You have to hand it to Mayo. Year after year they dust themselves down, renew their commitment and go in search of that elusive All-Ireland win.
Teams with lesser ability have won Sam . Despite the two early hammer blows in 2012 they came back at Donegal and outplayed them for much of the game. They lost by a point in 2013 and had their management retained their composure in the last few minutes they could have won it. A combination of poor refereeing and misfortune cost them in last year's semi-final matches, which should not have been played in Limerick.
Without wishing to sound patronizing I have to say I really admire them and what is more I feel this is going to be their year. They play a nice brand of football and while they are no angels they generally don't resort to the cynicism we see from other counties.
Aidan O'Shea is an awesome option at full forward and I believe Mayo will beat Dublin later in the month. If they do I'd love to see them beat Kerry or Tyrone.

avonali (Dublin) - Posts: 1974 - 09/08/2015 09:43:03    1766282

I'll have a puff of what your smoking Avonali! What are you on about?
What are they supposed to do? Give up and not enter a team in the championship because they've had some bad luck? Rubbish.
We are playing them in the semi final and I don't care how much bad luck they've had I want the Dubs to rip them apart and I hope we do.
If they manage to beat us fair enough I wish them well against kerry or Tyrone.

Condorman (Dublin) - Posts: 983 - 09/08/2015 09:51:56    1766290

If All Irelands where won on moral victories, Mayo would be streets ahead of everyone else.

At the end of the day, all the fair plays should be given out when they finally get over the line.

I personally think Dublin will beat them.

Mayo are favourites and people will talk them up after beating Donegal

But i think Dublin will burst their bubble.

waynoI (Dublin) - Posts: 13650 - 09/08/2015 09:54:45    1766294

Condorman
County: Dublin
Posts: 333

1766290
I'll have a puff of what your smoking Avonali! What are you on about?
What are they supposed to do? Give up and not enter a team in the championship because they've had some bad luck? Rubbish.
We are playing them in the semi final and I don't care how much bad luck they've had I want the Dubs to rip them apart and I hope we do.
If they manage to beat us fair enough I wish them well against kerry or Tyrone.

__________________
Yes but very few teams have retained their commitment I just want to salute them for coming so close year after year. Other teams would have just faded away.

avonali (Dublin) - Posts: 1974 - 09/08/2015 09:58:39    1766299

Really hope Mayo get over the line this year, I do expect the dubs to raise their game substantially but then the question does pose itself of how does one go from hammering minnows in the Leinster championship to performing at the standard that Mayo have had to raise following their trouncing of the Donegal lads, don't get me wrong, Dublin are an outstanding team , but that little burning issue of them not being tested leaves me inclined to think Mayo will have the edge over them! A great semi final is in prospect here!

SpionKop (Galway) - Posts: 40 - 09/08/2015 10:05:59    1766305

SpionKop give me a break.

You dont actually believe the garbage recycled from called experts use about teams being "under-cooked" do ya ?

Mayo destroyed all in sight in connacht, they hadnt been challenged and came up against Donegal who had 4 challenges in Ulster. Who ran amuck ? Yes..... the team who got it handy through Connacht.

Look at the boys in this Dublin team, Cluxton, O'Carroll, McMahon, O'Sullivan, The Brogans, Connolly, Flynn etc etc etc .. I may aswell name them all, They have experience of tough games in the heat of championship, They know how to win them just as much as they know how to lose them.

We beat Donegal in a close game in 2011, Won two all irelands in the last 4 years by a point (beating Mayo aswell in one of them), Despite winning leinster at a counter.

So if Mayo win this game, It wont be because Dublin havent had a challenge.

To suggest otherwise would take away from Mayo's victory should that happen.

waynoI (Dublin) - Posts: 13650 - 09/08/2015 10:17:01    1766311

Mayo hammering all the minnows in Connaught didn't to them much harm against Donegal did it? That was after Donegal having a tough route to the Ulster Final.

