Best of luck to Mayo today and to our neighbours St Brigids hopefully we'll see 2 green and red clad teams lift cups today even of one of them are Rossies

A great addition to Tuam and situated outside the stadium is " Jimmys" coffee shop.
Great to see the Mayo lads opened here last week.

It will be very interesting to see how Jack Carney plays at chf today. I think that's his ideal position. He is big and strong enough to catch ball, he can shoot with left and right foot. He can see and give a good pass to an inside forward. Hopefully with the new management he will be allowed to show his footballing skills and not stay as a recycle merchant.

Best of luck to day,I am really confident for this year I don't believe so many would have committed if they didn't believe that we can successful

That hit on Dylan Thornton was a disgrace

Very poor so far. Can't see any of those lads starting next Sunday

Poor thornton shouldered into the head and the ref just plays on. The team is very inexperienced so its expected not to be perfect.

How many times have they hit the post!!!?

How wide are those goalposts that end...we can't seem to miss them.

Poor enough from Mayo dont see anyone putting their hands up today. Next week in Salthill will tell a lot

I know Stephen Coens is named at full back but who is in fact playing the role? Livingstone bailing out the middle defence.

Arah Thornton tripped over himself trying to pick up the ball.
Very open at the back, a lot of inexperience there but some of the more experienced lads should be able to hold some sort of shape.
Midfield winning very little, in either clean or breaking ball.
Forwards doing ok when they get ball, hit the post 3 times, once from kuba goal chance, and twice from frees.

Fenton kelly quite lively, thornton with some good catches

Cian mchale kicking some nice scores this half

Hit the post 4 times in 1st half.
2 efforts for points hit the post and bounced back out,1 hit the post and went over (Fenton Kelly) and goal effort from Kuba came back off post.

The result does not matter either way . It's a very experimental mayo team I'd rather Galway win this week and next week will be a differn't story with our main guys back

I don't know about you Clare but I hate losing to the ole enemy..would live a win

I will never understand fans who actually want the team to lose at any time of year, no matter who is playing.

That is not what I meant obviously everyone on here knows my dislike of Galway . I hate loosing any game of course I do espcially to that crowd .

what I meant is we will be much stronger next week.

What a shitty ending, after the big fight back

Rule 101!!! A bloody breach and they go and win it.

Two soft 3-up breaches at the end. Not bad overall.

Perhaps it's just me but that seemed to be a very unusual refereeing performance.

Kicked one or two wayward shots towards the end when we should’ve held onto the ball. Breaching the 3 up rule twice (one of them being a free at the very end) I think as well. A pity we lost, but hopefully we will learn from this for the next match.

It's an awful way to end a match. there was genuine excitement, then utter confusion and a simple tap over to decide it.

Someone with a very big cheque book needs to go to Crossmolina if we are ever to have any chance at big lugs

What a typical Mayo finish. 2 wides when we should be winding down the clock and a daft free. Another long year

As I said at half time, it was a poor game. Too much inexperience in that team but the individuals themselves will benefit from the game.

Two fringe teams, with Galway going weaker. That performance doesn’t bode well for Mayo. Has anyone put their hand up?

The quadruple dream is gone for 2026, so the focus shifts to chasing the treble (League title, Nestor Cup, and Sam Maguire).

Dylan Thornton, Cian McHale, Fenton Kelly, and John MacMonagle were all impressive and Fergal Boland made a huge impact when he came on.

Still can't see out a tight game if our lives depended on it

The first breach was very unlucky boland had to run from his half and just received the ball inside the half way line, if we lost a connacht final or a knock out championship game that way u would be absolutely devastated

The more things change, the more they stay the same. A win within our grasp and we can't see it out.

We left 1-3 against the woodwork and had some very poor wides. Shot ourselves in the foot (for a change) at the end.
Think this meant more to PJ than Andy. Having Finnerty on the pitch showed that. Wants to keep us in our box!
Some good, some bad. Hopefully develop a few more lads through the league.

