Roscommon vs. Mayo - Connacht SFC Semi-final (Dr. Hyde Park, June 8th 2014)

[moysider]

Very very lucky and we should have been beaten. A bit of experience on our side and lack of belief on the Rossies was the difference. Can't say I buy in to this "we were rusty " or "Horan will be delighted" stuff. Every sign yesterday we are in decline. That power and pace game we had in 2012 and 13 is no longer there or at least not at the level where it troubles teams. No goal chance created,  depending on frees that were not even forced and some points from a sub is a long way from what we saw last year in our games in Connacht and in the AI qtr and semi. We looked short of ideas up front and most of our wides in the first half resulted from hopeful efforts at scores when we ran out of ideas or poor attempts at playing the ball inside only for it to dribble harmlessly wide. Ros missed more real scoring chances over the game and had a more structure and plan  – we looked as though we thought we only had to turn up to win.

We might still win Connacht as we most likely have Galway in C'bar and maybe our experience in CP will stand to us in an AI quarter or semi. But hard to be get excited or confident after what we saw yesterday. Sorry to say it but I think the AI chance is gone for this group - afraid  I'm not one for grasping at rusty straws!!

We more than likely will win Connacht. Horan played silly beggars with the team selection against Roscommon. It had a League game selection of the half forward line. And you know, he was right. it was worth the risk. Two inexperienced lads got a run, we got to look at them and we still got through the tie. Yesterday was a bigger game for Roscommon than Mayo, Roscommon have been 12 months gearing up as to how to upset Mayo. Mayo on the other hand are (at the moment) looking at the bigger picture.

Can t agree bunker. I don t think those lads were ready and a championship match is not the place to be dipping lads toes in it. O Connor is willing and has a future but showed nothing in the spring that he could step up yet. Young O Sé didn t feature in the league but put in a workman like performance v Ros U21.

The mood around me at the game was mixed. Some did not want the kids taken off and their confidence ruined. Other s wanted the A team to be introduced earlier to save the day.

My own gut on this is that these 2 young lads are more damaged than developed by this experiment. Not just that they had to be replaced after a decent shift but because they would have been looking over their shoulders at the likes of Feeney and Gallagher passed over and McLoughlin moved out of position to accomodate what looks now to have been an indulgence. Don t let anybody try to tell me this would have done these boys any good. Fair play to Richie for still showing up for the odd cameo as well. No spring chicken but hardly burned out by Mayo milage either. As regards the bigger picture, maybe the experiment just ruled the 2 out. That is the only conclusion because it did not work. There s 2 less players in the panel that won t really make any difference.

[Captain Obvious]

Very very lucky and we should have been beaten. A bit of experience on our side and lack of belief on the Rossies was the difference. Can't say I buy in to this "we were rusty " or "Horan will be delighted" stuff. Every sign yesterday we are in decline. That power and pace game we had in 2012 and 13 is no longer there or at least not at the level where it troubles teams. No goal chance created,  depending on frees that were not even forced and some points from a sub is a long way from what we saw last year in our games in Connacht and in the AI qtr and semi. We looked short of ideas up front and most of our wides in the first half resulted from hopeful efforts at scores when we ran out of ideas or poor attempts at playing the ball inside only for it to dribble harmlessly wide. Ros missed more real scoring chances over the game and had a more structure and plan  – we looked as though we thought we only had to turn up to win.

We might still win Connacht as we most likely have Galway in C'bar and maybe our experience in CP will stand to us in an AI quarter or semi. But hard to be get excited or confident after what we saw yesterday. Sorry to say it but I think the AI chance is gone for this group - afraid  I'm not one for grasping at rusty straws!!

We more than likely will win Connacht. Horan played silly beggars with the team selection against Roscommon. It had a League game selection of the half forward line. And you know, he was right. it was worth the risk. Two inexperienced lads got a run, we got to look at them and we still got through the tie. Yesterday was a bigger game for Roscommon than Mayo, Roscommon have been 12 months gearing up as to how to upset Mayo. Mayo on the other hand are (at the moment) looking at the bigger picture.

Thats like a theory you would once hear in Kerry surely Mayo aren't as arrogant?

[moysider]

Very very lucky and we should have been beaten. A bit of experience on our side and lack of belief on the Rossies was the difference. Can't say I buy in to this "we were rusty " or "Horan will be delighted" stuff. Every sign yesterday we are in decline. That power and pace game we had in 2012 and 13 is no longer there or at least not at the level where it troubles teams. No goal chance created,  depending on frees that were not even forced and some points from a sub is a long way from what we saw last year in our games in Connacht and in the AI qtr and semi. We looked short of ideas up front and most of our wides in the first half resulted from hopeful efforts at scores when we ran out of ideas or poor attempts at playing the ball inside only for it to dribble harmlessly wide. Ros missed more real scoring chances over the game and had a more structure and plan  – we looked as though we thought we only had to turn up to win.

