Football Championship 2014.....

Only got to see the Connacht semi final it was awful viewing the 1st half the Rossies happy enough to sit back with 13 men while Mayo kicked i think 10 wides and some of these were not even shots. Rather efforts that were nothing less than really poor delivery attempts into the full forward line that were simply too long and went harmlessly wide.

2nd half was improvement (couldn't be worse anyway) a well taken goal by the Ros number 7 got their tails up and the introduction of young Diarmuid Murtagh gave them extra scoring forward however all their momentum was killed with the double injury to O'Gara,D Shine. Andy Moran's two points when introduced was their much needed leadership and the 7 pointed frees some of which looked soft got them over the line.

Regarding the melee, I personally enjoyed it. I wouldn't say it has no place in the game. A schmozzle as Cyril Farrell might call it is a welcome tradition in the games and certainly a good appetizer for the game ahead.

A bit of shouldering and a few men wrestled to the ground followed by a stand-off. Where's the harm in that?

Loyal2TheRoyal wrote:Regarding the melee, I personally enjoyed it. I wouldn't say it has no place in the game. A schmozzle as Cyril Farrell might call it is a welcome tradition in the games and certainly a good appetizer for the game ahead.

A bit of shouldering and a few men wrestled to the ground followed by a stand-off. Where's the harm in that?

And they say that Meath football is stuck in a timewarp….  

Didn't an Armagh supporter swing at a Cavan player from over the fence? I find the prematch parade a complete waste of time anyway, hopefully another few rows like this one will see an end to it!

And the marching season still almost a month away....You would think those bucks would know all about marching at this stage. The time has come to ban these contentious parades once and for all.... 

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If true, it paints McKeever in an even worse light than usual.

Certainly a poor decision. I can understand lads being wound up before the start of a c'ship game but McKeever has been around the block before and should know the protocols at this stage. He'll face some form of disciplinary action, but I wouldn't be holding my breath.
To the weekend:
Meath will no doubt hand Carlow a battering of epic proportions. Unless Meath bring 9k. supporters there won't be 10k.at it. The natives are resigned/fearful/disillusioned.

A toss-up between Waterford and Clare. Podge and Sean Collins have committed to the Clare hurlers, but they're still doughty battlers and Fraher Field won't faze them.

Will we have an epic joust in Clones? McManus will be a big loss to Monaghan but I suppose Clarke's injury will balance the books. Monaghan will certainly enter the contest in bullish mode but the 2 games will have steadied Tyrone a good bit. Mickey must nearly know his best 15 and they've been tested a little which will stand to them. I'm hoping for a bit of open football but hoping is the word. A close call either way.

Good article on Mayo/Roscommon by Darragh O'Sé here.

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Unlucky cruciate injury for Donie Shine - out for 2 months. He has regressed somewhat just the same.
That said, I wouldn't wish it on any sportsman/woman. Best of luck to him.

Boxtyeater wrote:Good article on Mayo/Roscommon by Darragh O'Sé here.

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Unlucky cruciate injury for Donie Shine - out for 2 months. He has regressed somewhat just the same.
That said, I wouldn't wish it on any sportsman/woman. Best of luck to him.

Darragh O'Sé trying to sugarcoat Mayo falling over the line in a game they were expected to win comfortable? whenever Kerry had an off day they still had the forwards and panel strength to turn it on the next day i don't see that with Mayo however Mayo do always seem to have one big performance in them before the All Ireland final.

Bad blow for Roscommon's hopes in the qualifiers without Donie Shine i think he's wasted at 11 probably should play at 14 where he was in 2010/11. I suppose 19 year old Diarmuid Murtagh will now be given his first championship start.

Three Armagh players and two from Cavan have been handed one-match bans following the pre-match scenes that marred the Ulster SFC quarter-final tie on Sunday last.

Armagh's Andy Mallon, Brendan Donaghy and Kieran Toner and the Breffni duo of Fergal Flanagan and Martin Dunne have all been banned for the incident as the teams lined up for the parade at the Athletic Grounds.

Both county boards have been fined €5000.

Armagh GAA are expected to appeal the decision.

A Cavan spokesperson said the county board had not had time to discuss a possible appeal, but that the board had not previously indicated it would appeal, and that it could not condone what had happened.

