The 2012 Connacht Championship..

Given the paucity of followers here, I'm restricting this contest to general talk. That is unless we set fire to London and can approach Castlebar with a modicum of confidence.

Mossbags has gone to ground and rightly so... The Rossies, buoyed by a good league run and some promising U-21's won't fear the Tribesmen in The Hyde on Sunday. Oddly, in terms of the "modern game", they will rely on primary possession winners in Mannion and Finneran at midfield with the view to lashing it up to Kilbride and Shine.....

Trust me, The Hyde will be jambo, such is the buzz for it.

Roscommon by a whisker....

Yeah the Rossies have a great chance all right - in fact I'm sure they'll be disappointed if they don't beat Galway.The old order is unsettled in the west at the moment and it looks easy for Mayo this year. Big McGarrity back in training for them too I hear.

RMDrive wrote:Yeah the Rossies have a great chance all right - in fact I'm sure they'll be disappointed if they don't beat Galway.The old order is unsettled in the west at the moment and it looks easy for Mayo this year. Big McGarrity back in training for them too I hear.

Are you after "taking a turn" there RMD....The nerves ahead of Sunday are getting to you. We'll hand them their arxes in Castlebar.

If we get there...

Boxtyeater wrote:

RMDrive wrote:Yeah the Rossies have a great chance all right - in fact I'm sure they'll be disappointed if they don't beat Galway.The old order is unsettled in the west at the moment and it looks easy for Mayo this year. Big McGarrity back in training for them too I hear.

Are you after "taking a turn" there RMD....The nerves ahead of Sunday are getting to you. We'll hand them their arxes in Castlebar.

If we get there...

The MGD might be kicking in all right Boxty. Or else the Mayoness has finally started to seep into me? Nah.

RMDrive wrote:
The MGD might be kicking in all right Boxty. Or else the Mayoness has finally started to seep into me? Nah.

You're gone stone mad with these acronyms FFS....First a yoke on the Ulster for Heino thread (only for TC I was goosed) and now this.

But I'll give MGD the vote...this time... I'm having a mild libation myself to relieve the stress.

Boxtyeater wrote:

RMDrive wrote:
The MGD might be kicking in all right Boxty. Or else the Mayoness has finally started to seep into me? Nah.

You're gone stone mad with these acronyms FFS....First a yoke on the Ulster for Heino thread (only for TC I was goosed) and now this.

But I'll give MGD the vote...this time... I'm having a mild libation myself to relieve the stress.

Miller Genuine Draft. My suppage of choice for the house.

Galway under Alan Mulholland should be a better team this year. Armstrong is back & PJ,Meehan on the bench if needed. Hanley the best full back in Connacht marking Donal Shine.

I think Galway to win by two or three points

In the absolute reversal of my opening post (Roscommon dominating at m/f and lashing it forward) it was Galway who controlled midfield, where Joe Bergin was immense and they shovelled it forward aerially at every chance.
The loss of Finneran seemed to totally un-nerve Roscommon, as the wheels came off straight away.

All credit to Galway....Route 1 football, long raking balls into dangerous territories, tremendous fielding, accurate kicking, disciplined and then the luxury of Meehan and Joyce to wrap it up. Conroy was awesome for them at 14, the two new corner backs acquitted themselves with aplomb, Hanley solid as a rock at 3.....all in all, a competent opener for the Connacht standard bearers.

Roscommon....Atrocious. Cathal Cregg and Senan Kilbride offered what resistance they could muster. Shine was shambolic.
There will be the usual "inquiries into what went wrong", followed by recriminatioary comments, before the annual bust-up.....Roscommon will be cannon fodder in the qualifiers.....

Roscommon were indeed poor, things did go downhill quickly after they lost Finneran, not sure if there was any link between the two but it was men against boys for most of the game.

The defending was shocking, it was as if they had never played the game before. Theres a lot of work to be done in Roscommon yet.

Galway looked good but they could hardly look anything else given the opposition they were up against. Tougher tasks no doubt lay ahead but today will have given them a certain amount of confidence but its no real yardstick to how the rest of the season will go. Roscommon were piss poor and there are several club teams would have put up a better show

Well I know the Rossies were poor today(seemed nervous) but full marks to Galway who played the game as it should.Direct and not too much messy handpassing. I wish that all (including my own county) would try and play with the same attitude. No better game to watch when done so.

Galway were good yesterday no question. As much as the easy victory and the fine, fine football, it was the joy at seeing Micheal Meehan return that really made it a great day for Galway suporters. He was told he'd never play again and many were resigned to never seeing him wear the County jersey again.

