Galway v Mayo, CSFC May 20th

[Msgr. Horan]

Although from a neutrals perspective it was undoubtedly another bad game between Mayo and Galway I was delighted with Sunday's result, although I thought that Mayo were deserved favourites to win, the Galway victory didn't surprise me, the margin certainly did!

Unfortunately, despite the positives for Galway, they are all tempered by the sheer awfulness of Mayo; they were terrible the last day. The main man up front Conor Mortimer was cleaned out by Burke, Dillion in a really poor run of form, he was terrible bar the point he kicked, Mayo midfield was lost at sea for most of the game, half back line destroyed.
That said, I expect Mayo to dramatically improve for the qualifiers; they can't be as bad again in a match this year surely and they still have some very good players (a fit McDonald would make a big difference), it wouldn't surprise me at all if Mayo went further than Galway this summer but they have it all to do to even make the Q-finals and I can't see any All Ireland in that Mayo team, which at this stage is what all Mayo wants, another 10 or 20 Connacht titles for Mayo won't mean a thing without winning the All Ireland.

In response to the sour grapes of some Mayo fans, it was indeed cynical play at times by Galway men dragging Mayo lads down instead of letting them get in for a goal chance but if we didn't concede a goal in the 2nd half we were strong favourites to win, Peter Ford and the team knew this well.
Ford had his managerial career with Galway on the line; had Galway lost he was finished, he had his players tactically fouling to ensure that this wasn't the case, to ensure that Galway won. Although it is ugly and repulsive to me as a fan of the "purer" brand of aesthetically pleasing gaelic football, it's understandable. However, you still need the players to be able to kick scores for yourself, simply stopping the opposition won't win you big games, and the damage has to be done at both ends. Galway (Coleman's stupid fouling aside) were much smarter than Mayo at defending last Sunday, in fact for all the crying about the physical approach of Galway, Mayo had the most fouls last Sunday. I will accept that the Mayo people complaining about the ref's ability are 100% correct, he is puck bad. He didn't win it for Galway though, Mayo made sure of that themselves by playing crap.

An excellent summary of what happened and its what I've been trying to say since Monday but I couldnt do it as well as you have done. One thing I wouldnt agree with you on is that Mortimer was cleaned. Several times in the first half he had beaten his man and was through and was fouled, the foul resulted in frees which he pointed. I think alot of people are confusing good marking with the stats on scoring from play. If (and I know if my aunt had balls she'd by my uncle) mortimer hadnt hit the crossbar with his shot I dont think people would be saying that the marking jobs was so good yet it was the crossbar that stopped that being a goal, not his marker. Similarly he wasnt stopped from scoring more from play by the skill of his marker, rather he was fouled when in positions to score. Perhaps some might feel that thats the job of a corner back stop at all costs, I dont know, indeed Mayo might have been better off employing that tactic a bit. point is I wouldnt get over excited by Burkes performance on Mortimer.

[Msgr. Horan]

Jaysus the whinging has reached epidemic levels over on mayofans.com. They must think we can't read them or something. These are from today.

You dont need to do weights to put in cheap shots, Galway were experts at it on Sunday and Mayo didnt respond to the tactic.

Having said that, the leinency that the ref was showing Galway for their "tackles" would not have been shown to Mayo

Yes Brady got away with punching but he deserved a round of applause, someone needed to do it

Mayo were dreadful, but Galway were absoultely filthy

The Galway boys were just taking it in turns to chop down Mayo lads

The best tactic from Mayo after 15 minutes when they saw that the rules werent going to be applied was a one in all in like Meath 96

Yes like that worked a treat back in 96 alright.

All a bit OTT and drama-queeenish over there. As with most of these games the hungrier team on the day usually wins. If one aspect of showing hunger is hitting hard but fair in the tackle then I think any coach worth his salt would want his team to display it. Last year's game was hardly easy on the eye in terms of fouls conceded either.

Well if theres whinging over there its exactly the same kind of stuff that was coming from the Galway camp last year after the Connacht final, so let he without sin and all that.

[mannix]

Mayo are too soft,plain and simple victims.Its not the football thats the problem, its the minds and lack of pride they exhibit.If someone hit one of them in the street it would be a beating for the poor idiot but on the field they roll over.Apologisng after a tackle is something i have seen our best defender do quite often, fine, apologise but after you have beaten his team.
Will Mayo always be the victim because of the nice approach?

[An Fhairche Abu]

Although from a neutrals perspective it was undoubtedly another bad game between Mayo and Galway I was delighted with Sunday's result, although I thought that Mayo were deserved favourites to win, the Galway victory didn't surprise me, the margin certainly did!

