Padraig O'Hora said at the start of the game that what was needed was a player coup. Had we one today?

Any hints from sources where the Donegal will be held ?

I'd be guessing Croke Park as part of a double header.

Yeah I see a few saying that but I’m sure it was said in here that Donegal have suggested breffini already ?

King Jimmy will probably have his wishes granted.

There is no way they are going to ask people from Donegal and Mayo to travel to Croke Park for a qualifier game

I heard a good podcast 5 or 6 weeks ago where Philly McMahon was exploring the Jim McGuinness aura and how teams can succumb to it, ie beaten before they take to the field. He stressed the point that the top teams won't fall into that trap. While he definitely has something special, it's still 15 v 15 so give respect but don't overdo it! Sentiments along those lines. You have to approach it rationally and tactically.

I'd say it will be in Croker that will bring in some crowd for the gaa..

Jim McGuinness has won 1 all Ireland .......like WTF does this aura come .......I just can't buy that shite

Possible double header in Croker with Armagh and Galway

Southmayo exile. Your right , there not going to ask supporters to travel to Croker, they'll ask the respective county boards. Because ultimately its about them, not the onlookers.

I've critised Stephen Rochford in the past, but you know it was refreshing to see a mayo manager marching the sidelines with instructions rather than with arms folded with mouths open or head down. Rochford did back to back all irelands, dwarfing mcstays experience. If we don't progress he young enough to bring through the next talented group

Much better today apart from a dip in taking and making chances after half time. I was saying get the subs on and we did. What a difference Neary made, serious pace. While Dawson did well in the first half I’m not sure as he looks like a boy,. could south a pure rookie continue to deliver in the heat of knockout should we make it. Looks can be deceiving and he’s so two footed, can’t even tell which is his dominant side. On a slightly negative note Jack Carney took a free with his left (decent enough left from play) when we still had a natural left footed forward on the pitch Aido unless he was gassed. Percentages. Bit like Galway letting Walsh take frees from both sides when they have Tierney.
On McGuinness I’d give credit for transforming Donegal but they had more luck than Armagh in the Ulster final who I’d make them AI favourites along with Kerry. Expect they’ll beat Dublin and 50 50 vs Galway. Donegal could come a cropper this weekend because of recovery time.
We’re still a way off Kerry but if we win the next one could top the group with big momentum. If they lose Murphy or we find a good marker (e.g. Aido when Murphy drifts out) they don’t have enough. Ditto Patten must have recurring ankle injury so 50 50 to start and finish most games. We destroyed Jimbo’s his injury hit team in 2013 so we should hold no fear. Galen has serious talent and plenty of threat albeit not consistent over 70 like Conaty. McMrearty is nearing the end. Not spent but less effective. Langan is their Conroy, we’ll need high intensity for 70 to minimise that threat.

Brillant day out. While very few travelled, i felt more mayo women supporters were there than men. Did anyone else notice this?

@shuffly deck. Carney took that because it was a mark.

I have a high temperature and feel delirious—my thoughts are all over the place. I think I might be coming down with mayo fever again!

I'd guess that if Stephen Rochford was ever up before the courts on trial for any serious crime , he might hope that some of his detractors on this blog would not be on the Jury, Come out , Come out, where ever ye are, and explain yerselves! . Anyway , there wasnt a vote on the MotM for the Cavan game as yet, am I correct in saying that . I feel confident in saying that another man often derided Stephen Coen would have won that one. Do some people have something against the name Stephen do ye think ? . Either way, we're back in with a shout..and fair play to those Mayo fans who travelled to Omagh today (I did'nt myself) but a few tears (I mean years) ago likely would have myself.

Well done Mayo, great performance. Rochy changed up the team, he simply had to after the Cavan game.

But you'd have to ask yourself how in earth we can put in such an excellent display tonight, after the debacle agaisnt Cavan. Cavan beat us out.the gate. Tyrone will likely beat Cavan convincingly in their last game, so we need to back this up against Donegal or it'll all be for nothing.

Delighted with the win & performance. Keep the handbrake off & see where it takes us now!!!