Thomas Clarke wrote:

patk wrote:Encouraging news from the Monaghan camp re injuries. McManus doesn't need the surgery that would have ruled him out for the summer, and it looks like Lennon will be fit for the Tyrone game. McManus looks to have an outside chance of being involved but if he's not 100% I wouldn't risk him, a bad knock and he'll be out for the summer for real. Still, things look better than they did a couple of weeks ago.

Even a half fit McManus would command attention from the Tyrone defence in a way that none of his potential replacements would.  It's a bit like in the 2003 AI final, when the game was 25 minutes old before the McNultys realised that Peter Canavan could barely stand let alone run.

The build up to this game has intrigued me.  The bookies have Tyrone the slightest of favourites, while most posters on Hoganstand seem to fancy Monaghan, believing them to have a stronger panel.  While it's very possible that I'm biased, I don't see it that way.  I think that Monaghan are a very good side with an excellent manager, but they have neither been used to playing nor beating top sides over the last last couple of years, whereas Tyrone have.  

Aside from the relegated Donegal in last year's Ulster final, Monaghn haven't beaten a division 1 side yet.  To be fair, the only other one that they played was Tyrone in the AI qtr final, when they were beaten.  

Tyrone will feel the loss of Conor Clarke's strength in midfield, but I still think that we are the more proven side at this level, with several wins over genuine top class opposition over the last 18 months.  To win, Monaghan will have to show more than they have up til now, particularly against a side that they've always struggled to beat.

It's a strange build-up alright, I've gone between being pretty confident to nervous and unsure a few times now. But this week, the closer it gets, I'm strangely more calm about it and think we'll do it. Maybe I'm just happy we're finally playing again after a long time, but I think the team are really up for this and believe in themselves they can win on Sunday. After all, if the sight of Tyrone doesn't motivate them then nothing will.

It's a fair point about Tyrone being used to playing Division 1 football. I still think it's a largely young team that's more vulnerable than Tyrone teams of the past, one which has several players who haven't won anything at senior level yet. But those young players have experience of playing a higher level of opponent than Monaghan have been, mostly in the league. That's why it was so important for us to get promoted this year in order to progress, you need to be at that level to challenge consistently. However, when I look at the teams, I can't help thinking player for player we're just as good, again I'm obviously biased here also. But it's time to show that on Sunday, and if we lose again it would be hard to argue that.

It's hard to know what kind of a team we'll have out with all these differing rumours on injuries. Depending on who you listen to, McManus, Lennon or Doogan may all either start or are ruled out for a while yet. It wouldn't be out of the question to see Malachy O'Rourke spring a surprise in his team selection, and I don't just mean starting McManus. Few people, even within the county, would have thought of starting Padraig Donaghy in last year's Ulster final, or Paudie McKenna in the league final this year, but both selections were a success. Relevant to that perhaps is the fact a couple of forwards from last year's minor team have been training with the seniors lately(including Ryan McAnespie who may well have opted to play for Tyrone in the past instead), so you never know who might line out. None of that might come about of course, but it's an interesting proposition.

I've said it before, but I think the key for us winning is in defence rather than attack. We've had a pretty solid defence by and large under O'Rourke, and rarely concede goals. If we can get on top of what is a fairly young Tyrone attack early on and win the first couple of battles there then it may set the tone. We can't allow Sean Cavanagh to waltz through the middle as he so often has against us, and surely we will have a plan to cope with him better after last year. Maybe moreso than McManus, if Lennon isn't fit then it's a major blow for us. We have a stronger squad than we have had in some time and have options in defence and attack, but as always we are very light at midfield. If Lennon is out then Dick will be in, and I don't like to see him start these days. He just doesn't have the legs for a full game anymore, and simply put Lennon is just a huge loss in the middle in terms of winning clean kickouts. Big games needed up front from Kieran Hughes and McCarron or McGuinness who would most likely replace McManus. Even if he does play, Conor will be far from fully fit so the other forwards will need to step up. Hughes has given the Donegal defence a tough time twice in the last year but in between he was disappointing against Tyrone and got a stupid red card, and he'll be keen to put that right. No better time than this sunday.

Just as I posted that I noticed the Monaghan team has actually been named. It's pretty much one you'd expect to be named given the injury doubts, give or take one or two players, but you can be sure there'll be a couple of changes a few minutes before throw-in. Hopefully numbers 21 and 26! Strong looking bench regardless, good to see Eoin Duffy back after a bit of a lay-off, he's always a good option in attack.