Unfortunately, despite the positives for Galway, they are all tempered by the sheer awfulness of Mayo; they were terrible the last day. The main man up front Conor Mortimer was cleaned out by Burke, Dillion in a really poor run of form, he was terrible bar the point he kicked, Mayo midfield was lost at sea for most of the game, half back line destroyed.
That said, I expect Mayo to dramatically improve for the qualifiers; they can't be as bad again in a match this year surely and they still have some very good players (a fit McDonald would make a big difference), it wouldn't surprise me at all if Mayo went further than Galway this summer but they have it all to do to even make the Q-finals and I can't see any All Ireland in that Mayo team, which at this stage is what all Mayo wants, another 10 or 20 Connacht titles for Mayo won't mean a thing without winning the All Ireland.

In response to the sour grapes of some Mayo fans, it was indeed cynical play at times by Galway men dragging Mayo lads down instead of letting them get in for a goal chance but if we didn't concede a goal in the 2nd half we were strong favourites to win, Peter Ford and the team knew this well.
Ford had his managerial career with Galway on the line; had Galway lost he was finished, he had his players tactically fouling to ensure that this wasn't the case, to ensure that Galway won. Although it is ugly and repulsive to me as a fan of the "purer" brand of aesthetically pleasing gaelic football, it's understandable. However, you still need the players to be able to kick scores for yourself, simply stopping the opposition won't win you big games, and the damage has to be done at both ends. Galway (Coleman's stupid fouling aside) were much smarter than Mayo at defending last Sunday, in fact for all the crying about the physical approach of Galway, Mayo had the most fouls last Sunday. I will accept that the Mayo people complaining about the ref's ability are 100% correct, he is puck bad. He didn't win it for Galway though, Mayo made sure of that themselves by playing crap.

An excellent summary of what happened and its what I've been trying to say since Monday but I couldnt do it as well as you have done. One thing I wouldnt agree with you on is that Mortimer was cleaned. Several times in the first half he had beaten his man and was through and was fouled, the foul resulted in frees which he pointed. I think alot of people are confusing good marking with the stats on scoring from play. If (and I know if my aunt had balls she'd by my uncle) mortimer hadnt hit the crossbar with his shot I dont think people would be saying that the marking jobs was so good yet it was the crossbar that stopped that being a goal, not his marker. Similarly he wasnt stopped from scoring more from play by the skill of his marker, rather he was fouled when in positions to score. Perhaps some might feel that thats the job of a corner back stop at all costs, I dont know, indeed Mayo might have been better off employing that tactic a bit. point is I wouldnt get over excited by Burkes performance on Mortimer.

Having watched the full game on Setanta yesterday evening again, I stick by my assertion that Burke had Mortimer in his pocket - any clean ball Mort won he was sheparded out away from the goals or dispossessed, any 50/50 ball that came in Burke won.
To say he was through several times having beaten his man in the 1st half is inaccurate, he was through once when Hanley had little choice but to foul him and take the yellow card. I don't recall Mortimer being much of a threat bar the 2nd half crossbar incident and that one run through on goal in the first half, either in setting other Mayo players for scores or getting himself in scorable positions; for a current All Star corner forward who is Mayo's main threat up front, I'd say that's the definition of being cleaned out. Indeed I'd go as far to say that even 2 of the Mortimer scored Mayo frees in the second half were extremly dubious frees in the first place.

Again this is all in my opinion, if you feel that Burke's performance wasn't as good as Galway folk have made out, you're well entitled to that opinion also.

[myball22]

It's all about the quality of ball going inside to the forward also. Last year Mayo were so on top of the field that the ball was worked into a position that Mortimer had the advantage. On Sunday because Galway were on top at midfield, ball going into the corner was 50-50 and Burke had the advantage. So it's looks like Mortimer won the day previously and Burke last Sunday but it's less black and white than that.

Watched the match on Setanta last night and thought that there was some heavy hitting but nothing out of thr ordinary for a championship game between big local rivals. If Mayo were not at the pitch of this, then this is an issue for them
(Though looking at the match again Coleman should have gone long before he did and nobody should be able to defend Harte for what he did.)

[GalwaySham]

As an aside, I've said it before but whoever had the big idea of redeveloping Pearse Stadium seriously needs to be hung, drawn and quartered. Left Barnaderg (note spellig An Fhairice ) at about ten to 2, didn't get parked until about ten to 4, f*****g traffic! I know all the city and west lads now are going to say how they had to come to Tuam for years and what not but at least every Mayo man, woman, chicken and child weren't going the same way!Absolutelt crazy!Youre nearly better off booking in somewhere on Saturday night and not even thinking about leaving until Monday morning. Anyway rant over, for now anyway!

