All Ireland minor championship 2013

Thought Roscommon really threw this game away, played most of the football and looked to be the better group of footballers. Tyrone, as they were against Kerry, full of cynical fouling and gamesmanship. Not nice to see at any level but particularly disappointed to see it so prominent in a minor game. Mayo look like a fine side playing good football, hopefully they beat Tyrone.

Jonsmith wrote:Thought Roscommon really threw this game away, played most of the football and looked to be the better group of footballers. Tyrone, as they were against Kerry, full of cynical fouling and gamesmanship. Not nice to see at any level but particularly disappointed to see it so prominent in a minor game. Mayo look like a fine side playing good football, hopefully they beat Tyrone.  

I don't recall you complaining after Cavan beat Armagh in the USFC.

Thomas Clarke wrote:

Jonsmith wrote:Thought Roscommon really threw this game away, played most of the football and looked to be the better group of footballers. Tyrone, as they were against Kerry, full of cynical fouling and gamesmanship. Not nice to see at any level but particularly disappointed to see it so prominent in a minor game. Mayo look like a fine side playing good football, hopefully they beat Tyrone.  

I don't recall you complaining after Cavan beat Armagh in the USFC.

Hardly a good comparison given that Cavan lead that game for about 65 minutes and outplayed Armagh throughout, cynicism wasn't a significant factor in our win that day (although there were a few instances) I believe it was in the game today. Plus a Senior Preliminary round game has nothing to do with what happened in the Minor Semi Final today.

I was calling it as I saw it. I love watching Minor football and there is usually a greater sense of abandon in the games and less of the gamesmanship and cynicism we see blighting some of the Senior games, I saw Tyrone against Kerry and again today, systemic fouling to break any momentum, rugby tackles towards the end of the game, kicking the ball off the tee when the goalkeeper was attempting to take the kick out. As a Tyrone man you're right to be happy to be through to the final and of course you're going to focus more on the positives of Tyrone's performance, I'd do the same if that was Cavan. As a neutral however I think it's a crying shame Roscommon didn't win that game.

Jonsmith wrote:As a Tyrone man you're right to be happy to be through to the final and of course you're going to focus more on the positives of Tyrone's performance, I'd do the same if that was Cavan.

Well, that explains your rose-tinted first paragraph - no need for further comment there.

I just think it is a shame that the only comment you have made on here in ages is to criticise Tyrone minors, trotting out the usual cliches like 'systematic fouling'. Did you bother to watch the senior game, because there was plenty of 'cynicism' in it from both sides. There was also plenty to like over the last couple of weeks in our games.

I wasn't pleased to see Tyrone committing fouls to close out the game, and the kicking the ball off the tee was stupid and rightly punished with a yellow card, but I'm sure if you'd looked hard enough you might have seen the odd positive in their performance too.

Tyrone footballers are currently the whipping boys of RTE, and it seems like the average viewer has bought into the myth that we are coaching the dark arts to our youngsters from when they are first able to walk. Martin Breheny pointed out last week that of the 4 senior semi-finalists, the only one who had been fouled more often than they had committed fouls throughout the championship was Tyrone, but never let the truth get in the way of a bit of sensationalism.

By all means criticise the fouling/gamesmanship - I have no time for it either - but at least be consistent when throwing stones.

Thomas Clarke wrote:

Jonsmith wrote:As a Tyrone man you're right to be happy to be through to the final and of course you're going to focus more on the positives of Tyrone's performance, I'd do the same if that was Cavan.

Well, that explains your rose-tinted first paragraph - no need for further comment there.

I just think it is a shame that the only comment you have made on here in ages is to criticise Tyrone minors, trotting out the usual cliches like 'systematic fouling'.  Did you bother to watch the senior game, because there was plenty of 'cynicism' in it from both sides.  There was also plenty to like over the last couple of weeks in our games.

I wasn't pleased to see Tyrone committing fouls to close out the game, and the kicking the ball off the tee was stupid and rightly punished with a yellow card, but I'm sure if you'd looked hard enough you might have seen the odd positive in their performance too.  

Tyrone footballers are currently the whipping boys of RTE, and it seems like the average viewer has bought into the myth that we are coaching the dark arts to our youngsters from when they are first able to walk.  Martin Breheny pointed out last week that of the 4 senior semi-finalists, the only one who had been fouled more often than they had committed fouls throughout the championship was Tyrone, but never let the truth get in the way of a bit of sensationalism.  

By all means criticise the fouling/gamesmanship - I have no time for it either - but at least be consistent when throwing stones.

