Ya,well done to Ryan once again.
Let's hope he doesn't have an off day anytime soon.

Watching galway I know why kevin and Rochford have McBrien at 6.
One of the best connaught finals of all time coming.good luck Galway.

Well done Ryan Big challenge ahead with Galway corner back. If Ryan is held we are up the creek

For the final will the team at least wear the proper Mayo jersey.

Mcgrath a very good man marker..had a tough job on ben o c tday ..if he got any decent ball. He's always done well on Rod yes but sure we'll see what happens. General consensus lose by 5 to 10 points..Galway just have better players..a solid big skillful outfit.

I honestly don't know what Mcbrien is bringing to the team at the moment, very poor all year. His goal v Galway was the highlight I'm afraid last year.

That was two years ago, Larry David! Last year Comer ran him ragged in Salthill.

Thanks for the reply lads. I thought that was the case myself but after the fuss the Monaghan manager made, I wasn’t sure.

- ROD stood up as usual when the need was greatest.
- The conditions yesterday were poor, Cullen was fussy and inconsistent and there was no atmosphere with Mayo by far the majority of supporters in a crowd of 4500 according to one of the stewards.
- Leitrim had a great number 8 and two young and slight corner forwards who were let play hell for most of the game.
- They had no complicated kickout strategy aside from hoof it out the middle where they got primary possession with ease.
- Anyhow I think McStay has always planned on having the team peaking for Connacht Final...they looked very fit yesterday.
- We are underdogs and rightly so. Roscommon gave the key Galway guys loads of space with Maher, D'Arcy, Conroy and McDaid winning loads of possession with nobody challenging them. Enda Smith went missing .. Finnerty also had a field day.
- We need to man mark their key men very tightly and we need to tackle extremely hard and make this a battle. We simply have to kick fast ball into our forwards when we get it.
- The ref appointed to this game will be key... as likely sending offs
- This is a huge pressure game for Galway and for McStay.
- There is no fippin way any of us want to see Joyce doing Riverdance on McHale Park with the Nestor Cup...
-

Hope they retain some version of the retro jerseys if that
ensures they dont revert to white shorts which sre so old-fashioned and unintimidating.
We will bate Galway if we adopt that bit of a devil-look, by wearing anything other than white shorts.
Y'all hear now ....!
Finally Mayo usually flop when favourites, so ignore our two most recent gift-offerings to Sligo and Leitrim, when assessing our margin of victory v Galway.
Congrats to Ryan O'Donaghue, yet again.
.

Agreed Larry David, there are players playing on reputation right now and McBrien and Callinan are top of that list. Neither has had more than a fleeting influence on the team this year. Comer and McGrath will be relishing playing Mayo. I can't understand how McStay hasn't tried another starting inside corner forward. There's so much pressure on Ryan. Aidan just doesn't trouble the score board enough then you're left with a third midfielder like Thornton or Irwin. We're majorly short of inside forwards. May as well start Towey, at least he takes shots.

Oh that's right WJ, yes last yr comer played havoc on him..his goal the yr before, since that been very poor. As mentioned here before just where do the scores come from if Rod is off or held quiet..hard to know. They are just well ahead of Mayo now, physically after today watching Conroy, Maher Tierney D'Arcy control the middle, all well above 6ft.. and then you've mcdaid who can score, silke and mchugh from half back too...and the two big guns to come back in..hard see anything but a galway win in 2 weeks time even at 70%

Yeah Galway looked good today and Mayo looked poor yesterday but that does not mean things will be the same in 2 weeks. Maybe I am grasping at straws but in 2016 AI SF we were very mediocre v Tipp while Dublin impressed v Kerry ( kicking something like 21/22 points if I am not mistaken) Yet in the final we tore into the Dubs who only stayed alive from 2 own goals. Big matches are won on the day, not what happened a few weeks previously. Of course everything points to a Galway victory and they are rightly hot favourites but you never know. Games take on a life of their own. Look at Kerry v Cork last night. That is the beauty of sport.

Hopefully, aim all year was this match. Big problem, I think they win more ball in midfield. Wish Paddy played against Leitrim or Tommy. Probably unfair ask to start next game

I wasn't able to go to Saturday's game and did'nt bother paying GAA+ to see it, as I thought it would be a cakewalk and a non event and it seems from radio, reports, and posts on here, that I was fortunate not to have endured it. Hard to come up with any positives from the game, except perhaps that we will go into the final as raging underdogs, which seems to suit us. To have any chance, we are going to have to man up and match Galways intensity and aggression, fight for every ball, defend like leeches, attack with purpose and pace, and go quick and direct into our forwards. We need to close down and severely limit their 2 point opportunities And desperately need to develop Kick-out strategies for ours and theirs-if they dominate like against Roscommon, we are dead. I hope to see us approach this game with commitment and ferocity(legal). We surely don't need any extra motivation for this game-the sight of a Galway jersey in a Connacht Final should be enough.

Congrats ROD!. Big challenge coming in Galway however. From yesterday's game they have improved a lot since last year and totally dominated against Roscommon,. A near full squad, new positive additions to the squad and regulars exceeding last year's performance. Mayo will need to put in a massive effort and will need to control the mid section to have a chance of winning a CT.

Was Mattie subbed at half time?

I'm thinking more that the squad needs to avoid injuries for the coming merry go round after Connacht. It won't define a season winning the province. If Galway perform poorly I'd still have them as Sam contenders, a sentiment I don't hold regarding Mayo, provincial winners or not.
Reality can be a bastard at times.

He was, Joet1480. We made three substitutions at half-time - Mattie, Sam Callinan and Davitt Neary went off, Diarmuid O'Connor, Shairoze Akram and Eoghan McLaughlin came on.

Hopefully the county board have learned their lesson, and wont allow galway into mac hale park to practice their free kicks, like they did the last time.

Well done Ryan once again.
It was a bad day on the field alright for a lot of the players and they well know that themselves. And for many that couldn’t make it there or get to see on box, the negatives have been rounded on here 100 fold once again. But there were a few positives to take from the game just for balance. Top of the list is winning away from home and moving on as underdogs to final at home. Secondly, similar to Wicklow the week before v Dublin, Leitrim had to deliver something, in front of their home crowd on Easter weekend and not much of a hope of any further success this year, they had to show up and did and let’s respect that too fair play to them. But we got out the gap, and yes far too much free rein given to McNulty lad but otherwise their other players scored only 5 points from play. Third positive was D Thornton in second half, sometimes you find yourself screaming silently as to how to fix what’s going wrong and he fixed it for last 30 mins, he powered in at pace behind a much taller fielder and broke the ball with a strong fist, well done lad. Fourth up we at last played a few more lads that were only names on the bench and however they may have performed, they are aware of cship pressure now. And finally once again we sprung a player off the bench capable of scoring 2 points to close out the game in Paul Towey and Diarmuid gained more game time and carried ball wisely away from danger zone on a number of occasions.

So onto the final. And again in the interests of a belt of young lads who need to stake their claim on wining Nestor cups over next 5 years, perhaps we could lay off all the mind blowing negativity and get into Mchale park in 2 weeks time and give them what we can. Because we will have 6/7 months of this year later on to berate, complaint and deride and know and show all that is to be know about intercounty football

Voted for ROD this time - well deserved.

I agree with posters that McBrien’s form is a bit worrying. He needs to step up. I did think the halftime substitutions were good, and brought a lot more energy. Can we engage with refs to find out exactly what Eoghan is doing wrong? To me his tackling and tracking on Saturday were terrific, yet nearly every time he was penalised. Or am I missing something?

We could have a lot of competition for the no 5 jersey. Assuming McBrien and MacL at 6 and 7, here are the options:

Coen
Durcan
Akram
Kelly
Loftus - have we any update on the possibility of Conor’s return to the squad?
Morahan - though the corner is more likely.

I'm not sure if McBrien's form is down, though maybe I'm wrong. More likely, he's playing out of position - like so many of the players. He's a brilliant full back. 6 is a very specialist position and needs a certain type of player. Diarmuid would be ideal for the role.

@richardmgd. You are so correct. We need every mayo supporter in mchale park to shout on the team . We will have more support there than galway and we must be heard . The supporters will have a big part to play in the destination of the nestor cup. I see mayo are 11/4 with paddy powers so the bookies are giving us no chance. I think Mayo will win it.

@Jimbo fully agree. I will go in hope rather then expectation this time.

Agree that supporters will have a big part to play to .
You never know with mayo but it's worrying times .

I've a feeling we could pull off a surprise in 2 weeks but if anything happens to Ryan O D we are in trouble .

Well done Ryan always steps up . You can't do it all on your own though.

2 weeks time is the time for the young guys to make their mark and step up .

