Very well deserved

Well done David .
Natural looking forward.
Big addition to panel

Well done Davitt. Great to see a new lad doing so well and playing the game by what he sees in front of him. That was a brilliant goal last night. Keep it going. We need lads like him.

Huge performance (again) from Davitt.

The goal will get an awful lot of the attention (& rightly so, it was an incredibly clever finish to catch the keeper by surprise) but the work he was doing on turnovers, tracking back, harassing ball carriers to limit scanning and going toe to toe constantly driving forward was every bit as impressive. It's the type of stuff you look for experienced leaders to provide to help produce that spark and provide inspiration to teammates, but all the more satisfying seeing it come from one of the new faces.

Well done neary. Thought darren mchale had a very underrated performance. Thought he was good on the breaking ball

Delighted for Davitt. A raw talent,great footballer and hardy as hell (for a man who never saw the inside of a gym). If he isn't overused and stays healthy he could have a big year.

Well done Davitt, super performance. Strong, fast, skillful, and clever on the ball. Keep it up!!

Agree Plunkett mcHale done similar last week as well, he let in a great foot pass to Towey I'm open country in first half as well but unfortunately the end of the play amounted to nout.

Davitt showing great maturity and tenacity. Not afraid to take on his man, and the ingenuity to palm the ball over incoming defender and then the stylish finish were as good as you'll see this year, fair play.

Well done davitt. Well deserved. I see Sunday game highlighting the craziness of the black /red card not punishing the team carded by not having to keep 3 up. If it's not changed after the next round I'll be gobsmacked

Well done Davitt. Love his player type. Hope it's not coached out of him.
Ona separate note, We're playing with fire not trying a alternative keeper. It's not that long ago we lost our keeper and sub keeper ( enter Rob Hennelly). We might not be so lucky of it happens again , even with 1 keeper.

Well done Davitt - a real find.

Well done Davitt. A very consistent league so far and a great addition. Let’s not put too much pressure on him now . Just let him develop and continue to play a significant role in helping the likes of Ryan, Tommy ( when he returns) etc to make the Mayo attack a serious threat

Very good game by Davitt. Thought ROD was our obvious MOM. Missed a few but always did the right thing, class player and will flourish even more when Tommy C returns.
Other performers of note were Carney who had a big impact, Flynn (especially his turnovers) and Ruane.

Well deserved Davitt. Always positive, willing to take his man on and have a go.

Well done to Davitt Neary on a fantastic performance in the natural League.
He scored one of the goals of league campaign so far on Saturday evening the finished into the bottom corner was superbly taken by the young player that has never played under age football for mayo.
His overall performances in the league so far has been fantastic.
A lot of credit has to go to his club breaffy for the fantastic work they are doing with their young players and to the senior management team of Sean Deane Shane McCann & Danny O Toole who took over a few weeks before the club championship began and had the team playing superb football in which Davitt Neary was one of the players having an outstanding championship that caught the Eye of The Miayo senior management .
Well done Davitt on taking your opportunity
With the mayo senior team you have been super.

Well done Davitt. A real throwback player. And it shows a player who may have benefited from not being involved in setups for years & years, where the creativity may have been blunted. He is a live option for us now in area we need!

Fair play Davitt Neary bright future ahead of you!

Great seeing young talent like him coming through standing up & putting up your hand need more guys like you!

What age is Davitt?

@Just a thought: 22 (https://mayogaa.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/County_Football_Final_2023.pdf - listed as 20 for the '23 County Final).

Comhghairdeas do Davitt agus do foireann Mhuigeo and to the management team.

A huge 2nd half performance from the whole team including the subs. Our captain Stephen had a lovely 2 pointer that started the comeback. Onwards and upwards for the cluife v Kerry!

Mhuigeo Abú

Good age profile and a player in an area where we were a bit short as well. He reminds me of a young Jason Doc.
Goals,points and happy to mix it when needed.

Hopefully we can produce a few more like him.