The fact that it was my first comment in a while makes no different to the point, neither does what happened in Cavan v Armagh, nor the Dublin v Kerry game. I sat down to watch the Minor game with an open mind and made my judgement purely on what I saw unfold. I can assure you I am not brainwashed by RTE, I never said anything about Tyrone coaching cynicical fouling my observation was based on the 60 odd minutes yesterday. Usually I am cheering on Tyrone as I have been in their past campaigns. I don't see why you are calling for consistency? Can I not comment on the Tyrone cynicism unless I comment on Dublin or Kerry's cynicism?
One of my abiding memories of that game will be the cynical play by Tyrone and that's why I commented on it. I didn't post anything about the Senior game but I don't think cynical play by either team was as prominent as in the Minor game.

Roscommon seemed to have more footballers than Tyrone however only leading by 3 points at the break cost them the game. For 45 mins they did most of running and for the final 15 mins they were out on their feet, for some reason their manager didn't make the changes? In the end Tyrone grounded out the result it wasn't pretty especially the systematic fouling however its hard to see them winning the final against Mayo as they won't be as wasteful as Roscommon.

Hi guys,

Later than planned, analysis of Tyrone's minor win over Roscommon is now up here
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Emmet

emmetryan wrote:Hi guys,

Later than planned, analysis of Tyrone's minor win over Roscommon is now up here
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Emmet

Something else to go from 19th to the 38th minute and fail to score and then score 1-1 within a minute to level the tie. The defending from Roscommon on the goal and last five points was pure loose minor defending and when the rossies tried to get through the Tyrone back line for goal chances they were fouled.

Apparently, 9 of the Tyrone players used on Sunday are underage again next year including Conor McKenna.

I said from the outset that it probably wasn't a vintage Tyrone minor side - young, and very few players from the towns or larger clubs - but we are in an AI final, and we've won 10 of the last 11 of those that we've contested at all grades. We are playing a very good Mayo side, but their record in finals would be pretty much the opposite of ours. We'll remain optimistic.

Thomas Clarke wrote:Apparently, 9 of the Tyrone players used on Sunday are underage again next year including Conor McKenna.  

I said from the outset that it probably wasn't a vintage Tyrone minor side - young, and very few players from the towns or larger clubs - but we are in an AI final, and we've won 10 of the last 11 of those that we've contested at all grades.  We are playing a very good Mayo side, but their record in finals would be pretty much the opposite of ours.  We'll remain optimistic.

Minor football is very much here and now. For example the 2011 Tipp all Ireland winning team had 11 players young enough for the following year however they were well beaten by Mayo in the quarter final last year. Mayos record in finals will bring optimistic thoughts though like Dublin minors last year i expect Mayo to end their long wait for minor All Ireland.

Gaa_lover wrote: Minor football is very much here and now. For example the 2011 Tipp all Ireland winning team had 11 players young enough for the following year however they were well beaten by Mayo in the quarter final last year.

Sometimes, although Tyrone came back in 1998 after losing the 1997 final with more or less the same side, and Laois had a lot of consistency in their 1996-98 final-making sides.

There's certainly no guarantee a side will be back, but there is no good reason why they shouldn't. A year really should see huge development in a minor footballer.

Thomas Clarke wrote:

Gaa_lover wrote: Minor football is very much here and now. For example the 2011 Tipp all Ireland winning team had 11 players young enough for the following year however they were well beaten by Mayo in the quarter final last year.

Sometimes, although Tyrone came back in 1998 after losing the 1997 final with more or less the same side, and Laois had a lot of consistency in their 1996-98 final-making sides.

There's certainly no guarantee a side will be back, but there is no good reason why they shouldn't.  A year really should see huge development in a minor footballer.

Laois were the last side to win back to back Minor All Irelands and those 96,97 teams was much changed. If you have good development squads in place and are producing some good results at U-15,16,17 then you should be able to find consistency at this level though it wouldn't surprise me if we have four different semi finalists next summer.

Any thoughts on this final? Mayo are hot favourites to win can they carry that tag or will Tyrone for the 3rd game in a row win against the odds.

Mayo looked very good against an admittedly stage-struck Monaghan outfit in their semi final. However, Monaghan had already beaten Tyrone in the Ulster final, coming from 10 points down in the 2nd half. Mayo played nice football and racked up a huge score.

In comparison to some other years, this is a pretty limited Tyrone side, but they showed huge fight to dig out a win against Kerry in the quarter final when trailing by 2 points and 2 men. They followed up with another gutsy win over Roscommon, after the game looked to be slipping away from them.

This is a young Tyrone team, with 9 of the players from the semi available again next year, and Mayo should be too strong for them. However, since 1998, Tyrone have played in 5 minor finals, and won them all. In the same period, Mayo have played in 5 and lost the lot. Whatever the form may say, I'll adhere to the Golden Rule of Minor Football Predictions.