@Rusty Bridges...Donegal v Cavan...don't count your chickens until their hatched.

Rusty bridges. I am sure the Tyrone manager is asking the same question. How on earth did they play so well v Donegal followed by this debacle v Mayo. And Dessie must be asking how on earth did Dublin play so well against Galway after the debacle v Meath. And Jimmy must be wondering how did Donegal lose to that lot from Tyrone. And PJ must be scratching his head at how Galway lost to a team Meath beat. etc etc. It’s all about consistency or lack of consistency. There is no absolutely fantastic team out there this year and that’s what has really made for such an exciting championship. Any of the top teams can beat each other on a given day and it’s the team that eventually can put a string of consistent performances together that will win it. It’s quite likely that we won’t “ back it up” v Donegal, but regardless last night’s result was excellent. It has stopped the rot and given us something to be proud of again. Fair play to all involved

Super win by the lads and management. A pleasant surprise I did not see coming.

I'm one of the many who will regret not travelling and not backing the team when needed.

Talk of Croke Park for next round is a bit crazy given that Mayo suppirt has fallen off a cliff. A couple of thousand is the must we will bring and there won't be many from Inishowen either.

Alot saying the donegal game will be in Cavan
But how does Cavan gaa go about getting stewards for that game when there own county will be playing somewhere else at the same time.
Presumably most/all of the stewards will be Cavan fans and will either want to go that game or watch it on tv ?

Am I missing something ?

Hopefully MAYO v Donegal game on hyde park.

Absolutely valid points to Win Just Once. If this was horse racing, the bookies would be all over the place as there is no true formline.

There is no big bad wolf out there anymore

Possibly Dawson was picked because he's two footed. You don't have a lot of time on the ball, also, you've twice the options if you can switch to left or right depending on what the play is showing you.
Davitt Neary really has crazy pace. Like elite Premier League winger pace. I hope we keep using him from the bench. When teams are fresh what he does is much less effective. Modern defenders are quick, so you need to have their speed reduced a bit.

All to play for still thankfully. Tough finale against Donegal but Tyrone won't have it handy playing Cavan either. I'm not getting into the hows, whys and whats of yesterday's performance except to reiterate what I've said about this year being the most open in a helluva long time.

It's amazing what just one new player can do..... Paddy Durcan. I really thought he lifted what we did coming out from defehce and had three points.
Aidan, Ryan and Darren McHale I thought were our playmakers. Aidan is an incredible handoasser.
Darren McHale had a class moment he did a kickpass along the carpet to stop himself getting blocked down. He has been having his best season Darren McHale. Always does the right thing on the ball and looks to be positive.

@leantimes. I was one who expressed little confidence in Rochford but did say I hoped he would prove me wrong. He did and I'm delighted he did. Even if we express an opinion that is wrong we are all Mayo people who want to win Sam.
I hope I am right in this opinion. Is it possible that management are trying to peak the team at the right time which would explain the loss to Cavan thru the lack of hard training. We saw how Micky Harte qualified for a preliminary quarter final by winning one match at the group stages.
Either way this is a good Mayo team that can go the whole way. We should not forget that Kevin Mcstay has to be given some credit. While Stephen did a great job yesterday there had to be a good foundation to do the job.
Always delighted to be proven wrong when Mayo win.

@JP

Totally agree , Durcan is some player oh how we have missed him!

His leadership , his skill and pace is something else.

We were not sure how fit he would be after being a year off but by god he is fit ! It just shows his resilience and character and getting man of the match first game back delighted for him!

Don't see why the Donegal game should be played in Cavan. It will be in Carrick on shannon or the Hyde, Though think the GAA will want the double header in croker to bring in the money!