I wonder will the ref for the connaught final pick up on Galways tactic of blocking opposition jumpers when the ball is kicked out.
It was highlighted on Sunday game last night and they showed several examples. I was wondering when watching it live how Maher and D'Arcy caught so much ball uncontested. Its obvious now the Ros jumpers were been blocked.

Saw a suggestion on a Galway forum that the Minor semi final(Mayo Galway)fixed for Castlebar on Friday be moved to before the Connacht Final on the Sunday. Does that almost make too much sense for them to do it.

@Clare, I have been in Croker on All Ireland final day when one player was the sole or only scorer.
Here are a few examples
Maurice Fitzgerald v Mayo in 1997.
P Joyce v Meath in 2001
P Canavan v Dublin in 1995.
You could say Paul Mannion for the Dubs v Kerry in 2023.
You could say B Brogan v Mayo in 2013, 2-2.

Although it's risky to depend on one main for more than 50 or 60% of scores.

We need to see something different v Galway

Will Padraig Joyce be reffing the game in Castlebar-he certainly had a lot to say along the line yesterday.I thought that this kind of abuse was covered by the new rules.....

To play the minors b4 the seniors would be a brilliant move. It would be like the old days, be brilliant for the young lads to play in front of a decent crowd (at minor throw in time) and would bring something different to the occasion and whet the appetite for the big game. Even without the minor game something should be done b4 the game to create an atmosphere maybe something for the kids to enjoy and a few past players from both teams having a bit of banter and meet and greet but I suppose that would be too much to look for.

Reduce McHale Park by 7m in length and 2m in width. Take away all that lovely space for their forwards. Why not? 130m* 80m minimum size.
A lovely open game suits them.
It would show the squad also that we are steely ruthless. We're not going to cow down to niceties like last year allowing them in to kick frees and pat our defenders on the head.

@Clare, how could I have forgotten,
C O Connor in the finals he played in.
J Horan v Meath in 1996.

McBrien for a big strong man, doesnt seem to use his physicality enough. We seem to be trying to make a Donie Vaughan out of him but he doesn't get on near enough ball to influence a game.

I think leaving McHugh isolated on Clifford in the league final hasn't done him any favours. And anyone who wants to give the BS "he done a good job" are wrong, Clifford got off 15 shots and was fouled for how many more. I don't blame McHugh, he was left out to dry by naive management. Has looked shaky to me in the last two matches as have his full back line counterparts.

For me, Eoghan McLaughlin has to start against Galway. Yes, he makes some poor mistakes, but he is one of the few linebreakers we have and has a great record against Galway.

I remember that pat on the head by Finnerty, the Mayo player took it like a labradore. Tapped one of our lads on the back yesterday in a similar fashion. I’ll personally donate to charity if one of yer bucks lays him out in 2 weeks :) for such a weak lookin man he has great confidence in himself…

Can’t see how ye’ll get within 6 points of them. They are the real deal. Power everywhere, a machine really. Bet us up a stick in max 3rd gear. Thought earlier in the year they were going to fast too quick, but seemed to tail off towards end of league…smart move from Joyce. Might aswell hand them Sam now tbh….save us listening to another cringe fest speech from Jarlath Burns.

Sam Callinane was the man that got the pat from Finnerty and just took it. Shameful.

The bottle of Finnerty has been seen on All Ireland Final Day. Wanted away from the heavy stuff.

Must have learned that at home - only one of 30 players dodged the big fight in 96.

I agree with you @Western Gael, I have no problem in seeing a player score but this crap of taking the .... out of his direct opponent, this is another matter altogether.

Correct pod fan although the current manager of knockmore didn't cover himself in glory in that 'scrap' either

Pretty sure it was Brickenden not Callinan that Finnerty rubbed the head of. Speaking of which, where is Brickenden gone?!

It was definitely Brickenden!

Larry David/Pod fan, not sure lads going full Donie is a great idea, it didn't exactly work out for us when he tried it.
There's more than one way to skin a cat without being stupid about it and picking up cards.

I talked to a Meath all Ireland winner after last year's final, he said he would need to have been carried off the field in a final.
If Finnerty had stayed on his free taking would have won the game.

https://x.com/finnster1977/status/1787152063522046226?t=F8c4KWOc6ug2GywJGyzbXg&s=19 there's the clip of it. In fairness I've seen a lot worse, including from our own lads, and in isolation we don't know what instigated it could have been sledged all day etc. storm in teacup.

Sam Callinan got rave reviews in Club championship last year, but Aidan Orme for me got the better of him in the County Final in a game where Ballina hammered Knockmore.How we could do with Orme in our inside line now, the new rules would have really suited him.Hopefully him and Cillian are back under new management next season.

Armagh v Tyrone 20 euro for admission next week while the very few Mayo supporters that went to Carrick were ripped off by Connacht Council paying 30 euro.Is it any wonder Mayo supporters arent travelling.

I don’t know if we can just label them choirboys , it often takes a few years to toughen up to the dark arts although it has been disappointing to see Galway get the better of us in this regard lately .

I’ve watched finnerty closely since that incident, he fancies himself , if he was ice cream I’m sure he’d eat himself but he’s a bit cowardice at times , I hope we have been zoned into these little things .

Funny enough it’s not him comer or Walsh that concerns me , it’s Maher, conroy , mcdaid and Darcy more so . That’s where this will be won or lost .

Sam óg, under 4,000 the last da says it all sadly. We a hard watch currently.

Gizmobobs - Official attendance was 4,531

Mayo has a cultural issue with selecting defenders. We want lads who can attack also. No one likes being marked in club football by young Gortetski of Crossmolina but he's not even on the bench with the u20s. I'd see him as being one of the better man markers in club football, very physically strong and old school tough.

Sam og - that's two players you've dissed in a trash-talking manner today, both comments I've had to delete. Do it a third time and you and I are going to fall out.

Sobering to see the outright odds for the final Galway 1/5 Mayo 11/4, I don't recall seeing odds like that for us in my lifetime and I'm a good while out of the short pants. Galway look to be peaking and Mayo have quite a few players with patchy form so we have lots of question marks over us. Some believe the gulf between the teams has gotten much greater since last year including the bookies. I am going to stay positive and hope we see a different Mayo in 2wks time. We should have won it last year (ref decisions plus I didn't believe we managed the Walshe introduction to well either being our main downfalls on the day). Joyce saying Walshe may not be available but I'll believe that when I see the final match day panel.

So yes Galway appear to have the better form but if you don't buy into the Mayo regression I give us a good chance here. I have been saying all year along with a few others on here this is the game that will define McStay's stint in charge. Hope we get a fine day and a huge crowd in McHale park for this one...

Yes . Despite the negative feeling some of us have , it’s our job to make mchale park an absolute cauldron of mayo noise and colour . If we fail to do that we are very poor supporters . Galway will travel in huge numbers as they have been the last few years , let’s grab them tickets by the tens of thousands and outnumber them .

We will have to improve massively around the middle to beat galway, galway are so good around the middle so physical and unreal in the air. In my opinion this is the biggest game for mayo since the 2021 all ireland, a home connacht final first in years, haven't won one in a few years and denying galway a 4 in a row in our own home patch we have to win. Huge game that I'm looking forward to.

Robbie Finnerty playful friendly tap on head just to say Hello or whatever togs we wear will be immaterial (even though they will be made of some sort of material, cotton or nylon maybe) next Sunday week.

Brickenden is a great kicker of the ball. He would be great to have at half back

The odds mean nothing and by that I mean it’s not a knock out game and both teams will at least make a prelim QF. Joyce won’t be playing Walsh or anyone else if not 100% and if he does he’s obviously not learned anything from last year. As others have said, these games take on a life of their own and Mayo won’t roll over easy in a Connacht Final in Castlebar that’s a certainty but even they will know that defeat isn’t the end of the world. My one hope is that the weather is decent and a big crowd turns up as this is our provincial final and most of us grew up with these occasions. I’m thinking 99 and 05 in particular

Also winning this game will more then likely mean we avoid kerry, donegal and dublin if they go on and win their titles.

I don’t have any great memories of 2005 Connacht final .a bad loss on a roasting hot day in salthill

Is the group stage draw being made before this year's connaught final? I remember there was a big debate last year about how it might actually be better to lose the final, given that Derry (league winners) and Armagh (Ulster final loser) were in the winners group.

Id agree with Sean Burke on Finnerty. My personal opinion (is he didn’t fancy it in the final last year. He took a hard hit, went down, got treatment…kicked a free 2 mins later…then signalled to come off. Looked to me like a lad who wasn’t up for it, happy to kick a point in a final, then relax on bench with no pressure.

its not the management team i blame but i blame whoever put them there. well done ryan fully deserved

I think one or two are getting the wrong end of the stick with Finnerty. I don't see any arrogance or cowardice in his play. To me, he is a master of his trade - and getting better and better. The idea he came off on all-Ireland final day because he didn't fancy it is laughable.

