Actually I believe only 5 of the all Ireland minor team started for the u-21 team today. So it's a new team. Sadly we lost Darragh Doherty and Tommy Conroy has had a hard time of it. Probably the two linchpins of the minor team up from three years ago.

Diarmuid O Connor covers acres in a game. He seems to have a 6th gear if a player in on him when running at goal. Will be vital to our senior team this year if we are to make an impact.

yew_tree (Mayo) - Posts: 11236 - 01/05/2016 10:34:16    1851074

That was a fantastic game to watch a very open game played at a great temo and both teams deserve a lot of credit.
What times to score goals just before half time and then in last few minutes not really giving yourself any time to get back into game.
Congrats to all sets of players but especially mayo hopefully you can push on with the seniors and grab the big one.

Yourjoking (USA) - Posts: 706 - 01/05/2016 11:39:15    1851083

Keeper that's not that point we all love an age group competition and for some reason the powers that be are changing it when all of us don't won't change at 21 level or minor. Some meeting with 50 lads who vote for change talk for the whole of the gaa family ? I don't think so I'm convinced if all members had a vote these grades would be going nowhere.

clondalkindub (Dublin) - Posts: 9926 - 01/05/2016 12:18:25    1851089

Come on Mayo!!

Great to see an All-Ireland coming to the county and delighted that this bunch of players got their just rewards. After they won the minor in 2013 their was an expectation within the county that they should go far in this year's U21 championship and to deliver on that expectation is something very special.

Commiserations to Cork. There are some fine footballers on that team who will no doubt make an impact at senior level in the next few years.

As for the game itself, I felt there wasn't much between the two teams. Fair enough Mayo did have luck on their side but I thought that their ability to keep calm and composed (despite kicking some poor wides) when the game was in the melting pot was the difference in the end. No doubt the close games with Dublin and Roscommon stood to them.

Also on a side note does anyone know if the game again will be up on the TG4 player to watch again?

Trooper_Thorn (Mayo) - Posts: 19 - 01/05/2016 12:43:26    1851094

Clondalkindub,

The fact that it's changing to U20 & U20 players won't be permitted to play senior county means that the competition can be played later in the year.

keeper7 (Longford) - Posts: 4088 - 01/05/2016 14:13:08    1851106

Keeper I don't care we the gaa people don't want change we love it as it is.

clondalkindub (Dublin) - Posts: 9926 - 01/05/2016 15:34:42    1851129

"We the GAA people...who love to complain" more like!

keeper7 (Longford) - Posts: 4088 - 01/05/2016 16:16:46    1851136

None of us where complaining about under 21 grade, if people were I never heard them.

clondalkindub (Dublin) - Posts: 9926 - 01/05/2016 18:25:54    1851169

They were complaining about burnout for our young players & the timing of the competition.

keeper7 (Longford) - Posts: 4088 - 01/05/2016 19:09:54    1851178

Burnout ? How can a young lad be burnt out after playing 5 matches maximum in the space of 3 months ?impossible. Anyway this is my last comment ; the 21 grade is great imo please powers that be leave it alone.

clondalkindub (Dublin) - Posts: 9926 - 01/05/2016 19:24:19    1851183

It's because if you play U21 you can be on a huge number of other panels - senior club & county, colleges etc.

keeper7 (Longford) - Posts: 4088 - 01/05/2016 19:57:05    1851190

Why oh why are we getting rid of this age group? Every year it throws up great games with young lads who just go hell for leather, but we decide to get rid of it when everyone who loves football loves under 21 football.
clondalkindub (Dublin) - Posts:7367 - 30/04/2016 20:53:22 Because of the player burnout and how the top players on under 21s are being pulled by about 6/7 different teams(and more when you include colleges/universities teams) between under 21 club and county, senior club and both hurling and gaelic in many clubs etc
Honestly can us the gaa people/members not bleeding protest against this or something? I absolutely love minor n 21 grade and for some silly reason their getting rid of it just like that .Well done again Mayo never stopped going till the end number 7 8 and 11 were very good but Coen at 9 and O Conor are the superstars of this team imo.
clondalkindub (Dublin) - Posts:7367 - 30/04/2016 21:19:57 Minor and under 21 are not being got rid of. Its changing to help all players. There is serious issues with burnout of the top players and changes are needed