The road tested cliche is a cliche with no substance to it. Its a poor analysts attempt to explain a loss.

seany16 (Dublin) - Posts: 1658 - 09/08/2015 10:18:07    1766312

This Mayo team are very talented. They have what it takes to win the All-Ireland. While it's very true to say they deserve to win after years of hurt, it is a bit belittling in the context of their talented group with the natural ability.

legendzxix (Kerry) - Posts: 7844 - 09/08/2015 10:29:36    1766321

If I was a Mayoman I would find your OP patronising Avonali.
Waynol its not true to say they hammered everyone in Connacht.Galway rattled them first day out by pressing up on them and Galway aren't half the team we are.I think we will take them by 3 or 4 points.

Condorman (Dublin) - Posts: 983 - 09/08/2015 10:36:48    1766335

Regardless of Donegals run in through Ulster, I still would regard playing Donegal as better preparation in a quarter final for Mayo than the dubs playing Fermanagh , don't get me wrong yes dublin are as I said a quality team , but I do think this weekend will stand to Mayo a lot better than the 15 v 15 games the dubs will be playing in training, because that is likely to be the only competitve games they'll have played prior to the semi! Listen Dublin could absolutely come out and blow Mayo out of the water ,they have the players to do so, but in my opinion Mayo will be in a better position to play Dublin than Dublin will be to play Mayo

SpionKop (Galway) - Posts: 40 - 09/08/2015 10:37:43    1766336

I still think once the provincials are completed that teams should have equal prep time to prepare. Mayo were a lot fresher. Why bother having qualifiers at all?

crikey (Australia) - Posts: 355 - 09/08/2015 10:40:30    1766340

legendzxix
County: Kerry
Posts: 4500

1766321
This Mayo team are very talented. They have what it takes to win the All-Ireland. While it's very true to say they deserve to win after years of hurt, it is a bit belittling in the context of their talented group with the natural ability.
_______________________
Ehhh nobody apart from yourself has mentioned anything about Mayo 'deserving' to win. It's one thing to express admiration..another to suggest they 'deserve to win'.

avonali (Dublin) - Posts: 1974 - 09/08/2015 10:48:33    1766349

Condorman
County: Dublin
Posts: 335

1766335
If I was a Mayoman I would find your OP patronising Avonali.
Waynol its not true to say they hammered everyone in Connacht.Galway rattled them first day out by pressing up on them and Galway aren't half the team we are.I think we will take them by 3 or 4 points.

When assessing the Galway match, I think it must be borne in mind that Mayo hadn't had a competitive game in ten weeks prior, whereas it was Galway's third championship match. It was inevitable that there would be a bit of ring-rustiness in the Mayo side that day, and so it proved. Nonetheless, in the third quarter, Mayo upped their game and Galway had no answer, and never looked like reeling in the lead for the rest of the match.

As for the other stuff, I don't think Mayo people want sympathy from anyone; better to be unpopular and win. Our present side definitely have a harder spine than previous Mayo teams and take no prisoners, which is how the game should be played, IMO.

Dublin will start as favourites the next day and deservedly so, but this game will be no Leinster Championship cakewalk.

Gleebo (Mayo) - Posts: 2208 - 09/08/2015 13:07:25    1766502

waynoI
County: Dublin
Posts: 10661

1766294
If All Irelands where won on moral victories, Mayo would be streets ahead of everyone else.

At the end of the day, all the fair plays should be given out when they finally get over the line.

I personally think Dublin will beat them.

Mayo are favourites and people will talk them up after beating Donegal

But i think Dublin will burst their bubble.


Mayo are favourites? Really? Dublin best priced 4/7 with the bookies. I give Mayo a good shout but they are not favourites on paper.

TheFlaker (Mayo) - Posts: 7893 - 09/08/2015 13:13:50    1766505

ah yes Gleebo, Galway had testing games against the might of New York and Leintrim before they played Mayo.Then they had to play Mayo without their best player Shane Walsh.
How was the Galway goalie having a total brain fart and scoring an own goal "Mayo upping it".
Give me a break.