The Gooch last night referenced him going to the next level; that's good enough praise for me. In particular given it's coming from another master of his trade.

I don’t remember many dissenting voices when mcstay and rochford got the job as in the main I think most people thought it looked a good set up .i think in some ways they have been unfortunate in that I don’t think the players are there in crucial positions.They constantly juggle the carney ruane Flynn options in midfield and it’s fairly obvious those players are not going to suddenly become ball winners and it’s very difficult to see how we will win enough possession around the middle to beat a Galway team that has up to four options in the air with comer another option.Any rational analysis points to a Galway win but hopefully the sight of those maroon jerseys will stir the blood and we make a royal battle of it

@JP, Gortetski was on the 20's bench the last night. He came on in the 2nd half in that game.
He's one strong boy , alright.

Great to hear people giving us no chance against Galway.
Reminds me of 81

You can be sure that Padraig Joyce won't be too happy with Leitrim manager Stephen Poacher marking Kevin McStay's inexplicably as yet undone homework saying 'We knew that we could get after Colms kickouts'..Colm Reape is a fine fine goalkeeper, but as yet Mayo needs to iron out just one obvious and repeated glitch. If in the next two weeks we can successfully remedy the case 'against the best team in Ireland at winning primary possession , Mayo are a match for Galway or anyone. If we haven't significantly improved in this area by Sunday week, not even the easy questions of RTE will be able put a positive spin on it for Kevin McStay and Co.

No kick out strategy. Slow ponderous attack. Not embracing the new rules. Porous at the back. And this is in year 3? I'm sorry but this year should be the end of it, unless we see a dramatic improvement. And as others have alluded to, we look to have a seriously talented u20 team coming through. I personally don't want to see these coaches getting anywhere near them.

I was at that game against Galway in 1981.I remember the story of members of the county board on the morning of the game calling out to the farm of Willie nally and begging him to play as Willie joe padden was carrying an injury.Nally agreed with the promise that the mayo players would help bring in his field of bales that evening.Nally had a stormer in midfield but unfortunately the rain arrived and ruined his bales .I wonder is there any former midfielder available out there now

If I was mayo manager/coach I would concentrate on following for next fortnight

-kick out strategy. Going to be really important that we win at least 60%. Galway were so good around the middle third yesterday that we need to come up with other options. Hession is a great outlet for short ball but you can only use that a few times. Need a few other options. Rochford and canny will have to put thinking caps on

-breaks. For when we have to go long but more importantly for Galway kickouts. We can't let them dominate like they did yesterday. We need to try and break every long kickouts and have a few of the smaller/nippy lads be brave and try and win as many scraps as possible. I'm worried about who will challenge the kickouts to break the ball. For all the big central players we played in the league none have been outstanding. Unfortunately m ruane not on form. Reid didn't push on. Flynn I think will be ok but we need 4 or 5 to match each of the Galway big men. Diarmuid is a different type of player.

Basically I think it's a game of winning possession and if we win our share we have a chance but that is a big IF.

Agree with other contributors that we should support Mayo in our thousands for Connaught final on what will hopefully be an atmospheric weekend in Castlebar.

Are we preaching to the choir in here as regards getting mchale park rocking for the final . How do we achieve making a difference for real . Could the CB do more, free child tickets to the schools , free flags on the day of the game (elverys perhaps ) . There needs to be an effort not just words . I firmly believe in the 16th man effect , it won’t win you a game but it can definitely help .

1985

I would have brought Jason Gibbons in at the start of McStays reign but he knew better , now we have no one to field a ball.I would bring Aidan out the middle the next day if we are to compete at all.I think this could be a hammering ,Galway will be making up for there massacre in 2013.

No I will be avoiding watching Galway win there 4 in a row in McHale Park at all costs .It will be sickening to watch.Its up to the management and players to get the fans back supporting the team.

1985

I actually think there was a majority hoping Dempsey and McConville got it from what I remember.

@Batetheblanket yes true you are right there !

@Sean Burke and @ MM-MaroonedInThePale

Also agree . We need to fill the place with as much green & red , noise and colour as much as possible.

Those are quite depressing odds the bookis have given us but it's fair enough .

I don't think it will be a walk over for Galway though but the guys need our support for this one. At home v Galway we should be outnumbering them but they will bring a massive crowd to .

Sean putting bums on seats anywhere in the country was not a problem when we played decent football.

Last year's call for the Mayo roar fell on deaf ears. 40 euro for tickets will get the same response.

Amazing odds really but not all that surprising. Also not too surprising that there is criticism of manager I remember back in February some were saying this year was a write off but then we went on a run and ended up in league final and the dissenting voices stopped…..until now. Yes we are rank outsiders v Galway and it’s not all down to management. Do some of the critics not realise that at the moment Galway have better players than us. That does not mean we can’t beat them in a one off. On kick out strategy it really is difficult for goalie especially if you’re not stacked with big strong midfielders (We. are not ) You really need to get 3/4 lads around the break. Watching Cork v Kerry and there was a big chunk of the game where Cork simply could not get their hands on the ball yet momentum changed during the course of the game and Kerry struggled then. Roscommon were unable to lay a finger on the Galway midfield yesterday no matter what they tried Midfield is crucial to the new rules and at this moment Galway look best served at midfield at the moment but I reckon Jimmy will come up with some plan for them.

@Sam Og

Today alone in 4 or 5 different posts you have said it was 30e into Carrick (I paid 20e) although you also had the option to pay 25e or 30e (same as the match you were comparing to in Ulster)

You have said you won't turn up to see Galway win the CF in MaCHale Park.

You've had posts deleted and a warning.

The weekend is well over at this stage.

@sean burke. That a great about everyone having a mayo flag and turn mchale park into a sea of red and green on the day. I think a lot of peiple have a mayo flag . Some mayo businesses could get involved in supply mayo flags to supporters. We supporters have rwally to up our game and give loud vocal support to the team.

Ah lads, free flags? Gimmicks won't win us the game - good players playing good football might. Unfortunately, our players aren't as good as Galway's. This will be a pasting I'm afraid. And no amount of flags will change that. Just hope we can turn the tables in the near future.

I would wait until after the Connaught final before writing off Mayo. There was no great need to train hard for Sligo or Letrim. The lads have played a lot of football for the last few weeks. I hope that they can up the preparation for Sunday week.
Their is still a long way to go and you certainly don't want to be playing your best yet. Reserve judgement for a while.

Predicted Team for Galway:

Reape
Coyne McHugh Hession
Coen McBrien E McLaughlin
Ruane Carney
Neary McHale Flynn
O'Shea Irwin O'Donoghue

Galway are so structured on their kick outs that I think we should be bringing Aidan out to the middle to give them something different to think about.

Carney looked great inside when we kicked against Sligo but was anonymous when we didn't kick against Leitrim (pretty sure he went inside for some the second half). I don't think Galway will let us kick much, and I think Jack will be needed around the middle, and Irwin has been as solid as anyone at 14.

Don't think anyone has a clue where we are at. If we get our aggression, intensity and self belief right we can win this, but if Galway match us they probably a small bit better than us.

But fair is fair and Galway as capable of making a hames of it as we are.

@Muckle , dead right.

Really hard to see Mayo outscore anyone decent really..based on shooting stats and conversion rate it's very bad. And the management doesn't know the best 15 either it seems or where to play certain players...I mean at this stage you'd want to be fairly sure..Can Mcstay not say, paddy will be ok for the connacht final, or Tommy isn't going to play this year etc, like what's the big secret?? Jesus tonight they'd annoy you with soft management talk.

I hope Mayo do test Galway but with all due respect..this is a proper team now they'll be facing, hardened tough skillful outfit with depth..I think they'll be lucky to get within 6 or 7 points. That's just the way it is at the moment..you'd imagine mayo will put a huge effort in but won't be enough for all the reasons that's been mentioned.

Was at Galway v Mayo game there in MacHale park
During the league and I felt that Galway right from the very start had a firm grasp on the new rules. Always feel that the winners of Sam Maguire will be the team that adhere to the new rules the best. Drawing back to the new rules over the weekend, Galway very very smart when it came to getting the two pointers especially before half time mayo seem sluggish

My team v Galway
Reape
Coyne, mchugh, Hession
Sam, Mcbrien,McLaughlin
Oshea, Flynn
Neary, rod, Diarmuid,
Boland, irwin, Thornton

O'Shea and irwin or Thornton changing regularly needing big men around the middle and move rod away from McGrath or McGrath out of position and have subs to come in like mattie, towie, Coen (maybe), McHale and very possible a few minutes from Durcan or Conroy.

Accentuating the negative, why all the talk about Galway? Roscommon were pathetic yesterday, wandering around like zombies for most of the match. They can’t do it against a half decent team. They’d have hammered Leitrim or Sligo of course.