1. Rory Beggan
2. Colin Walshe
3. Drew Wylie
4. Fintan Kelly
5. Dessie Mone
6. Vinny Corey
7. Kieran Duffy
8. Dick Clerkin
9. Darren Hughes
10. Paul Finlay
11. Padraig Donaghy
12. Paudie Mc Kenna
13. Dermot Malone
14. Kieran Hughes
15. Jack Mc Carron


16. Gerard Mc Caffrey
17. Conor Boyle
18. Ryan Wylie
19. Karl O’Connell
20. Conor Galligan
21. Eoin Lennon
22. Eoin Duffy
23. Stephen Gollogly
24. Thomas Kerr
25. Chris Mc Guinness
26. Conor McManus

Tyrone team also named, so much for Tyrone's young attack that I was on about! Seems like Mickey is sticking with experience here.

Niall Morgan
Aidan McCrory
Justin McMahon
Ronan McNamee
Ronan McNabb
Mattie Donnelly
Peter Harte
Colm Cavanagh
Conan Grugan
Martin Penrose
Sean Cavanagh
Ciaran McGinley
D McCurry
Stephen O' Neill
Ronan O'Neill.

On the 3 changes for Tyrone:

As I said earlier in the thread, Grugan would also have been my choice to replace the injured Clarke. He has the potential to become a regular and, while he might be a bit light just yet, he has a much higher ceiling than any of our other options.

Penrose has shown a lot of good form over the last couple of months, and deserves his start. He replaces Emmet McKenna who is not yet good enough at this level. Penrose won't last 70 minutes, but Mark Donnelly would be a goof like-for-like replacement for the last quarter.

Stevie O'Neill replaces Coney. It wouldn't have been a decision Id've made, but Mickey loves Stevie. If he is fit, he'll command attention, but I'd prefer to see Coney or McAliskey in there (assuming that both were fit and available), simply because it's time to move on.

As for McManus, usually when an injured player is going to make a dramatic return, you don't hear a word about it. It is usually kept tightly under wraps until throw in, and then they appear wearing No.31 or something. All week we've heard that McManus could be fit to play, and now he gets a place in the 26. My hunch is that he won't feature.

You might be right about McManus. There's been no real cute hoorism here from the camp as far as I can see, the reality is that the lad has been trying everything possible in order to recover in time, and this game is probably still coming just too soon for him. My own take on it is that he's been named on the bench on the off chance he may feel up to making some sort of a contribution Sunday afternoon, if we're down by a few points midway through the second half there may be that temptation to introduce him. Even the sight of him coming on would give the crowd and team a massive lift, even if he didn't actually do much. However, if he's simply not fit yet that would be crazy, one knock and he could really be out for the summer, whereas if he sat it out he'd be in much better shape for the next game, whether that be against Armagh or Louth. There's alot of football to be played this summer yet. Hopefully Lennon will be able to contribute, it'd be a big ask to win this game without either playing a part.

Thomas Clarke wrote:Stevie O'Neill replaces Coney.  It wouldn't have been a decision Id've made, but Mickey loves Stevie.  If he is fit, he'll command attention, but I'd prefer to see Coney or McAliskey in there (assuming that both were fit and available), simply because it's time to move on.

Do you think it's mostly out of loyalty that O'Neill has been preferred? Can he again be the main danger man up front or is that time simply gone and is he simply there to take pressure off the younger lads and command attention as you say? Wylie had a good game on him last year, I thought one of the younger lads you mentioned may have been tougher this time but time will tell, it could be an inspired selection.

SON wasn't fit last summer, and shouldn't have been playing at all. I'd discount any of his performances when trying to assess how much he has left.

He was fit for the 2013 league (until he fell over a waterbottle while warming up for the final), and was playing very well. His form was perhaps the best it had been in years, though 14 months is a long time for a 34 year old.

Stevie has always been a confidence player, and needs to be physically right in order to be mentally right. His great performances have almost always come on the back of a long run without injury.

To summarise, if O'Neill is in the form that he was in last spring, he will be a handful for anyone, but I'd only be starting him if he is genuinely fit and going well in training.

Behind the front 3 you have McAliskey, Coney and Niall McKenna, while the half forward replacements will be Emmet McKenna, Shay McGuigan and Mark Donnelly. In the main, those are raw but talented options with lots of pace for what will be a physically demanding game.

Tyrone's tactics are fairly plain to see.

We'll be fairly attacking, with 4 out-and-out attackers (Cavanagh, McCurry and the O'Neills), leaving Penrose and McGinley to cover a mountain of ground up and down the pitch. Both will probably be replaced in the last quarter.