We might still win Connacht as we most likely have Galway in C'bar and maybe our experience in CP will stand to us in an AI quarter or semi. But hard to be get excited or confident after what we saw yesterday. Sorry to say it but I think the AI chance is gone for this group - afraid  I'm not one for grasping at rusty straws!!

We more than likely will win Connacht. Horan played silly beggars with the team selection against Roscommon. It had a League game selection of the half forward line. And you know, he was right. it was worth the risk. Two inexperienced lads got a run, we got to look at them and we still got through the tie. Yesterday was a bigger game for Roscommon than Mayo, Roscommon have been 12 months gearing up as to how to upset Mayo. Mayo on the other hand are (at the moment) looking at the bigger picture.

Thats like a theory you would once hear in Kerry surely Mayo aren't as arrogant?

Is my last post above arrogant?

[Syferus]

Jaysus you'd swear the world revolved around Mayo listening to Bunker. We had one major goal this year and it was to get the f**k out of Division 3. No one was thinking of Mayo until after the league final.

[Mayo Mick]

Very very lucky and we should have been beaten. A bit of experience on our side and lack of belief on the Rossies was the difference. Can't say I buy in to this "we were rusty " or "Horan will be delighted" stuff. Every sign yesterday we are in decline. That power and pace game we had in 2012 and 13 is no longer there or at least not at the level where it troubles teams. No goal chance created,  depending on frees that were not even forced and some points from a sub is a long way from what we saw last year in our games in Connacht and in the AI qtr and semi. We looked short of ideas up front and most of our wides in the first half resulted from hopeful efforts at scores when we ran out of ideas or poor attempts at playing the ball inside only for it to dribble harmlessly wide. Ros missed more real scoring chances over the game and had a more structure and plan  – we looked as though we thought we only had to turn up to win.

We might still win Connacht as we most likely have Galway in C'bar and maybe our experience in CP will stand to us in an AI quarter or semi. But hard to be get excited or confident after what we saw yesterday. Sorry to say it but I think the AI chance is gone for this group - afraid  I'm not one for grasping at rusty straws!!

We more than likely will win Connacht. Horan played silly beggars with the team selection against Roscommon. It had a League game selection of the half forward line. And you know, he was right. it was worth the risk. Two inexperienced lads got run, we got to look at them and we still got through the tie. Yesterday was a bigger game for Roscommon than Mayo, Roscommon have been 12 months gearing up as to how to upset Mayo. Mayo on the other hand are (at the moment) looking at the bigger picture.

Damn lucky the bigger picture did not include a round 2 qualifier draw!! It's not just about the team selection its overall we looked nothing like the machine we were for the past 2 years. Individually we  are not that much better than a lot of counties but it was the way the team played as a unit especially last year that had us ahead of most of the pack. Signs on Sunday were that we are slipping back to the pack.

[highorlow]

Very very lucky and we should have been beaten. A bit of experience on our side and lack of belief on the Rossies was the difference. Can't say I buy in to this "we were rusty " or "Horan will be delighted" stuff. Every sign yesterday we are in decline. That power and pace game we had in 2012 and 13 is no longer there or at least not at the level where it troubles teams. No goal chance created,  depending on frees that were not even forced and some points from a sub is a long way from what we saw last year in our games in Connacht and in the AI qtr and semi. We looked short of ideas up front and most of our wides in the first half resulted from hopeful efforts at scores when we ran out of ideas or poor attempts at playing the ball inside only for it to dribble harmlessly wide. Ros missed more real scoring chances over the game and had a more structure and plan  – we looked as though we thought we only had to turn up to win.

We might still win Connacht as we most likely have Galway in C'bar and maybe our experience in CP will stand to us in an AI quarter or semi. But hard to be get excited or confident after what we saw yesterday. Sorry to say it but I think the AI chance is gone for this group - afraid  I'm not one for grasping at rusty straws!!

Lookit, was the same rust was there in '11 v London and '12 v Sligo. The truth is we are a bit inconsistent but everyone knows our capabilities, including the team and management. You might prefer that we 'stood up to the plate'.

Also how many times did Kerry sneak past Limerick and go on to an AI.

