Nothing after today matters. We have to win today. Simple as that. All I’m hearing all week is it’s not even a question of whether Galway will win but by how many. Galway are rightly confident. They have no reason not to be given that all signs point to them winning ……..let’s hope we can p on the parade that is planned for before the Galway United game tomorrow evening! They will hardly let Mayo parade the Nestor cup to the crowd ;)

@KM79 100% agree..

Hope to god we throw off the shackles and throw everything at that lot ...

We need to do everything to stop them lifting the nestor cup 4 times in a row on our home pitch

I actually think we will do it to ..

Hope they do it for Aido and do it for Durcans first game back ..

Mayo by 3 good luck guys!!

If you told me a at beginning of year, Walsh be missing and especially Comer, I would say massive advantage mayo. And hope still the case, but in fairness to Joyce, he has built a serious panel. Still don't like Joyce,

Galway missing so many men, home advantage, underdog moniker, about 21,000 tickets sold.
Mayo by 3

Fresh, sunny morning in Castlebar with a crisp enough breeze at the moment. If it's this way at 4, outside shooting could decide it... let's hope we've been practicing,
Up Mayo!

Again, I hope for a touch of the unhinged in our play today.
Apologies in advance, Sean Burke, but if the slow build up, lateral stuff features early on the crowd will be relegated to mumbling when we need to be roaring! It's hard to be enthused with that type of play.
It's perfectly poised.
Mayo for the win please God.

Thanks for all the coverage WJ.

The two missing for Galway can be easily filled in for but we simply dont have the squad to replace what we are missing.EM ,PD,DOC,TC.All huge names on our starting 15.This is not a free pass for Galway coming off handing Armagh a handy Final last July but its also the only show in town for Mcstay.Underdogs do win but we have to get mostly everything right today where as Galway can win with a decent performance.Nobody outside Mayo gives us a chance and bookies similar.Days like today should be what all our lads live for.Go do us proud.

I see Enda got an honorary doctorate the other day. I can say he was right about one thing "Mayo are world champion whingers!" He should follow it up with a thesis. All this cribbing about group stage draws.. would Dublin under the great Jim Gavin have any issues. Damn right, he wouldn't. He'd accept whatever challenge presented itself and face it in a calm measured way. That's what true champions do, and what I'm sure Pj will also do today. Galway by 4 points.

@Charlie

Ah come on mayo are world champion whingers ah here..
We actually want the the dubs in McHale park in 2 weeks...

Imagine having beaten ye against the odds with our all stars captains first game back and then with momentum & confidence back we welcome a beatable Dubs team to McHake park in 2weeks..

We are not whingers everyone was giving out about those group games !

Again mayo by 3 with Durcan to come on in last 15 minutes with a big mayo cheer for him!

Mayo simply the best

Galway Mayo usually tight affairs and so they should be but today may be different . Mayo left it behind them last year with inability to see out game. Since then Galway have progressed and are top 3. We have regressed. The new rules suit Galway as they enable better footballers. Today a defining moment for our management who lack energy and ideas. Galway by 6/8 points....

We're long enough making heroes out of everyone else.
Time for us to make heroes out of ourselves.
For all the doom and gloom we've lost 1 of the last 9 so we're hardly a basket case.
Mayo by 1 with a 2 pointer at the death.

Important as always we Mind the House. Runners from deep will need to be tagged.

Time to get jiggy, feels like a huge game. Cant wait bring it on...Mayo by 5..

Ah I'm so excited about today I could nearly pee myself....finally its here. Bring it on Galway. Let's see what ya got..mayo by 1..

Galway are getting far too much credit, they're the media's golden boys this year alongside Donegal, seemingly immune to any real criticism. There's barely a whisper about how they blew last year’s All-Ireland or their track record of struggling when carrying the favourites tag. Their 2025 form has been patchy at best, and the Roscommon win has people overestimating where they're really at. They're sleepwalking into a battle against a team that’s beaten them multiple times in recent seasons when it’s mattered—league finals and knockout games. Mayo have nothing to fear—hit them hard, play with purpose, and bring the Nestor Cup back to its rightful home. Mayo by 3.

There is a decent breeze . Boland should be on when we are with it ?

Ya hit them hard Tony , I dont know who is going to do the hitting, hit a few 2 pointers be more like it today..lovely day here around south Mayo and nice day for footie, hope it's a good game and Mayo do the business.

The new Mayo will be unveiled today. The 3 years of undercover tactical manoeuvres will be unleashed to devastating effect and we will all be shocked. Or maybe not.

Galway by 5 to 8 I'm thinking..we'll see.

One stand ticket available for today,section 103 Row Z

I feel like a kid on Christmas morning TBH.
No idea how it is going to go.
We generally don't get out worked or out fought on the big days. it has imo been self belief that has cost us.

The team, the county, and maybe even the entire country (it's not the same without us whether you care to admit it) all need the same thing.

#BringTheBandwagonBack

I will take it Pacar

@James Fleming WhatsApp me 087 7640605

If Galway were or are that good why didn't they beat Armagh in ladt years final, the Armagh goalkeeper carried a foot injury into that game and this was not spotty Galway.
Simple, stop Finnerty and Tierney this will be half the job done.
I wonder Shane Walsh picked up a new injury or is it a recurring injury from ladt year?
Jim Gavin’s Dublin didn't need to whinge about anything, had everything going for them, home venue etc, but that has changed now.