Great win, delighted for the team and management. Biggest positive for me was we kept the scoreboard ticking over, apart from the start of the second half there wasn't any long period of play without a score. 2 pointers are a worry and composure on goal attempts, our system of play creates plenty of chances but we're not getting enough of a return on them

Delighted for all involved, couldn’t be there.
.. knew it was gonna be a where were u game !, Great win, got the response, but extra week was huge… to beat Donegal, we need to bring same energy, but be a lot more clinical… I expect reape to score those frees, Rod has to score lot more from play, everyone needs to focus on goal taking… just place it …, it’s a game that might give us non division 1 qF opponent!… we need to have a 2 per strategy as well, just in case we get 5+ pts Behind, … I think Cavan will run Donegal closer than most expect today and would have beaten the just off it Tyrone last night…

Man to man you couldn’t fault Mayo last night.
I have been crying out for Sean Morahan all year on the blog: thought it was unenviable task to come in and mark and mark a Tyrone full forward. He marked Mark Bradley and kept him scoreless. In his first championship start, along with picking up some amount of “dirty ball” that we have been awful at doing this year.

I have been a detractor of Rory Brickendon in the past but have to give him credit. He’s definitely better out the field and has excellent vision of that diagonal ball.

We dominated midfield which has not been a theme of the season. Credit to the management and players for sorting that out.

The real wildcard was Conall Dawson- was the free man when Rory Brennan dropped into the pocket in the first half. They had no idea what foot he was or what he would do. The same with Bob Touhy who carried immensely throughout.

We will need that and more against Donegal but absolutely credit to everyone involved- they have our pride back in the jersey after a turbulent week

*Put pride

Well now lads,

I mentioned last week about Mayo players taking ownership and personal responsibility and many pushed back on management.

But it was players that stepped up yesterday with hurt and anger and pride and performed for the green and red.

Well done Mayo,

Hope you've a few sore heads this morning!!!

Well done to the Mayo players for stepping up and showing mettle and pride in their jersies yesterday.Up Mayo wherever you go . Remember the song The Boys from the County Mayo.

Supporters views are based generally on performance and results .if people came on here over the last few weeks and claimed we were playing brilliant exciting football they would be telling lies.For whatever reason the straight jacket came off yesterday .no point dwelling on that but what we saw yesterday was light years away from previous performances.huge pressure being put on around the midfield sector,great angles of running with players taking the ball at pace .The McHale goal had an element of luck but I have always thought that Morgan’s over confidence at times could catch him out .Maybe Tyrone were a bit off but that’s not our problem.The return of our Rolls Royce to the half back line was very welcome and Davitt Neary’s pace is a huge weapon going down the stretch.The pep in the step has returned to mayo football

There's no chance of Tommy Conroy making it back for Donegal? That would raise all boats having himself and Durcan both back

I'm delighted with the win, even if its just to lift the mood in here and in the county as a whole. I wasn't completely distraught when we were beaten by Cavan as I knew we had it well within us to beat Tyrone. It was all lined up perfectly really for a siege mentality with a smash and grab. And indeed we could now go on and beat Donegal but like so many previous years come up short of topping the group and get a horrible draw with a six day turnaround. It's our inconsistency and fragility that kills me year on year. I believe we potentially have something this year but would need to get past the quarters to really show it. So I'm keeping my optimism throttled back to see if we can top the group, which I believe is crucial for progression, or if we can somehow navigate the qualifiers without been completely exhausted and spent by the time we reach there. Right now I guess there is nothing for it but to go out and beat Donegal, so let's go do that, lets live in the moment and enjoy it, let's give two fingers to inconsistency and mental fragility. Maigheo Abu

Paddy did reference alot of lads trying hard to get back fit , so who knows but a performance that needs recognition as he's been harder done by on this Blog than Coen or anyone else that people reference is Reape and he showed all his skillset yesterday so hugh credit to him .
He's a major asset when he can take frees and with that his confidence should grow.
For the cavan game and start of Galway game lads were turning their backs on him and never showed for kick outs . So hopefully with fast wingback and bit more bit around the middle to win breaking ball that it will allow the platform for best Reape to be on display

Malachy clerkin has excellent articles in the Times where he can’t explain the unexplainable.Holds my hands up in that I said hadn’t seen this particular group of mayo players coming back with a big performance but obviously somewhere deep rooted in the mayo DNA.The line in the examiner “ let me introduce you once more to the magical legend that is mayo “

@toe to hand, we have to aim to beat Donegal or we're probably out.
Assuming Donegal and Tyrone beat Cavan (I think they will):
- If we lose to Donegal, we'll finish bottom as Cavan have us on the head-to-head.
- If we beat Donegal, we finish top of the group as we have Tyrone on the head-to-head.
- If we draw with Donegal, we'd qualify for pqf, with ourselves and Donegal being split into 2nd and 3rd by scoring difference I assume since we'd both be on 3 points.

