry midfied paring that I do not rate.

Just read Eugene Mcgee's column, totally disagree with his analysis,wonder what would he have wrote if the score was 1-20 to 3-11, which it could easily have been. Mayo needed a flawless performance and did not get it. We missed two points attempts in the first half inside the 21 yard line, We also gave up 1-1 due to poor decision making (not Tom Cuniffe). i watched the game again last night for confirmation of this.

All in all a huge improvement from last year. A great effort by the team and management, lets look at our mistakes, eliminate them and move forward.

[IolarCoisCuain]

I think it's hard for people from outside the county to realise just how drastic the improvement has been for Mayo this year. They weren't in Markievicz or Pearse last year, sneaking out with their heads down wondering where now for a once proud county. They didn't have the pain of losing to two middling counties who didn't, even by their standards, have great years last year. They didn't sense the utter depression of last autumn and winter. They didn't have to see the saga of appointing a manager drag on and on (thankfully the supporters pretty much forced the County Boards hand in the right direction). They didn't witness the (needed) search and experimentation of players and tactics throughout the league. They didn't realise that we only played one game in the league with anywhere near our eventual championship team. They didn't realise that championship team only really came into being against Galway.

Don't get us wrong - Mayo are aiming for AI titles with the team - the hardcore supporters just realise that their is only so high you can come from the low of last year. If we continue to improve by 1-2 players, make 5-6 less mistakes around the middle and add 1-2 points from the forwards then we're in the AI fight. I'd hope and expect Mayo would be back in an AI semi next year and that we would be some of the way towards achieving those goals.

Well said Kevmy. That's a perfect summation of where Mayo are and what the year has been like. Nice one.

[GalwayBayBoy]

I don't think they eased off Cooper they just stopped doing what they were doing in the first half.
I think Horan realised that they weren't going to win by trying to simply containing Kerry so they adopted a more attacking formation.
That's when Gooch got the run of the field.
Mayo don't have the class of forwards that can convert a very high % of their chances plus the midfield pairing contributed very little.
Kerry were made to look very good in the 2nd half.

Just read Eugene Mcgee's column, totally disagree with his analysis,wonder what would he have wrote if the score was 1-20 to 3-11, which it could easily have been.

It could just as easily have been 3-20 to 3-11 in fairness.

[joemamas]

I don't think they eased off Cooper they just stopped doing what they were doing in the first half.
I think Horan realised that they weren't going to win by trying to simply containing Kerry so they adopted a more attacking formation.
That's when Gooch got the run of the field.
Mayo don't have the class of forwards that can convert a very high % of their chances plus the midfield pairing contributed very little.
Kerry were made to look very good in the 2nd half.

Just read Eugene Mcgee's column, totally disagree with his analysis,wonder what would he have wrote if the score was 1-20 to 3-11, which it could easily have been.

It could just as easily have been 3-20 to 3-11 in fairness.

Fair point, his article was based on Kerry just do enough to get over semi-finals. I think there are some major flaws with this Kerry team.

A full-back line that is clearly uncomfortable under a high ball and in a one on one situation, this is not based solely on yesterday.
A center back who may clearly struggle when ran at.
A midfield that other than second half V Cork have not been tested.
A centre forward Declan O Sullivan who is clearly unfit/injured, his off the ball running is non existant.
A full forward who is having a poor year.

Dont get me wrong, these guys have more All-Ireland medals than they know what to do with, I truly believe they they have been unable to compensate for the loss of Tommy Walsh, Dara O Se, Kennelley and the full back who I cannot think of.

With all due respect to Donegal, I think Dublin will beat them.

[AZOffaly]

I don't think they eased off Cooper they just stopped doing what they were doing in the first half.
I think Horan realised that they weren't going to win by trying to simply containing Kerry so they adopted a more attacking formation.
That's when Gooch got the run of the field.
Mayo don't have the class of forwards that can convert a very high % of their chances plus the midfield pairing contributed very little.
Kerry were made to look very good in the 2nd half.

Just read Eugene Mcgee's column, totally disagree with his analysis,wonder what would he have wrote if the score was 1-20 to 3-11, which it could easily have been.

It could just as easily have been 3-20 to 3-11 in fairness.

Fair point, his article was based on Kerry just do enough to get over semi-finals. I think there are some major flaws with this Kerry team.