May the best team win, in hopefully a very physical contest.

Ok

I think this will be a fairly straight forward win for Galway (much as I hate to say it).

I just don't think McStay will permit any personal freedom in our play.

Will be great to see Paddy back!

It really is set up for mayo today. Comer and Walsh out is a huge boost to us that really can’t be underestimated. It’s the equivalent of us without ROD and AOS. Great to see DOC and Paddy back on the bench.

Big crowd expected, big performance will be demanded. Mcstay and Rochford can’t be responsible for 3 straight Connaught final wins for Galway while Mayo sit idly by. You have to feel that a loss today (regardless of a better group stage draw) will be the end of this management. So why not just give it one last big throw of the dice. Go for it. Play quick ball into our danger men. Don’t let Rob Finnerty rub our lads hair after scoring soft points. Stop Conroy and Maher from running the midfield. Just go for it.

If we don’t go for it today and lose, this blog will be in absolute meltdown mode. And I can’t imagine player morale will be much better. It’s a season defining game, so let’s hope we see a performance that justifies the importance of a victory.

Agree Green and Red , absolutely set up for Mayo, no expectations, Walsh and Comer out, home venue... These games usually come in cycles, and after last year, it's Mayos' turn..
Mayo by 2

Id love to see McStay putting his stamp on this management team and having Mayo play the way they played during his first league campaign its win today or we are looking for a new manager in July

Galway poster here, today is the day, this is what it is all about! I appreciate that form hasn’t been great but the negativity of some posters on here caught me by surprise, as with all Galway Mayo games there won’t be a lick of paint in it.

I’ve seen Mayo play a few league games, I can’t for the life of me understand why you don’t go at teams like ye did up in Armagh for example. I think your bucks are well capable, is there an element of them holding back? Surely this date will be marked in McStay’s diary since October, he needs to deliver today.

May the best team win!

As for shoo-ins see what befell Leinster yesterday. Kevin's about to find out if he passes muster this very day.

@Green and red

Fully agree it really is a defining season moment for this management team and our guys .

Massive game for us.

Mayo need to keep 15 on the pitch and make sure they can win the midfield battle. I do expect kevin mcstay and co to hatch a plan around this game .
DOC and boland are definite starters and after that it's about using the bench wisely .
If you contrast the teams performance in the later stages of the league and in the connacht championship it just doesn't make sense that they could be that bad against sligo and Leitrim.

Ticket still available

I dint think we will see any helter-skelter, getting stuck in to them stuff. Galway won't want any injuries and we are too nice. .
I think they will keep us at bay with two pointers and let our backs that can't score have the ball.
Galway by 6-8

In mick byrnes and I think he touched on how everyone is feeling “ we’’ll know at 5:30 what they’re made of “ it’s like we all think we could see a different mayo today than all year or maybe it’s just wishful thinking , either way we’ll know at 5:30

My biggest concern for Mayo in this game is where the scores are going to come from. Galway racked up 1-24 against Roscommon easily enough and could hit a similar number today. I think we’ll need to put up a big score to win it and we’ll probably need a few two pointers to do it. Mayo shooters are going to have to step up and take their chances. No excuses today. Already a great atmosphere around the town. C’mon Mayo!

Hi All,

Just a thought or hunch, that Rory Brickenden will play a big part today.

Ciaran 2.

No excuses today, Galway missing their 2 star men, playing at home, almost full bill of health and an established group of players. Perfect day for ball.
Nothing other then a mayo win for me. Otherwise it's bye bye Kevin

Mayo 1-19 Galway 0-20

Pascar. Did James Fleming not take the ticket.

I think with Comer and Walsh out that Mayo would have to have a great chance. I will be watching out to see how Tierney, Finnerty and McDaid are going and if going well I would expect us to win. The midfield battle will be crucial as will Reape and Gleesons kickouts. Mayo will need to take the point chances offered and not recycle the ball which is maddening to watch. A goal or two could sway this game and going on league form both defences are capable of coughing up goal chances. I hope there are no injuries and Galway win but if we lose it's disappointing but not season ending, same goes for Mayo but a little more pressure on Mayo to deliver a Nestor cup.

Safe travels to all supporters today,hopefully a great game,in my opinion Mayo will win w enough,three or four points,I believe that the blog will be quite for a few days,we have the best players and management,I don't get this criticism of Padraig Joyce,a brilliant footballer and very gracious in victory or defeat,up Mayo,and thank you again Willie Joe for your wonderful blog

@Corick Bridget you don't get the criticism of PJ?!

Sorry actually laughed at that ...he's the biggest moaner ever giving abuse to refs is well..one reason he got that fluke of a free last year cause he was shouting abuse at the ref..

Gracious in defeat ? Laughed again at that!

Hopefully the ref enforces dissent from sideline this week as Gough did
It might be the winning of the game for us :D

Ah I dunno Clare, I would prefer to see PJ animated on the line rather than McStay standing there motionless devoid of emotion waiting for Rochford to whisper sweet nothings into his ear.