Just hope he’s encouraged to keep that direct approach he has , the worst thing that could happen him would be to start going lateral , he looks light but you get the impression he’s a tough cookie

Contrast a real scoretaker's finish (Neary's goal) with that of our traditional attacking-,half-backs - no comparison.
As for the alleged tactical about-turn in the 2nd half - an illusion, more to do with the ebb & flow of the game and off-the-cuff player ingenuity. (Mayo back-passed the ball on 6 occasions during the 1st 45-seconds of the 2nd half)
It was a gutsy 2nd half display - the question now is, who is best equipped to shackle David Clifford next time out.
Physicality, pace and fielding ability essential, as being 1st to the ball is a must, when limiting his destructive potential. Good luck with that.

@Mayo Exile: Nahhh. A clear change in tactics and risk accepted when up against it where we were far more direct (including kicking) in both transition & attacking approach play.

Changes in that between 1st & 2nd half can potentially be attributed to the wind & the hill/scoring goal in Armagh but in comparison to how we played with the wind in both the Galway & Tyrone games it was a fairly marked change.

I'm hoping to get some time to put numbers to it this week, but even just at a glance it was very noticable. There's a reason fans got excited to see it.

Well done Davitt Neary. I love his off the cuff play. Long may it continue. 2 hops- not sure if he hasn't seen the inside of a gym as the commentator on Sunday Game highlights mentioned that he won European MMA title. I looked it up and a Davitt Neary from Castlebar Kick boxing club won the European kick boxing title a number of years ago. I wonder is it the same person.

Congratulations Davitt. Love his direct attacking style, long may it last. Great photo on the RTE web site of him and AOS celebrating the goal.

Congratulations Davitt a goal for the ages.

TSU (and others), I didn’t think there was much if any wind at the Athletic Grounds. Talking to supporters at half time we joked that we couldn’t blame the wind for the slicing and dicing we got during the first half. I do take the point about scoring ends though!

Davitt is a massive addition to the team and we desperately needed a pacy wing forward since Kev Mc retired. He is all personality and no shortage of skill either. The finish was something only the better forwards can do. And the turnover that led to the black-card and then Towey's score was just God's honest hard work. He is a nailed on championship starter already.

Completely agree we need to start a new goal-keeper. Reape is first choice but he could get injured and honestly, his kickouts have a lot of room for improvement.

Davitt Neary was a successful high standard kickboxer. So, you'd be pretty confident whatever weight he is is pretty wiry strong. What I've always noticed with people who are quick is they're very strong for their weight.
The new rules suit him.
Playing for Breaffy he would beat one player and end up in traffic.

@GBXI

I enjoyed that turnover as well. Davitt doesn't look for a minute as though he would be intimidated. There was an incident towards the end of the Galway where he sent a Galway player out over the sideline. Supporters remember that (no doubt Galway will have made a note of it as well)
We were getting a hosing but he never gave up.

Mchugh or mcbrien to mark Clifford next Saturday ?

@Catcol: A lot of comments around that, and not being there I couldn't begin to refute them, but watching the ball in the air you could see it hanging up shots (Rafferty's 2 point effort against the breeze - though obviously showing a 2 could be kicked shows it wasn't as dramatic as many of the breezes we've seen) and helping others (Coen's 2 pointer with it) so a factor for sure with it very debatable how significant. You'll often get very different wind conditions at flag/pitch level and then once you take a shot or put a bit of air on it, especially when you've stands funneling it around (the Davin Stand/Canal End does so many odd things to shots whatever the breeze).

And even on a calm day you've a significant advantage (Billy-Joe did a great job speaking about it on the pod) going down the hill. Think he mentioned 5 yards more on a kick down the hill and 5 yards less up the hill (never played at the Athletic Grounds, but we've a few of those in Mayo that can be very significant alright).

@Paddyjoejohntom: McHugh for me (though wouldn't rule out Callinan or Brick being the choice for management).

McBrien potentially asks Kerry questions on transition & winning primary possession that it's a challenge to find answers for (especially for Kerry atm down a lot of their bigger bodies) if he's freed up that little bit more.