Colm Cavanagh and Conan Grugan will be fairly defensive in the middle of the field, allowing the half back line to bomb forward.

Peter Harte will play on the left, but the positioning of Mattie Donnelly will be very interesting. Mattie has been wearing number 6 since March, but in the Down replay he had a storming game at RHB, while Aidan McCrory, a man-marker, played at CHB on Mark Poland. Playing on the wing gave Donnelly more freedom to attack, and also seemed to solidify the centre of our defence as he wasn't caught up the field.

McCrory wouldn't be good enough at CHB against all opponents, and is more suited to marking. However, Ronan McNabb could play there, allowing Donnelly and Harte to power up the wings.

When Kyle Coney gets the ball, he can look a bit awkward. He makes all sorts of twists and turns in a unique sort of way, but sometimes I wonder if his head and legs are working with one another or against one another. Stephen O'Neill if available I would have in there although I'm not overly familiar with Tyrone's preparations. But in these situations I like to favour the man with the magic even if he's getting on in years. Coney might be a good kicker but he wouldn't be near as unpredictable as O'Neill in possession.

Meath have named a team for Sunday. From a Meath supporter's point of view, it's a pity that there's so many injuries to deal with as things were shaping up nicely and there was a healthy competition for places. Losing Gillespie, Dalton, Wallace and O'Sullivan long term and Harrington and Menton short-term robs Meath of so many options especially when making substitutions. Still it's only Carlow and I expect Meath to win. But looking down the road, I wouldn't be optimistic.

Loyal2TheRoyal wrote:When Kyle Coney gets the ball, he can look a bit awkward. He makes all sorts of twists and turns in a unique sort of way, but sometimes I wonder if his head and legs are working with one another or against one another. Stephen O'Neill if available I would have in there although I'm not overly familiar with Tyrone's preparations. But in these situations I like to favour the man with the magic even if he's getting on in years. Coney might be a good kicker but he wouldn't be near as unpredictable as O'Neill in possession.

Coney is not the most co-ordinated of players, either with his feet or hands.  Tyrone people are quick to attribute his spilling of some balls to 'wing mirrors', but I actually think he just lacks co-ordination.  What he does have is size and an ability to kick a ball off either side (especially his left).  Played in the corner, he will be a handful for anyone, and I hope that he gets plenty more football before the summer is over.  

To a large degree, SON is an unknown quantity right now, for reasons I explained above.  If he has genuinely earned his place in training then fair enough - I hope it isn't a Del Bosque-esqe loyalty selection.  What he will definitely have is an ability to create space for others and pick out a pass.  Ronan O'Neill should enjoy playing with him, as both have great control and vision.

Loyal2TheRoyal wrote:
Meath have named a team for Sunday. From a Meath supporter's point of view, it's a pity that there's so many injuries to deal with as things were shaping up nicely and there was a healthy competition for places. Losing Gillespie, Dalton, Wallace and O'Sullivan long term and Harrington and Menton short-term robs Meath of so many options especially when making substitutions. Still it's only Carlow and I expect Meath to win. But looking down the road, I wouldn't be optimistic.

Yeah, 2 bad blows, especially Wallace, as his pace created so much panic for opponents last summer.

Meath will obviously beat Carlow, but the spectre of Klldare looms large as always.  Winning Leinster looks like an almost impossible task, and they'll need a big improvement on their league form to be still going in August.

I hope they do push on, as the sport is always more fun when the bigger names are going well.  Reilly and Keoghan form a good spine to the defence, while Newman and McMahon will cause trouble in attack.  Shane O'Rourke looked set to be a star in 2007, but injuries have hampered his progress.  He's had a good run at it this year, and it may be now or never for him.

I expected so much more from Tyrone the two games against Down didn't seem to bring them on at all. The final scoreline might say a one point win however Monaghan were 6-8 points the better side today but against a better side all those missed goals chances and black cards would cost them. It now looks like a repeat of last years Ulster final the result will probably depend on the shape Donegal are in. Where next for Tyrone? they reached the semi final last year through the back door however they won three games against Monaghan,Meath,Roscommon that they were lucky to win.

Big win for Meath scoring more goals than Carlow points. Carlow probably the worst team around at the moment so can't read much into that game.

Huge win today, whether it was by ten points or one, just getting over Tyrone once again is a huge relief, and removes the mental block we have had against them in recent years. Yes, we probably should have won by more given the chances we had, but Tyrone are never easy to put away so just getting the win was the main thing.