Sean Burke, a few of us tried all that after the 2013 final. Called for noise, flags, the Mayo Roar etc. You'll remember that yourself. We had a few great days out in fairness but mostly we were just laughed at and slagged off online for making the effort. Elverys didn't even respond to requests to provide a few flags, and that was during the good times, so we just bought them ourselves and handed them out. No-one brings flags to games anymore anyway (bar Mayonaze and a couple of other faithfuls!).

Forgive my cynicism but the fact of the matter is most Mayo fans will sit in silence at games like they're at a funeral unless the team is going well or a referee f**ks up, and that's their prerogative. No amount of flags or online encouragement will stir them out of that stupor. And there sure as hell hasn't been a lot happening on the pitch to excite them of late.

I'd be amazed if we didn't come out in two weeks' time with a very different mindset and tempo but that said, habits are hard to break, and we are now in the habit of playing insipid, uninspiring football. And unless we sort out our kick outs fast, and our big men in midfield get smarter and more aggressive, we could be in for a very long day on May 4th. We won't be within an asses roar of an All-Ireland this year, and that's fine - the talent we had isn't there any more. League wins are grand, but it's Connacht or bust this year as far as I'm concerned for this management team.

On an entirely unrelated note, the Women's Mini Marathon is on that same day at 12pm in Castlebar, so be mindful of that when travelling. There will be several rolling road closures in operation around the town.

I expect, as most do, that Galway will win,and,if so, so be it. But, if we go down, I want to see us go down fighting. I want to see us get stuck in right from the start, fighting for every ball like lives depend on it, with tenacity and intensity, have a real go, quick direct attacks, with pace and purpose. If we do that, the crowd will get behind them-we don't need any free flags or other gimmicks. That's all we can ask for, and, if it's not enough, then it's not enough. There is no need for any extra motivation-the sight of the maroon jerseys of our greatest rivals, in a Connacht Final, should be enough. Unfortunately I can' t be there in person, but will be there in spirit, in a bar in Portugal.

Just back from the west and I never experienced such pessimism before a Connacht final.

Some more optimistic folk clinging onto the hope we might be able play like second half Armagh and first half Kerry league. I don’t think it’s possible to turn the tap on like that, not under the new rules. We were able to do it under Horan and the old rules.

Conor McManus in todays times referenced the kick out losing the match for Fermanagh in the end. New rules are solely down to winning your own kick out as the game is end to end. I just can’t see us tidying things up in midfield before the May weekend.

The only hope is that with Diarmuid in around the middle himself and Hession might be better at winning breaking ball and that Aidan will be our go to man in midfield.

We need Towey starting as well, ROD will be double marked so with Towey inside with him it would be a better tactic.

I’ll probably be more optimistic closer to the match, but as it stands now based on the Sligo and Leitrim midfield performances that were brutal we just haven’t a hope.

There is a chance that we could beat Galway but we all know it is unlikely. Instead, we will be treated to the sight of their manager kicking every ball, fighting every fight and urging his team on while our manager will stand with arms folded looking like a man trying to decide which crop to plant in the lower field. This behaviour could always be explained as the inscrutability of one playing multi-dimensional chess but, at this stage, we know that ain't the case.

The most important job of the County Board now is to uncover the right management team to take us forward over the next few years. This requires a complete break from the past, something unique and motivating that can engender belief once again that a new generation of talent will not be sacrificed on the altar of boredom and low expectation. This is the time of radical thinking.

Draw for qualifiers will be made on 29/4. Sole position left is the winner of Louth and Kildare.
Down in as winners of Tailtean cup.

We may not win but I at least want to see the guys show a bit of fight & spirit in them till the last second .. and not let Galway ones pat them on the head and do nothing after.

PJ will be roaring at the ref again I'm sure . Agree with othee posters McStay will be queit on the sidelines .

A manager jumping up and down on the sideline won't put the ball over the bar. The winning managers in recent years never showed much emotion during the games and even Horan was static on the line.As time passes I think it could be set up for an ambush. Galway coming in after not really being tested v roscommon and mayo coming in without hope. I know if things were reversed i would be expecting a huge display from Galway after being written off.

@No doubt yeah that's very true sure Horan wasn't exactly jumping up and down type of manager either .

I'd generally be one of the more pessimistic posters on here but I don't think connaught final is going to be the foregone conclusion many are fearing, it never works out like that between mayo/Galway even if one of the teams is on a low ebb, it's a Derby game and there has been a kick of a ball in it every time the past few years and that's all it will be again. Those games take on a life of their own. I'd make Galway 2 point favourites but wouldn't be surprised at all if we snuck it

More broadly speaking looking at galway there are some worrying comparisons to be drawn. Their squad depth is absolutely leagues ahead of ours, they now have Peter Cooke back looking for a squad place, very good players like Hernon, Flaherty, Molloy didn't see a minute of action. Comer and Walsh yet to come in. Sean Kelly is finally looking fully fit. Compare that to our options.

The other concern is their undoubted superiority at kickouts, they now have huge men lined up there in that middle 8. Darcy/Conroy/Maher/McDaid/Tierney all huge men capable of lording it on kickouts. I think we simply don't have the personnel to match up there. If dragging AOS back to midfield is the solution as many are suggesting then we are going nowhere, AOS was shot at midfield 5 years ago. It's FF or nowhere for him now

Well done to ROD. Our best player. Towey showed well too and deserves a start.
As for all the negative talk, I think acknowledge we're underdogs and support the team regardless.
We've done that in many of what turned out to be great games.
Some mighty daftness on here at times. The first of these is the tap on the head. So bloody what, is Rory supposed to deck Finnerty and get a Red card simply because of a cheeky taunt. Just get on with the game and don't take the bait. Another is the body language of the 2 managers. Complete daftness. We didn't see Jim Gavin kicking every ball, he was methodical. Another is stopping Galway practicing frees in McHale. If that's the common practice for all teams, where's the problem. If it's not then mabye don't permit it. What would Galway do in Salthill?
A more sensible post wondering what Eoghan did wrong the last day, I'd say very little. The ref was extremely fussy. Eoghan was near the line of fouling with the pressure he was puttingon but didn't pull or drag or trip so was unfairly penalised on at least 2 occassions as was Hession inexplicably after excuting a perfect tackle. It didn't cost us the game but that ref gave away a number of very soft frees. Contrast to the Galway game or more so the Clare Cork hurling game where the reffing was top notch.

We have no choice but to play Aido in midfield. Anyhow we don’t exactly use him to his potential in full forward.

Flynn also should be played in the full forward line.

@Shuffly deck I get your point but even Colm Boyle said you wouldn't have seen the likes of Chris Barrett let someone pat them on the head .

Obviously Rory shouldn't have done anything to get a red card .

I know a poster raised this in another thread but I think Canavan did us a favour on the Sunday game pointing out the fouls that lead to Galways "clean" catching at the weekend. Surprised I haven't seen it called out elsewhere but should certainly be on the refs radar now

There is a legitimate case for Towey starting. McGrath absolutely has Ryan's number and it is now blatantly obvious how reliant Mayo are on Ryan for winning frees and scores from play. Long term forecast saying high pressure that weekend and so Mayo can't rely on Aidan and some converted mid fielder from Ballina to get the scores in place of Ryan. Need another option in the full forward line, especially when Aidan wanders out the pitch.

Separately, Callinan is doing awfully well to hold on to his place for the final. Very interested to see how courageous management are with their selection.

I think if the ref sees that tactic as blocking,as opposed to holding he'll probably let it go.
We need to be wise to it though.

I was a referee for 10 years & the one thing that bugged me the most was a team manager shouting & jumping around the place try to put pressure on the referee, also get spectators riled up, it never worked on me, I just got a little more exact on decisions, some 50/50 decisions went against them. That's the way it should be.

Correct left boot...managers jumping around and in the refs ear is annoying..no need. Look at mickey harte, Jim gavin jack o Connor over the yrs, calm and composed. If you have to be shouting and giving off to the ref. It says alot about them

There's a few club managers around mayo would want to relax a bit on the line too

It will come down to player pride and just how hurt our lads are with those odds, and with them being virtually written off. Just how far are our lads prepared to go to prevent Galway winning four in a row of Connaught titles, and having to watch them celebrate that achievement in our stand. I echo the sentiments above that Finnerty, in particular, needs to be opened up on hard and early. Would he tap Boyle or Barrett or Vaughan on the head? He certainly seems an awful lot braver than his auld lad who was the first to hit the deck in '96 and cower on the ground like a child. We need mongrels for this game, and I'm afraid we don't have them. We play in the likeness of our manager and that is the way it is. It's not going to change now. We've regressed back to being "nice" footballers, too soft, too meek and too timid.
We know that by any metric we are inferior to Galway and that we have regressed from the time when we would go to Salthill and hammer them by 13 points. We know our form is very poor and we seem aimless and unsure in attack. Some players form has regressed and the hope of having Durcan and Conroy in the starting 15 has gone. We know that our management team have failed to convince in their ability to get the best out of this squad. We know that we reached a league final but we also know that a half arsed Donegal side missed a peno, hit the crossbar and pulled up early. We know THAT is the real reason we didn't get relegated.
But, we also know that we went to Tuam in '99 and beat them when they were reigning All Ireland champions and one of the best teams of that 4 or 5 year period. We know that on any given day we are capable of rising to the challenge of the best sides and putting on a performance.
For me, once the draw was made our entire season was about the Connacht final. Win that and it's a successful season. Lose it and it should signal the end of this management team.