Bogman, your post made me laugh.

I think Mayo will win today. The reason? We have no excuses. We’re focussed. We had the opportunity to give ourselves a chance. There’s no reason not to take it.

Best of luck all. Enjoy the day!

@Chesneychet sure Horan was not exactly animated on the sideline either and he was our best manager I think same with Jim Gavin he never shouted abuse at the refs just got on with it ...actually feel sorry for the refs when PJ goes off on a mad hissy fit at the refs tbh ...

Clare I wouldn’t bother responding to that obvious trolling from corrick bridge or corrick Bridget .that poster has admitted that the purpose is to wind people up with totally nonsensical comments

Poor auld Clare are getting an awful gubbing here, of course it’s no longer an option to pack the defence to keep the score down. Kinda shows the difference in quality between divisions one and three.

@1985 your so right there!! Hope you enjoy the game today!

If Mayo ignore sideline instruction today and actually run and take all available shots, they will win....

@1985 I have to say I do love Corricks comments. So removed from reality it’s funny. He’s a great guy we would be lost without him. Never gets a prediction wrong win Mayo win but does tend to go missing if the result doesn’t go our way.

@ green and red .i suppose there is an element of being detached from reality alright.Anyway good luck to our lads today.For some strange reason I am a bit more optimistic this morning

The game will be won in the middle third of the pitch. We have to win the breaking ball.Let's take shots when they are on. What's the worst that can happen, it goes wide or a chance is created inside.Look at Dublin last week. Meath won 16 of Cluxtons 26 kickouts. Team's cannot control games like they used to. It's almost a different sport from last year. It's there for the team what has the most courage to go and win it. Up Mayo.

The score line in the Kerry v Clare game brings back horrible memories of the 2006 all Ireland final

Poor Clare could be on the end of an awful hiding here.

Isn’t it amazing what can happen when a team kicks the ball in quick!!!!

The form book says Galway to win with enough to spare, I'd agree with that because Mayo's performance in the last 3 games wasn't aggressive tight marking football & winning 50% of midfield battles & forwards running at defences taking scores quickly, no over & back middle third, here's hoping for a good rattle at Galway.

Plans for a Mayo vs London Connacht football championship Quarter-final in 2026 will be made in the Autumn.

Stop @1985 i remember coming out of Croke Park after that 06 final dazed and confused. After the euphoric victory against Dublin in the semi final I actually thought we had a chance that day until Donaght and Gooched absolutely destroyed us. Of course in 21 against Tyrone after another euphoric semi final victory against Dublin i made the same mistake thinking we had a chance of winning the final. I think we will win today but we are going nowhere under Rochford and make no mistake he's at the wheel

Anyone’s guess now what the starting team be. Hoping Reape hits an odd ball beyond midfield and catch Galway on the hop. Mayo by 4 today

Strong enough breeze blowing in Bacon Factory end, will be a factor!

@justoutsudeballagh yeah that's a decent breeze alright, I'd say a 6 point breeze. Be interesting to see who manages it best.

The 2 joker cards here are Durcan for mayo and cooke for Galway, both super players who if anywhere close to their ability could swing the game for their respective teams.

Durcan always plays well v Galway, unless my memory is forsaking me I'm pretty sure Paddy has won motm v Galway on here multiple times. He's a bit of a nemesis for them

I have been attending Mayo matches since the early sixties,I never set out to a match expecting to lose ,not today or any other day,I have met Padraig Joyce several times and he has always been very cair,also I have seen him with other county footballers including C Mc Donald,enjoying their company,he does what he can to win,I certainly wouldn't criticise him for that,all being said I will always support Mayo ,and as I said I expect to win by three or four points

@Supermac: Surely Paddy isn’t starting today? It would be a hell of an ask to expect him to be up to speed against one of the best sides in the country, without any real warm up games. Would be surprised if he even got on after such a long-term layoff.

Seriously outnumbered by Galway supporters, will have to shout all the louder!

Reported by Maurice Brosnan Mayo changes: Rory Brickenden starts instead of Sam Callinan. Diarmuid O'Connor for Dylan Thornton.

This won't be pretty unfortunately. This could be our version of Galway's hiding in 2013 I'm afraid. If they open up on us, we're in serious bother!
Brickenden starting too.

Brickenden will be fine in half back line

Did Brickenden play in the league?

An 86th Munster SFC title for Kerry, cripes.

@glorydays, he played at the beginning of the league I think. Then fell way down the pecking order. Can’t remember the last game he played. As with Mayos logic he starts now. Akron has played more recently than him.

Ok fair enough Bridget

Roco88 most people in know could have told you Thornton wasn't going to start a week and a half ago.
Really should stop printing programmes.

I do think Brickenden could be a great threat going forward, he has a great passing potential, DOC starting is huge

Thanks Green and Red Frank Irwin seems to have fell down the pecking order too

No Galway changes? Joyce no good at the tactical nuances and jiggery pokery with the team sheets that fries the oppositions minds :)

Watched the highlights from last year and Rory Brickenden was still going strong and involved after 67 minutes and played a part in the score that put us ahead.

Big difference in the 2 half forward lines..