Mulholland hasn't put a foot wrong so far. Bringing in two debutant corner backs could easily have backfired but both Keith Kelly and Keiran McGrath acquitted themselves impeccably and will gain real confidence after yesterday. There was big games from Sice, Bergin, Bradshaw and Conroy who was outstanding playing the traditional full forward role. The delivery of ball in was exceptional and Conroy looks one in particular who could prosper with the old square ball rule gone.

Good as Galway played yesterday no one is getting carried away simply because of the paucity of the oppositions challenge. It's a good start with some beautiful football but would Galway have scored 3-15 playing against the Donegals of this world, I think not. Galway showed they have serious squad depth to go with their undoubted talent and flair but this alone will not cut it at the business end of the Championship and much more is still needed. Still, Mulholland will be given time and finally the curve in Galway football seems to be facing upwards.

Just back in Dublin after a fine evening in Salthill.

Great 2nd half performance from Sligo to take an unexpected victory.
As has been the case for the last 10 years, Sligo looked at their best when running in waves. Not the most skillfull team around, but certainly one of the fittest and hardest-working.

Great to see Adrian Marren finally deliver in a Championship game. I played u16, minor and u21 with Aido, and he's probably the most naturally talented player I've seen, but mentally he seems to struggle when the pressure is on. A fine performance from him today, with points from play and from placed balls, a coolly despatched penalty, a well taken goal and some excellent distribution to set up a number of scores from other players. Hopefully he can drive on and finally deliver on all his potential. Himself and Kelly both fully fit and playing well together would give Sligo a potent full-forward line for the first time in years.

Fair play to Sligo but the big mystery for me is what the hell happened to the Rossies!

Parouisa wrote:Fair play to Sligo but the big mystery for me is what the hell happened to the Rossies!

Management, Fergal O'Donnell had the rossies going places Newton with his zonal marking & lack of game plan would got them well beaten by London never mind Galway.

As for Sligo a fine win but how inconsistent are they? i fear they may have peaked before the Connacht final.

Gtreat stuff from Sligo last Sunday. They were determined to prevent Galway, Conroy in particular a sniff of goal and applied Kilkenny-esque tactics in doing this. Conroy was frustrated and fouled at every turn and management should have changed tack here rather than let it keep happening. Marren roasted Hanley and captain or not he needs to be dropped, it's just not happening for him these days. Colin Forde will make a fine full back so the sooner he's put in the better. Other young lads like Keith Kelly and Tom Flynn were poor the last day but will be given time. Flynn should improve for a move to midfield as he struggles to impose himself much on the wing. Himself and Fintan O Currain are the future in that line, Bergin didn't lack for effort the last day but has been exposed too often and I'd be surprised if this isn't his final year in the county jersey.

It's not panic stations for Galway but it is as deflating a defeat as we could have at this stage, just when people were beginning to believe again. They say you learn more from a loss than a win so hopefully Mulholland learns the lessons. Playing players out of position won't cut it at this level. Whatever about carefully easing Micheal Meehan back into it's pointless leaving Paraic Joyce on the bench for so long when he's still by far our best distributor. Fella's like O Donnell, Burke and Higgens are simply not good enough.

A steep learning curve for this setup who are clearly more limited than we thought but we won't give up on them just yet. A couple of wins in the backdoor and we're back on track. Again congrats to Sligo, hope ye go and win it now!

We venture, with grave doubts, to McHale park on this coming Sunday...
No John Mac, Declan Maxwell, nor even the much maligned Barry Prior....Such as it is.

On a more positive note however, we won't lie down, roll over and be whipped, No Sir.

We'll draw spirit from the day in '96 where Gerry Flanagan flattened that tool John Maughan, who was largeing himself in the aftermath of a dubious victory...

Ho'n Leitrim...

Foireann Liatroim



Cathal McCrann Gortletteragh

Daniel Beck Mohill

Fabian McMorrow Melvin Gaels

Paddy Maguire (Capt) Glencar Manorhamilton

Colm Clarke Drumkeerin

Enda Williams Clonguish

Wayne McKeon Ballinamore Seán O’Heslin’s

Darren Sweeney Glencar Manorhamilton

Shane Moran Ballinamore Seán O’Heslin’s

Paul Brennan Melvin Gaels

Emlyn Mulligan Melvin Gaels

Paddy McGowan St Patrick’s Dromahair

Ray Cox Annaduff

James Glancy Glencar Manorhamilton

Adrian Croal Glencar Manorhamilton

These are the 15 selected for duty on Sunday. No major changes given the exclusion of Ciaran Egan from full-back (disciplinary)...
Danny Beck comes in for the Carrick Glancy at 2, Enda Williams takes over at 6 and the Ballinamore youngster, Shane Moran, gets his chance at midfield....