[Syferus]

Very very lucky and we should have been beaten. A bit of experience on our side and lack of belief on the Rossies was the difference. Can't say I buy in to this "we were rusty " or "Horan will be delighted" stuff. Every sign yesterday we are in decline. That power and pace game we had in 2012 and 13 is no longer there or at least not at the level where it troubles teams. No goal chance created,  depending on frees that were not even forced and some points from a sub is a long way from what we saw last year in our games in Connacht and in the AI qtr and semi. We looked short of ideas up front and most of our wides in the first half resulted from hopeful efforts at scores when we ran out of ideas or poor attempts at playing the ball inside only for it to dribble harmlessly wide. Ros missed more real scoring chances over the game and had a more structure and plan  – we looked as though we thought we only had to turn up to win.

We might still win Connacht as we most likely have Galway in C'bar and maybe our experience in CP will stand to us in an AI quarter or semi. But hard to be get excited or confident after what we saw yesterday. Sorry to say it but I think the AI chance is gone for this group - afraid  I'm not one for grasping at rusty straws!!

Lookit, was the same rust was there in '11 v London and '12 v Sligo. The truth is we are a bit inconsistent but everyone knows our capabilities, including the team and management. You might prefer that we 'stood up to the plate'.

Also how many times did Kerry sneak past Limerick and go on to an AI.

36 v 3.

[Crete Boom]

Jaysus you'd swear the world revolved around Mayo listening to Bunker. We had one major goal this year and it was to get the f**k out of Division 3. No one was thinking of Mayo until after the league final.

Yeah definitely that was your main goal and you achieved it with something to spare. I do think though that the team would have had two main championship goals as well.
1) Get stuck into Mayo at the Hyde and try and keep the game in the mix for 70 mins ( Beating Mayo would have been a bonus) and
2) Get a run going in the qualifiers and aim for a least two wins unless you get an unbelievably hard draw.

The second goal is probably the hardest part now in a perverse way since the team will be hard hit letting the game slip against us rather than us pulling away in the last quarter. Evans will really earn his corn in the next couple of weeks getting the team back up for a tilt at the qualifiers.

I said before the game I was unsure of how good a fit Evans is for the Rossies but after the last day I think he did a great job to subdue us but I think it would be still a failure if Ros went out with a whimper in a winable game. Also I think if some momentum was built up with a win on the back of this performance I could see Ros taking out a big gun like say Derry which would be a huge sign of improvement and give Ros a good base to take back Connacht next year along with survival in Div 2.

As for us , it was a great win to dig out and in my lifetime I don't remember ever getting anything easy in the Hyde against the Rossies! Fair play to the lads for the character shown by the team to first equalise after the goal and then rattle off five unanswered points in response to going three points down soon after. Horan has given us a bit of steel to keep toiling to the bitter end that was lacking in so many Mayo teams I have watched over the years.

There was however the same worrying signs that were there in the Derry game notably the lack of ideas against a packed defense and the terrible attempts at early ball into the inside line.Also we were cut wide open again for the goal and Senan Kilbride could have had a green flag as well had he been sharper. Also I thought Keegan and Higgins looked well short of their best which could be signs of being burnt out after three years but we won't know until the next day.

The only positive spin I can put on Mayo at the moment is that maybe Horan is rolling the dice in a rope-a-dope style strategy to get us into a semi without operating in top gear so we can come out all guns blazing for a final as Kerry did many times over the years. The problem is we are a Mayo and not anywhere remotely like those great( or even average) Kerry teams so even if we somehow manage to get to the third Sunday in September with below average performances who is to say we can turn on our 2013 form like a tap anyway?

[Mayo4Sam]

Where were our frees given?

I'll take this one. These were mainly in the last ten minutes.

Soft Free 1 - Keith Higgins dispossessed yer man fairly, free in, brought in further for mouthing, free was scored
Soft Free 2 - About 9 mins to go we surrounded yer midfielder, ref gives ye a free out
Soft Free 3 - K.McLoughlin gets punished for trying to get the ball off yer half back who went down with cramp, no foul there
Soft Free 4 - I think it was Dillion who dispossessed yer full back who fumbled the ball and it was a 1 on 1 between the goalie and Jason Doherty - ref unbelievably gives a free out

On another 2 occasions in the last ten yer lads lay on the ball and the ref gave a hop ball rather than a Mayo free.

The corner back tried to trip Cillian O'Connor and missed but went again for another go and was successful the 2nd time. Ref forgot the black card rule.