Agreed, took me ages to get there too but I left in plenty of time. Took me longer to get home though. I dont think it is possible to find a worse location for a stadium than where Pearse is.

I'm sure most Galwegians are hoping for a Galway / Ros' final which would be played in Pearse stadium (no chance of Tuam being ready unfortunately.)

Whats the story with Tuam? They knocked the terrace beside the goal at the beginning of last year and nothing seems to have been done since

[Redgreenery]

On fairness lads, it was a huge margin to lose by and we are all shocked including myself, but it was only 3 scores in the difference, granted 3 scores too many, but C Mort should have gotten a goal as should have D Brady but he made a crazy solo, we could have been within 1 point of them if we took these scores, it's a pity really, but I dont think Mayo deserved to lose by as much as they did, Galway were better than Mayo, much better but were not particulary great themselves.

In 7 weeks I hope and think Mayo should come out a much improved team, T Mort, McD and D Brady will hopefully be then in perfect condition and by then, who knows we could even have McGarrity back! Alot does depend on the luck of the draw though, wouldnt it be horrible to come out against the loser of Donegal/Armagh but if we are to progress this year we will have to face these eventually!

[GalwayBayBoy]

On fairness lads, it was a huge margin to lose by and we are all shocked including myself, but it was only 3 scores in the difference, granted 3 scores too many, but C Mort should have gotten a goal as should have D Brady but he made a crazy solo, we could have been within 1 point of them if we took these scores, it's a pity really, but I dont think Mayo deserved to lose by as much as they did, Galway were better than Mayo, much better but were not particulary great themselves.

That's true but Galway also hit more than twice as many wides as Mayo so I think a 6 or 7 point difference was probably a fair reflection of the game on the day.

The chance Mortimer got that he hit the bar with was exactly the same as one of the goals we conceded in the league semi-final. Burke and Hanley both jumped for the same ball and it broke straight to a Mayo player who quickly passed it to the free Mortimer. A piece of miscommunication in defence that I had hoped we wouldn't see again.

[Tubberman]

Mayo were poor last Sunday, but do you think the result/performance would be the same again if they were to play again this Sunday? I certainly don't. Galway were wound up to the max not to lose, Mayo weren't as desperate for the win.

There are some serious issues for Mayo management and players to deal with, but I wouldn't be writing them off yet. Kerry lost the munster final to Cork last year, and people said Jack O'Connor hadn't a notion and there was war in the camp - we know all to well how they turned their year around.

I think James Horan gives a pretty good assessment in the Western:

Football ability alone will only get you so far
By: James Horan

IT WAS impossible to predict such a serious whipping being handed out by a Galway team to this seasoned Mayo crew. In what is traditionally a close encounter, Galway simply did as they pleased, eventually running out easy winners. The last twenty minutes of the game was of training ground intensity and quality. Galway, a much more determined team on the day, were prepared to do whatever it took to win the match. People may whinge about how cynical Galway were, how they spoiled and pulled down Mayo players, how they slowed the play down when in front etc; blah blah blah. Well tough. That's football in today's world. Might not be that pretty but that is where it's at. We need to hop on board and get over feeling sinned against. We need to get streetwise and learn what is needed to be successful in today's football. Galway, as expected under the stew-ardship of an ex-football hard man, hit hard, took no prisoners and justifiably came away deserving winners. Galway played with a frame of mind that the most successful teams in the country over the last five years, Armagh, Tyrone and Kerry play with. These teams have been successful based on a mixture of skill, aggression and knowing what to do and when to do it. Mayo were naïve on Sunday, took a beating and really let Galway bully them around. Football ability alone will only get you so far.

In a game that Galway controlled for much of the 70 minutes, Mayo, if they had taken their goal chances would have been right in the thick of it. The timing of Conor's second half miss was the most crucial. Galway made the most of this let off and immediately went down the field and scored. This proved the turning point. Mayo had three outstanding goal chances in this match (Conor, David Brady and Pat Harte) and scored none. Galway had two chances and scored both. That ultimately was the scoring difference and shows that at this level you need to be clinical. Our scoring return from play is a concern. Two points from play over 70 minutes at any level will not win games. Our format and type of play, with constantly rotating forwards, does not lead to any consistency and players seem to be concentrating on trying to play their role, instead perhaps of getting into scoring positions. Mayo didn't get into any rhythm in this game and eventually faded out with barely a whimper. However, they are not as bad as this game would suggest and over the next seven weeks there will be time to rehabilitate. Mayo will regroup, work hard and will come out fighting for the qualifiers. There are a number of items that do need to be fleshed out during this period. Firstly the expectation on what the return of Ciaran McDonald and David Brady can do for Mayo needs to be realistic. Also, our expectation on Kevin O'Neill and reliance on Jimmy Nallen needs to be based on sound principles. All great servants of Mayo football but are, however, at a stage in their careers where they cannot dominate a match and influence it like they once did. Yes, all still capable of great things but maybe not over the course of 70 minutes of hard-hitting championship football. Some of the younger guys need to step up and take owner-ship.