Credit to the lads defensively yesterday. Bar the goal where we should have engaged Canavan earlier I thought we were solid enough and we got our match ups right.
Morahan on Bradley
Hession on McCurry
Coyne on Canavan.

Hession did a great job I thought.

The 1 week turnaround makes a big difference. Cavan will have their tails up and there will no more than a kick of a ball in that game later.

On the 2 pointers, we are 12 or so games in to the new rules and they aren't happening for us. We don't have shooters from distance but here's what I did like yesterday......there was a plan B.......
The running up the pitch, slowing down and recycling stuff that was draining us all year was still there at times yesterday but for the most part Mayo played good attacking ball letting the forwards play to their individual strengths...
Dublins 2nd half performance against Galway showed what good ball and attacking runs can do and I think our lads took something from that.
Great credit goes to everyone involved yesterday from the panel, mgmt and supporters who travelled.
We all know backing that up the next day will be tough but isn't it great knowing that we still have something to say in this Championshio yet....

I hope it’s in Croker
It is in effect a knockout game for us
Win and we top the group
Lose and we will be out

What's the story with Diarmuid, any chance he will be back for Donegal game?

Like many others, pre-match, I couldn’t honestly find any logic to support a Mayo win other than ‘you never know with Mayo’ – which is no logic. So happy for the team and all involved that the plan came together, and pride was restored. Like others have mentioned, have to also give a special call out to all the travelling support. What a game to have witnessed first hand. Fair play.

Another huge challenge ahead in Donegal, which will likely be a must-win. As we have effectively entered the knockout stage of the championship, the reality is that Mayo will have to back up yesterday’s performance with something better for each remaining game. Agree with others re lack 2 pointers so hopefully that’s something they will work on for starters, although I do believe the wind often has a significant influence in the 2 pointer stats.

All the very best to the lads going forward, but regardless of what happens, Kevin’s situation provides perspective on what’s really important. Wishing him a speedy recovery.

The only thing about it being in Croker with Armagh Galway is if we get the later game and the Armagh and Galway fans leave we could be down to a half filled stadium would much rather it in a smaller stadium and be packed to the rafters.

Agreed Tubberman, if we don't beat Donegal we are most likely out. I fully expect Donegal and Tyrone to beat Cavan as I think we litterly broke Cavan the last day. In beating us they gave everything to that game, with a number of players going out injured. Not only will they beat Cavan but they will put up a big score, I guess we will know for sure later today.
I would prefer us to be beaten by Donegal and go out than a draw and the slow death that follows. The last minute draw against Dublin in the Hyde finished our season and I think a draw against Donegal would do the same. Win or bust lads no middle ground

On the jack carney mark situation.did he call for the mark as I didn’t see it or has that been changed.i see jack o Connor isn’t impressed with the 50 metre penalty for not moving away

I’d imagine the all Ireland champions and the crowd they bring would be on second at 4pm in that scenario Mayo25

@1985 Don't have to call it anymore - Carney took a shot at the posts knowing if he missed, it would be called back for a mark. He missed the shot. And then he missed the mark.