Well done Davitt. What a goal it was

Davitt well deserved MoM.
A brave clever attacking forward a joy to watch Good luck for future career

Is the Kerry game on tv ?

@ Yew tree TG4 @ 13.30 Sunday 16th

Sorry Yew that's the Derry match

@yew_tree: No.

"Saturday
3pm: Dublin v Meath (LF) - TG4
5pm: Cork v Kilkenny (H) - TG4
7.35pm: Armagh v Dublin (F) - RTÉ 2

Sunday
1.45pm: Donegal v Derry (F) - TG4
2pm: Waterford v Dublin (H) - TG4 app/player...(TV deferred 5.35pm)
3.45pm: Limerick v Clare (H) - TG4"

https://x.com/fotoole13/status/1893970435005424075

Surprised it's not on tv. Where as Dubs nearly get all their matches shown suppose we can't complain get a good few matches shown.

No excuse by to attend in person but the 3pm throw in might be tricky

@Sticks. That was just me having a sarcastic little pop at a so called journo, who's quote that was. Davitt has seen the inside of gyms around the world.
Another example of that buck talking through his hoop.

@InExile in fairness some might have plans or working.. But hopefully there is a good crowd!

Think we could beat kerry our performance v Armagh will have given the guys confidence back!

Mark clifford well and they are well beatable..!

Kerry are like all other Div 1 teams. On their day they can beat anyone else in Div 1 and equally lose (or draw!)…it’s a 50/50 game next weekend. Kerry have plenty of top level players other than DC. I’m more interested in how we set up structurally in defence and our strategy in attack. Id also like to see Ivers get some game time and Cian McHale too. Was he injured last wknd? He got no ball worth talking about v Tyrone and it was against the wind. No point seeing only glimpses of lads throughout the league. It’s pointless. You get to April with no idea about them.

@Catcol I switched ends at half-time, first half I didn't notice any wind, but was beside the TG4 setup in the Second half and the Flags were showing a decent breeze.

Both McHugh and McLaughlin were sucked into the play, or caught in no man's land a few times on Saturday. Very nieve defending. The concentration levels will have to be much higher v Kerry or we will be severly punished. In the meantime McLaughlin can keep practicing in solo running at pace.
Kerry will probably be pushing to win the league, so they will provide serious competition for us. Exactly what we need.

Disappointed the Davitt didn't make team of the week. More people would go to matches if you could pay cash or card on the day.

More people would go to matches if we had the panel on a Thursday evening. The silly games we play.

@Blond64. An on the day option would be Supervalue or a Centra shop, one of which is on the top of McHale road.
But I agree,a bit of a nonsense that one can't be purchased at the ground.

Mark Clifford and they are beatable.

If my granny had wheels.. she'd be a bike.

@west kerry it's just facts like it or not and I am not the only one who is saying this!!

Has there been a defender yet who has got the better of Clifford in a game - I don't believe so. McBrien is probably the most suited to him not sure McHugh would be physically strong enough for him IMO. I thought Kerry were quite good yesterday but did leave good few scores behind them to..

Well done Davitt ! rinse and repeat please !

Playing time in League so far

Dublin vs Mayo
Colm Reape 70 mins
Sam Callinan 70 mins
Rory Brickenden 70 mins
Enda Hession 70 mins
Stephen Coen 70 mins
David McBrien, 70 mins
Donnacha McHugh 63 mins
Fenton Kelly 63 mins
Matthew Ruane 70 mins
Conor Reid 70 mins
Paul Towey 51 mins
Davitt Neary 64 mins
Fergal Boland 70 mins
Frank Irwin 70 mins,
Ryan O’Donoghue 70 mins
Darren McHale 19 mins
Cian McHale 12 mins
Bob Tuohy 7 mins
Sean Morahan 7 mins
Diarmuid O’Connor 6 mins