I visited the Colosseum in Rome a few years ago and Sunday's clash has revived that memory.
I'm having nightmares about hordes of lions and a few game but limited Christains.....Keeping her below 15 points is a big ask....

From this week's Observer....He was useless 10 years ago but......

You get the impression that Ray Cox would rather take on the fiercest corner-back than do interviews but for a man who prefers to do his talking on the field, the Annaduff man is more than able to get the point across that Leitrim have nothing to fear from travelling to Castlebar.

Reluctantly press-ganged into an interview with the Observer, Ray relishes the thought of playing Mayo and mainly because he feels that Leitrim will play without fear in McHale Park – “I’m looking forward to it. The fear factor was there against London, we don’t fear going over to Mayo.
“The win against London will have huge benefits, there are a lot of young lads out there and there are a lot of good footballers coming through. We just didn’t want to be the first team to be beaten in London in 30 years.

“There is no pressure on us going to Mayo, not a bit, and we don’t fear going to Mayo. If we can hold Mayo or the first 10, 15 minutes, not let them score, try to pick off a few scores ourselves and put a bit of doubt into their minds, anything can happen. ”
Much of Ray’s belief comes from the performance against London which came with tremendous pressure – “Even when we went three points down, I still knew at the back of my mind that we were still going to come out with a win, there was no doubt about it, I just had that feeling we were going to win. I know the fans probably got a bit excited and nervous about it but the players didn’t panic at all.”

A man who clearly enjoys his football, Ray admits to a few regrets over his career that he wasn’t more dedicated when he was young – “I’m the oldest and I think I’m the only married man on it too. When I was 24 years of age, I didn’t commit to the county.

“Des Dolan said to me that you’ll regret it when you’re 30 years of age and he was dead right, I did regret it because when I was playing good football, when I was young and fit at 24, I just walked away from the County.

“Any lad that gets called up to the county, he should come because in the later years of your life, you’ll just regret it. I’m enjoying my football now.”

Despite the losses of key players this year, Ray contends that this Leitrim squad is as united as any other he has ever played on - “ Of all the years, I’m especially enjoying my football this year, the craic is good, you get on well with everybody. We fight for everything and we all get on.

“If we can just hold on to the team for another year or two, I’ve no doubt in my mind that they’ll get promotion and get out of Division Four and go from there. Barney and George are doing a great job, Ollie Cummins there is doing a great job training.

“There were a couple of bad league performances, we lost James Glancy and Mulligan to injury and if we had all right, we would have won a lot of them games. Mulligan was a big losses, everything go through him and he would put a ball down your throat from centre-half forward.

“He was a big loss at the start of the League. If we had beaten Limerick, the break came at the wrong time and we had to wait three weeks for the next game and it just took the momentum from us.”

Mayo promise to be tough opposition as Ray readily agrees but he still sees promise for the future – “Mayo are strong all over the field, they have top class footballers everywhere and it is going to be a tough hour but if we can hold them for the first 15, 20 minutes and put a bit of doubt in their mind, anything is possible.”

Will Leitrim bate Mayo da de dah dah dah da....

Boxtyeater wrote:
...Keeping her below 15 points is a big ask....

I fear you could be right there, Boxty. I don't think that Mayo are the finished article, and I'm well aware that Leitrim are a county with great pride, but this could be a lopsided one. Mayo have dropped their 2 corner forwards from the league, and that should be enough to focus the mind of those that are playing. Your boys will need a quick start, an organised defensive, and a couple of timely goals to keep this one close.

Thomas Clarke wrote: Your boys will need a quick start, an organised defensive, and a couple of timely goals to keep this one close.

Out the window with all that stuff. What we need is a very large brown bag, reminiscent of the one James Gogarty carried out to Ray Burke's house back in the day, stuffed with €50 notes and meet the referee for lunch beforehand.....

Robert is then your father's brother....

For the punter who likes a bit of value, we're 18/1....Can't do better..

There's nothing to say about this latest debacle. Men against boys. The ominous forebodings were well founded.

Sligo will have it all to do but the best of luck to them.

That's not sour grapes with regard to Mayo.

Boxty a chara. There were surely a lock of lads at the game today who were in Poznan and Gdansk and then made the relatively short journey to Mc Hale. I feel for them. Surely the Dauber and your good self can breed a decent whippet pup or something to lift their sporting spirits????

Parouisa wrote: Surely the Dauber and your good self can breed a decent whippet pup or something to lift their sporting spirits????

The Dauber's latest prophesy goes as follows. "Boxty, if we had ducks they would likely drown" ..

Boxtyeater wrote:There's nothing to say about this latest debacle. Men against boys. The ominous forebodings were well founded.

Could be worse, you could be a Derry fan Boxty!

leitrim got a trimming there what ever happend