Search Results for 'Donegal on Sunday'

I have always looked back on the 1970s with a sense of wonder. The summers seemed to be longer, and sunnier. It was a time when we felt less connected to the outside world, although the passing of Elvis impacted us all.

Mayo find themselves in a real dogfight to secure a place in the All-Ireland semi final after a ravenous Kerry tore shreds off James Horan's men in the first round Super 8 game in Killarney.

What a difference a week makes. The Jekyll and Hyde side of Mayo football was never so evident as in their last three performances. Mayo put in a real gutsy performance against Tyrone in sun-drenched Healy Park Omagh last weekend to boost our chances of survival in the top flight. I wondered was it the same team that played Cavan the previous week. The football wasn't brilliant but this was all about the result. Mayo will probably still have to beat Donegal on Sunday to guarantee safety, as a confident Cavan will surely beat a demoralised Roscommon.

Life in general and sport in particular are all about “what ifs”. In the run-up to Mayo's crucial league game against Donegal on Sunday, I can't help but think of another what if. What if Corofin had beaten Castlebar Mitchels last November in the Connacht club final, how would Stephen Rochford have coped with the pressures of managing two high profile teams; with great difficulty, I think is the answer. Despite being robbed of the services of the Castlebar contingent for the first five rounds of the league, because of their run to the All-Ireland club final, the Mitchels have done Mayo football a huge favour in beating Corofin and allowing Rochford to concentrate on matters Mayo. Try to imagine what it would have been like managing both teams; virtually impossible. You would probably cope during the week where you'd have training with both teams on alternative nights but it's the weekends that would constitute the big problem.