GAA in Co Mayo, West of Ireland



Connaught Telegraph March 20 1996


FBD Connaught League

Casey penalty saves Mayo's title and blushes



Mayo 1-9---------------------Galway 0-9

By John Melvin

Having lost their footing in Tuam two weeks ago, Mayo are starting the ascent again. And while it is abundantly clear they are not yet equipped to tackle the Himalayas, conquering Galway is always gives you a leg-up if you intend to go mountaineering when the weather improves.

Mind you, Mayo could easily have been buried in their own landslide of wides at McHale Park on Sunday, but, on this occasion, Galway were just not up to it. When you don't have the ball there is little you can do. Mayo on the other hand owned the ball but couldn't get it between the two sticks. In the end one score decided it. But it should never have come down to John Casey's penalty ten minutes from time to ensure that Mayo retained their F.B.D. Connaught League Title.

It wasn't pretty football to watch under a grey heavy sky in McHale Park, which eventually gave way to rain, but we did, at least, see a Mayo team rise to the occasion and respond to the challenge Galway were putting up to them in the first half, at least. And that challenge was very real in the opening ten minutes as Galway raced into a four point lead- 0-5 to 0-1.

Jarlath Fallon, who was to be subdued by Anthony McGarry for most of the day, started with a very good point from play and Diarmuid Byrne got Mayo off the mark with a pointed free from the hands in the 4th minute. But Fallon (free), Shay Walsh (free), Fallon from play and Walsh again, hit four points on the trot for Galway.

It took a good point from Liam McHale, on his left foot in the 16th minute to steady the Mayo ship, and they came close to planting the first goal when Pat Holmes made a great burst to take a return pass from James Horan only to shoot horribly wide.

John Casey, posted at full forward and looking more industrious and dangerous than he has done for quite some time, was involved in several moves and it was his pass which set up Ronan Golding for a very good score to narrow the gap to two.

Shay Walsh knocked over another good long range free to extend Galway's lead, but it was back to one point in the 25th minute, Casey from play, taking a good pass from Diarmuid Byrne, and Byrne himself snapping up the ball after Dempsey's saw his shot crash off the crossbar and Golding also denied in the follow-up.

It remained at a single point at the break 0-7 to-6- Shay Walsh from play and Dempsey finishing off a good move which came from another excellent long ball from McHale.

John Casey levelled the game two minutes into the second half from a free, but a similar score from Shay Walsh had Galway back in front in the 36th minute. That was to be Galway's last score of the half until Jarlath Fallon hit their only other score five minutes from the end.

Mayo took complete control with McHale and Brady in total command of the midfield and the Mayo backs mopped up anything that came their way, and, in truth, it wasn't a lot.

However, Mayo were finding the target with great difficulty. The misses were piling up, the mistakes were too numerous to mention. Dempsey put McHale through and he partly connected only to see the ball dribble just outside the post.

It was Dempsey who eventually found the target to tie the match but it wasn't until the 52nd minute, and another half dozen or so wides later, that Mayo finally got the breakthrough when Casey, collecting a long ball from McHale, was pulled down as he bore down on goals. The Charlestown player had been beaten by Cathal McGinley from a similar spot-kick against Galway the previous Saturday. Casey went again for McGinley's right, and although the Galway keeper got a hand to it, he couldn't hold it and it rolled into the net.

A fine run by Brady released Dempsey for another good point immediately after and Mayo were in the clear by four points. Galway did attempt a last ditch salvage operation but the Mayo backs, and in particular Kenneth Mortimer, Pat Holmes, Kevin Byrne and McGarry took everything in their stride and Galway managed just another score, only their second in that half, from Jarlath Fallon free five minutes from time. But, in truth, this game should have been well over by the three quarter mark.

If one can find positive sides in negative aspects to their play it could be said that in terms of wides, Mayo had sixteen to Galway's three, and that they created sixteen scoring chances. However, many of those wides were of the criminal variety and Mayo will have to punish opposition when such easy chances are presented. However, their team play has improved greatly on some of their league outings, and while mistakes abound, and many wrong options were taken, this win will build up their confidence going into Sunday's tough clash with Meath.

Maughan will be happy with the backs in general and particularly the fact that Kevin Cahill fared much better on this occasion holding Val Daly scoreless for the hour. Considering both Dermot Flanagan and Noel Conneely were missing, it was a strong display all round at the back. McHale and Brady were the midfield masters and there were improved performances up front where Ray Dempsey, John Casey, Diarmuid Byrne, Ronan Golding and James Horan worked hard even if the return did not always match their labour.