Livingston very much like Clarkie of old... great shot stopper, very unlucky with rebound for 2nd goal,but his restarts need more variation when we don't have major ball winners in the middle.
Plenty of time to iron this out of course.

I wouldn't be worried about today's result. Andy focus is getting 2 points next week.

Ffs lads, get a grip will ye, its s pre season game. Some people should not be allowed anywhere near a keyboard..cop the f uck on..

First time seeing Mayo this year, and only saw bit and pieces of the game but few general comments when comparing the two teams. Mayo tackling was poor, gave away soft frees, struggled in midfield and we were not as coherent in attack as Galway and finally demonstrated poor game management at the end. Realise that this is early in the season and new players etc, was watching to see if new approach would be visible yet, from what i watched, did not see much evidence yet but hopefully will see improvements through the league.

Good run out, some lads showed well
Livingstone, good kick s and solid
Golden - tough day out for him
Coen - everywhere but no where, lack of pace , serious issue
Sam - solid and super attack play
Kelly - excellent determination and ball playing
MCMonagle - tough day , too open down middle , didn't look himself
Keaveny - Dawsons a separate ahead of him physcially but next year he should be in with shout
Joyce - showed well
Thornton- good fielding
Duffy - not at the races
Carney - good to get minutes into him, rusty after injury but savage 2 pointer
Moran - solid and effective when in midfield, good tackling to force turnover for our penalty .
McHale- should be starting next week
Kuba- just seems to be forcing it compared to club games
Hurley - didn't go for him and was bottled up
Subs
Towey - showed well and used ball well
Boland- available for shots but one silly selfish one at the end and caught on the breach
Carr, quiet but used ball well
Lydon- didn't get into it
Barrett - great penalty

Concession of goals worrying.
Interesting next week.
Looks as if it may be on TV with starting time.

A few people on here need to relax as all things considered we were just about the better team with a very experimental team. Take the shots off the post and wides into account and we were fine. Still like the new urgency to move the ball forward quickly and good work rate and fitness levels for this time of year. Team and Management will learn plenty and will put more focus now on closing out tight games with more experienced personal so i see no need for negativity it's all learnings at this stage.

Well that was an interesting end to a game , very frustrating to say the least, was very positive to see up pushing hard in the last quarter which is a big change from the last few years in which we faded out only to have the win snatched but 2 breeches it seems , but I’m definitely not one to criticise referees I no it’s a thankless job but I have to admit and some might disagree but the standard of reffing for the 60 minutes plus was utterly shocking for both sides, giving frees for nothing and not giving frees when deserved, its so frustrating when the standard is so poor players must be tearing their hair out ,do referees just give a free for any contact now it seems some don’t no the actual definition of a proper tackle, anyway rant over congrats Galway the real business starts next week

When Stephen Coen isnt around the best players he looks below average.I think he is under serious pressure this year to get a starting 15 place.

A rule breach was an unfortunate way to decide it. Mayo came back from 7 points to hit the front. Unfortunately we didn't cash in on Sam Callinans bursts forward. Our return from two pointers not good enough, not that they were wrong options for the most part.
Fantastic crowd at game. I'd single out Moran for a special mention, I'd be keeping an eye on him.

Only the FBD but imagine losing All-Ireland final in that manner?

Thought we did alright in the end but sickening to lose to that shower by essentially handing them the win. PJ will be spitting on the hands with glee! The breaches really need to be stamped out now, but better have them happening in Jnuary than June I suppose.

JoeG, "unusual" is one word for it, I hope we don't see him again for a while.

Fenton Kelly was my MOTM. Thought he was excellent and never stopped trying. I really like the look of Nathan Moran so far too. Cian McHale a really classy player, it was a shame to see him and Dylan go off, Dylan made some brilliant catches as you'd expect. Tough day out for a couple of the other newbies but we're playing the long game here surely.

All in all a fairly enjoyable day out, Galway really wanted that win. Molloy was very good for them, the old dog for the hard road! I thought we put it up to them well in the final quarter, and brought a bit of chaos - it's been a while.

