Replying To GreenandRed: "They're not the calibre of players of 8 or 9 years ago but management should still be getting more out of them. Played some great football when McStay took over. Haven't adapted to the new rules like other counties have. The defending is brutal, caught between half defending the arc and getting caught when opposition exploits the space that that creates. They're barely leaving a hand on a man trying to shoot. Not kicking ball into a good target man in Aido. Too reliant on Ryan for scores. Cleaned out on kickouts. Not sure players aren't capable of better but shame on them if they're not playing for management. If there's a dispute let them give their all for the jersey and sort the dispute when their championship finishes.
100% well done to Cavan. More aggressive team, took their chances when they mattered and kicked some lovely scores."
Hi GreenandRed: Morale seems to be low in Mayo at the minute. Off field carry-on probably not helping either.
We will have our hands full with Tyrone this weekend make no mistake about it. O'Rourke is a shrewd operator and Tyrone are still a very dangerous outfit. It's an old cliché but we should be taking things one game at a time.
Very hard to keep repeating these top level performances, after the high of winning Ulster this is a very dangerous game for us because Tyrone will be well drilled and focused to beat the Ulster champions. It will be a close battle again, just hope home advantage sees us come away with the win. If Patton isn't fit it's going to be even harder to get the win.
Bit late on it here especially with the Tyrone game only a few days away. What a day in Clones, some buzz after missing the final the previous year. It literally took around 2-3 to come down after......that's what sport is about bringing out that unadulterated emotion. I really thought our race was run going into extra time the way it ended but some character was shown to come through. If NOD can build on his cameo there it's some option to have. Great post from CCfab highlighting those who got us through extra time. Like most I wouldn't be surprised to see Armagh again. They are one of the best conditioned sides I've seen of any team in any sport. I do think we have better forwards and in truth it should never have gone to ET but poor decision making meant we did. On the day itself I didn't have any negative experiences with any supporters. However I did notice a high number of young people fairly wasted earlier than usual. This can lead to incidents like the one in Monaghan town.
Onto the weekend it doesn't get easier. Based on last weekend the teams with a few more weeks to prepare certainly came to the fore. The other noticeable feature was the performances of the Ulster teams especially Down. Could it be that the Ulster form is well out in front? This weekend will tell us more. Tyrone are going to be very hard to beat but playing at home is a massive trump card. Hopefully Patton is fit. A win will put us in a very strong position especially after Cavan's result against Mayo. I actually think while we've played well in patches we haven't had a full performance and there could be more improvement to come. Hopefully this will come to pass but might take a game against a non Ulster team to show it.
Replying To panamasam: "Bit late on it here especially with the Tyrone game only a few days away. What a day in Clones, some buzz after missing the final the previous year. It literally took around 2-3 to come down after......that's what sport is about bringing out that unadulterated emotion. I really thought our race was run going into extra time the way it ended but some character was shown to come through. If NOD can build on his cameo there it's some option to have. Great post from CCfab highlighting those who got us through extra time. Like most I wouldn't be surprised to see Armagh again. They are one of the best conditioned sides I've seen of any team in any sport. I do think we have better forwards and in truth it should never have gone to ET but poor decision making meant we did. On the day itself I didn't have any negative experiences with any supporters. However I did notice a high number of young people fairly wasted earlier than usual. This can lead to incidents like the one in Monaghan town.
Onto the weekend it doesn't get easier. Based on last weekend the teams with a few more weeks to prepare certainly came to the fore. The other noticeable feature was the performances of the Ulster teams especially Down. Could it be that the Ulster form is well out in front? This weekend will tell us more. Tyrone are going to be very hard to beat but playing at home is a massive trump card. Hopefully Patton is fit. A win will put us in a very strong position especially after Cavan's result against Mayo. I actually think while we've played well in patches we haven't had a full performance and there could be more improvement to come. Hopefully this will come to pass but might take a game against a non Ulster team to show it."
Absolutely, Tyrone will be a Titanic battle on Saturday evening. They should've beaten Armagh, and I'd say they will have learned valuable lessons from that defeat. If they get their noses in front they will be a tough nut to crack.
I wasn't surprised by the Down result against Clare. Down are no bad side, and they asked serious questions of our defence. They could be a surprise winner of that group where Louth and Monaghan could cancel each other out.
Tyrone lost by a point to Armagh, apparently with a bug running through the camp so they are clearly a significant threat. I suppose that's why we didn't see Matty Donnelly, and Peter harte for only a few mins. Darren mccurry was excellent and although darragh Canavan not amazing it was clear he wasn't fully fit.
After all the good weather looks like Saturday won't be good. Patton, if injured is a huge loss obviously. Will be great to have ban on the bench and hopefully we'll see Farrah push on again. And if training well Niall O'Donnell as one of the first subs this time. For donegal to be a real threat these players have to be fully at it
Based on last week's results for provincial finalists and the general that the demands of winning Ulster from the preliminary and now trying to win the group with only shorts breaks I think Donegal could be ripe for a Tyrone ambush. Hopefully it's the opposite of course.