@Pebblesmeller well said fully agree on all of that.

I think Rochford has a big influence in our backroom team and so a surprise or two may come on the he final.
A characteristic of the championship so far is the lack of impact from the he bench for all teams.

@Pebblesmeller: "We know THAT is the real reason we didn’t get relegated."

Donegal put out a FAR weaker side versus Tyrone (just 29% of minutes from lads in their top 15 - no other side for the year put out a team at <60%) than they did against us. If Donegal had won that game, we'd have been safe after Round 6 and our Donegal result irrelevant.

Swings & roundabouts whenever hypotheticals like that are brought up. I wouldn't suggest we know much there.

@TsuDhoNim, Interesting. Were we not in the relegation zone at half time in that game? Also, are those % of minutes altered by the large number of subs that McGuinness made at half time in MacHale Park? It was hard to track the Donegal squad that day as they didn't bother to submit a squad for the program. The printers just used the same squad that lined out v Tyrone the week previous.

In that game you had one team that wasn't really bothered about the result (Donegal) and you had us who had to win to be almost 100% certain of NOT being relegated. Watching it, especially the opening 15 mins of the 2nd half, the roles looked reversed.

For what it's worth, I expect a reaction from Mayo for the final. I don't believe we are as bad as we have shown in our two Connaught games to date (we couldn't be). The Friday evening game against Carlow in Laois wasn't put on just for the crack so I hope there is something in the pipeline. But, whether that reaction is enough to take down the form team in the country, well that's another thing altogether.

What surprise does anyone expect rochford to come up with.would he not have come a surprise in the last two years when needed.Maybe Flynn ruane and carney will suddenly start leaping into the air Liam McHale style and start plucking balls from the clouds .in his first spell there was the naming of Alan Dillon at full back and played as an extra centre back of midfield against Tyrone which worked to a point .There was the disastrous surprise of switching goalkeepers in 2016 and the placing of Aidan o Shea at full back in 2017 which was an obvious enough move considering the carnage donaghy had brought upon us on many occasions.It will be fascinating to see what plan the management come up with our kickouts and the fact that we probably can’t push up on their kickout with the big men they have in the middle.it would be an interesting stat as to how many clean possessions in midfield sector we have won over the course of league and two championship games

A number of passes went astray last day because of jersey colour, has to be green and red against Galway.

@Pebblesmeller: In the relegation spot during R7? Sure. We'd have been down there on score difference with ourselves, Tyrone and Armagh all tied on 7 points at various times (thanks to Tyrone having that +2 from the Donegal game in R6 & leading against Dublin in R7 combined with the occasions we were behind leaving us back on 7pts too).

(An aside, but a great illustration of the drama that day - https://x.com/GAALeagueTables/status/1904132773390025173)

In terms of the subs impacting it? Not significantly. Most of their key players that featured started and lasted the majority of the game (https://x.com/TsuDhoNim/status/1904235897794724186).

McGonagle and Curran both featured with subsitutions that game, one on & one off at H/T (& both of those among their top 15 minutes for the League Campaign), but the rest of the changes were all between lads outside of their highest 15 (a number of those lads that were returning from injury and/or that went on to feature for them in Championship).

Valid questions to be asked on motivation (with all sorts of debates around that too, between lads playing for places & Jimmy not keen to go into Championship on back to back defeats), but the narrative (relatively common in media, not you directly) around the weakness of the team selected while ignoring the much weaker Donegal selection against Tyrone is one I find jarring enough to comment when I spot it.

Totally agree on expecting to see a lot more. Nothing like backs against the wall, an underdog position and plenty of (much justified, as always some crossing lines well beyond that) criticism to help get a spark.

That said, there's sadly a huge amount to admire in the technical, tactical and execution being coached into that Galway side at the moment (was great to see good analysis of it too on TV coverage - stuff like the McDaid/O'Flaherty swapping on routes or the blocker/jumper/break movement on restarts a rare step into the details). Dave Morris' finger prints all over them at this point. One hell of a battle for anyone beating them. They're operating at a level ahead of the sum of their parts.... with a lot of decent parts to play with.

Culmore - The jerseys are no excuse for giving the ball away. They are dreadful though and should be ditched straight away. Mayo Soccer Away Jerseys are nice.

One surprise Rochford could spring would be to check has Willie Nally the hay saved....other than that I think we will just have to try and max out what we have!

I wouldn’t be getting too excited about the pat on the head. Lots of verbals are exchanged during the course of a game, most of which go unnoticed by supporters. If someone was giving you plenty of verbal abuse and the you did something positive and on the way back gave your abuser a small tap on the head then surely it’s no big deal. Sunday week will be a game for manliness, not taps in the head or futile verbals. Hard hitting, tight marking and going after them like dogs. I think most though not all Mayo supporters just want a fully committed performance. It may not be enough to stop the world’s best team, but it’s the least we can ask for. Again look at Cork v Kerry. Cork were total no hopers who started badly and made countless mistakes, but they stuck at it, had a right go and were unlucky to lose. Pressure on both teams and management but PJ makes no secret of his desire to land Sam and has never made any secret of how much he likes to beat Mayo

Don't agree with all the doom and gloom, there is no reason we can't give Galway lots of it, we should have beaten them last year and they went on to Final.
If we lose like we did in league game then I'd be concerned but don't think we will

Right, my being a pendantic bollox has finally caught up with me regarding Connacht and Connaught... lads there's no Connaught final unless you're a retired British ranger after playing the Irish guards in rugger..FFS... it's Connacht!

@TsuDhoNim, thanks for that.

@2 Hops, if Willie hasn't the hay saved yet he is as well to forget about it now, given todays rainfall!

Is Paddy Durcan back in training, and what about Tommy

@Mayotillidie he's back doing team training. I think he did a challenge match last week not sure though .

Willy nally has the hay saved , Mayo play London in 2026 & there’s no foot and mouth at knock airport .

I cannot believe that there are people on here that would be satisfied with winning a Connaught title this year. Is this how limited our ambition has become. All-Ireland or nothing - anything else is failure.

I'd say if Kevin and Rochy are reading this blog, they'll be whoopin n hollerin. Posters are giving management exactly what they want - nearly 100% negativity. What better way to channel motivation for a game when our nearest neighbours are going for four in a row?

And, boot on the other foot, let's not forget 2016, Mayo going for six in a row, and Jim Carney writing in the Tuam Herald, something to the effect that Aido would beat Galway on his own? Didn't turn out quite like that if I remember. And don't forget Roscommon either; they were abysmal, so Galway's purring is somewhat premature.

I hear some bookmakers have already paid out on Galway winning the Connaught final.

Glad someone else feels strongly about the spelling of our province 'Connacht'. The anglicised version is Connaught. While it's Connacht rugby and Connacht Tribune, our provincial paper remains The Connaught Telegraph, there must be a story to it.

The tighter pitch in castlebar might be to our advantage for once, and I don't think the Rossies got to fully testing the Galway defence.
I really don't think it makes a hugh difference who starts, it's all about how we play that will matter.
Galway mixed it v Roscommon, some lovely direct kick passing into ff line, and some deliberate around the arc play before finding an open.
They have an edge in that they are battlehardened relative to our young lads, but it should be a valuable experience.

I'm coming round to the fact we need to disrupt and be the aggressors but if it's not in our makeup then we won't be changing some lads over night.
The captain is a sound lad and a great player over the years but we need manic aggression, pace power and froughting at the mouth.
The mentality and persona of Alan Roche, Vaughan, Barrett aren't available to us but surely the lads are hurt with the ongoings and will show up.

Fullbackline needs to be tall and fast tight man marking .

Eoin O D......Mchugh.....Mcbrien
Gives us the best one on one man markers while all able to mind themselves in the air or compete for speed and not get turned inside out.

Eoghan Mac...Sam....Hession
With Diarmuid on front of them gives us a better breaking ball winning line whilst brining aggression

Flynn and Carney will do a job too.
That's the base we have to work from maybe Akram brings aggression and power but it's a big step up from not having played for years .

Then up top we need the ball to stick and tag on out points when we get chance , there's more to ROD than simply saying one man will always nullify him, he will show up and we need him in the inside line .