Galway left McHale Park once again a little bewildered at their own performance and particularly their complete fadeout given the potency of their performance the previous Saturday. Nothing went well for them up front where their key men were well marked out of it and only Shay Walsh made an impression. Fergal Gavin and Austin Leonard faded after some early promise and only Gary Fahy, Sean De Paor, Declan Meehan and David Glynn made any impression in a defence which, despite tremendous pressure at times, never caved-in.

Mayo: J. Madden, K. Mortimer, K. Cahill, K. Beirne, P. Holmes, J. Nallen, A. McGarry, L. McHale (0-1); D. Brady, R. Golding (0-1); R. Dempsey (0-3); J. Horan, D. Byrne (0-2); J. Casey (1-2 pen); A. Finnerty. Subs: D. Nestor for Golding.

Galway, C. McGinley, I. O'Donoghue, G. Fahy, D. Glynn, D. Meehan, D. Mitchell, S. De Paor, F. Gavin, A. Leonard, J. Fallon (0-4); S. Walsh (0-4); A. Mullholland, F. O'Neill, V. Daly, T. Wilson (0-1). Subs:T. Joyce for Mulholland, N. Finnegan for O'Neill; M. Kelly for Meehan.

Ref: B. McCormack (Roscommon).




Church and General National Football League quarter-final

17 forwards tried as Mayo seek finishing touch against Meath

BIGGEST TEST YET FOR MAUGHANS MEN

Big Match Preview
By John Melvin

We have been waiting and wondering. Waiting for the good times to start rolling again. Wondering are we ready yet to take on the big guns. The answers to those two questions may be found at Hyde Park on Sunday (3.00) where John Maughan faces his biggest test since he took over the Mayo managerial reins last October-a National League quarter final meeting with Meath. A few years ago it would have been Mighty Meath. They are no longer as mighty as they once were but they re still one of the hardest teams in the country to beat.

Meath may not be the power they once were when they did all Ireland's back-to back in 87-88. Mick Lyons, Liam Hayes, Robbie O'Malley, Gerry McEntee, Brian Stafford, David Beggy, Liam Harnan, P.J. Gillic and Colm O'Rourke were the backbone of that very good side.

They also won Leinster titles in 90-91 and it was after that the decline began, that is if you consider not winning All Ireland titles a decline. But Mayo-Meath meetings, with the notable exception of that All Ireland win in 1951, evoke few happy memories, particularly when Mayo were destroyed by them in that League play-off in 1990 in Croke Park, while they were also hammered by them in an earlier round of the division two league at Navan the same season.

Meath have had to fight their way to the All Ireland stage through arguably the toughest province, and they are still a good few steps above what Mayo have been playing while trading in division three of the football League. We are talking about a difference in class and there is a nagging doubt in the back of the mind of this writer, at least, that Mayo are ready yet to tackle a team that has finished second in division one.

But rebuilding a team is a learning experience and John Maughan does have a side that is young and willing to learn while the presence of a few of the experienced heads just might be able to steady the ship should it tend to list heavily in a Meath storm.

I don't really have any fears for Mayo at the back and I'm confident we can win the midfield battle, as indeed we have been doing nearly all season, but it is what happens after midfield that leaves me with many sleepless nights.

I don't count sheep anymore, Instead I can doze off thinking of all the wides Mayo have been piling up. Sixteen more last Sunday.

It is, without doubt, Mayo's biggest test and some of their performances in division three raises genuine doubts as to their capacity to handle such a demanding assignment. Those doubts pertain particularly to the forward division which has not been amassing the kind of scores that would worry even the most modest of opposition, and putting that right in them for Sunday week will not be that easy. However, John Maughan and his selectors will, no doubt start working on it and it cannot be said that they have failed to try out new players or new ideas in attack.

Consider the following names that have been tried and tested in various positions between the National and Connaught League as well as various challenge matches.

Ray Dempsey, Liam McHale, Ronan Golding, Tom Reilly, Anthony Finnerty, Michael Gardiner, Maurice Sheridan, Kevin Staunton, Kieran McDonald, Kevin O'Neill, Pat Fallon, P.J. Loftus, David Nestor, James Horan, Stephen Murphy, John Casey and Diarmuid Byrne.

I make that seventeen in all, and we still cannot decide on a set that is capable of getting double figures on the scoreboard on a regular basis. Scores under ten points have been winning matches in division three, but I doubt very much if such meagre returns will be sufficient to overturn some of the bigger guns in division one, Meath being one of them.

