Freeman finds his shooting boots but Mayo need to improve

Sun, Jan 15, 2017

Mayo picked up their first win of the season with a six point win over IT Sligo in Ballina on Sunday, but they will have to serious up their performance if they are to pick up a second win next weekend when they face Roscommon in their final group game of the FBD League and improve even more two weeks later when they host Monaghan in the opening round of the National Football League. That was the message from Mayo manager Stephen Rochford post their win on Sunday.

Second student examination for Mayo coming up

Fri, Jan 13, 2017

Mayo will head to the home of Ballina Stephenites on Sunday for their second round clash in the FBD League, looking to pick up their first win of the competition after going down to the students from NUIG last Sunday in MacHale Park, next up for Stephen Rochford's men is a meeting with another third level institution this time IT Sligo are the opposition.

Mayo Monday Lunchtime Talking Points

Mon, Jan 09, 2017

Marking Time
The mark has come into being in gaelic football for the foreseeable future this year. What was a mark and what wasn't a mark was the topic of some discussion in the press box on Sunday. With two minutes gone referee Barry Judge giving what looked to have been a mark in error or a very soft free to Danny Kirby, but nobody was sure at the back of the stand in MacHale Park. After the game Mayo manager Stephen Rochford said that time will have to be given to it but he said “I did think at times and this isn't a refereeing issue, but just the blowing of the whistle sometimes stopped lads in midplay and they were wondering was there a free or whatever, but that is probably a sense of getting used to it and the rules are there and we just have to play by them. It's probably a case of just getting used to them.”

Mayo new boys learn some lessons

Sun, Jan 08, 2017

It’s unlikely that you’ll ever see this combination of Mayo players ever line out together again for a competitive fixture, but it gave a number of players a taste of what it’s like in the big leagues they’ll not forget and some others who have serious designs on being around there for a long time plenty to work on.

Back to basics for Mayo

Fri, Jan 06, 2017

The last time that the Mayo senior footballers were in action was the heartbreaking All Ireland senior final replay defeat to Dublin and since then they have been the talk of the country following an interview by their former managers. Almost all of that squad are currently on a team holiday in South Africa so for this Sunday's FBD League opener, it is going to be a very different looking Mayo side for supporters to get their voices behind for the first time this year, and concentrate on things on the field rather than off the field.

Oak Leaf challenge first up for Solan's u21s

Fri, Jan 06, 2017

It is going to be hard for Michael Solan and his management team to top their debut season in charge of the Mayo U21s having brought last year's crop of new stars right to the top of the game and claiming the All Ireland U21 title in Ennis against Cork at the end of the spring.

Club v county, I have seen it from both sides

Fri, Dec 02, 2016

The age-old debate of club versus county seems to raise its ugly head year after year. For a county like ours with such a prominent senior football team that has been in so many All Ireland finals of late it seems we still cannot get the balance right between club and county. The same problem occurred again this year with a fixture pile up as our county champions and genuine All Ireland contenders Castlebar Mitchels had to play six games, six weeks in a row, eventually losing to now Connacht champions Corofin in extra time having run out of gas during that period of extra time. Some may be wondering what about Westport? They had the same conundrum. They even had to replay a county semifinal against Shrule/Glencorrib mid-week such was the backlog of games. However, Westport were not on the go for a continuous 18 months as the Mitchels were, and Westport had plenty in the tank at the final whistle of all their games.

Mayo look to get it done at second time of asking

Fri, Dec 02, 2016

Tomorrow afternoon in Ballinagh, in Cavan, the masters of the game from Mayo and Cavan will do it again with the All Ireland Masters Championship up for grabs after their first final meeting ended in a stalemate after extra time. The masters from Mayo will be hoping to fare better than their senior counterparts who also went to a replay in the All Ireland final only to come undone at the end of the game by the narrowest of margins.

Mayo sides in FAI Junior Cup showdowns

Fri, Dec 02, 2016

Two of the three Mayo sides in FAI Junior Cup action have home advantage this weekend in the fifth round of the FAI Junior Cup, with just Super League champions Westport United hitting the road to take on Swords based outfit Rivervalley Rangers in the nation's capital.

Time for Castlebar to take a well earned break

Fri, Nov 25, 2016

Technical problems and a corrupt USB data file meant last week’s column vanished into thin air just before the paper went to print. Obviously for the most part the article was about Castlebar’s agonising defeat to Corofin after extra time. There was another part issuing a slight warning to Westport before they took on Leitrim champions Sean O’Heslin’s, based on the fact that it took Hollymount/Carramore extra time to see off last year’s Leitrim champions Melvin Gaels. I also felt Louisburg were going into the unknown against Creggs in Kiltoom and would need a big performance to emerge victorious.

I have no doubt Castlebar will look back on their defeat to Corofin with regret, the game was there for the taking in normal time, the wide count says it all, 14 for Castlebar and four for Corofin, the majority of these coming in the first half from really good scoring positions. Despite all those wides the Mitchels found themselves only two in arrears at the break, having only scored four themselves, three points from frees from Neil Douglas and, worryingly, only one from play from Mayo star Paddy Durkin.

Disappointment for Mitchels as Corofin come good in extra-time

Fri, Nov 18, 2016

Corofin’s 0-17 to 0-14 triumph over Castlebar Mitchels after extra-time on Sunday in McHale Park sees the club into its seventh Connacht club final in 11 years and searching for a fourth title since 2008.

Westport on the edge of glory

Fri, Nov 18, 2016

This Sunday afternoon Westport will need to be at their best if they are going to claim their first Connacht Intermediate football championship when the Seasiders take on Leitrim outfit Ballinamore Sean O’Heslin's. Westport qualified for the final thanks to a hard-fought win over Galway champions Monivea Abbey by the narrowest of margins thanks to three late points from corner forward Lewis Cawley.

It has been a busy few weeks for the Westport men who faced into three games in the space of seven days, to win the Mayo final, and then had to go out again the following week to see off the Galway champions and book their place in this weekend's provincial showdown. Damien Loftus is the man in charge of that side, but he has plenty of generals on the field too. Fullback Kevin Kane put in a massive shift in their win over Monivea Abbey in the final four encounter, this laid the foundation for their narrow 0-8 to 0-7 victory. Of course the newly crowned footballer of the year Lee Keegan will have to have a massive influence if his side are to have any chance of a victory.

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