National Forum

Sorest AI Final Loss

(Oldest Posts First) - Go To The Latest Post


Replying To bdbuddah:  "All All Ireland losses are hard to take when you look back on them. You often either lose a close game or maybe don't perform on the day.
The 3 losses I remember, in 1990/ 1991/ 2001 are all bad for different reasons.
1990 was hard because the rivalry with Cork was very strong and we played badly.
2001 because we were so flat after a very strange build up to a final with the 15 point beating of Kerry (arguably our best ever result in a championship game) in the semi making us red hot favourites and than the whole news cycle being dominated by 9/11 in the build up. Even though we were convincingly beaten I feel had we been mentally right we possibly should have been able to win that game with the team we had.
1991 for me was the worst final loss to take. Overall 1991 was for me the most enjoyable year being a Meath supporter. We had the 4 games with Dublin and in half our games we seemed to come back from the dead to either win or draw. Playing 10 championship games in a season back then was amazing, remember this was long before the back door was even thought of. O'Rourke not being able to start that game after the year he had on top O'Malley being out made us feel we could easily have won that game. The comeback in that game after O'Rourke came on was amazing, cutting there lead from 11 to 2 but we just ran out of time (ref didn't play much injury time, 2 points in it with the comeback, 2 more minutes and we might have had them). That loss is kind of, looking back on it a 'what might have been' loss. It would have been one of the most remembered all Ireland wins had we pulled it off, would have been a great ending for that great group of Meath players."
91 was an amazing year for Meath. After the 4 brilliant game saga with Dublin many forget that Meath drew again in the next round v Wicklow before going all the way to the AI final and one would have to wonder of Ó our le was ón sooner would the result have been different

CiarraiMick (Dublin) - Posts: 3680 - 30/06/2021 00:45:45    2354788

Link

Replying To CiarraiMick:  "91 was an amazing year for Meath. After the 4 brilliant game saga with Dublin many forget that Meath drew again in the next round v Wicklow before going all the way to the AI final and one would have to wonder of Ó our le was ón sooner would the result have been different"
Meant if Ó Rourke was on sooner

CiarraiMick (Dublin) - Posts: 3680 - 30/06/2021 11:29:19    2354856

Link

Replying To CiarraiMick:  "Meant if Ó Rourke was on sooner"
Another 5 mins injury time and the game was Meaths.

realdub (Dublin) - Posts: 8597 - 30/06/2021 12:20:04    2354870

Link

I work with 2 older lads from Limerick, late 40's early 50's at a guess.
It came up in a hurling discussion in lunch time when I was new in the job in late 2018, we were discussing their All-Ireland victory.
They both say that while winning in 2018 was great, they will never get over losing in 1994. They say 1996 was bad because they probably had a better team on paper than Wexford but just did not perform on the day (neither of them took away from Wexford's win before those Wexicans around long enough to remember it), they feel 1994 was a smash and grab job and the absolute trauma after that match will never leave them. They both reckon (as somebody above said) if they could have gotten over the line in that one, more would have followed. I don't know because I don't remember it.
It did strike me that 27 years on, this still stayed with them.

StoreysTash (Wexford) - Posts: 1737 - 30/06/2021 12:58:54    2354878

Link

Replying To realdub:  "Another 5 mins injury time and the game was Meaths."
It definately looked that way. O Rourke was on fire when he came on.

CiarraiMick (Dublin) - Posts: 3680 - 30/06/2021 14:17:09    2354900

Link

Replying To Dubh_linn:  "That's it,he won't appear against Derry but after that you would want him available. It's alright I suppose as long as he's not out for anything more than a 2-3 weeks."
I wonder do ya have to quarantine going to Lourdes? We might need to send the big man there at this rate!
We should have enough for Derry without him although I expect a stiffer challenge from them than Down posed. Gallagher will need no extra motivation and you can say what you want about his tactics, but any Rory Gallagher team that takes to the field will be fit and organized. They also have one of the form forwards in the country in McGuigan so it's going to be an interesting tussle.

Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9163 - 30/06/2021 14:19:00    2354901

Link

As a Galway man I've experienced heartbreaking losses in both codes that go back to the 1970s and seen Galway lose finals in all sorts of ways in all sorts of days, we lost 5 finals in the 70s including 3 in a row 73-75 without winning any. Losing a final regardless of the circumstances is a bitter pill to swallow but it would be hard to top the 1983 AI football final in terms of the bitter aftertaste it left

Galway4ever (Galway) - Posts: 211 - 30/06/2021 17:05:18    2354957

Link

Replying To Lockjaw:  "I wonder do ya have to quarantine going to Lourdes? We might need to send the big man there at this rate!
We should have enough for Derry without him although I expect a stiffer challenge from them than Down posed. Gallagher will need no extra motivation and you can say what you want about his tactics, but any Rory Gallagher team that takes to the field will be fit and organized. They also have one of the form forwards in the country in McGuigan so it's going to be an interesting tussle."
Derry have certainly improved and great to see it.
Murphy won't be needed though against them but there's no chance of winning Ulster if he's not right soon enough.

Dubh_linn (Dublin) - Posts: 2312 - 30/06/2021 19:05:14    2354992

Link

Replying To Galway4ever:  "As a Galway man I've experienced heartbreaking losses in both codes that go back to the 1970s and seen Galway lose finals in all sorts of ways in all sorts of days, we lost 5 finals in the 70s including 3 in a row 73-75 without winning any. Losing a final regardless of the circumstances is a bitter pill to swallow but it would be hard to top the 1983 AI football final in terms of the bitter aftertaste it left"
It's OK, we forgive yous:D

realdub (Dublin) - Posts: 8597 - 30/06/2021 20:32:22    2355009

Link

Replying To Galway4ever:  "As a Galway man I've experienced heartbreaking losses in both codes that go back to the 1970s and seen Galway lose finals in all sorts of ways in all sorts of days, we lost 5 finals in the 70s including 3 in a row 73-75 without winning any. Losing a final regardless of the circumstances is a bitter pill to swallow but it would be hard to top the 1983 AI football final in terms of the bitter aftertaste it left"
I know it was pre back door format but it's amazing to think that in football Connaught teams had only 1 championship win against Munster or Leinster teams for the entire 1970's & 1980's (Ulster teams had no wins against Munster or Leinster teams in these 2 decades).

bdbuddah (Meath) - Posts: 1361 - 01/07/2021 22:14:42    2355260

Link

1991 will always stand out as a bitterweet year for all meath fans. most teams never get that fairytale ending. bernard flynns goal chance still haunts him and many meath fans, i think the ref played 30 seconds injury time. Crazy , meath had the line ball going in again too. prior from lietrim was ref. but we did get the luck in 96 with coyles ball bouncing over to get the draw, but maybe if we won in 91 , we woulldnt have rebuilt as well and as completely in late 90s to win in 96 and 99, i believe we should have won in 97 too.

dickie10 (UK) - Posts: 693 - 01/07/2021 22:30:15    2355264

Link

Replying To bdbuddah:  "I know it was pre back door format but it's amazing to think that in football Connaught teams had only 1 championship win against Munster or Leinster teams for the entire 1970's & 1980's (Ulster teams had no wins against Munster or Leinster teams in these 2 decades)."
I don't think any Connaught team nor Ulster team beat any Munster or Leinster team during the 70 s or 80s.Those two decades Ulster were considered the weakest province with Connaught a little better. The only time a team from either province got to a final was by beating each other.