A full-back line that is clearly uncomfortable under a high ball and in a one on one situation, this is not based solely on yesterday.
A center back who may clearly struggle when ran at.
A midfield that other than second half V Cork have not been tested.
A centre forward Declan O Sullivan who is clearly unfit/injured, his off the ball running is non existant.
A full forward who is having a poor year.

Dont get me wrong, these guys have more All-Ireland medals than they know what to do with, I truly believe they they have been unable to compensate for the loss of Tommy Walsh, Dara O Se, Kennelley and the full back who I cannot think of.

With all due respect to Donegal, I think Dublin will beat them.

Declan O'Sullivan has been having a great year so far. Yesterday he was very quiet and if you were just looking at yesterday, I'd agree with you, but that would not be a safe assumption for either Dublin or Donegal to make. Out of the people you mention, Darragh O'Se is the biggest loss, and missing David Moran doesn't help. But I think the Kerry forwards are a great unit, the best in the game. Tommy Griffin is the full back you are thinking of, and he is also back fit, so he may be chosen if Donegal make the final. I can't see him starting unless it's Dublin with O'Gara at #14.

I think Kerry are in good shape overall. They have work to do, and can improve. They know what it takes and are sitting pretty in an All Ireland final.

[lynchbhoy]

Mayo started out fantastically well, the defensive system with all men behind the ball and a fast breaking attack into forward who had acres of space was really troubling kerry.
Have to also menton that Mayo were superb in their cynicism. Kerry have been doing it for years and only seems to have come to light when meath did it or the dirty dubs did it and now this year there are loads of teams 'at it' !
Mayo just dont have the players yet.
Kerry obv were told to rain ball down on Donaghy. IMO he is a limited player and it didnt work out. In fact that is actually a 'pass' that is hard to perfect and more often than not it suits the defender- and this made cafferky look outstanding , when in reality it was kicked at him. He is a decent player though all the same.
Marc o Se was shown up to not be a true full back. Mayo should have went after him more and isolate him with his man as he was relying on sheer athleticism to keep himself in the game. If Moran was a more out and out FF player he would have went more for goals and I think he would have obtained dividends here.
When Kerry stopped kicking the high ball in , they started to play and score.
Still I think Dublin or donegal would see a lot of scope here and none of the remaining midfields are outstanding, so its all going to be breaking ball. Galvin a key man here.
As for Mayo, too much hype on the poor players. A scrape over london and a stumble in Connacht, with a glorious day against a cork side yet again shooting themselves in the head and foot. I think the press made folk run away with themselves as Mayo were never going to get to the AI this year at least. The media are a problem for mayo sides this past 20 years. Horan needs to try to do something to stem this if he is to shield the players for next season.
Needs to bring in a good few players if they are to compete at this level next season, but they need to be wary of Rossies first. Hard luck Mayo- a load of great footballing people. Just not your time (yet at least).

[cadence]

reckon this mayo team has got legs and will be focussing on working on the areas that they learned lessons from yesterday. you can't buy experience like that and you'd expect they'll go over it with a fine tooth comb. it's a bit unreasonable expecting a county that has been in the doldrums recently to have the know-how to win an AI, new manager and all that. mayo's 2012 championship starts now, sifting through the ashes. i don't prescribe to the notion that they don't have enough fiepower up front, or are lacking in skill or talent. they've plenty of that imo, it's just they need to learn from what went wrong and get grafting. be interesting to see them after this.

[Main Street]

Not a bad run by Mayo this year, from falling back to near enough last place and recovering to get to the top 4, on merit.
Why doesn't Galvin just stick to what he does best, playing sublime football as he's a phony skin-deep hard man, felled to ground in agony, clutching his face for ages, you'd swear he he was felled by an axe, yet not a mark on his face, no streams of blood pouring from an open wound and then whines/snitches to the ref about the mythical foul deed inflicted upon him.

[sans pessimism]

Winning an all Ireland takes several years in practice. Look how long Cork took.   Mayo started off last year losing both matches so this year was a considerable improvement.

It did Cork a while to win their AI. But I am sure after those defeats, their supporters were not saying "I am happy with that performance" after a defeat. This is my point; there seems to be a different mindet between the big counties like Cork and Kerry and that of Mayo. I just could envisage Cork/Kerry supporters saying that yesterdays performance was acceptable if they had been in Mayo's position. Even if they had progressed as Mayo have this year.

I've no intention of overtly criticising any of the players or the manager here. I've good reason to believe that some of the Mayo lads read what's posted here and the last thing they need to read now is that they weren't good enough yesterday.
They owe me nothing; not one effin' thing.