Early on you could see that Tyrone had a couple of games under their belt and we didn't, we started fairly poorly but grew into the game. Still though there were loads of poor shooting attempts and decision making throughout the game, from players who are normally reliable aswell. Alot to improve on there, and I think we will.  Gaa_lover, why do you think black cards will cost us? We got 2 in the final stages of a tight game, plenty of counties will do that this summer. Mind you I thought we only should have had one. From what I saw, Darren Hughes shouldn't have got a black card, and others I talked to after agreed, I'll watch it back later. Also thought McCurry's was very harsh on first viewing, it wasn't the ref's finest hour. McManus was well off the pace but made an important contribution with his free-taking. He'll improve with time as will Kieran Hughes, who faded after a knock late in the first half and dropping deep. Darren Hughes was also unusually quiet going forward, the pass for the goal aside. Lennon also to come back into midfield, I honestly thought he'd be fit to play and was wary of our chances without him. As I thought our defence was the key, they were superb, Drew Wylie and Kelly in particular.

I don't think we'll be too worried about how Donegal shape up, we'll play our own way and be confident in that. Armagh up next and anything else is all talk right now.

Monaghan deserving winners, albeit by a tighter margin than their overall performance deserved. They only scored 3 goals in the entire league campaign and while either being gifted or creating about 4 great chances today, only bagged 1.
They are fit, physical and motivated. Uncompromising is probably a good word to encapsulate their ethos. To progress beyond 2013 achievements, they will need to be more clinical in front of the posts. They got away today with the McManus experiment, granted he didn't look up to the pace, but his un-erring accuracy from frees kept them in it at times. He'll improve with time and may yet return to full fitness.
On the downside, they're prone to poor decision making at times and rely on commitment  and the aptitude to grapple for "dirty ball" to stem counter attacking moves.

Tyrone, well what's to say. Starting at the last line of defence - Morgan is totally extroverted. Sallying forth from goal on solo runs evokes memories of "Cake" Curran of Roscommon. He strikes the ball well off the sod but, in his position, I'd be looking for a goalkeeper rather than a showman.
The full-back line were shaky all day. A half-fit McManus bested McCrory time and again, McMahon had a few purple patches but against Hughes he had his hands full. Petey Harte's contribution can be written on a matchbox and yet Mattie Donnelly was excellent throughout.
Midfield were swamped (despite some heroics from Colm Cavanagh) and thus to the front 6.

A 4/10 rating about fits the bill here, McCurry being the exception. Allowing there was continous pressurising, they failed to click as a unit, lost focus at times and by half-time you could, with justification, have replaced both O'Neills, Penrose and McGinley. Sean Cavanagh isn't the athlete/footballer he once was. Outstanding in his pomp and even last year, he has regressed and gained a type of cuteness that is anathema to followers of the game (the fall/dive/arm-lock) that gets an opponent into a refeere's notebook. After a stormer last Sunday, Eddie Kinsella had an odd type of day. Some black cards were justified, other calls not so clear. A 7.5/10 from me - down from 9/10 last Sunday.

MOTM for me - Drew Wylie (Monaghan).

Boxty you're probably right in that we need to be taking more goal chances if we're to progress to the next level. Our only saving grace in this regard is that we very rarely concede goals. I don't think Tyrone ever got close to one.

But yeah, Malachy may get them doing some goal-scoring drills after that display today. I heard Ciaran Hanratty on Newstalk during the week, saying we have alot of players who like to take their points from far out, and in the league this year we ran up some big points tallys, so didn't need to go for goals. But then when we do need a goal we've very little practice at it. We haven't had a real natural goal-scorer since Tommy Freeman quit, but we did create some chances today so it's just a matter of converting those. McManus can scores points from distance at any angle off either foot but usually receives the ball on the wing then works a shot, rather than receiving it close in and going for goal. It's strange because he scores some cracking goals for Clontibret. McGuinness is a decent goalscorer, he's racked up loads already in the club league this year and has some for Monaghan, but he had a real off-day today. I'm surprised McCarron didn't get much time today, he was impressive in the league and he also has an eye for goal. Kieran Hughes is probably our main goal threat, in that when we do kick it in direct it's usually to him around the square. I was a bit surprised to see him taking the penalty, as I've never seen him take one before and I've seen the brother and McManus score them. A few inches to the left and it would've looked great, but there you go.