Condorman (Dublin) - Posts: 983 - 09/08/2015 13:22:51    1766514

Condorman
County: Dublin
Posts: 336

1766514
ah yes Gleebo, Galway had testing games against the might of New York and Leintrim before they played Mayo.Then they had to play Mayo without their best player Shane Walsh.
How was the Galway goalie having a total brain fart and scoring an own goal "Mayo upping it".
Give me a break.

Galway nonetheless had two games to prepare for Mayo, which is two games more than we had. Ten weeks is a long time to go without any sort of competitive run-out, and inevitably, you're not going to be as sharp. They missed Shane Walsh, but his absence occured in tragic circumstances for which you could hardly have foreseen. In any case, Mayo defeated Galway fairly handily with him in their side last year, so I think you're probably over-egging the contribution he would have made.

I say that Mayo upped it because they did. They increased their lead to a handy six or seven point margin and Galway never got within a score of them thereafter. The goal was a touch fortunate, but O'Shea created the chance by bulldozing through the Galway defence in the first place. Much like he made his own luck for his goal yesterday, come to think of it.

In any case, it's a fool's errand to draw conclusions on the All-Ireland series based on the provincials these days. The gulf between the top five or six sides and the rest is such that we can really only judge on knockout games. Put it this way: you say that Mayo's four point win against Galway makes it certain that Dublin will win their semi-final. I would counter by referencing Donegal's ten point win against the same opposition in the qualifiers, and their result yesterday against Mayo. One-off games are not always a reliable indicator for the business end of the season.

As I said before, Dublin deserve to be favourites on the evidence of the past few seasons, but this next game will be a massive jump up in terms of intensity. The sort of intensity that the likes of Longford and Westmeath haven't really provided you with so far. I can't see Mayo failing to push up on the Dubs' kickouts and contesting anything that goes long. Whoever secures that primary possession will go a long way towards deciding the outcome of the match.

Gleebo (Mayo) - Posts: 2208 - 09/08/2015 15:09:07    1766584

waynoI
County: Dublin
Posts: 10663

1766294
If All Irelands where won on moral victories, Mayo would be streets ahead of everyone else.

At the end of the day, all the fair plays should be given out when they finally get over the line.

I personally think Dublin will beat them.

Mayo are favourites and people will talk them up after beating Donegal

But i think Dublin will burst their bubble.

Did you get your hair tousled by Darren Hughes waynoI?! The Dubs are 6/4 joint favourites for Sam. Nobody would dare suggest Mayo are favourites to beat them. Having said that I'd give Mayo every chance. Dublin are a different animal than Donegal though.

roundball (Tipperary) - Posts: 2514 - 09/08/2015 15:44:08    1766602

Posters are free to give "Fair Play" to Mayo if they wish. I think Mayo should be applauded for being a top 3 team, great credit should be given to them considering their narrow defeats over the last four years. They have served up terrific football over those years and credit needs to be given to a team that have provided such entertainment.

fainleog (Limerick) - Posts: 598 - 09/08/2015 19:07:36    1766723

Condorman
County: Dublin
Posts: 336

1766335
If I was a Mayoman I would find your OP patronising Avonali.
Waynol its not true to say they hammered everyone in Connacht.Galway rattled them first day out by pressing up on them and Galway aren't half the team we are.I think we will tak
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Well let Mayo people speak for themselves then. There was nothing patronising in what I said. It seems some people are just waiting to take offense on behalf of others.

avonali (Dublin) - Posts: 1974 - 09/08/2015 20:24:39    1766773

Fair play to Mayo they have came in under the radar a bit this year and taken care of business pretty easily. O'Shea has been outstanding on the edge of the square and Doherty has also been very good. I wonder has Cillian O'Conner fully over his injury from start of the year as he has been fairly poor all year it may be a worry against the dubs imo. I cant understand Donegals tactics at all this year Playing both McFaddan and Murphy way to far from goal and leaving nothing inside was baffling. McBreathy has a long long way to to get to even get into top 50 players in country never mind top 10 as peter canavan claimed earlier this year

Pingcity (Longford) - Posts: 568 - 10/08/2015 09:49:26    1766929