We CHOSE to play in to the wind!!!
Jesus wept

If we can't beat Galway without Comer and Walsh we can forget it

Moose79 such a stupid decision because u never know how the breeze could change or possibly die away in the 2nd half u take any advantage u get we need a good start.

Also have to say the pitch looks absolutely incredible fair play to the ground staff.

16 mins in and the ref is officiating the 2 teams completely differently, 4 soft frees for Galway, nothing for Mayo in the same situation

And are we just not going to mark Conroy?

We’re getting killed on the kickouts in the last ten minutes, need to find an out ball.

Goodnight Irene. Our kickouts and midfield.letting us down badly

Midfield a mess AGAIN.

I’m sorry, but that’s the softest penalty I’ve seen in a long time.

We're absolutely goosed here. This is going to get very ugly.

We CHOSE to play against the wind!!!!!!

I’m fed up of saying it and people complaining about it. Colm Reape’s Kickouts are not the problem. Our agility to win the ball is the problem. Colm has put them both sides of the pitch and gone long. We don’t have the ball winners. No real effort made for the short one too which is something that needs to be coached. It’s finally being properly exposed today.

Agree Green&Red. Shocking lack of physicality around the middle and midfielders who simply do not know the basic skills of fielding.

Clock was stopped for almost 2 minutes of play at 30:59....

Spot on Green and Red. It was evident in the league final. We're missing the likes of Kevin Mc and Jason Doc, players that were like dogs winning the second ball. The new rules make the kickouts even more congested, winning it clean is difficult so you need to be have agility and aggressiveness around the middle, which we don't seem to have.

A career defining second half for the experienced players and McStays management team ahead. It's still all to play for. Where are our leaders now to stand up and fight?

We are still well in this game, with the new rules you never know what could happen.

Is it me, or have we thrown ZERO shoulders this half? Unacceptable.

We played 37 minutes against the wind!

Most disappointing there was the amount of stupid decisions we made in decent positions. We were actually going quite well and then started taking stupid shots against that wind.
Galway won't make that mistake in the second half.

Still well in this with that breeze

Can't give a penalty for that in a connaught final.. I mean come on....

Btw that ref is very average. Some crazy calls for both sides.

Kevin Mc and Jason Doherty were very clever players - they let fellas jump up and compete for ball, and waited for it to go dirty before getting involved. Both had terrific physicality in the tackle and footballing smarts which now seem to be in short supply in the current squad.

We accept Galway are better we knew that before the game but what iscnot acceptable is the lack of intensity and effort and a team lacking sharpness and being so poorly prepared. Just appaling performance..

Better team for the opening 15 mins but Galway took over then including stopping Mayo from scoring for 27 mins. With the old rules 8 points in front would be a big lead but with the wind and two pointers this game is far from over yet.

Bacon factory end, was soft surely but if put the hand in like that and give a tug no matter how light it gives ref decision to make.

Sorry but that's not a penalty in our sport.

How many 2 pointers will we get? Is say a max of one. 8 points a massive gap for us.

Not an insurmountable lead with the wind but too many lads turning back afraid to shoot in that first half or bringing ball way too far into danger (Flynn, Hession). Appreciate they want to get as close to goal with the wind but I think it’s a cultural thing with these players being afraid to shoot

Not the first time I’ve seen Brickenden get turned over in possession. Cost Mayo two points and started Galway’s momentum

Hope the wind holds up in the second half, biggest concern is the basic errors are still there. But all to play for, let's go

Aido is playing in to their hands holding up the ball and running in to traffic getting turned over. DOC hasnt the pace. Galway will weather the storm for first ten then hit us on the break like they did there

Logical decision to play against the wind, as we now have a target and tiring bodies need the bonus of the wind - all to play for.

That's a couple of scores we've left behind. Hope it doesn't cost us

Side note. Time for Marty to step aside, mixing up player's names all the time now.

My word has the ref changed his tune this half. He’s giving us everything. I can’t see PJ being to happy at FT regardless of result

Was never a penalty.

We had that game won Reape cost us big time and Brickendon

Won’t ever listen to anyone on here tell me that Towey doesn’t get chances.

How we managed to lose that game absolutely incredible.

Congratulations Chesneycat and Galway 4 in a row great achievement in fairness

Not getting in front of them was criminal given how dominant we were at the time and the wides we kicked. Sickened.

Should have won that. Simple as. Can't complain. Bad day for Mc Stay

Well Galway,probably just deserved it but we are in the mix

Ffs - sickening to see those scenes now. McStay had today earmarked, how does he spin it now

Lads gave it there all in that second half

Absolutely criminal to lose that game - no composure whatsoever. A sad day for mayo football once again.

I'll take the positives from it, a Mayo team that had no chance against the locked in AI winners. Guaranteed win in the first group game, but we left that one behind us, Reape was once bitten but not shy

Already people giving out about McStay. Was it McStay who told Reape to inexplicably kick short with a strong win behind him? Was it McStay who caused Towey to get jittery beyond belief and blast wide two sitters? We've zero composure in the melting pot. Losing that game was criminal and it was lost on the pitch, not on the sideline.

Mayo Left that Connacht title behind them, 27 minutes without a score first half proved a killer looking back.

