Mayo GAA Discussion

To the extent that its implementation fell well short of what could have been reasonably expected in the first half. If the forwards had displayed any sort of intermediate club level shooting/freetaking competence in the first half, we could easily have gone in only a point or two down.

Hornball :D

agree with all that. I’m very optimistic. Would be great to have Mullen back. They don’t like being run at .

let’s go baby let’s go

Robert Hennelly was MOTM for me yesterday. What character that man has shown. How hard must the '16 replay have been for him? And other days when he took (mostly undeserved) criticism and sometimes even ridicule? I don't really know the lad personally and I'm not from his club but if anyone in sport deserved a fair deal it's him.Horrible luck for McLaughlin, a jaw break is a terrible injury and impacts your life in a way other injuries don't. The shoulder charge was reckless but probably not malicious on this occasion despite it being perpetrated by a malicious player but it deserved a card of some colour. Lane should be stood down from inter county, his ineptitude is dangerous and could have resulted in a bad situation being a lot worse.Going to be hard beat Kerry without 3 top players and I think there maybe a few other injuries resulting from the thuggery Dublin players resorted to once they realised the referee wasn't going to rescue them this time. Great to be there anyway, days like these won't last forever.

Never heard groupies were a big thing in GAA, but I grew up in more innocent times...

That's a Horndog, we all know what Hornball is. It's Horanball on Viagra.

Never even thought of that

Hopefully have Mullen back . A month is a long break though

Interesting that Lane correctly booked Dean Rock after just 3 minutes for a frontal shoulder charge

Consistent as ever

A month is a long time to go without a game though.

Heard during the week that it wasn't as bad as was being suggested by some, but who knows.

And to add to this, their work in making sure James Carr left the field for a head injury assessment towards the end (after Paddy Small's cowardly punch to the head). The medics did a great job, I can't imagine how hard it would be to insist that the determined player leaves the pitch in that white hot match atmosphere.

Watching back the game, Tommy Conroy had the game of his life thus far. His second half and extra time performance was immense. Showed up for big points just when we needed him and was very direct. His strength and pace were spectacular - just shaking off defenders at times - and he kicked a couple of phenomenal scores at clutch moments. Ryan O'Donoghue also took the baton from Cillian well with the frees and was determined to make things happen in the second half and extra time - his turn over on James McCarthy in extra time was a great bit of stuff.

Robbie Hennelly of course had a terrific game and showed nerves of steel.

Paddy Durcan made some key interceptions and runs from the back, in particular his block at the death when Dublin were trying to manufacture a goal was gutsy stuff, as was Diarmuid's outstretched leg to keep the stray free in play for Kevin McLoughlin's point - that signalled the turning of the tide.

Padraig O'Hora is some animal at the back.

Lee Keegan was probably my man of the match, on reflection and watching it back. Bossed O'Callaghan in the second half, intercepted a Comerford kickout for a point and scored a point of his own when the comeback was on.

I definitely think Horan has a decision to make on O'Shea. He looked nervous and lacking in confidence while on the pitch. Very indecisive and was slowing the play down. The game changed when he went off and we brought the pacey youngsters on. I think Horan will start him the next day and to be fair, the opposition for the final will be a different proposition than Dublin. But it'll be interesting to see if he plays 70 minutes. Could see him getting subbed again tbh, in favour of finishing out the game with youth.

Thought we were very cagey in the first half, maybe a bit scared of conceding an early goal, but when we cut loose and just ran at them in the second half, I felt the pace, power and fitness we showed was frightening at times - there were moments when the Dubs could hardly get a glove on some of these youngsters. Young Hession was superb in this regard. Was delighted also for Jordan Flynn, who has probably had his card marked somewhat since that incident in his underage days and has subsequently probably struggled to make an impact at senior level thus far - he stood up to the plate and took his score well.

Horan also played a blinder on the sideline - made huge, courageous calls at big moments that probably shifted the game in our favour. The players buy into him big time as a manager, despite whatever criticism he has received over the years for his tactics.

It would be terrific to have Oisin back for the final, maybe the extra bit of time is a blessing in this regard, though I did hear Horan saying he'd prefer a 2 week gap between games.

We definitely have improvements to make - some of the shooting was shocking in the first half and we lacked direct running. But when we came alive in that second half, like I said, the pace and power and fitness levels were immense. And the way we applied pressure to the end and managed the game was not something I'm accustomed to seeing from Mayo teams - at the end of normal time, we had Dublin hemmed so much into their own half that they were dithering with the ball in front of their own goal, a bizarre sight I have to say. In the second half of extra time, we played them at their own game. There was never any sense of panic.

A lot of these youngsters play with no fear. They have no scars from previous losses. If we cut loose and go at it, I genuinely think we have a great chance in the final, regardless of opposition.

Finally - I've said my piece on the standard of refereeing during the game and the McLoughlin injury, but I wish him all the best for a speedy recovery. He is a huge loss for us of course, but most importantly, I hope he recovers swiftly and can get back to normal in his personal life as soon as possible.

Horan is some man. We are very lucky to have him as our manager and what he has done for Mayo football. He took the softness out of us when he came in and set standards, made us strong. Gone are the days of 04/06.

Some effort in the second half. If we can get tuned in from the start we have a serious chance. Conroy, ROD really came good and this is the first time they have done this at the big stage. The quality is there and they just need to do it for longer.

Fair play to Oisin McConville for calling out the ref and the tackle on McLoughlin. He must have been in some pain and a nasty tackle. He can be so proud of what he has achieved to date.

But I come back to probably one of our best players ever in a Mayo jersey... Keegan. He is just an animal of a player. The bigger the day the bigger the performance and now he has guys who are playing like him O'Hara, Durcan etc. The attitude is the most impressive part of these guys..

Lets hope Mullen is back. We need him now with Eoghan Mcloughlin gone.

To say he can't kick simple scores is not accurate, he had two horrible misses on Sat but if he shoots it usually goes over, he nearly always takes low risk shots or fists it over.

He'll start the final at ff and could do huge damage in there.

Too many people are writing him off because he had one bad game.Aido will not let us down.

Congratulations to Mayo from a Kilkenny cat. Great to see Dublin knocked off their perch. It would be great to see Mayo claim the big one. So often the bridesmaid. Good luck to Mayo in the AIF.

On a side note not sure if anybody else said it but nice to see Brendan Harrison after his long layoff.

Just on AOS, he has never played well against Dublin. He seems to be getting alot of bad press but I would give him a bit of space on the performance on saturday. He is not mobile enough for midfield anymore with the way we play and possibly slows us down. FF is his only position and while some will disagree, he gives us two positives on hitting long high ball and also brings a bit of fear to defenders. I read Horan said he was carrying a slight knock as well so let him knuckle down and get ready for the final. I can't see him not playing in FF tbh

I hope so too. My only chance of getting a ticket unfortunately. Slim and none though

this is interesting.

In Their Moment Of Need, Dublin's Book Of Dark Arts Was Of Little Use | Balls.ie

and this

Off The Ball on Twitter: "🏐 Dublin tried every dirty trick in their extensive playbook to hang on - like they always do 🏐 This has been a hallmark of their great sides #OTBAM Performance Rankings with @GilletteUK | #BestFaceForward https://t.co/6TOcPN2F4B" / Twitter

I mean this has been part and parcel of the 6 in a row, but it's funny how it's only now the media are highlighting it. The love in appears to have come to an end.