Waiting for Sam . Yea i hadn’t realised you don’t have to call it anymore but good rule as trying to stick your arm up in the air when falling to the ground at times is fairly tricky

Can't see the game going to Croker.
Not in our interest.
Roscommon ideal,but could be Fermanagh or Carrick.

carrick would make more sense geographically, but from I saw on telly it's a poor surface and I'm not sure it would hold the crowd - although Armagh made a song and dance about that previously and then couldn't fill it

Terrific performance from team and management yesterday.I honestly couldn't see that coming.
Fair play to all involved.
Is there any update or conroy diarmuid or eoghan mc loughlin.
Imagine conroy and mc loughlin coming on against tired legs.
It would be brilliant for us

Great performance by Mayo last night- Why?
Shackles were off
Manager changed the team- 3 young players plus Durkan
Allowed to play football for 74 min
Subs were crucial and timing was perfect especially for Neary and Flynn
Rochford managed from the sideline
All players played with grim determination and grit including the subs
Needed a reaction from the Cavan match
Played for the management team especially McStay who apparently got stick from a section of the Mayo fans in McHale Park v Cavan- not acceptable!
On this form Mayo are a match for any team?
We need one more point to ensure qualification

Speedy recovery to Kevin
Go hann maith ar fad
Mhuigeo Abú

Maurice Brosnan in the Examiner- very funny!

https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/gaa/arid-41643157.html

I dont think ye should play Donegal in Croke Park, its made for their 2 pointer men. There was a potential turning point in yesterdays game that I would like to see a replay of. ROD was through on goal and appeared to be brought down but nothing was given and it looked a penalty. Tyrone came down the pitch and I think they scored. Mayo weathered that storm but did anyone get a good look at it, for some reason there was no replay.

A huge Thank You to players and management, this win is what everyone needed. A tremendous performance where nearly every player was in MOTM territory..

I said before the game that this felt like a defining moment for this team, management and Mayo. They delivered big time. Delighted for all involved..

Rochy did indeed throw in a few curve balls to, who saw those 3 lads starting. Changing a full back going into a Lions den ...an outstanding performance from that lad.

any news on donagh mchughs injury

First of all I'd like to wish Kevin McStay a speedy recovery, and to congratulate the whole squad on an exhibition performance, and especially the younger players, and great to see Paddy Durcan back in action what a difference he made when introduced,
Now we missed a few scores, maybe not taking the right options, but very happy going forward,
We need to follow up that win in two weeks against Donegal, I've no doubt if we apply ourselves the same as yesterday then the day will be ours, Hon Mayo,

Chesneychet yea I thought that was a penalty

Yep,one of those pleasing situations where i found it hard to keep motm picks to 3.

What a difference durcan makes to that team though,inspirational stuff from him

I didn't pick anyone in the poll - I felt guilty trying to limit it to just 3

At west is best, O'Horas prematch comments are very eye opening. Gave a real insight into what the players thought of the set up. And likely explains why some aren't available.

[Deleted].

Absolutely delighted today. We were brave and I feel we ran harder than we have in a long time. Loads of old cliches we can bandy about but honestly it could be as simple as a change in messaging from "take your time and do the right thing" to "do something quickly".

I'm really delighted that everyone's efforts got a win. We needed some luck but it felt like we earned it.

Really disappointed with O'Hora today with Brolly. No dignified silence, just an attempt to have a dig. Had great respect for him until this.

Brolly is Brolly,

But O'Hora just spoke openly and honestly which is breath of fresh air.

He's paid to give his opinions and fair play to him for that.

The west awake, come off it! It’s a bit early to be bringing out the scratchy harshness. We’re entitled to enjoy the win yesterday, delivered from players and management with back up from family, friends and fans who travelled.
We all know we need to do this and more (especially be sharper and more ruthless) against Donegal. Getting our heads (as you say) in the right place, with the right attitude is more than half the battle for Mayo. Let’s all want the win and make it happen.
It’s yawn-worthy to read a dig at Stephen Rochford today for no reason.
I heard Stephen Rochford or Stephen Coen (can’t remember which of them) repeat the word ‘united’ over and over about the team in the post-match interview on the MayoGAA podcast. I think it’s nice to think that what they’re doing is a team effort. It needs to be if we are to win against Donegal and go deep into the summer. Chipping away at people isn’t very inspiring to me though some might call it ‘realism’.
Anyway, The West Awake, sincere good wishes, enjoy the day, and I think we’ve woken up a bit - let’s hope we’re getting fully awake.