Damn it. Had plenty of chances to win but that penalty wasn’t a penalty. Don’t care what anyone says. Shouldn’t have to play against the ref too. Galway didn’t have to so why should we.

We don't score enough to be in the mix. Also too reliant on one player. Worst combination

Close match and without the fake penalty we win. Simple as. Should t have to deal with that at this level.

Reape with yet another crazy decision - you just knew we would be caught with one of those kick outs. He’s got to have better game situational awareness having gotten away with a couple of those earlier. The only option with that wind and us behind in the game was to kick those long and let the boys out the field scrap for possession, even if we were not winning many. Terrible decision making under pressure yet again.
Had several chances to win the game. A recurring theme now in the three years of the McStay era is a lack of belief and composure late in big games. Happens like clockwork.
Brickenden - hard to understand why he was brought in having not played in months he looked miles off the pace of that level of football.

Can't fault the effort, but Towey can't be relied on and wtf was Enda thinking trying to be fancy and place that goal chance instead of putting his boot through it.

I predicted a heavy defeat, but this seems a bit worse.

Lads I won’t lie that’s as sweet as they come.
Gleesons save and Dylan McHughs block along with that Ryan O’Donoghue missed free got us over the line. Celebrate it but doesn’t really matter tomorrow. Well done Mayo team and supporters and best of luck in the group

We can't complain about the ref. Gave us the majority of it in the second half including a 2 point free which Ryan missed that should've been a free it

It is what it is. Good performance and a lot of heart

Far to many wide's in second half, block downs etc.
3 years in and no obvious kick out strategy.
Not enough ball winners in the air or on the ground. After the short won went awry the next two went long and Galway won and ran straight down our throats.

That’s it lads. That’s definitely it now. Our game management was the worst I have ever seen. The ref gave us absolutely everything in the second half. We were afraid to take a shot or risk. Then when we did we couldn’t score.

Kevin McStay has a serious question to answer. Why the hell did he take off McHale, a man who hit 1-2. Absolutely brutal management. I’m actually disgusted with that. Matthew Ruane a right footed man running to the right hand side to kick an out of the boot shot. Where is the logic in this. Never pressed up on Conroy . McDaid ran amuck. I’d argue he was MOTM.

On our side, yet again when the fat was in the fire Towey, Boland didn’t do it. Aiden didn’t stand up. But our geniuses on the sideline decided to take off a man who scored 1-2.

And let’s be frank, the ref gave us every opportunity in the second half. That’s in for me. Mcstay and Rochford have destroyed a decent team Horan left them. What justification did Flynn have being on that field over McHale other then the fact that he’s from the same club as half the management team.

And to round it off, Walsh and Comer out for them. Game over for this management. Maybe in his 10th year Rochford might finally win a provincial title.

Congratulations to Galway. They had cooler heads and a harder edge when it mattered.. Mayo will be well served down the line by the intensity of this game. All is not lost - far from it.

Dreamy sleepy, we've being trying them short ones for years now, who is it that develops the kickout strategies and plans?

It be far easier for a goalie to take easy out and bomb long everytime. So if imagine the short ones are tactical.

Oh and management. Usual failures. Don't want to repeat myself but it's time to move on.

Twas there for the taking. Just lacking that cutting edge up front. Same old stuff. I hope Ryan remains injury free... enough said.

The attempted two pointer that Gleeson got a hand to was already over the bar. It changed everything because instead of chasing a one pointer we had to go for a 2ptr at the end.
Our kickouts have plagued us all season and once again today we gave them an easy point and caused the black card for Brickendon. Time to switch keepers I'm afraid because Reape didn't have a save to make and all his work was about kicking and sadly his kicking is just not good enough at this level.
Bringing on Towey for the dangerous Neary was another fuckup. Fucking raging tonight at management because they're either too stubborn or too blind to see the obvious. As a unit the players were terrific and deserved so much more.

Mayo like a bad greyhound. When we were about to take the lead we stopped. Can't understand taking Neary off. Towey proved he's not the solution. Then at the end we have the ball in front of the post outside the arc but fail to shoot and then shoot from an angle. Of course we should have got a 2 pointer when the ball was over the bar when the goalie touched it. Then we could have got an easy chance for a one pointer.

So proud of the boys today they gave it absolutely everything, remember before this game no one was giving us the slightest chance.This loss really hurts because we gave it our all, some people will say same old mayo but I really think we have it in our team to go further then we have gone the last couple of years. This game will stand to us!

McStay picking Rory Brickenton from nowhere proved to be a terrible mistake. He handed Galway momentum twice at key times with serious consequence.
At 15 mins he lost possession easily and let Galway into it with the resulting 2 pointer by Conroy. At that time Galway hadn’t scored in 10 minutes.
They followed with another 2 pointer and points.
Then the Rossie Ref gives a very soft penalty. Just another example of why he hasn’t reffed a Connacht Final before.
So Brickenton let them back into the game from one down and Mayo in control against the wind to 8 down.
That bad play turned the game in Galway’s favour - with the following 25 minutes without a Mayo score.
Then with the game fully up for grabs he gets sent off and again that hand momentum to Galway.
It is McStay (not Brickenton) that has to answer for this, as put the lad in the team from nowhere

We had chances to win this game but when it came to the crunch we couldn’t take them. How many times have we seen that in the past? Forget about rule changes and all that stuff, none of it matters if you can’t kick the ball over the bar. We also made bad decisions at critical times in the second half. In the end Galway were the most clinical of the two teams and that’s why they are the Connacht champions this evening.