As for the folks settling in for a long year ahead, reaigned to the same old failings, maybe sit this one out lads. Losing the run of ourselves after an FBD loss on the 18th January is not it. Surely we've been on the road long enough at this stage to relax and realise that the real games are ahead of us, when we have our strongest team on the pitch. It's a good job we have Moy2pointer here to talk some sense 😉

This is more of a general comment. Don't we need to be reducing our ball carrying and having a style of play more based around setting up our best shooters?
For me we're still too into this idea of ball carrying attacking defenders.

Cruel way to lose, full back line was out of it in first half, very poor marking, standing back from Galway, it's not good defence, they have to tear into them & not let them choose when they want to attack. League game will tell the tale, hope it's far better than that game.

" Wherever there is a circus there will be clowns". People need to cop on. Lads talking about chequebooks to Crossmolina and name checking/ calling out lads who have served Mayo for years at Minor, U21 and Senior level. It was a 2nd/3rd Mayo string of players in an FBD Final for Gods sake.

In positive news great to hear Conor Loftus is back in the panel hope that's ok to post WJ it was announced after the game and on the mayo news article .

No need to worry lads, it’ll be about the only thing PJ will win as Galway manager, onwards and upwards,

One thing I've noticed about the breach in the last year is Joyce calling the breach. Several times last year, and starting as we mean to go in this year. Fair play to him - very vocal and he's in the official's ear all the time about it. Never fails!

That's perfectly fine, Clare - it's mentioned on the pod as well. As you say, it's great news, both for Conor and for Mayo.

Regardless of the result or breaches the front foot football and getting the ball forward at pace was refreshing to watch. If Cian McHale hadn't been injured it looked like he was in the process of winning the game.

Final Whistle pod is up now on Patreon.

It may be second tear competition and second string teams, but Mayo habit of loosing games in the last few minutes to silly stupit mistakes has to be looked at and cured. No more mister nice guy you get nothing in football for that.

Enjoyable game, nice crowd.
Mayo were poor in the first half but they got moving a bit in the second half, with the introduction of Boland, and Jack Carney kicking on..
Lots of wides from both teams, not sure if many stood out enough from the new lads.
Agree with a few posters on a few points, think Stephen Coen will struggle this year to find a regular starting spot.
Interesting to hear Andy Moran shouting a lot to " carry the ball" but that doesn't always work for players.
From a Galway point of view, think maybe three or four of today's will make next week's panel, but wouldn't see any starters.

My guess is only Sam and Jack for Mayo next Sunday? Good run-out today!

Fenton Kelly put his hand up strongly as well, Martin, as did Cian McHale before he had to go off. Stephen Coen will definitely be in the 26, if not the 15, as well.

@Tuamstar

Maybe you should tell Andy that next time you see him at a match ! I am sure Andy knows what he is doing.

Stephen Coen was one of our best players last year and one of only a few on the team that could kick 2 pointers last year. And as for going to Crossmolina with a chequebook we should always want the best players playing for Mayo and do everything we can to make that happen the top teams like Kerry and Dublin

Brigids robbed by the referee, at least 2 or 3 close in frees not given in second period of extra time.

Fantastic club final in Croke Park. Very sobering when compared to the quality of the Mayo club scene.

Just an observation Clare. Following on from a good point from JP above..
No need to be smart

I hope we see an end this year to snappy replies to non mayo posters on the blog. It feels like a persistent tone aimed at some Galway and Kerry posters in particular

What a club final that was. Have to hand it to Daingean Uí Chúis, in true Kerry style they knew how to win it in the end and Tom O'Sullivan's two scores were instrumental at the end. Brigid's had it in their hands though and let it slip theough their fingers. Ruaidhri Fallon was immense for them. Ref made a couple of strange calls there too, not least awarding Brigid's a 45 when it was clearly a wide. Not sure what happened at the very end?!

It's hard to see past Kerry this year lads, they'll be going for the clean sweep!