I think irrespective of today's result a draw would ensure progression provided that we have a better score difference going into the final set of games than Donegal.

But unless I'm missing a scenario, a draw is enough as is because we have better score difference than Tyrone.

7 points is what Donegal would need to overhaul our score difference.

Very unlikely a draw would be enough to win the group; realistically we need a win for that.

The subs used and the timing was just about spot on yesterday,Neary especially gave us added impetus i thought.
For his role in the penalty his pass in to Aiden and the cleverness to continue his run...if he doesn't follow up,Aiden gets bottled up, probably gets done for over carrying,free out instead of a goal. That's where players putting in the extra effort pays off.Also Ryan gets to banish a few old lingering demons which is another plus...mind you peno wasn't great but thankfully Morgan had dived across.
That other incident with RoD seemed a foul all day long too, but couldn't tell if it was it inside or outside and no replay shown.
Morgan ,top keeper but yesterday showed any of them can have a poor enough day out. He lost quite a few of his restarts and he really screwed up for Mc Hale's goal.
Competition for places has just upped a few notches after yesterday,and that can only be good.

Agree WestKerry, Rochfords subs and their timing were excellent yesterday in fairness to him.

But O'Horas comments confirmed what many have been saying over past couple of years about unrest etc. internally, but it's first time someone from within has really spoken out.
But that's for another day, it was a great result. I fancied the draw, delighted to be proven wrong.

Thought Darren McHale was excellent again yesterday, ran himself into ground. Think he started first half gathering ball in our own square, and finished burying ball at the other end, as well as getting to hoover up and amount of broken ball and good link play.
Dawson was very assured and wasn't afraid to get stuck in on the breaks in a lot of cases either.
Durcan bar the blip for their goal done great for man with only few challenges under belt.

The west awake - that was a nasty, gratuitous swipe at Stephen Rochford, which was completely uncalled for. As I mentioned last week, there are other places online where that kind of ugly chat may be posted without getting called out but it's not welcome here.

Constructive criticism is never a bad thing but for the life of me I can’t understand any criticism today.The doom and gloom has been lifted for now .i actually thought Stephen rochford looked like a man on a mission yesterday so credit where credit is due

To all mayo blog supporters
My email has been hacked. dont know what was said in a earlier post but I want to put on the record that that post did not come from me.
I have always been very respectful of any manager from club to county who take on a job of managing a team it's the hardest job in the world.
Anybody that has read my posts in the past have always been respectful even though we might have different in opinions which is what this Mayo blog is always about.
Hope this post cleared up any confusion that my email had been hacked.
From a very upset The west awake GAA supporter.

The west awake - noted but you need to note in return that your earlier comment has the same IP address attached to it as the one you've just now posted. Also comments aren't posted from within email accounts so I'm unclear what relevance that might have.

Donegal put up a big score today so we’ll need out A game. I haven’t seen it but still rate Armagh above them. Derry showing signs of recovery. Wouldn’t rule them out of beating the Dubs. Nothing easy in 2025 unless you’re Kerry.

Yes we had a touch of luck for both goals. The penalty was light enough contact, don’t often get those. Panel said you make your own luck by intensity but a few games e.g. Armagh vs Donegal where luck played a fair part in the result.
McHale has been a slow burner, hard to argue with him being a regular starter. The competition is Boland, Flynn and Towey who’s more an inside man. Flynn added energy yesterday too and got stuck in so he’s a good man to bring on when we need a boost in aggression and energy. Neary has X factor or close, hard to leave him off again. I’d have more faith in him than Dawson despite his good half yesterday. A lad for the future no doubt. Bob Tuohy also gave his best performance in a while, maybe the extra height helped us win more ball. Let’s hope his confidence jumps after that. The ref gave them a 2 pointer before our 1st goal with little or no contact so maybe balances the penalty. Also one of our players conceded a brought forward a free for dissent at an incorrect ref call .. I think we had 2 of those so managers would want to drill in no dissent unless questioning from captain.