To be balanced we did get 1 free in for what was marginal on whether the back blocked COC's foot rather than the ball when COC was attempting to kick a point. The ref gave us the benefit of the doubt and in real time it definitely looked a free in but on replay it was marginal. The ones I've listed were no where near been marginal calls and in real time never looked like frees. I think it was a case of the ref giving the underdogs a chance.

I thought ye got 2 big decisions. O'connor fouling Enda Smith in midfield which led to a mayo free 5 seconds later was the other. Agree with you I thought our corner back should have got a black.
Blatant hack down. Cracking free to punish it regardless.

On another score what's the rule as regards players been injured and getting attention and the ref letting a game restart. Shine was down in 1st half and kick out was allowed to be taken. It didn't lead to anything but surely this will only lead to trouble down the line

That wasnt a foul, Enda smith wasnt ready for it but COC hit him fair and square

[Rossfan]

Jasus lads I was gutted after that game. We blew it big time.Last time I felt so bad was after the replay v Galway in 98.

However with the youthfulness of the squad this time around we'll learn. As some of the Rhus said earlier we got caught sleeping from a free and left Rosman Moran loose. He also lost his man for another score. Also the lack of composure in hitting a few mad wides when we were 3 up cost us and then there was that last attack.....

Our lads worked their socks and everything else off but one bad result of that was that nearly all our experienced players were off either worn out or injured and we were bringing on very inexperienced lads compared to the Rhus.
Moran/Dillon probably have 100 championship games between them while we were bringin on Nally and F Cregg who barely have 20 Senior games of any sort between them.
As they say the best is yet to come and hopefully we'll deliver.

As for now - two weekends of club activity please, recharge the batteries and get ready for 12th July. Presumably 13th if we're away to Down or Tyrnone( not again please!!!).
Also depending on the opposition perhaps time to start Diarmuid and Enda the next day Johnín.

[Mayo4Sam]

Have to agree with a lot of this

http://www.irishpost.co.uk/sport/mayos-lunatic-fringe-need-lay-horan-remarkable-achievements

Mayo's lunatic fringe need to lay off James Horan and his remarkable achievements

By Eamonn O Molloy on June 9, 2014

WHEN James Horan took the Mayo job, with the county torn apart by ignominy of championship defeats to Sligo and Longford, he promised no All-Ireland titles, and none were expected.

He did promise that Mayo would be "consistently competitive" and those that had been there for the implosion in Pearse Park dreamt that it might be so.

Three and a bit seasons on, Horan has won roughly nine out of every 10 championship games he has overseen. His team stand 70 minutes from winning a fourth Connacht championship running. No Mayo team has achieved that since the 1940s, and in the four years before Horan arrived, Mayo could win only one out of four.

Consistently competitive? Mayo have been much better than that. They have been much better than everyone bar the very best team in Ireland on the very biggest day in football for two seasons now.

There is a rumour that this might be Horan's last season in the Bainisteoir's bib. Surely Mayo fans, fearing a return to beatings from second-rate opponents, pray that it is not true?

Well, not exactly. Or at least not all of them. Here's a sample of some of the comments about Sunday's victory in Roscommon from the excellent Mayo GAA blog:

"Horan's tactical nous is now being quite rightly challenged by the Mayo fans that know football."

"Spillane said at half time that under James Horan he has yet to see a clear attacking strategy in this Mayo team...spot on Pat..."

"Horan must take a huge portion of blame..."

"Disgraceful today. Worst I've seen in years. Horan... has a severe inability to read a game... NO GAME PLAN!!!"

It's a bit of a cheap trick, reprinting such guff, for the internet crazies and phone-in crackpots proliferate in every county where football is taken seriously. It is no surprise to find a nest of them thriving in Mayo, the county with more Twitter followers and Facebook fans than any other, where football is beyond serious. And it is also true that the sensible posts outnumber the demented.

But we do so because this nonsense that Mayo are somehow being held back by their manager's inability to crack the final puzzle of top-class football is not restricted to the odd myopic supporter. It is gaining currency, and it is the sort of talk that will always be found in the company of empty buzz phrases such as "marquee forward" and "attacking strategy".

And if you ever find yourself engaged in a debate about Mayo with one of these people, whether they be unhinged keyboard fan number 147 or Pat Spillane, run a mile and then sprint some more. It is an unwinnable argument, for if Mayo don't win Sam Maguire, they cannot be wrong.

James Horan must get it right every match; the naysayers only have to keep predicting doom and it will eventually arrive, for only he who never plays never loses.

Hammer Donegal, hammer Tyrone, hammer Cork, hammer Galway, hammer Roscommon? Ah sure them boys are no good anyway.

Pick an experienced line-up? Too conservative, James. We'll never find a marquee forward that way.