Isn't the problem with Eoin that he's lacked intercounty pace? Savage tackler, but I'd assumed it was pace that was holding him back.

I hope part of the plan involves us having a kick passing option from HB line to move things more quickly, but I'm not sure who the obvious candidate for that is other than DoC.

@Sean Burke...seems like we're in a good place so....sure what could go wrong Sunday week,hah.

GBXI, I think Callinan will do very well to hold a starting spot. I don’t know what he brings to the team anymore. He’s not an outright defender. He’s not a forward. What is he? A roving half back type? He gives the ball away too much. We need tough tight defenders, that’s the way the game has gone with the rule changes.

I think Mayo will win the Connacht Final but for me, it’ll count for little in the greater scheme of things and a Nestor Cup won’t go close to satisfying me as a supporter. It might do for some of you. Provincial titles are as meaningless as they’ve ever been in our lifetime. Nice to win. A bit of local pride. But there’s only one cup that matters and unfortunately for us, Galway look locked in for that. There’s such little talk in Galway about this game in 2 weeks. Most I know are largely indifferent because they know it’s irrelevant come the knockout stages. And they’re right.

Surely wasn’t irrelevant last year Mayonaze , I’m nearly 40 yrs going to Connacht finals and I haven’t seen anything like it since The Hyde in 2001 , they went bananas

I would think the Galway management and team will be locked into Winning the Connacht final considering the wild celebrations in salthill last year.There has been no evidence in our performances all year to suggest we can win an all Ireland so winning this game at the moment is all that matters and whatever about the attitude of the Galway public Padraig Joyce will be delighted to drive us into the ground and I certainly don’t want to watch Galway players celebrating with the Nestor cup on McHale park pitch

Where did mayo find 20 players to play Friday a day b4 a championship game and I'd imagine none of Saturday panel played Friday evening. I'd love to know who played Friday.

Who knows, we might see Durcan or Tommy feature on Sunday week, O Shea a must for midfield, O Donoughe at 11?

@1985 the last surprise we pulled was a joke. Donnacha McHugh had just done a fantastic marking job on Brian Fenton, having also done a number on Enda Smith & Sean Kelly. We get to the Derry game & you'd think, hey he'll surely be on Glass, Rodgers, Shane McGuigan, Murray perhaps. No we had him follow McFaul who spent the whole game hand passing a ball from a to b. What a waste of McHughs talents.

Our standards have fallen off a cliff. A Connacht title means f all apart from beating Galway

The reason most Mayo supporters would be happy with winning the Nestor cup at the minute is because it's the only one on offer. That's not to say it's the be all and end all but it would refocus our team, give team, management and supporters a lift and you never know it might even cheer this place up a bit....well 3 outa 4 anyway.

I wonder is the negativity a bit ott. Mayo last 8 games read 6 wins one draw and 1 lost.. Now I know most talk is from the manner of the last 2 games and tho they won both games they were rather frustrating but maybe we need to hold fire another while until season ends. A good performance next weekend could bring a win and a new perspective on things. I know that might sound naive but if somehow that happens the posters calling for heads can just turn their opinion around and say "maybe they're better than i thought".. There's no question about it Galway looks further developed and where most panels aspire to be but anything can happen in a derby game and maybe
just maybe.

@No doubt I seriously hope we can turn it around in 2 weeks . The thought of them celebrating 4 years in a row with the nestor cup in our home ground actually makes me feel sick ! And I hope it makes our guys feel the same thing ..

Agree that this is the game we need to win this year even though all odds against us and even I am going to this match in hope rather then expectation .

Galway are ahead in development then us as others have said no doubt about it .

But we could just throw a surprise and come out fighting like our lives depend on it that's what's I'm hoping for a performance .

No Doubt.
I asked that question earlier and I got a reply from either TSU or Gizmo. Two very knowledgeable posters. Response was that they played the extended panel and pulled in some from the development panel. Won by 2/3.

Thanks @nephin.

Fair play to the couple of posters who think a Connacht title is irrelevant and that it’s All Ireland title or nothing. So in reality it’s been nothing since 1951. Bearing that in mind I am amazed that I have enjoyed so many days out supporting Mayo in the last 40- 50 years. Now if I was a Galway man I probably would be saying it’s an AI or nothing. Why ., Because they have won 3 Connacht on the spin, and lost 2 AI finals which they could have (and definitely last year should have ) won. And the fact that they have put together the best panel in the country where they can go out without their 2 star forwards.and cruise past a potentially difficult opponent in Roscommon and where they have an array of men mountains dominating the middle third. In the mean time we have scraped past Sligo and made a dogs dinner out of beating Leitrim. Ten years ago we were winning our 5 th Connacht title in a row and it was the AI or nothing , but now we are well behind them so a Connacht title would be a fantastic achievement. But hope springs eternal and an ambush of Galway Sunday week would be incredibly enjoyable Even if only it’s a Connacht title!

Three years ago when the present management took over I seem to remember some of the wishes expressed on here. While pretty much everyone agreed they needed to be given time the general consensus was that we wanted to see a strong defensive strategy. An attacking style and method. A left footed free taker. New panel members.
Only the last part has been addressed and partly due to retirements and players stepping away leaving gaps in the panel.
At this point I'm not going to be screaming for a Connacht title or an All Ireland but simply signs of a bit of progress for the future would be acceptable. That's some drop from years of hoping/expecting to reach or win the whole thing but maybe there's a master plan that I can't quite see.

@to win just once
Well put. The way some fans throw around "All-Ireland or nothing" you'd swear we were swimming in Celtic Crosses. The truth is, a Connacht title matters—especially now. Not because it’s the peak of our ambition, but because it’s where the battle is right now.

Galway have earned the right to dream bigger. They’ve built depth, belief, and structure. We’re the ones trying to climb back. So if we do ambush them—if we stop their four-in-a-row dead in our own backyard—it’s not just a provincial title. It’s a statement. A psychological shift.

And if that happens, I guarantee you… the same people calling it meaningless will be bouncing on the terraces like it’s 2013 again.

Sometimes, a spark is all it takes. And Connacht could be ours to light.

Well put John and may I add if we did happen to beat them , we’ll have put a serious dent in their ambitions

I don't mind the hooter going at 70 minutes but did anyone else notice watching the Galway-Roscommon match the amount of stoppages in the second half where the clock either didn't stop or didn't stop accurately.

Its no longer a 70 minute match

@ John best comment of the week the Connacht title is all that matters at the moment as we cannot be considered all Ireland contenders and as Sean says it would put doubts in Galway minds

I'd personally be delighted with a Connacht title. We've only won two in the last nine years. This talk of "All Ireland or nothing" is honestly laughable - we are so far off it.

I think we can put it up to Galway and maybe even beat them but the reality is that this is a complete role reversal from 2016 and 2017. In both those years, we lost to Galway in Connacht but made the All Ireland finals. This year, while I think we could beat them in two weeks, there is no doubt in my mind that they will go further in the All Ireland.

That does give me hope for two weeks though, like Mayo in 2016 and 2017, Galway will have one eye on later in the Championship and that presents a chance for us.

This game absolutely is very important. A Connacht title win against our neighbours going for 4 in a row in our back yard. It will give the lads a serious bounce and let our neighbours know there is no truth in our demise. First goal every year is to beat Galway I've quoted this a few times on here but my neighbour of old now deceased used to always say he could only start enjoying the summer when the hay was made the turf was saved and Mayo had Galway bet. I like many others on here am firmly in that boat. A result here can be a launch pad considering they are in the favourites bracket for Sam. Seeded 1 is also a big bonus in terms of who you can avoid....

Good point from a poster above...corner backs can't hide anymore as part of a 14 man defence, with the new rules you need a tight man marker first and foremost..the job is to defend. We don't have anymore Zippys or Barretts in that mould, nor keegan or Boyle for that matter..I think our defence is very poor at present, forget about scoring because that's not happening, don't have the personell for that. So I'd be more concerned about shipping a heavy score..teams sauntering down the middle of defence in last 2 games against let's face it poor opposition in the grand scheme of things. Our no 6 is just not having any impact at all..like even putting in a big hit ..nothing. I'm sounding negative I know but jack coyne too...like how is he starting still, brings nothing. Callinan as said here too. Just reminds me of how good keegan was.

Lets all keep perspective on where we are at....its 2025 and stop living in the last decade and focus on where we are at now. It is getting tiresome reading this blog with posters harping back continuously to the glory days of the last decades. We are at best a top 8 team and arguably should be outside that if we were relegated. A Connacht title will be a good achievement and a platform to build from with the expectation we can develop a better squad with the young talent coming through. Its not to say we could pull a rabbit from the hat and do an Armagh on it...but hard to see given the level of competition now we are facing. Lets be realistic and get behind this team and management in the next few weeks and hope for more progress than last year.