CiarraiMick (Dublin) - Posts: 3680 - 01/07/2021 22:46:22    2355270

Link

Replying To bdbuddah:  "I know it was pre back door format but it's amazing to think that in football Connaught teams had only 1 championship win against Munster or Leinster teams for the entire 1970's & 1980's (Ulster teams had no wins against Munster or Leinster teams in these 2 decades)."
Sorry you are correct and I was wrong. Of course Galway did beat a Leinster team in 73 semi final. Yeah just once it happened.

CiarraiMick (Dublin) - Posts: 3680 - 01/07/2021 22:50:31    2355273

Link

Replying To bdbuddah:  "I know it was pre back door format but it's amazing to think that in football Connaught teams had only 1 championship win against Munster or Leinster teams for the entire 1970's & 1980's (Ulster teams had no wins against Munster or Leinster teams in these 2 decades)."
In fairness, I think most of the Ulster counties had a lot of issues to contend with during the 70s and 80s. But things definitely improved for them in the 90s.

midlands (Westmeath) - Posts: 546 - 02/07/2021 08:47:01    2355319

Link

Replying To CiarraiMick:  "Sorry you are correct and I was wrong. Of course Galway did beat a Leinster team in 73 semi final. Yeah just once it happened."
Galway beat Offaly that day. Dublin and Kerry dominated football for the rest of the decade.

MicktheMiller (Offaly) - Posts: 421 - 02/07/2021 10:11:01    2355329

Link

Replying To CiarraiMick:  "Sorry you are correct and I was wrong. Of course Galway did beat a Leinster team in 73 semi final. Yeah just once it happened."
To be honest Mick I had heard they had no wins either but before I posted I checked Wikipedia and say they had one.

bdbuddah (Meath) - Posts: 1361 - 02/07/2021 12:00:43    2355363

Link

Replying To bdbuddah:  "To be honest Mick I had heard they had no wins either but before I posted I checked Wikipedia and say they had one."
Ah fair play buddah. Yeah Ulster teams were easy prey that time but then in the 90 s and 00s they were seriously top teams.

CiarraiMick (Dublin) - Posts: 3680 - 02/07/2021 17:22:40    2355437

Link

Replying To CiarraiMick:  "Ah fair play buddah. Yeah Ulster teams were easy prey that time but then in the 90 s and 00s they were seriously top teams."
Mind you - in 1985 both semifinals went to replays. Galway threw it away v Dublin in 1983. They also left Cork off the hook in the 1987 semifinal. And Mayo could have won the AI in 1989. Yes no wins but a few close calls.

johnocarroll17 (Limerick) - Posts: 408 - 02/07/2021 22:28:48    2355482

Link

Replying To johnocarroll17:  "Mind you - in 1985 both semifinals went to replays. Galway threw it away v Dublin in 1983. They also left Cork off the hook in the 1987 semifinal. And Mayo could have won the AI in 1989. Yes no wins but a few close calls."
Yes Johno two draws in 85 semis but both replays were won easy enough. Yes Galway messed up in 83 and Mayo unlucky in 89 but Cork prob better team. Rossies also unlucky in 80 v Kerry. True a few close calls but alot of one sided losses too that time for Connaught and Ulster teams. Believe it or not i think the unluckiest team in that era were Cork. They were def the 2nd or 3rd best team in the country but came up against a fab Kerry team and there was no back door then.

CiarraiMick (Dublin) - Posts: 3680 - 03/07/2021 09:50:22    2355532

Link

Replying To johnocarroll17:  "Mind you - in 1985 both semifinals went to replays. Galway threw it away v Dublin in 1983. They also left Cork off the hook in the 1987 semifinal. And Mayo could have won the AI in 1989. Yes no wins but a few close calls."
I've seen the video clips. Larry Finnerty scored a goal but his second goal chance whizzed millimetres past the far post. If that went in who knows...Cork were under extreme pressure to win after previous looses.

That was Mayos first appearance in a final since 51. My dad often talks about it...the county went bonkers.

yew_tree (Mayo) - Posts: 11241 - 03/07/2021 15:28:06    2355601

Link