@Tuamstar

Fair enough . It was not a smart reply but I thought your comment was a bit harsh on Coen who seems to get an awful lot of abuse when he was one of our best players last year . And I think Andy does know what he is doing .

@Rocco

My reply was not snappy or did not mean to be but Andy has only just taken up the job and it's a bit much to be throwing small digs at him already .

Conor loftus back into the mayo squad is huge id having him starting in my first 15. That club final was sensational, brigids will be devastated

Clare, I really don't think it was a dig, it was just an observation - and both points were fair ones, at that. Maybe we are a bit oversensitive to criticism or commentary from outside the county, but Tuamstar has always been pretty measured on here and it's good sometimes to get the perspective from the other side of the fence.

Tuamstar, great to see Ballina's Duffy brothers expanding their coffee empire, to a very strategic location too!

I think the FBD served its purpose for us, new lads given game time, and a definite sign of moving the ball quicker to scoring forwards. Tough to lose like we did today, but there are bigger quests ahead.
One point that I hope I don’t get into trouble with WJ about, but I hope somebody takes it on themselves to put some manners on Kieran Molloy next week. His filthy narky antics are seriously beginning to test me at this stage.

@Ann - Marie

I was not being over sensitive . But fair enough . Didn't think my commebt was that bad . But apolagies tuamstar .

Anne Marie.. they are lovely lads, a huge welcome addition to Tuam..

Fantastic news that Conors back.
What a halfback line will have now , Conor and Mcbrien plus another of Durcan, Kelly, Sam.
What a powerhouse or halfbackline .

I think FBD was great outing for us and having seen the three games , I think we've found a few player and special mention for

Livingstone, great fast kickouts and from dead ball maybe even better under high ball than Robbie

McGreal , this guy is corner back for Mayo for years to come . Will put his club mate Hession under serious pressure . Great ball player, speed , determination, be in with big shout this year

Kelly - really came of age this spring

Moran - real midfield option, aerially very good, great tackling and good distribution, will have a good battle with Thornton and Carney for a midfield spot

Joyce - strong showing , great all-rounder, cut his teeth underage and he will be great one next year

Keaveny- tidy player and again a year underage will do him good

Thornton - hes got good feel of it now so hopefully push on

Cian Mchale - has to be in contention for starting position

Lydon - class act and another year underage will see him grow into his potential

Kuba - never just clicked for him but hes a talent and worth keeping around

Hurley - oozes class and will have been a good taster for him

Beirne - great introduction and will put pressure on to be member of panel

Howard - mixed showings but potential there

Barrett, potential there but be all the better of it for next year

Mcmonagle, great confidence showing in him but needs to refine movement and tackling cause was well opened down center today

Brigids had the flowers on the Dingle grave but once again they rose from the dead. Amazing team and a brilliant game of football and well done to all.
As Anne Marie said it's been a clean sweep for Kerry this year and you can throw in a Golden Globe and a Young Scientist winner to boot.

The biggest plus out of today for me is to hear that Conor L is back involved, and it's not all about what he will add to the strength of our panel.... it's about much more than that.
Welcome back Conor.

The ponts Tom O'Sullivan and Geaney scored were sublime. In contrast, Brigids labouriously worked the ball into close range before shooting. It's patently clear - you need natural scoring forwards to win titles. Focusing on Coen's attributes/lack of is a waste of time. The scoring issue needs to be addressed - starting at u-8 level. Connaught teams in general, are way behind the curve in this respect..

I wouldn't have as much optisism going forward as some lads have. We've seen these promising players over the last number of years - and they couldn't deliver when the chips were down.
I'll reserve judgement until we see them perform consistently in the heat of championship.

I agree Charlie...with being comfortable off both feet. There should be no left or right footed players in young academies, just 2 footed.

Pull hard, It seems to me naturally right footed players can improve scoring technique/percentage on left, but not vice versa - whatever the hardwiring.

I remember Clifford (on Fitzsimons) in AI final v Dublin attempted several unfruitful attempts off right. The exercise then turned to disaster as his normal trusty left foot at times turned to jelly when the opportunity presented.