Like everyone else, I dream of Sam and fervently hope that we win it in the not too distant future. We have a team in transition, a young developing team, so, alas, I don't think we will see Sam this year. I can't believe that some people dismiss winning a Connacht Title, almost with contempt. There are many reasons that Connacht would be worth winning. Prevent our great rival from winning it, and doing four in a row, take the wind out if their sails a bit, only cup we have a realistic chance of winning, first Connacht for this management and for many of our younger players, a psychological boost, signs of progress, a dent in Galway's confidence and bragging rights for us supporters. And I am certain that every one of the players desperately want to win it. We probably won't win Sam, but it would give us a boost for the remainder and future years.

Some Galway lads getting fierce cocky already. Saying they'll send down the Ladies team to play us, just to give us a chance!
That's what I like to hear. Dressing room wall stuff.

I think every county is under pressure for good defenders
Defenders looked good when they had a safety valve of a few men beside them.
Galways full back is no great shakes but you could see Kelly back as full back.

You would have to say the next 10 days will be the most important of Kevin McStays tenure as manager of Mayo, Lose and his term will most likely come to an end in July/August, Mayo win who knows where they could end up in the All Ireland Series and he might just get that Final year of his contract.

@Pebbles - let them think that way!

Galway seem a better team than last year right across the field including the bench. Beating the Rossies handy enough without their key forwards on the field is proof of that. Mayo will have their hands full in the final and Galway confidence is not fully misplaced. However as we saw from other games over the weekend Kerry/Cork, Donegal/Monaghan, and our own Sligo and Leitrim experience when it comes to the provincials, forget the league divisions and performance, playing the neighbours can put a different picture on it.

I'd like to see a Connacht title but not the end of the world if not. Mayo need time, more time maybe than a lot of teams to adjust to these rule changes so still believe there is improvement there even if in the group stages.

Why would mayo need more time than other teams to adjust to the new rules

Pebblesmeller, wherever you are reading or hearing that rubbish says more about those clowns....
There's a few of them in every county...

@1985 because Mayo had developed a special and particular style of play - running the ball, Horanball whatever you like to call it. A team and panel was built around it over a number of years, you could argue decades. Absolutely no reflection on the players, but in my opinion other Countries style was not as defined than ours.

Think Mc Grath on ROD will be battle to win. ROD hardly got a sniff in the league outing bar a few scores in the second half, has to be the best man marking defender in the country. Think we have a chance first 15 v 15 but Galway's bench is a lot stronger. Sean Kelly back to his best V Rossies. Maher and Conroy very very decent. Lest we mention Comer and Walsh.
We have a shot and we have to forget the league and even the last two matches now and drive on.
Hopefully we have some surprises for them in terms of T Conroy or Durcan.
Its easy to be negative on here but being a Mayo supporter hope springs eternal.
Full house in Mc Hale and plenty of noise. Its not a knockout blow to lose but would be hugely psychological to win.

In exile .alot of teams have a particular style of playing including Donegal.who mostly run the ball .we haven’t adapted to the rules because of the current managements style of play

In fairness 1985, to play devil's advocate here, we don't have good fielders and we don't have two point shooters. Two crucial elements with the new rules.

Neither of these simply materialise unfortunately, so I can see the point being made by InExile.

If you don’t shoot for two pointers you are not going to score them .mcstay was quite dismissive of their impact from the word go

What are the skills winning matches under the new rules.
1. Quality fielders retaining possession from kickouts. We can be guaranteed of one thing, Galway will press high and force us to go long with kickouts.
2. Convert two pointers. Our record at scoring from outside the arc is of hugh concern(beaten 3-0 by Leitrem on that score.
3. The long kick pass. We don't try it, so we don't know are we any good at it, but one thing is for sure, Galway are mastering it as good as any county.
4. Creating goal chances. Both Leitrem and Sligo showed us up in that respect.
5. Bench strength. We don't know with Mayo, we just haven't seen enough of them. No doubt about Galway though
The only plus I see, it is a derby game, pride is at stake, Mayo have nothing to lose, so maybe we'll come out guns blazing.
It would take a massive shift in our style of play to be competitive in this one.( can't honestly see Rochford abandoning the cautious approach)
Likely to be going forward as a 2 seed...

Ye seem to be raising many questions re the Mayo set up, is this good or bad?
It has to be the management's job to get the players ready for any game.
On Galway, if they are such a great team why did they lose both All Irelands od 2022 & 24?

@Sean Burke, @1985, @Unstoppable, @Thedarkyfinn, @Mayo Man for life, @GlasagusDearg – appreciate all the replies.

To put this in real perspective, no wishful thinking or inflated predictions, but authentic confidence that this contest holds real significance. Galway may wear the favorites' tag justifiably, but Mayo's history is written with underdog triumphs. Why should this occasion be any different?

This management team has taken its fair share of heat—some fair, some not—but they still have a chance to carve an identity. And there's no better way to do that than in your home ground, denying your biggest rival history.
Let's be honest—if we win this final, it'll feel like more than a provincial title. It'll feel like Mayo stirring again. That's a prize worth showing up for. Loud. And fearless.

@John also agree very well said!

Great posts . Your spot on .

I think the Connacht final is nicely set up for Mayo to win and give 5 reasons why.

1) no pressure even plenty of Mayo people can't see a win after the sluggish displays against Leitrim,Sligo

2) the manner of the defeat last year and the way Galway players,management and supporters celebrated it will very much be on the minds of Mayo management and the players.

3) Allowing Galway soak in all the media Hype from the win over the rossies who were poor and made Galway look better than they are.

4) Mayo have been waiting for this match since the draw was made and will get stuck in from minute one. Best markers will be put on Galway most dangerous forwards and they won't be allowed fielders win as much clean ball unchallenged as last Sunday.

5) the odds what better motivation can a Mayo team get? and you can be sure for the next week in the national media it will be Galway this and Galway that.

Mayo finished top of the league, playing at home, as everyone states should have won last year...
Never mind the bookies, Mayo are extremely fancied and should win this one...

@BateTheBlanket, Mayo had great teams too and didn't win Sam. Is our current team a great team. The potential is there, we have quality players. But locked into old rules, not a winning formula.

@Tuamstar are you worried about the way Galway are being built up?? On all known form, you can’t deny Galway are favourites Sunday week.

Any bit of hope for Mayo seems to be centred on last years match like you referenced or historical games being tight. Watch back the last 15 minutes of that game last year and from a Mayo point of view, Tommy Conroy was a key attaching weapon Mayo had. He’s unlikely to feature. Cillian OConnor another scorer from the bench last summer, he’s gone too. I really don’t see where scores are coming from without options such as those available. Galway surely have progressed a level having beat Dublin last year?

Another narrative I’m surprised is the way McStay is putting all his eggs in this game. He’s flagging everything is aimed at Sunday week. What happens IF Mayo don’t perform?

@Tuamstar - you're mining a seam of Yerra that even the most ardent Kerryman would admire. Galway are rightly favourites to win and should win based on the undoubted superiority of their squad. However, Mayo always have a chance in these type of encounters but are as far from "extremely fancied" as I am.

Just rewatched 2017 Mayo v Dublin AIF highlights on You Tube this morning. Such pleasure in seeing fellas running hard against the Dubs, strategically passing going forward and taking on scoring shots from well out the field.......Of course all of that has been coached out if our current squad. Pity......

@Tuamstar good one there! Galway are firm favourites to win by a few to spare and we all know it .. and going by form that's the way it should be .

I must admit I was surprised to hear McStay and others dismiss the importance of 2 pointers earlier in the year.
To me 2 pointers were the most significant change in rules and would likely decide who win the championship.
This new game suits Galway however let's wait and see.I would not be without hope for the Connacht final.

Sligo beating ros in under 20 game .

Anyone know what tg4 thing has this game , I’m getting hurling on the player and can’t find it on YouTube either

Roscommon 3-3 Sligo 0-11 HT. Rossies well behind early on but the goals have turned it around.

Seán - the game is live on the app, it’s not on YouTube. They’re showing it deferred later on tonight on TG4.

Go to TG4 live sport Sean

U 20 game has been good so far Roscommon got a couple of handy goals but Sligo doing well. Tuanstar you’ll never get a job with the bookies. Odds are right based on recent form Galway didn’t want to be in a league final and we only got there so as to avoid relegation 1 24 v Ross without Walsh and Comer. If they had been playing yed have hit 1 40. Our only standout player this year is Ryan O D and your corner back won’t give him a kick ,No kick out strategy in Mayo, no midfield to win a ball ,no scorer when Ryan is kept quiet. A superb management team in Galway v poor auld us on the sideline .Surely ye couldn’t blow this one against us !!!

Ros 4-9 to 1-15 up now, ten minutes to go. Like last week, Sligo can’t keep the goals out and it’s starting to look like it could be fatal for them now.