Mayo Vs Galway
Colm Reape 70 mins
Sam Callinan 70 mins
Rory Brickenden 70 mins
Enda Hession 70 mins
Stephen Coen 70 mins
David McBrien, 70 mins
Sean Morahan 70 mins
Donnacha McHugh 70 mins
Matthew Ruane 53 mins
Conor Reid 47 mins
Fergal Boland 44 mins
Davitt Neary 64 mins
Paul Towey 51 mins
Frank Irwin 61 mins,
Ryan O’Donoghue 70 mins
Darren McHale 26 mins
Diarmuid O’Connor 9 mins
Eoghan McLaughlin 17 mins
Bob Tuohy 14 mins
Cian McHale 9 mins

Mayo Vs Tyrone
Colm Reape 70 mins
Eoin O’Donoghue 70 mins
Donnacha McHugh, 70 mins
Enda Hession 70 mins
Stephen Coen, 59 mins
David McBrien, 70 mins
Eoghan McLaughlin; 68 mins
Jordan Flynn 70 mins
Mattie Ruane 70 mins
Conor Reid, 64 mins
Darren McHale, 70 mins
Davitt Neary 60 mins
Cian McHale 35 mins
Frank Irwin 70 mins
Paul Towey 46 mins
Ryan O’Donoghue 35 mins
Fergal Boland 24 mins
Jack Coyne 11 mins
Aiden O’Shea 16 mins
Sam Callinan 2 mins

Armagh vs Mayo
Colm Reape 70 mins
Eoin O’Donoghue 70 mins
Donnacha McHugh 70 mins
Enda Hession 70 mins
Stephen Coen 70 mins
David McBrien 70 mins
Eoghan McLaughlin 47 mins
Conor Reid 30 mins
Matthew Ruane 70 mins
David Neary 70 mins
Frank Irwin 42 mins
Jordan Flynn 65 mins
Paul Towey 61 mins
Darren McHale, 70 mins
Ryan O’Donoghue 70 mins
Jack Carney 40 mins
Aidan O’Shea 28 mins
Sean Morahan 23 mins
Fergal Boland 9 mins
Jack Coyne 5 mins

There are plenty more Kerry players who would walk on to our team - Tom o Sullivan, White, Diarmuid o Connor. Paudie C, Paul Geaney, Sean o Shea etc. Of course David Clifford is at a different level to these lads - as he is to all our players as well. Would like to see McBrien marking him the next day.

Yeah Clare and your copying that lazy unimaginative narrative.

Facts are provably what you are giving is an opinion.

Thanks 2 hops.

@Thedarkyfinn, not too long ago, Mick Fitzsimmons tied up David Clifford in an All Ireland, 2023, Clifford could not score and this proved Kerry's downfall on the day.

@West kerry no need for that I give my opinion same as everyone else on here.

Loads on here have said clifford carries that team and was shown v Tyrone to so don't know why your jumping on my post.

It's just facts and if you don't like it so be it I respect your posts.

2 years on and the same argument about Clifford erupts again.that argument could be labelled at any team.take o Donaghue out of mayo and we will struggle.take con out of Dublin team .take Shane Walsh out of Galway.kerry use him alot in games and wouldn’t anyone if they had a player of that ability.i would try mchugh on him and just ignore getting involved in the game .That hop technique he use to get his shot away is obviously very deceiving for the defender

@1985 it's opionion thata all.

I know it’s an opinion clare but I would imagine if people said if you take Ryan o Donaghue out of the mayo team they would be a very average team it might trigger a few comments.Anyway I wouldn’t normally be defended Kerry in any way and I always get great satisfaction at beating them after all the pain they have inflicted on us over the years

Batetheblanket.

Fitzsimmons did not such thing.

Clifford missed his shots simple as that.

Fitzsimmons was either behind him or on his backside.

Ofcourse winners make the narrative but that's not what happened on the day.

@1985 yeah true we would be lost without Ryan O D if we didn't have him.

I just don't think they are as good as the kerry team when the likes of gooch was playing for them.

In saying that kerry are still ahead of us but we do have a chance on sat to get some points if we play like we did in that 2nd half.

New pod up on Patreon - Mike took a trip to St Colman's today where he caught up with joint managers Eoghan Collins and Enda Campbell, as well as the team’s joint captains Darragh Beirne and Rio Mortimer.