@Clare for Galway to win an AI we need 3 or 4 more scoring forwards. But to achieve this, we need to annex another county, and the general consensus is that we need Roscommon.

@Charlie

Not quite sure what you mean by that .
Next weekend will be a ɓig ask for mayo. But hopefully we give it a good go .

Tariffs on the way so if you don't get it, Charlie?!

Outside of the Boot

What game where at

Livingstone, great fast kickouts and from dead ball maybe even better under high ball than Robbie

Kickouts hung in the air , what fast kickouts , we r in serious bother if RH gets injury , imagine you decent club keeper in mayo

Moran – real midfield option, aerially very good, great tackling and good distribution, will have a good battle with Thornton and Carney for a midfield spot

we where up a very much third rated galway midfield , workmanlike at the very best , could not see him involved in the league game or we are in serious trouble around the middle

Hurley – oozes class and will have been a good taster for him

didnt have a shot on at the target in the 1st half , whipped @ half time

Howard – mixed showings but potential there

had no influence on game , we are going to salthill next sunday looking for 2 league points not potential

Hell, I don't know yet, WJ. But those Murtaghs are sure good shooters - let's see. But I'll soon know..

I agree The New Departure.

I know it is only the FBD and the middle of January. The management team are still in the process of gritting their teeth and finding their groove.

Just a few observations (not criticism)

We all know Andy is very enthusiastic and brings a lot of energy and the main thing that disappointed me today is this did not seem to transpire to the players.

None of these fringe players grabbed the bull by the horns and said "f**k this!, I want to start against Galway next week. Ill show Andy what I am made of"

Carney should have been ruling the roost in this game. From the get go, he kicked away some very poor kick passes. Which didnt bred confidences into the new players

The full forward line just looked like they were going for their own shots. Hurley tried to take on his man a few times and couldnt get past him. Kicked a poor wide. McHale kicked three wides in the first half(I was really hoping he would set this game alight!) . Kuba bloomed one ball up into the sky.

Duffy was anonymous, he has had plenty of chances now and hasnt impressed. He didnt set the Intermediate championship alight either.

Moran was quiet but fielded one great kick out. I would give him a chance in with the big boys.

Kelly is a good runner with the ball but he doesnt look up.

Mcmonagle got turned inside out a few times today and especially against Finnerty. But it is a learning.

Coen was quiet until that score with the left foot. In fairness he got some vital scores last year so he has money the bank that is entitled to cash out on this year. And Andy will know that

Golden needlessly fouling, and Livingstones kick outs where loopy!

I am just disappointed that we didnt see good attacking forward play, for example. one time in the second half we turned the ball over in our half and there was no one in our full forward line to kick it to. This reminds me of the past few years. We didnt vary the kickouts at all either!

I think Boland and Thornton were the best players on the day. McHale kicked some nice pints in the second half with the wind. Just disappointing he couldnt do it in the first half.

Lets just hope this game gives us added motivation for next week and if we win everything will be rosy in the garden!

Just reading through the comments here and wanted to chime in.
1.Mc Brien should be full back.
Not 6 not midfield not anywhere else.
We have lots of good options for 6.
Leave Mc Brien at home at 3.
2.Stephen Coen.
Great servant and has always stood up when needed but pace has and is a huge issue.
For me he is no longer a starter but an important member of the squad.
3.Conor Loftus.
Great to hear he is back with the squad.
Can play several positions and is a quality footballer.
Real competition for places will drive everyone on

Lads, all I can say is that some of ye are only happy when there is misery. A bit of fecken perspective please! :)

Perspective is typically a bit of a rarity once the football starts up again every year. It's not just us, though - Galway had (yet another) large pitch invasion after the win over us yesterday. All together now: IT'S ONLY THE FBD!

As Mrs Doyle once said Maybe we like the misery eastcork 😀 its more predictible than that hope thing that kills you. Spare a thought for that other green and red team that lost the club final in Croke Park yesterday I think they were robbed but sure what would I know sending men with big cheque books to Crossmolina