As always in defeat, management and decisions made come under scrutiny. Firstly, the multiple positional changes appeared to backfire on Mayo. It appeared at times that some players were not sure who was marking who and who was playing in what position. Maybe all these preplanned moves caused some confusion with players.


Mr. Ford actually out-witted Mayo by bringing Michael Meehan out to centre half and moving Derek Savage to the corner. Mayo ended up with their two attacking wing backs playing as corner backs. Not where we want Devenney and Gardiner to be. Both were eventually replaced. The substitution of Alan Dillon was also unusual. Dillon, the only player in the second half to score from play, was also the right sided free taker. He possibly would have scored one or two of those frees that McDonald tried with the outside of the left peg. Also, should 'Killer' have been given a run? He has the pace and power to cause any defence trouble. All this however is scratching only at the surface. The issue was one of mindset and about knowing what needs to be done and when. This defeat had nothing to do with Mayo's football ability.


People are now talking of this Galway team as All-Ireland contenders. This is premature at the very least. Firstly, Mayo are not this bad and Galway are not that good. Mayo could easily beat this Galway team if it were played again tomorrow. Galway were just more aggressive and hungrier for the win. They were mentally tough and did not allow Mayo to play their game. When not mentally tuned in, you can be physically over-powered by teams that are not physically any stronger than you are. Mayo are every bit as big as Galway, however, the difference was Galway's attitude. It will take time to recover from this, but Mayo have time before they recommence battle. The players, after licking their wounds, need to get straight back up onto the horse and try again. Players will be with their clubs this coming week with championship around the corner. It's probably the last thing some players want, but it's important to play that disappointment out of the system and simply move on.


The lesson is: To be successful in Gaelic Football today you need the right mix of flair, aggression and strength. Kerry being the classic example. Just look at the likes of Dara " Sé and Paul Galvin. Both can play but if needed they will do whatever else is required.

[Redgreenery]

There are some serious issues for Mayo management and players to deal with, but I wouldn't be writing them off yet. Kerry lost the munster final to Cork last year, and people said Jack O'Connor hadn't a notion and there was war in the camp - we know all to well how they turned their year around.

Fair enough but luckily for Kerry they didnt have the whole journey of the qualifiers to go through! Kerry just hadent peaked at the time, Donaghy wasnt at Full Forward and Cooper was not on form.

[Duine Eile]

Oh I had great intentions of leaving at one o'clock at the latest mouview but my delightful travelling companions decided otherwise and we were lucky to have left by then at all, they'll be walking next time! Story with Tuam is the committee is still waiting for half a million euro sanctioned by the government last year and a further half million sanctioned this year to come through, they can't do a whole lot without it so it's kind of at a stand still. There's a bit of an article about it in today's Herald if anyone wants a look.

[StoneWall]

I think James Horan gives a pretty good assessment in the Western:

I don't agree with Horan's view that "The substitution of Alan Dillon was also unusual". Alan had a great year last year but so far this year he hasn't in great form, I thought he was poor on Sunday

[Tubberman]

I don't agree with Horan's view that "The substitution of Alan Dillon was also unusual". Alan had a great year last year but so far this year he hasn't in great form, I thought he was poor on Sunday

You're right. He was quiet on Sunday apart from one great point just after half time.

I don't agree with everything Horan wrote, but his general view is correct I think - Mayo need to toughen up and be able to give/take the hits.
Also, it's not as bad as it seems - if we were to play again next week Mayo would possibly win.

[INDIANA]

Also, it's not as bad as it seems - if we were to play again next week Mayo would possibly win. "

i wouldn't agree with that- i think there's a reluctance within mayo to admit to themselves that as things stand they aren't quite there. Also on aggression- you've either got it or you don't. galvin and o se were always aggressive- it's inherently built into their nature- it's something i don't believe a player suddenly acquires.- and i've never seen a player all of a sudden obtain it.

[Tubberman]

Indiana, in all truth, you only post about the negatives of Mayo football (for some sad reason), so you can hardly be viewed as impartial.

as things stand they aren't quite there

They aren't quite where? Capable of beating Galway? I think most Galway people would accept that if we were to play again later in the Championship, it would be a toss-up.

Also on aggression - you've either got it or you don't

Do you remember Kerry getting beaten by the more aggressive Armagh and Tyrone a few years back? They licked their wounds and decided to match that aggression, of course it can be learnt!