The return from Mayo forwards in the league has been small as you can judge from the following statistics.

With the exception of the Roscommon game, Mayo have not scored more than 0-10, and it must be remembered that behind that scoreline against Roscommon, David Nester scored 2-2, Maurice Sheridan 0-9 (eight frees) and the other goal came from half back Noel Conneely.

So, it does not take a genius to work out where Mayo are having their difficulties. The question is, are there any solutions?

Lack of scoring power in the county is not a new phenomenon. Successive managers and coaches, including Kevin McStay in last years championship, articulated the view regularly that Mayo did not have the scoring strength to carry them through when they emerged from Connaught and the facts are there to support that argument. Certainly the scoring spread has not been there and on many occasions, midfiedlers, Liam McHale and Colm McMenamon, have, on occasions, outscored most of the forwards.

Only Maurice Sheridan, Ciaran McDonald, David Nester, James Horan and to a lesser extent Ray Dempsey have delivered up front. With McDonald gone to the States, Mayo have been robbed of their best attacker.

One of the problems with Mayo's play has been their insistence on working the ball in close, and either their unwillingness, or inability, to take long range points. I'm not talking about fifty yards. I'm talking between thirty and forty, which isn't really that far out but we have seen very few of those kind of scores right through the league.

In that same league some of Mayo's teamwork has been very poor. Those who have been at the games and I have seen them all, will recall a terrible performance in Belfast and Wexford in particular. The other side of the coin is, of course, the fact that they have been playing poorly and still winning.

Another positive aspect to their play, and this was very evidence against Monaghan, Wexford, Galway and Fermanagh, was their ability to meet the challenge when it was put up to them and string enough good moves together to pick off the winning scores, even at the death. That does suggest that there is confidence and spirit in the side, and when it comes to confidence, Meath were probably the original authors on the book.

Mayo will need to go into Roscommon with their heads up and determined to take their league fight a step further. With the exception of the F.B.D. match against Galway, they have not been beaten and they will be putting out a side on Sunday, hopefully, that will resemble that which will be doing duty when the championship dye is cast.

Kenneth Mortimer, James Nallen, Dermot Flanagan, Kevin Cahill, Kevin Connelly and Pat Holmes have performed well in the league and there is good back-up in Kevin Beirne and Anthony McGarry.

Liam McHale is likely to relish the thought of a crack at Meath and he just might slip another goal by them as he did against Mick lyons in 88, only this one might be allowed. McHale, Flanagan, Tom Reilly, Anthony Finnerty And Pat Holmes (a sub) were members of that team which lost by 0-16 to 2-5. McHale and David Brady have formed a good partnership in the absence of Colm McMenamon, who is still getting back to full fitness.

McMenamon's strength and running ability has been missed in the latter part of the league but Brady's emergence as a player of real quality has been a great boost to the side and I have no doubt he will come up to the mark on Sunday following a superb display against Galway last Sunday. But you can produce backs that can weave the ball like a thread up the field and midfielders who will link with their forwards, but if you don't have forwards that can use their strength to take on the man, win the ball and finish, then all that good work goes down the tubes and the pressure comes right back at you.

So far, Mayo have handled that pressure they have got away with mistakes but teams like Meath will pounce on any errors as they did against tams like Laois, Clare and Kerry who they have beaten but they have gone down to Kildare and Derry and drew with Donegal.

Forwards like Trevor Giles, Tommy Dowd, Ollie Murphy, Jody Devine and the experienced Colm Coyle are names Mayo should be familiar with, or at least they will be after Sunday, as all have proven their pedigree in front of the posts.

Martin O'Connell is still the anchor man of the defence while Graham Geraghty is another player who has been doing his best to get Meath back on top of the pile and manager Sean Boylan, has always insisted that they play their football hard and tough. You have to when you set out to win a Leinster title.

Boylan was impressed with what he saw of Mayo in the Mayo Abbey tournament and expects Meath to be pushed hard. He is also team building but building from division one gives him an obvious advantage in a tougher division.

It is a daunting task for Mayo who are building from the lowest possible base of division three. I can see them giving Meath a good run for their money, but if the necessary finishing is not coming, and there is nothing to suggest that it is, then Mayo will not be able to punish Meath where it hurts most-on the scoreboard.




All Ireland Colleges Semi-Final



St Gerald's to give it a lash against Munster champs

Big Match Preview
By John Melvin

Another chapter in what has been an amazing story for St Gerald's College Castlebar, will unfold in Limerick on Sunday when the Connaught champions, St Gerald's College, Castlebar, take on the Munster champions Kilorglin of Kerry in the All Ireland Colleges senior 'A' semi-final.