What's your solution, Ban?
If county minor is now set to become U17 (consensus is that this is a good thing) then it makes total sense to change U21 to U20. Do people really believe that's going to make such a difference???
keeper7 (Longford) - Posts:2860 - 30/04/2016 21:25:36Changing to under 20 and anyone in a senior inter county squad cant also play county under 20. That will make a difference. Changing minor to under 17 also means less will be affected by leaving cert

Keeper that's not that point we all love an age group competition and for some reason the powers that be are changing it when all of us don't won't change at 21 level or minor. Some meeting with 50 lads who vote for change talk for the whole of the gaa family ? I don't think so I'm convinced if all members had a vote these grades would be going nowhere.
clondalkindub (Dublin) - Posts:7367 - 01/05/2016 12:18:2Just because everyone likes it doesn't mean change cant occur.

Clondalkindub,
The fact that it's changing to U20 & U20 players won't be permitted to play senior county means that the competition can be played later in the year.
keeper7 (Longford) - Posts:2860 - 01/05/2016 14:13:08 And players will be at less risk of injury and burnout as they wont have to train with an additional county team
Burnout? How can a young lad be burnt out after playing 5 matches maximum in the space of 3 months ?impossible. Anyway this is my last comment ; the 21 grade is great imo please powers that be leave it alone.
clondalkindub (Dublin) - Posts:7367 - 01/05/2016 19:24:19 Burnout is never(rarely) from the amount of extra games its due to over training and for those 5 extra games there is many multiples of that in training sessions which are the big issues and causes for concern,
Under 21 has been great but that doesn't mean change shouldn't happen for the greater good and that the under 20 championship also wont be great

ormondbannerman (Clare) - Posts: 13473 - 02/05/2016 12:21:57    1851281

Congrats to Mayo, very few would begrudge this success, some players there that will make the step up be intersting to see if any bar the ones already there will make the senior panel. Hopefully that goes someway to easing the "bottling it" tag Mayo football has. I think the sheer physicality of that team won the day against some very good outfits.

Some wonderful players on show in this years championship, O' Callaghan (Dublin), O' Connor (Mayo) and Flynn (Kildare).

Its going to be some Dublin forward line/panel, if O Callaghan fulfills his potential and makes the step up, he was already on the bench for the league final so we may see him this summer.

TheUsername (Dublin) - Posts: 4445 - 02/05/2016 13:07:47    1851305

Consensus what a great word. Usually meaning the people that shout the loudest. Typical GAA fix whats not broken Again Well Done Mayo U21

cluichethar (Mayo) - Posts: 454 - 02/05/2016 15:00:03    1851344

Congratulations to Mayo and you really deserve it Well done.
I hope pressure is put on the GAA not to drop the U 21 title Just go back on the history of it and have a look at some of the counties who won it.
I would say Donegal winning it in 1982 ( was our first All Ireland at any grade) and again in 1987 led to us winning Sam in 1992.
Same could be said of Tyrone , won a few at u21 before winning Sam
A few counties who found it difficult in trying to win Sam still won an u 21
So please keep it.
From my earlier experience of working life I can't figure out all this talk of 'burn -out' especially in young men.
I came to England at 17 ( some came younger) was engaged mostly in excavations and mini tunnels and work like that.
From you started until you finished you were flat out all day. So just think of it --- all day long in a tunnell shovelling tons of earth And that was day in day out Some men at night might drink anything up to 12 /14 pints of beer , back out the next day and do the same work over again
Not a lot of men worked like that for maybe 10 to 20 years yet I never heard anything about ' burn- out'
Any one who never experienced work like that would not have a clue what I'm on about.
Even Irish women who came here in the 1950's and1960's also worked very hard.
Look how players are treated today , everything laid on , special diets and best of medical care
I think the human race is getting weaker, today it would be impossible to find people to do the work that men had to do 40/50/60 years ago. To finish I would advise people to buy the book' The men who build Britain ' read it over and see what you think yourselves. But I can't stand this 'burn-out' - all rubbish talk

SamOnErrigal (Donegal) - Posts: 1427 - 02/05/2016 20:23:16    1851443

A very good game of football and the best team won so congratulations to Mayo.