Ros won by 4-12 to 1-18.

Sligo conceded some bad goals tonight .Goals win games but little between the two teams

Yeah got it after I posted here , decent game , rossies were probably always that bit better throughout the game , Sligo did well though . Kickouts so important now , Sligo had a few bad ones . It was seriously lively game . New rules really are a god send

I dont think Mayo can ambush Galway no more than Galway can ambush Mayo the two teams know each other so well there are no surprises that can be thrown in perhaps except Joyce togged at 14 or Tom Parsons named in the Mayo team.

Derry out of u20 Ulster. Tyrone v Donegal into
I think it’s Meath v Louth in Leinster too

Do both finalists go through as in Minor?

What form?

Galway bet well by Dublin in Croker, hammered out the gate by Kerry ( who ye bet comfortably) struggled for long periods and conceded highly against New York, and bet a fairly poor Roscommon team..
There's not much form there...

Prime Willie Joe & McHale would find the going tough against the Galway midfield! Ah no in all seriousness, they are strong in that sector. But a lot of that is down to hunger & organisation. We are poles apart in that regard. Can we make the necessary tweaks to compete?

The u20 championship is wide open. We can't take Roscommon for granted either

@Jr: No. It's all or nothing for every game from here. They kinda rush through the u20 Championship relative to minor, likely to get lads back to Senior Club or the odd couple to Senior County that bit faster.

From here on out it's all knock-out and structured for winners with:
Connacht Final (Mayo vs Roscommon): 30th April
All Ireland Semi-Final (Mayo/Roscommon vs Meath/Louth): 10th/11th/14th May
All Ireland Final (Mayo/Roscommon/Meath/Louth vs Kerry/Cork/Donegal/Tyrone): 17th/18th/21st May

(With the teams involved in the B Championship already separated away - Galway's win in the shield tonight has them representing Connacht)

Galway will probably tear us a new one but if I was on that Mayo team there is no way they would come into my back yard and get freedom of the pitch. I'd make them earn it and make it so uncomfortable they'd know they were lucky to get out alive it they can. And Larry Finnerty's young fella would not be tapping a member of my back line on the head after getting a score. Id let him know it wont happen and try it again and see what happens. We won't win an All Ireland but by God we will win a provincial title and let Galway know that we are fighters and not for taking the proverbial out of!!!

Woops... bad slip there.

*Leitrim's win in the shield tonight over Galway has them representing Connacht.

Leitrim 5-13 4-12 Galway

@TSU thanks, madness.

@Tuamstar ah come on compared to us who let Leitrim to close to us and scraped by Sligo .. also a half arsed Donegal side saved us from relegation to division 2.

Ye can't deny that you are strong favourites the bookies are spot on though I hate to admit it though!!

@Pullhard well said fully agree!

@Tuamstar
You're pulling the proverbial. You did it before the roscommon game too, claiming you'd lose.
Galway lost their last few games after they pulled up the handbrake. Joyce (rightly in my opinion) didn't give a toss about playing in a league final a week before heading to NY.
Cut the bull. Nobody on here is buying it. We'll take our medicine on this one. It's a painful dose to take but nonetheless, we'll take it.
Galway have a brilliant chance of winning the lot this year. They'll beat better teams than us. Enjoy it and stop talking nonsense.

I keep reading this or that that should be done to Finnerty as if it's 1980. What happens if Coyne who'll likely be marking him gets a bit over zealous after hearing all this for weeks and gets sent off for a slightly high challenge? We saw it in Cork v Kerry at the weekend, borderline challenges that both saw red and both had a huge bearing immediately on momentum

In 2017 Comer was being his usual pinball self and Higgins gave him a punch to the nether regions and was sent off. We lost by a point so draw your own conclusions on if it made a difference. And red cards matter more now under these new rules than back then, especially since they recently mandated the 3 up must remain despite a man down

Under 20 , Derry favs to win the all Ireland are knocked out by Tyrone in Ulster semi final . Everyone has been talking up Derry and probably with justification in fairness but there is a lesson in there , in the last 3-5 years there have been a lot of dead cert predictions going wrong , it’s becoming a trend . GAA punditry is far too carried away when zoning in on a side that look the part and I include all of us in that .

There is nothing certain , people saying Galway have it , Donegal won’t be stopped , pundits putting a definite line between those who can and can’t win it etc etc , it’s total rubbish , Dublin could come out and trash the lot of us , Kerry could romp home after getting a kick up the arse by cork , Tyrone could arrive with an impressive win v Armagh , Mayo could arrive with a big win v Galway . I’m not suggesting pundits shouldn’t predict but this carry on that it’s gospel would ya ever stop , they never stop calling it wrong .

Yes true bookies for sure often have it wrong and the odds for us v Galway are harsh but Galways form v ours they are rightly favourites .

I think we will come out fighting like hell and won't be a pushover at all . We always up our game v Galway . We can't let them walk all over us on our home turf . PJ would love nothing better then to beat us by a few points to spare and rub it in our face like last year .

I'll go as ever with hope you never know with mayo . We won't win the all Ireland this year so I'd be delighted with taking the spring out of Galwegions steps and winning our first connacht in 4 years.

@ Sean Burke, fully agree in terms of Pundit predictions. Who predicted an Armagh win ? None as far as i know.
Did hear from a few that they won't be winning an All Ireland. All predictions to be taken with a good pinch of salt.
If you guess Dublin or Kerry you'd be right a high percentage of the time.

I know of a pundit who predicted a team to win in 2013 and when they didn't he spent the rest of his life abusing them. It's mad ted.

Pundits have no clue about how teams will respond to the new rules with a dry pitch and a dry ball.
We will know better after the provincial finals

Pundits often get it wrong but the bookies are usually more accurate. Pundits tend to lash out at and criticise teams when they are left with egg on their faces. It wasn’t the pundit who got it wrong, it was the team that didn’t perform etc. Pundits like a lot of supporters place so much emphasis on the last game. The last game is irrelevant It’s gone. So despite the fact that Mayo were woeful v Leitrim or Galway were impressive v Roscommon the fact is that those games are over and a new one starts on Sunday week. Anything could happen. Players could get sent off, we might hit a few 2 pointers, Galway might miss a few 2 pointers etc.Having said all that Paddy Power is still convinced Galway will cruise it

Tickets on sale today at 2 for connacht final.

Thanks Clare

Season ticket holder tickets now available

....well, they were for a few minutes.

Listened to the last night and while it was a bit more upbeat it didn't convince me that we were about to turn from Clark Kent into Superman for the Connacht final. Mike reminds us that Kevin McStay said after the last game that our focus all along had been the Connacht final and everything including training was geared towards that game. That's grand but if that's the case, why announce it to the world two weeks before the match?
IMHO they dhould look back at recordings of every game so far this year and isolate the things that were done well and the things that were crap.
Decide to play players in their best positions.
Pick those players that are actually in form. No point playing anyone on reputation alone.
We did have games or parts of games where we were very good.
We know as do management most players best positions.
The coaching staff are well aware of who is in good form and who isn't.
Finally don't try to overcomplicate things. Do the simple things and do them well.

David Gough admitted he made a massive error, that he needed him going to psychologist regarding the negativity he felt after this match. I know Galway are going for 4 in a row, and pundits expected them to beat Mayo and be one of the favourites to get back to all-ireland final. But what if Mayo beat Galway last year, would they have gone deeper into last years competition. Who knows. But Mayo must go into this match, with all guns blazing. At match last year, one of the thing that got to me a bit was Joyce running up and down side line, complaining to ref, be animated on sideline. And Kevin standing, looking pensive on the sideline. Not a fan of Joyce, and find him a like an Baby Whining, if losses a match, and Kevin complete opposite, never complains, even when it what he should do, for his own sake. I believe Kevin a good manager, but he needs to win this match, so to keep his distractors quite, and give him the team some confidents

https://www.rte.ie/player/movie/r%C3%A9iteoir-s1-e1/634440232371

Has either Tommy or Paddy played any challenge games lately,

I'd love to see few Colm Boyle shoulder's into the likes of Finnerty and the rest of these fancy dans. Flynn should be the one to start the war.

What's the panic about Conroy Comer and Walsh, they have been there for years and never did much , McStay has 7 to 4 wins over Joyce, a final two horse race can go anyway, will go down to wire with a red or black card or bad ref decision , deciding game.

Just to get opinion
I reminisced with my brother last night over some of the beautiful, passionate football played by mayo in 2006, 2012 AND as recent as 2017. Granted this was pre "new rules" but jaysus they went for it at every opportunity. Shooting from distance nit always succesful mind, but a good rate all the same. None of this over and back the pitch, hand passing and constant recycling the ball, with a fear of "going for it".
What the he'll has happened? We're not the only cou ty you see this in either......