It has been a story of dramatic twists and turns and given the penchant for this St Gerald's side to defy the odds, do not rule out a another surprise twist to the tale as they Connaught champions, revelling in the role of underdogs once again, map a course towards All Ireland glory.

However, team manager, Eamon Murrin, does accept that they are up against it in Limerick on Sunday where St Colman's College, Claremorris, make it a double-header in their clash with Cork in the 'B' semi-final. Eamon saw the Munster final on Sunday and while impressed by the Kerry schools 2-11 to 0-8 win over Colaiste Spiorad Naomh, he was by no means overawed.

A few months ago St Gerald's might have been very content to be still in search for the 'B' honours. But from once they overcome St Jarlath's in a dark dreary afternoon in Castlebar one sensed that this Castlebar side was setting their sights on higher honours.

When they beat St Colman's in the Connaught semi-final it became clear that they were not just one step short of bringing home a Connaught 'A' title after an incredible gap of 67 years. That Connaught Final win over St Patrick's of Tuam will forever remain burned into the memory of those who were fortunate to be there. And when all appeared lost who will forget the amazing strike by Kevin Malone in injury time as St Patrick's dream of retaining the trophy turned into a nightmare.

'Many a slip between Cup and lip' indeed and on this occasion St. Patrick's let the Cup slip from their grasp but it fell into the welcoming arms of a St. Gerald's team who had played with heart, conviction and self-belief to the very end and were justly rewarded for not throwing in the towel.

It will be a source of encouragement for St Gerald's that they knocked out a team that has genuine designs on winning an All Ireland. That mantle now passes to the Connaught representatives who will have gained immeasurably from their success in Connaught. Of course, all praise and no criticism would be foolhardy to the extreme, and St. Gerald's know that any shortcomings will be exposed and brutally punished in an All Ireland semi-final.

Mayo teams at all grades have learned this to their cost in the past but so many of those teams did not paly with the same composure and self-confidence that they might have.

And that is one thing I like about this St. Gerald's side. They are a confident bunch of lads who have a strong belief in their own destiny and their ability to achieve it.

The fact that they won the Connaught title was, in itself a tremendous feat, but they are not willing to let matters lie and that and there is no reason why they can not have a go at the two remaining obstacles which lie in their path to ultimate glory. But, no more than Mayo senior against Meath, a big improvement will have to one from the forwards in general. Frank McHale and the free-taking of Lyndon Reilly has served them well, but there will have to be more consistent performances from the other forwards.

Jamie Fitzmaurice, Paul O'Hara, who is a doubtful starter due to a groin strain, John Roughneen and Kenneth Hyland have contributed at various stages but they will need to be at their very best if St. Gerald's are to advance further.

Kevin Malone and Neill Dunne have served well as a midfield partnership. Both will have to be at their very best and one thing St. Gerald's must guard against is giving away possession. They will also need to buckle down early as they won't always be able to afford the luxury of falling behind.

Better teams will not let them back into the game and they will have to play at their very finest against a Kerry side which has strength in all the key areas. Vigilance and discipline will once again be called for in the St. Gerald's defence and they have responded well right through the campaign.. Having survived the intense pressure from St Patrick's I have great faith in the backs in general.

Team captain Mark Fahy will need to provide them with the necessary inspiration and with consistent performances from a strong half back line of Kevin Scahill, Alan Staunton and John Feeney, while Adrian Hoban and David Hayes have never flinched their responsibilities.

St Gerald's are fortunate too to have a player of the calibre of Kieran McDonagh between the posts. He has served them well and who will forget that breathtaking save in the Connaught Final.

McDonagh can expect to be tested again on Sunday. The Kerry side have a few very good forwards and a haul of 2-2 by Emmet Russell should mark him out for special attention in a forward division which had a good scoring spread.

No team is an easy touch at the semi-final stage and that applies to St Gerald's as much as the lads from Kilorglin. St Gerald's are well organised, well prepared and well tutored by Eamon Murrin and Joe McCabe.

It is a first time for the Kerry lads, and of course, St Gerald's have not won the Connaught title for 67 years. Tradition may be on the side of the Munster champions but St Gerald's have shown in their campaign to date that where there is a will, there is a way.

This team is well capable of going the full distance.




Connaught Telegraph - News - Mar 1996

Connaught Telegraph - Sports - Mar 1996