Try two new half-forwards in the championship? Naïve, James. Everyone can see it but you.

Lose to Dublin? He's not training them hard enough. Fail to win the league? They're burnt out.

Destroy the All-Ireland champions, to the extent that you're 20 points up early in the second half and finish with a scarcely believable 4-17? Pat has yet to see a clear attacking strategy.

And woe betide you, James, if you fail to shoehorn every highly-rated player into the side, for the man you leave off will always be the best man. This summer, that man is Richie Feeney (Edit: Or The Messiah, I mean Evan Regan), a good player no doubt, a stalwart of Castlebar's success, but with every game he doesn't play, he goes from a good player to the perfect cross between Trevor Giles and Maurice Fitzgerald in the eyes of the detractors.

Look, there is no question that Sunday's win in Dr Hyde Park was far from Mayo's best under Horan. But this was a championship game at the home of Mayo's fiercest rivals, who have a stack of promising footballers, who put 13 men behind the ball and worked like men possessed on a dodgy pitch that had just been the subject of a downpour.

Does it occur to the pessimists that such games are not easy? Do they think Mayo would have won such a game four years ago? And if there is to be constructive criticism of Mayo's failings on Sunday, is there any credit to be given for the mental strength shown by Andy Moran and Cillian O'Connor and several others? For the notion that such qualities have been nurtured in a highly organised Mayo setup?

Horan is only to blame for the problems, never to be credited for what works. People talk about Mayo's fine defence as if it was always there, as if it was not Horan who recalled Colm Boyle, who put his faith in Ger Cafferkey and Tom Cunniffe, who has overseen Lee Keegan's development into perhaps the best half-back in the country, Sunday's off-day notwithstanding.

The fact is that Mayo are about where they were last week. A fine team that might win the All-Ireland but probably won't. They will not find another elite forward because one does not exist, and anyway, they have two brilliant ones, Moran and O'Connor, and both have proven it on big days. They will probably win that fourth Connacht title running and their All-Ireland quarter-final without too much fuss.

All of the above is educated guess, but here's a certainty: Someday, they will spend time back among the also-rans, the vast majority of counties whose fans can only dream of suffering defeat in September rather than July.

Only then, when it is much too late, when Roscommon or Galway hold the whip in the west, will some people appreciate the remarkable achievements of James Horan.

[neilthemac]

Seanie Mc was the wrong man to have on Andy when he came on. He got a few chances and made the most of them.
Ros had chances to win and draw but butchered them.
That's the difference in playing in Division 1 and playing in Croke Park in August for the last 3 years.
Mayo used their experience and two important Roscommon players had to be subbed with major injuries - the two of them were getting plenty of 'treatment' all game. Losing O'Gara's power on the ball was a big loss.
Amazing though that Ros got within a point in 2011 as well.

And anyone commenting on the state of the Hyde needs to look at the investment in other grounds in the last 10 years in comparison - all the money blown on McHale and Salthill.

[macdanger2]

That article from Eamon Molloy is 100% on the money. This in particular

Pick an experienced line-up? Too conservative, James. We'll never find a marquee forward that way.

Try two new half-forwards in the championship? Naïve, James. Everyone can see it but you.

[muppet]

That article from Eamon Molloy is 100% on the money. This in particular

Pick an experienced line-up? Too conservative, James. We'll never find a marquee forward that way.

Try two new half-forwards in the championship? Naïve, James. Everyone can see it but you.

I don't agree.

That article starts off with a good point. Horan has taken us to a seriously competitive level. I don't think anyone would dispute that.

Then, by his own admission, he plays a 'cheap trick' by selecting a few quotes from a blog, which are not representative of the overall comments on the blog.

He then joins on the tone of thoose 'internet crazies' by slagging off what he calls this summer's man, Richie Feeney, by claiming some of Horan's detractors see him (Feeney) as a cross between Trevor Giles and Maurice Fitzgerald. Has anyone, ever, anywhere, made a claim resembling that?

Then he inexplicably slags off The Messiah Evan Regan.

For someone who is so upset at criticism of Horan, he seems very willing do dish it out to two honest footballers who have kept their mouths shut and said nothing, thereby joining the crazies he is so keen to vilify.

[Mayo Mick]

Strawman argument from O'Molloy. Supporters enjoy debate and putting forward their own thoughts on team and mgt - happens in every county and not just in Mayo. Keeps many happy and is harmless. We are not the most optimistic lot so criticism will always come easy to us until we win an AI. Horan is hardly too bothered by the views on twitter or Facebook.