If you don't kick 2 pointers all year it will bite you in the arse when you need to kick one in the white heat of Championship. I thought the players gave it their all just we lack that wee bit of class up front.

Gizmobobs - does Reape have no free will? Does he have no ability to make an informed decision about his own kickout when the game is in the melting pot? While we're on it, what about Hession's ridiculous shot on goal? No composure there either. Towey blazing them wide one after the other because he can't keep his head. By the way, this isn't a new problem. This is going on years with Mayo. They simply do not know how to see out a game or take it by the scruff of the neck. They're comfortable with clawing back leads, but not so comfortable with actually doing what it takes to win. You can always count on someone making some brain dead decision.

Let's play cool for a few hours. We were coin toss of winning that game and lost by 2 with a shocking penalty call and a 2pter incorrectly reduced to 1.
Yet people are throwing out stuff like mgmt are done?

I miss Cillian. He has the mentality that so many others lack .
He would not have left frees with a gale force wind shirt
And he would not have hid when we needed our best shooter to get on the ball at the end.

Great second half effort can't fault it. Just errors and lack of quality at crucial times from a number of our players. Galway on the other hand just had the slightly better players, leadership and experience. Deserving winners. If they get Comer, Walsh, and Cooke fully fit, they will looking at Sam again. ALQF is about our lot...

The two lads who came in late were really poor today. It just shows you don’t always need to make silly last minute changes to the team named…

The Ref was generous to us but I do feel the two pointer they got wrong was crucial. That would have got us ahead (we never got ahead).

Great point Km79. The man didn’t walk away from mayo because of work commitments. Seamus Toughy has a big decision to make at the end of this season unless this management bring home Sam.

He kicked a few wides at crucial times in the last minutes of games in the past too if I remember correctly kim79. He's not on the panel and that's that.

Dreamy, he does of course, but point I'm trying to make is we've seen this several times. It's clearly part of whatever game plan they have. A terrible one IMO, but we have to my eye no discernible kick out strategy, we don't really bunch and break, side load or other common strategies that teams who are weaker in middle third adopt to try and counteract the perceived weakness.

Looseness in marking, lack of focus when in possession, silly turnovers, all that shit adds up and bites you. Such a noble effort put into bridging the big gap today, keeping in touch for a long period and then let Halway back into it for the finale........will we ever learn...

He did indeed Dave
But he put himself in a position to miss them
His replacement spent the last two minutes almost on the halfway line
Never put himself in a position to miss .

Hard luck lads , I’m absolutely gutted and I know the lads will be too , they gave it all . Some seriously bad calls though .

Crowd were absolutely ridiculously poor , ye are fookin pathetic , mcstay tried to rise the crowd when we went 1-13 a piece , not even a response , I don’t know why ye don’t just watch it on tv , yer weak characters .

Paul Towey 2 bad wides and a shot blocked. When you need quality at critical moments we dont have it

Davitt neary should never of been taken off either his pace was causing galway trouble we didn't get enough around the middle from carney, ruane or flynn.

Goalkeeper cost us big time.

Great match. Great effort. Unlucky with a couple of decisions and scores. But we can improve and progress. Looking forward now. We are as good as any team out there.

Jordan Flynn been poor all year now, in my view. Was surprised he wasn't subbed because he wasn't offering much.

What a final! Conor Gleeson pulled off a brilliant save to get us over the line. In truth nothing between them. In fairness to ref. he was strict on both sides for overcarrying and touching ball on ground. He brought loads of frees for Mayo forward too for guys holding up progression of play. I thought Cooke coming on gave us much needed composure when required. Having said that, it's nice to win the 4 in a row in Castlebar.

Neutral view here. Ye really threw that away. Paul Towey was horrid bad. Galway were clinging on when ye drew level, but ye let them off the hook. Poster above who detailed the Brickondon mistakes, is spot on. But that one falls squarely with McStay, who allegedly manages the Mayo team.

Just to lighten the mood, im sure the next interview Kevin does, ye’ll hear “lick our wounds” “bounce of a ball” and “we’ll re-group to drive on again”. The same soft waffle was continuosly spouted up here umpteen times.

Positive note, i’d rather be playing Cavan to get out of a group than Tyrone.

I'll be honest, I thought we'd take a hiding. This was arguably worse because we should have won it.
Keepers mistakes always get analysed but it was our forwards who f**ked us today. Some awful misses. Criminal stuff. Towey has had umpteen chances. Simply not good enough. Don't know why people having a go at Boland. He had just over 7 minutes on the pitch.

Ryan was nowhere near good enough. Missed some poor ones and that two pointer free should have been nailed on with the wind behind him. He also looked unfit. McGrath roasted him for pace.

Our only chance of silverware gone. Time for the management to sling their hook at the end of the season.

Western Gael - 100% right. James Horan once said he wanted to take the “bullshit” out of mayo football. Well this management team have certainly put the “bullshit” right back into it.