I feel very sorry for the Cork goalkeeper, should have saved Mayo's 3rd, gifted them the 4th from a poor kickout and came for a corner back's ball when he should have stayed on his line which allowed the May forward (very quick thinking and great skill mind you) to flick it past him for the 5th. I hope he isn't too distraught this evening because I'm sure most of us have screwed up at times when the pressure was really on.

Anyway, this augurs well for Mayo for the summer and I hope they bring it on. If its not the boys in blue I hope Mayo finally land the big one, they have earned it by being one of the top 3 teams in Ireland for a long time.

By the way, I thought the ref did ok but he did have a couple of howlers. Mayo's second goal resulted from what should have been a free to Cork for a boot to the hand (and a hand trip straight afterward I thought) and at one stage he looked like he wasn't sure whether or not to award a free to Mayo for barging by Cork or to Cork for a body check. You could just see the indecision, players hate that.

Beacaire Gorm (Dublin) - Posts:555 - 30/04/2016 21:26:53

I don't agree that the Cork keeper should have stopped the third, Loftus snapped the shot very quickly and was well placed. He could have stopped it, but it would have got the better of many keepers.

On the 4th goal, the kickout interception.
The Cork keeper was under pressure for the entire game on kickouts and I think was a little let down by his sideline. The pressure to find a man every time rather than just punt it long every 2nd or 3rd kick was a mistake. Cork had Kelleher at 14 who executed a spectacular display of fielding for high ball that was dropped into the area. Cork would have done well to bring him out the middle a bit and contest an occasional kick out, thus alleviating a bit of pressure off the keeper and keep Mayo wondering whether to push up so strong for every kick out or not.

When a keeper is under such pressure for kickouts and there is no change in strategy at HT by management, then management are defacto saying they're accepting the risk of that intercepted kick.

BlastCalyle (Mayo) - Posts: 206 - 03/05/2016 09:59:28    1851493

Just goes to show how good Cluxton is everyone trying to copy him but no one can. How come no one is giving out about the 4 Roscommon players playing for Mayo ? A sub goalkeeper and a Dublin born player playing for the dubs 21 is massive on here but 4 Roscommon players playing for Mayo and no one cares.

clondalkindub (Dublin) - Posts: 9926 - 03/05/2016 14:34:07    1851627

clondalkindub - Some might argue they are mayo men in exile in Roscommon. You know well full the story behind Ballagh and are just trying to stir up a row here yet again.

yew_tree (Mayo) - Posts: 11236 - 03/05/2016 14:48:20    1851638

Just goes to show how good Cluxton is everyone trying to copy him but no one can. How come no one is giving out about the 4 Roscommon players playing for Mayo ? A sub goalkeeper and a Dublin born player playing for the dubs 21 is massive on here but 4 Roscommon players playing for Mayo and no one cares.

clondalkindub (Dublin) - Posts:7370 - 03/05/2016 14:34:07 18516


I always have a pop at posters who have a go at Dublin needlessly so I will have to also tell you your post is rubbish, nothing more. Surely people know the ins and outs of this subject and why Ballagh GAA is part of Mayo, if they don't then go and look it up.

TheFlaker (Mayo) - Posts: 7907 - 03/05/2016 14:57:00    1851641

Weren't we all British a hundred years ago?

clondalkindub (Dublin) - Posts: 9926 - 03/05/2016 15:46:51    1851673