I am not encouraging Mayo fans to start criticising their players. I have the highest regard for players at that level. But my point remains that if Mayo are satisfied with an all-ireland semi final appearance, then that is as far as they will ever get. Perhaps the players are annoyed with how they played, more so than the supporters. If so, that is a good omen. However, if they wake up this morning and say "That was a good year for Mayo football", they shall never progress any further.

I think what most Mayo posters mean is, relative to last year the team is in reasonable shape.Rome wasn't built in a day and progress has been made.What would you guys want us to say...stomp our feet,demand Jamsie's head,clear the decks...no?-well then as I said, yesterdays performance meant valuable experience to these guys and hopefully they can kick on from that.If our posts are interpeted by some as meaning we are happy then thats your'e perogative but ye grossly underestimate the burning desire in the hearts of Mhuintir Maigheo.

[Mayo4Sam]

Was talking to JH last nite, he was v disappointed as he felt Kerry were there for the taking and he could have switched markers on gooch

[kevmy]

Interesting Mayo4Sam - shows the ambition and belief present in this Mayo setup.

I hope we take a leaf out of Armagh and Cork's (and to a certain extent Dublin's) book and come back next year. And if we fail to win an AI next year fail better and keep failing better til we win Sam.

[Lar Naparka]

Winning an all Ireland takes several years in practice. Look how long Cork took.   Mayo started off last year losing both matches so this year was a considerable improvement.

It did Cork a while to win their AI. But I am sure after those defeats, their supporters were not saying "I am happy with that performance" after a defeat. This is my point; there seems to be a different mindet between the big counties like Cork and Kerry and that of Mayo. I just could envisage Cork/Kerry supporters saying that yesterdays performance was acceptable if they had been in Mayo's position. Even if they had progressed as Mayo have this year.

I've no intention of overtly criticising any of the players or the manager here. I've good reason to believe that some of the Mayo lads read what's posted here and the last thing they need to read now is that they weren't good enough yesterday.
They owe me nothing; not one effin' thing.

I am not encouraging Mayo fans to start criticising their players. I have the highest regard for players at that level. But my point remains that if Mayo are satisfied with an all-ireland semi final appearance, then that is as far as they will ever get. Perhaps the players are annoyed with how they played, more so than the supporters. If so, that is a good omen. However, if they wake up this morning and say "That was a good year for Mayo football", they shall never progress any further.

Nah, I don't think Mayo will ever be satisfied with anything less than the real thing and I hope this will always be the case.
But at the same time one has got to be realistic; the team did well to get to a semi this year, given what they went through over the last four years. Cork, Kerry and Tyrone are the only counties that won silverware of any sort in recent years. For any of them a semi-final appearance would not satisfy either the team or the fans.
Success at the top is hard to come by but I've no doubt that Mayo will keep plugging away. Andy Moran said as much when he was interviewed after the game.

Now, I wasn't getting at you when I said that this isn't the time to start criticising the players. It's the probable dissent from within that concerns me.
I'm glad to see that none of the Mayo posters, so far, has taken a swipe at the players. You can bet that a lot more critical comments will be posted on other boards.
We all know some didn't live up to expectations but so do they. They will take some time to recover but they will re-group and pick up the pieces once again.
Next year is along way off and many things could happen in the meantime but I'm hopeful Mayo will pick up where they left off.

Tiocfaidh ar lá.... Keep the faith!

[Frank Casey]

Little bollix in black = 3 points
Poor decision making at critical times = anything from 3 -10 points.

Little bollix in black? = plus two men. O'Shea should have gone for his elbow at Galvin and as for Higgins and his knee to darren's ribs Have not seen Sunday Game - did Judge Judy have anything to say about these?

Poor decision making? agreed.

Gooch - class.

Good result for the Kingdom. Good test from Mayo but once we went ahead on the half hour could only see one result.

Plenty work to do but the right time of the year to do it. Should have time to get the turf home in the next 4 weeks.

[ross4life]

Have to say i was pleased to see the vast majority of the Mayo fans stayed on until the final whistle to show their appreciation to the Mayo team & management as they walked off the field. A poster here last year couldn't understand why we did that when we lost to Cork by 9 points maybe he'll understand it better now?

Mayo like ourself have a young team with much to learn but both have the makings of decent teams should be interesting to see how far they & indeed the other Connacht teams will have progressed in the next 5 years.

[GalwayBayBoy]

Slightly distubing to hear David Brady on Newstalk this evening describing Colm Cooper as a "class piece of ass".