Left it behind us today massively, some really poor decisions on and off the pitch. The kick out cost us massively, reape does that too often. We nearly didn’t win a kick out it felt like in first half which just isn’t good enough. Bringing on towey and taking off neary were poor decisions, fergal probably should’ve come on slightly earlier. Flynn was poor today missed 4 scoring opportunities.
Km79 I completely agree, today highlighted why having Cillian can be crucial, as Galway knew we wanted Ryan to take the shot he was never gonna be able. Definitely not as bad today as people are making out, even it’s disappointing

Hard luck to ye, I thought it was a good match and we had to battle all the way to the end to get a result so in my opinion there is plenty of positives Mayo can take from the game. I thought Davitt Neary was excellent as was Ryan O Donoghue.
On the peno, if you pull a lads arm back as he is about to shoot for a goal you are giving the ref an easy decision to make. The ref was poor enough all game, giving Mayo a fair number of soft frees in the second half in my view. We were without Comer, Walsh and Heaney and Big John Maher went off at half time yet we still saw out the match and that will stand to Galway. I thought McDaid was our man of the match but we had candidates all over the pitch. Great to see Cooke back into the team too. A victory to savour today but the Dubs are on their way to Salthill so it doesnt get easier.

1
Good fighting spirit.

2. Soft penalty and 2 pointer denied
3. Poor substitutions
4 Let's concentrate on beating Tyrone and Cavan. 5 Marty should know no 2 points for 45. 6. Keep the faith. let's dream on

I know easy to blame Reape, however when he kicked out long after mistake, we didn't collect about 3 long kick out in a row. Real reason we lost was our shooting in last 15 / 20mins was not good enough with a gale behind us

What can you even say about that game? We somehow managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. While we showed up and competed, we simply weren’t sharp or smart enough to close it out. The bench offered no impact, and we inexplicably took off our most threatening player going forward. Fair play to Galway — they’ll take a lot of confidence from that win. As for us, some soul-searching is definitely needed, but I wouldn’t count us out from delivering a big performance later in the championship.

Am feeling very disappointed but this was a close game. Goalkeepers are under a lot of pressure at the moment and that short intercepted kick out close to the end will haunt me.
Galway scrapped for everything and Hession’s goal chance was saved. Towey missed two points I’d normally back him on.
I wish we could have pushed on. For me, the intercepted kick out is where we lost it.
It’s disappointing but we’re still in it.
Galway are strong right now.

@Charlie It wasn't a difficult save for Gleeson, it was literally passed to him. I'd say he couldn't believe his luck!

The Ref was very fair both teams got a few handy ones

Hello,

Lovely to read the appreciation for the Mayo players and, Charlie, above has a nice take on the game. They did so much better than the pundits predicted.

Hoping Mayo will learn what they can from this and enjoy the Group matches. You were true warriors.
C.2.

Reape kick out a huge momentum killer, level at that stage, a free in and a man in the bin.

This panel needs to be shaken up with 3 or 4 of the u20 players as soon as possible.
Why was DOC taken off I thought he was scrapping well for breaking ball in the first half. Surely not injured again?

The most disappointing thing about today was that we were outnumbered by Galway supporters. It’s easy support when things are going well. Should be fairly handy get tickets to the next all Ireland final we reach. Whenever that will be !

End of the day we had a big wind behind us for the 2nd half and 3 of Galway's best players weren't even on the field. Game was there for us but Galway executed the big moments a bit better.

Hard luck to Mayo, delighted we got over the line but we got out of jail there big time.

Bad wides cost us in the end. We just do not have forwards to kick the scores when needed and weak in middle.

Should be Connacht champions. Big opportunity wasted and of course the black card didn't help matter.

Said before the game Niall Hurley / Lydon / Beirne from the u20s if played would've had chances to win us the game.
Should've called one of them in. 4 big chances for Towey and none taken
Boland is the same story for the last 7 years.
Yes they're young yes you can name loads of reasons why not to play them, but if 2 of them came off the bench today we'd have the Nestor cup in Castlebar.

Agree with JP earlier.

Sickened. But our guys gave it their all. They showed fight which is what I hoped they would show
..
Never a penalty .it really hurts today but we will come again .

I’m definitely glass half empty after this one. Galway on the rack, and we couldn’t take the lead. Beaten to clean ball at midfield quite a lot, which enabled Galway get some vital points. I’d be somewhat forgiving of the Reape/Brick incidents- they were under huge pressure, but the Towey misses were bad, bad, bad, and great for Galway morale.

JP - are you saying Gleason didn’t get a hand on that two pointer of Ryan’s

McStay didn't kick those two wides to take the lead or kick the goal change straight at the keeper or put the last effort to level the game wide. It's disappointing to have a lost a game we could have won especially in MacHale Park but that's Mayo for you...

Ball over the bar before Gleeson touched it.
Galway / Dublin game should be a cracker.
Loose 1 game from now on and the best you can expect is a PQF.

If Kevin wants to save his job he should make a few phone calls to Cillian, Orme,Darragh Beirne, Hurley and Lydon once there finished with Under 20s.We have no reliable scoring forwards outside of ROD.