Thomas Clarke wrote: Whatever the form may say, I'll adhere to the Golden Rule of Minor Football Predictions.

And hasn't it served you well.

Boxtyeater wrote:

Thomas Clarke wrote: Whatever the form may say, I'll adhere to the Golden Rule of Minor Football Predictions.

And hasn't it served you well.

I re-watched the semi final this morning and would say that Tyrone have a lot of passengers, even at minor level.  Will take a huge effort, but I've seen the 'wrong' team win the minors on many occasions down the years (the 1993 final always stands out in that regard).  Games at that age can turn very quickly, and so much depends on who turns up on the day.

I can't imagine Tyrone will play as poorly as Monaghan did against Mayo. Tyrone system at all levels is difficult to break down but Mayo have top forwards to do this and should win this All Ireland.

It will be very interesting to see how this goes. Mayo look a much superior team but Minor Football is very unpredictable. When they met in the final 5 years ago it was all about Coney and O'Shea, Mayo look more rounded this time out. A massive Mayo support could heap more pressure on young shoulders..

my fear is Tyrone are going to take a tanking in this game, as TC said we are a limited side and unfortunately those limitations extend to the men on the sideline who i have little or no faith in at all. Mayo looked hugely impressive against Monaghan and had options all over the field.

Fingers crossed i am wrong, though it would be one of the poorer Tyrone teams to win an All-Ireland i think

bocerty wrote:my fear is Tyrone are going to take a tanking in this game, as TC said we are a limited side and unfortunately those limitations extend to the men on the sideline who i have little or no faith in at all. Mayo looked hugely impressive against Monaghan and had options all over the field.

Fingers crossed i am wrong, though it would be one of the poorer Tyrone teams to win an All-Ireland i think

Ah now Boc, Ye're in the All Ireland Final for God's sake! There's obviously a level of quality on the field and on the line. The road their predecessors have taken will definitely play a part. Mayo will go looking to break the hoodoo that has plagued Minor and Senior teams for decades. Tyrone winning will be a 3rd in 6 years not such a massive burden to shoulder. If Tyrone are there or there abouts towards the end then I'd fancy them. I think the fear for Tyrone is that Mayo will be out of sight by then.

Jonsmith wrote:

bocerty wrote:my fear is Tyrone are going to take a tanking in this game, as TC said we are a limited side and unfortunately those limitations extend to the men on the sideline who i have little or no faith in at all. Mayo looked hugely impressive against Monaghan and had options all over the field.

Fingers crossed i am wrong, though it would be one of the poorer Tyrone teams to win an All-Ireland i think

Ah now Boc, Ye're in the All Ireland Final for God's sake! There's obviously a level of quality on the field and on the line. The road their predecessors have taken will definitely play a part. Mayo will go looking to break the hoodoo that has plagued Minor and Senior teams for decades. Tyrone winning will be a 3rd in 6 years not such a massive burden to shoulder. If Tyrone are there or there abouts towards the end then I'd fancy them. I think the fear for Tyrone is that Mayo will be out of sight by then.

we are JS and i dont want to come across as sounding ungrateful for that but i think we are lucky to be there. And i am not alone in thinking the men in charge of this side have been found wanting several times this year. Donnelly has a great pedigree in club football especially with Mayobridge as far a i remember but taking on young lads seems to have presented its own issues for him.

Other minor teams we have put out have had a number of standout players but somehow this one doesnt - though as TC says its a young side so maybe this year is a good building block for next year ans the year after

Worried at half time. Mayo didn't score a point from play, yet lead by 1.

Tyrone playing well but have squandered a lot of chances. Nothing in our FF line, and Mayo will feel that even a slight improvement in their attack will see them home.

Well done to Mayo. They dominated the game for just 10 minutes out of the 60, but it was enough to win. Mayo outscored Tyrone by 2-4 to 0-1 from 29th to 38th minutes, and it was their forwards that made the difference.

Tyrone got little out of their attack, particularly their FF line, and you have to wonder why young Cathal McShane wasn't on from the start, such was the impact he made today and in the semi final.

Still, well done to Mayo as they deserved their win for being much more ruthless with their chances. Half the Tyrone side will be back again next year, so it was encouraging from our perspective too.

Delighted for Mayo. Some fine footballers too. Credit to Tyrone, rarely have we seen a Minor side with such grit and determination.

Deserved win for Mayo i thought six point win would have been harsh on Tyrone so at least they got the late goal to give the scoreline a truer reflection. That Mayo minor team are goal machine if some of those forwards can make the step up to senior level who knows Mayo might end their senior famine?