@WestKerry, I suppose we all have our opinions on players form over the past few years, say since 2022.
I reckon Paudie is actually a better all round player than his brother, very hard worker on the pitch, takes the ball forward and usually delivers a good kick pass, and when the chips are down ( as 2023 All Ireland final ) he is the one Kerry player that will get those scores.

I suppose it's hard to argue when a player get 3 goals in a league game, but I am talking about the big day, a final in Croke Park.

Maybe David Clifford was "off form" in the 2023 final but he was certainly spooked by Fitzsimmons, rushed his shots and just could not get the scores as he did in the 2022 final v Galway.

Take Maurice Fitzgerald out of the 97 team and we win the All-Ireland. And my auntie did have balls after all. Kerry are not unbeatable with or without Clifford but with him on the field you have to have a good day in the attack as he is worth 5 or 6 points to Kerry at a minimum. I'm not sure we have the personnel or tactics to shackle him but then maybe the wind will change at half-time in our favour.

I thought I knew the difference between an opinion and a fact but I'm all confused now!

Well I for one, think it was more of a case of Clifford having an off day in terms of his shooting (2023 final). Fitzsimmons did well, but Clifford had the opportunities. He just didn't take them, which is rare for him.

Who marks him at the weekend? Personally, think McBrien matches up best. It would also be a really good test for McHugh too

Batetheblanket,

David carrys an unbelievable burden on his shoulders.

Kerry is a very unforgiving county, eaten bread comes to mind.
He has carried that responsibility since he was a young lad and un 2023 he had a very difficult final and the loss of his mam.

Paidi is the playmaker hard to believe he was never a Kerry underage player.

The one thing I took away from Tyrone is David is leaner than I've seen him.
He looks fresh and he looks fit.

This Kerry team however have been very flakey and have not lived up to expectations.

I thought Clifford's body language and expressions yesterday spoke volumes - he celebrated those goals like I've never seen him celebrate. I can't imagine carrying that level of expectation, but I thought his hunger and fire was very clear yesterday.

But Paidí is the man to watch on Saturday and I'm far more interested in who will pick him up.

These rules are made for a team like Kerry and I have no doubt that DC will have a very influential year. Attack wise Kerry will do well whether they have a strong enough defensive system has yet to be proven. There is a question over the Kerry team, not sure if leadership, tactics or something else but definitely not clear favourite yet for Sam although without a doubt in the top tier. Not sure how Saturday will go, while we could win, at the same time it would be a surprise if we pull it off but looking forward to seeing how both teams approach the game.

While I agree Ann-Marie, they both need close watching. Paidi supplies the bullets and David fires them. But given half a chance the supplier can turn executioner. I’d go with McBrien on David and McHugh on Paidi and that still leaves plenty work for the rest of our defence.

What is the story regarding the black card and the 3/3 rule? What is the offending team allowed to do? And the team without the black card?
And what is the reasoning behind discounting a 2 pointer just because the goalkeeper gets a hand to it?
At half time in our own game an Armagh lad kicked a brilliant score from the sideline, the kind of sharpshooting that should be rewarded. It makes no sense that the arc is not extended from the intersection point to then run parallel with the sideline.

I would like to see McHugh mark DClifford. McBrien has picked up Clifford a few times before so it’s always an option to fall back on but I don’t see any harm in giving McHugh a go. We could do with McHugh developing in that line

I actually agree with the posters comments on PClifford especially his character when chips are down. Dublin in 22 AI Semi, Dublin in 23 AI final come to mind. He also kept trying in 21 v Tyrone when he had a mixed game. I’d love to see Hession match up there with him, certainly got the pace

Finally how much more practice does an Inter county player need to master the basics of soloing?! I keep reading it’s a development area but can’t see how it will be improved on at this point

@Urmanthere: a) "2.14 During play, a team must have at least three outfield players on each side of the half-way line.
Exceptions:
Where the number of players on a team is reduced below fifteen, the number of players that team is required to keep on each side of the half-way line is reduced accordingly e.g. if there are fourteen players on the team, it must have at least two outfield players on each side of the half-way line."