McStay is working with the hand he is dealt but that hand has been getting worse each year. In recent media audio, I heard Kevin talk about this game -v- Galway being the big one, that six months of training has gone into! Some questions I would love to ask McStsy

Rory Brickenden returning to the Mayo team after a what a 3 month absence? Why? He’s a good kick passer of the ball but he’s not Ciaran McDonald. He’s not overly confident in possession and has a tendency to turn over the ball when in contact. I’m sure he’s a hard working honest lad but it made no sense to see him return today

Paul Conroy - maybe it’s an impossible ask to stop a 36 year old kicking at goal from 50 yards out. I know it’s easier said than done but how many shots did he get away today? Certainly scored 3 and missed 1-2

Reapes short ping to left corner/half back. I’m sorry but after the Kerry game, that kick out option had to be parked. To see a continuation v Sligo of it, I’d be expecting the message to Reape is under no circumstances try that move. Here we are again today. People will argue that with Galway’s midfield you have to try it but it’s proven unsuccessful now 3 times.

In defence of McStay I thought the lads gave it everything they had and he has to get credit for energising the team to get that work ethic

Sorry Rocco. But he gets no credit from me. It’s on his that we keep losing tight games we should have won. Can’t wait to see the back of him. I was all for the Dream Team management, but it’s turned into a nightmare.

Taking off Neary when he was on fire is criminal as was bringing on Kelly when the damage had been done. If Kelly had started and been given a marking job on Conroy or McDaid Mayo would have been on Galway's tail at ht.
It's time to bring in a kicker in as goalkeeper. The position now is all about distribution and long frees and 45s. Reape is an OK keeper but distribution and point kicking aren't his thing and in tight games that's killing us.

Any footballers on this blog need to step back for a minute here.

What we witnessed today was high level stuff, we were looking at the 2 best teams in the country going toe to toe.

We are right in the mix. Drive on.

I have been on this forum for last few years. I have read a lot about Paul Towey not getting a chance.I watched him in local Club Championship games, I was always iffy about him, I see why I was after today. I spoke to one of the five Mayo players that pulled out of the Panel in November last night . We chatted about the need to put a complete man maker on Paul Conroy and give him no space to take 2 pointers. We had no plan at all to curb him, particularly when Galway had the wind. Everyone on this forum have spoken about No Kick out plan.
We had again none . Colm Reap has got caught at least 4 times with the short kickout . Why he was not told to not kick short kickouts under any circumstances is beyond me. I felt sorry for Daren McHale. How management made a call to replace him was just shocking. Jordan has not been playing well for a few games now and yet was left on , when we needed a score is beyond me. Also if the crowd needed lifting , they should have brought on Paddy Durcan when it was 1.13 each. This would have given the crowd a big lift and the players. If Paddy was fit enough to be on the bench he was fit enough to come on. By the way I waited in McHale park for the crowd to leave and witnessed the rest of the panel being put through their paces and Paddy appeared to be flying fit. Cant under stand why he was not used at some stage today.

Time to let Rochford, McStay & Co go. Like a fair majority of us believe they’ve ruined the classy team which Horan built. They inherited a team in that a good management team would be salivating to grow develop and nurture and turned them into a team who should be in the 2nd division. A team which had plenty of experience and youth to boot. They’ve been given plenty time to develop the raw talent needed at this level and have in actual fact turned a decent team into a group of robots with no flair or passion, lacking the required confidence and creativity up front needed at this level. Miles apart in comparison to the Horan years. Galway no great shakes today, our best scoring threat taking off early after scoring 1-2. A perfect 40mph gale in the second half and we go back to playing basketball and taking it into contact, after destroying them in the first ten minutes by playing quick direct football. Don’t understand their logic it’s horrendous to watch and must be soul sucking for the players. Yet as bad as it is was, Galway were still for the taking. They looked pretty ordinary. I do believe with Shane Walsh and Comer in that team we get beaten by 5-6 points today. Like everything in the 90s and 00s and 10s it come down to us not taking our chances when they come up. Mayo fans may not like this but this keeps coming up decade after decade year after year. Why is it compared to other counties do our forwards struggle and underperform in the white heat of a final battle. Something is missing, could be psychological at this stage? I also believe our only natural forward today was ROD. As bad as Galway preformed today they are much more balanced and players look much more confident and assertive when taking a score. McDaid and Finnerty were massive for them today. Mayo clubs need to make it a necessity and rule that they create and push young forwards to score confidentially of either foot. This has never been a priority in my opinion, where much more time is being put on ball handling skills and fitness. Until we start doing this this Groundhog Day of major finals will continue. Think we will give any team a good fight moving forward but will be an achievement to get out of our next group and make next round.

A few pints in down the local now and I can’t fathom the mood here , exciting times ahead for mayo football ,we just went full leather with a team that’s fancied , we will be in croker , mark my words. We gave them …. Their fill today and they know it

I’m with ya Sean. That match today had all the ferocity of some of our best days against the Dubs back in the day.

Time now to pull together and stop the blame game bullshit.

Let’s get behind the lads now for the push for Sam, we are not far off.

We were supposed to lose by 10 ya know ! Some supporters ye are, ye should be ashamed of yerselfs.