It really should be written as "you can only have a maximum of 11 outfield players in a single half".

b) I'd imagine it's mostly there to prevent shots dropping short being punched over and still eligible for two, but I'd imagine extended to include other scenarios like a keeper touching it to create some exciting scenarios. If you're 2 up with seconds on the clock and you've someone stretching to make a 2 a well organised team might have a set play to launch a lad up in the air to get that touch and make it 1.

c) Valid.

I'd imagine the initial idea there is to ensure better consistency across pitches. In MacHale Park we'd have a narrow 1.5m either side of the arc to work with, in Hyde Park they'd have the full 5m either side to work a 2 pointer and in a minimum width pitch they'd have the sideline, endline and arc all touching at a single point with 0 space in those pockets.

Neither scenario ideal, though a toss of a coin which is the lesser evil there and if extending the arc creates a few more spectacular sideline hits I'd be all for it.

Thanks Tsu
Regarding the black card though doesn’t this mean that the offending team has a full compliment of players while defending and presumably a full compliment while attacking. In a sense they are not operating at a numerical disadvantage. The non offending team are not getting the same value from having the extra man or indeed extra men as they would before 3/3.

In regards to someone shackling DC, it's some job to have to try and do. Eoin Murchan did a great job on him in the league in Croker Park last year. But I think marking him out of a game, it'll be as rare as hens teeth to see someone doing it.

Think as others said McBrien is the one to be marking DC & maybe Enda hession for Paudie.

We will be underdogs as usual but I think our guys will give them a good fight again so long as we show some fight like the way we know our guys can play like in that 2nd half I will be happy.

@Urmanthere: Yup. We'd a couple of great examples of sides down to 13 men at the weekend and managed to hold their own just fine as it was still 11v11 outfield players where it mattered. The cards now only changing the risk if a quick turnover happens, rather than a tangible benefit at all times.

It's got a lot of heat for the last fortnight and one of the safest bets to be tweaked in the upcoming changes after the Kerry match. Eamon Fitzmaurice came out with some discussion on it (https://www.rte.ie/sport/football/2025/0224/1498685-fitzmaurice-frc-will-have-to-look-at-cards-rule/) so we know the FRC are fully aware.

The obvious fix is just making a constant "3 must remain at all times", my personal preference, but there are a few different ways they could go about tweaking it all with pros and cons.

Regarding the difficulty of marking Clifford-: you can't in all honesty, his height and balance being the main reasons. However, there's no better outfits to frustrate and harry than the Ulster men. I'd back McGuiness and O'Rourke every time over O'Connor or when it comes to knockout football. I've no idea who'll be playing who but I'm looking forward to it.

What kind of crowd will we get Saturday? 8/9000 ? Although 3pm might not suit everyone, the fact that David Clifford is in town and it's not on Tv will push up the numbers from the Tyrone game surely

Regarding the black /red card issue it's really one they don't have properly thought out as i stated earlier it's not really a punishment for the offending team. @westkerry won't like this but it wouldn't surprise me to see a team sacrifice a player to injure clifford and tho it would mean 15 v14 the punishment would be better than having clifford on the field seeing as they could defend and attack with the same amount of players as if they had the full compliment. Btw clifford is a genius in my opinion.

what changes would people make for Saturday - I would start O Shea and Jack Carney?

Any word on injuries /unavailability - Conroy, Paddy D, Conor Loftus, D O' Connor ?

I would be surprised to see Conor Loftus back for any stage of the league or even at all for this year to be honest.

Paddy D heard on here he has due back at the end of the league.

I just hope Conor gets all the time,space , support he needs, without anyone putting any pressure on him to do anything.

@2 hops 100% agree

He'd obviously be massively welcomed back, for painfully obvious reasons. I wonder if we'd be as well to leave the speculation to one side given how personal the circumstance are.

100 percent exile

Sorry guys for raising it - it would be great to have him back.

Clearly no harm meant Mayoman51 and fully agreed!