Latest news with #ConnachtFinal
Irish Daily Mirror
30-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
'After Armagh, I couldn't hack a Tyrone All-Ireland, I'm sticking with Galway.'
This time last year we all told you that Armagh wouldn't win an All-Ireland. We said it with real conviction too. Six weeks ago if anyone had asked, 'Where are Tyrone?,' you'd probably have said, 'It'll take a good team to beat them but ultimately they won't win an All-Ireland.' I'm not so committed to that viewpoint now though. I've said it before. Tyrone have a lovely balance to their team that compliments these new rules. And while we won't read too much into the result against Donegal last Saturday night, and the performance from either side, what I'd read a lot into is that at the final whistle Darren McCurry just turned to the Donegal sideline, strutted into a swagger and stared them down. It annoyed me in the extreme and that was the brilliant part of it. I haven't looked on at a Tyrone team and felt that emotion in a few years. They're also coming off the back of a brilliant Under-20 All-Ireland win. After an Armagh All Ireland last year, I couldn't hack a Tyrone All-Ireland this year. But I went with Galway at the start of the year so I'm still sticking with them Looking around at the football landscape after the first round of the All-Ireland series, three of the provincial winners lost their first game and have probably resigned themselves to the extra game in the All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final. Take Donegal's case. They'll have played from Ulster's preliminary round - and won back to back provincial titles, which is notoriously difficult to do - but now they've to do the same if they want to win an All-Ireland As Jim alluded to, Donegal seemed off it on Saturday night. Louth looked the same against Monaghan and Galway looked a shadow of the side they've shown us so far in their loss to Dublin. Each of these teams had to dip deep into the reservoirs in their respective provincial finals and each of them were caught by good teams with a few weeks to prepare. An age old argument in the GAA was, and still is, are multiple games the best prep or is the team that lies in wait, training away, better placed going into a match. I haven't worked out the answer to it yet. On Galway, yes Dublin brought an edge to things that probably rattled them, but in the first half I'm looking at Galway and thinking to myself how is there such a difference here from the Mayo game? A few weeks ago I watched the Connacht Final and said to myself that bar Connor Gleeson in the goals, that's an All-Ireland winning team that Padraic Joyce has put together. Every line just looked solid. In the Dublin game their form dipped massively. The way they defended. Paul Conroy's form dipped. Shane Walsh wasn't at the level. Last year all four provincials winners won their first games in the All-Ireland, and bar Galway everyone topped their group so it's hard to know if it's the schedule, or should Joyce be genuinely worried at such a drop in form. Derry's final 10 minutes against Armagh means they're probably in decent shape mentally as the players and management do their best to convince themselves that they're still in the hunt. I've been there too and its nearly a form of torture - wee glimpses of a performance to keep your hopes up. They'll go at Galway with hope again. In my opinion, two pointers will determine who wins the All-Ireland - the ability to score them and the team that can defend them best. If you forced me to pick just two Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), I'd pick two pointers scored and opposition shots as the figures to chase. I've no doubt Galway have the best array of two point kickers in their arsenal and potentially the best way of defending and stopping that shot. Just to note, Damien Comer needs to be on the field to maximize those two pointers, because teams can't have it both ways. They can't go out hard after the two point shooters while keeping coverage inside - and if you've Comer inside then most teams are going to drop a man back in front of him. For all the talk about the new rules and how it promotes attacking football, how teams defend and shut down the opposition attack will have a massive say in where Sam Maguire heads. The new rules have definitely forced the issue though and made the game more in favor of attacking play. And the new kickout rule means that, at the minimum if you get a shot off then the attacking team can set up their press. How many times have we seen the momentum of a game turn purely because of a team's inability to get out with the ball. Shot off, set up in your press, keep them penned in. Repeat ad nauseum. It's incredibly important for teams to get their hands on the ball in a phase like that, or at the very minimum stop the shot. You'd imagine we will see teams in the future going all out to stop that ball going out for a kickout. The ability to mix up the way a team defends is so important too. Because of that long association over the years, teams immediately associate defending in Gaelic football with men dropping back. Galway can do that but they can also do it well. Some teams are struggling to manage that zonal press with the extra space around them. I watched some highlights of the Armagh/Derry game (for some reason the GAA in their wisdom decided not to televise it so highlights was the best we could get) and some of the defending by Derry was absolutely farcical. I'd be running them clips on loop in the analysis session and just asking men, 'Do you think that's good enough?' You'll still have men dropping back and setting up but I also believe there is serious joy to be had from a team pressing high from play. Galway have the right tools to do that. I've seen clips of them where they are incredibly smart at how they press high. You'd think the high press isn't the right option for a team with big, robust men like John Maher and Conroy but they've tweaked it so they can go after the ball if needs be. Galway have the tools to go on and win that All-Ireland but what happened against Dublin can't happen again. They looked porous and when a Galway player had to individually defend, he struggled. They'll be hoping it was an off day and Derry at Celtic Park tomorrow is a good way to get the show back on the road again - to becoming the stingy type of team that wins an All-Ireland. I'm still sticking with Galway for an All-Ireland but we'll see over the next two games if they can get their defense to where it needs to be.
Irish Daily Mirror
18-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Mayo v Cavan live score updates from the All-Ireland Football Championship clash
Mayo host Cavan as both these counties get their All-Ireland campaigns under way this afternoon in Castlebar. The match has a throw-in time of 2.30pm, but unfortunately for fans who can't make the game, it is not being shown on TV or streamed live online. However, you can follow live updates right here throughout the afternoon. Here are the teams: Mayo: Colm Reape; Jack Coyne, Donnacha McHugh, Rory Brickenden; Sam Callinan, David McBrien, Enda Hession; Stephen Coen, Matthew Ruane; Davitt Neary, Jack Carney, Jordan Flynn; Aidan O'Shea, Darren McHale, Ryan O'Donoghue. Subs: Adrian Phillips, Bob Tuohy, Conal Dawson, Conor Reid, Dylan Thortnon, Fenton Kelly, Fergal Boland, Frank Irwin, Kevin Quinn, Paddy Durcan, Paul Towey. Cavan: Gary O'Rourke; Cian Reilly, Brian O'Connell, Niall Carolan; Jason McLoughlin, Ciaran Brady, Padraig Faulkner; Killian Clarke, Evan Crowe; Gerard Smith, Dara McVeety, Oisin Kiernan; Cormac O'Reilly, Ryan Donohoe, Cian Madden. Subs: Liam Brady, Luke Fortune, Killian Brady, Barry Donnelly, Luke Molloy, Ruairi Curran, Thomas Edward Donohoe, Ryan O'Neill, Sean McEvoy, Oisin Brady, Paddy Lynch. Good afternoon and welcome to our live blog for this All-Ireland Senior Football Championship clash between Mayo and Cavan. This is a tough group with Tyrone and Donegal also in it and Mayo come into this game as the long odds-on favourites to win as they look to get a victory on board before Tyrone and Donegal play a game. This could be a long afternoon for Cavan, but Mayo aren't renowned for their ruthlessness. There could be a hangover from a Connacht Final that they should have won where they had miss after miss in the last 20 minutes. The lack of two point shooters and a clinical edge up front in general are issues, but Cavan have had injury issues to contend with after their Ulster Championship defeat by Tyrone. There's just over an hour to go until throw-in.
Irish Examiner
10-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
'It shouldn't happen. I was giving my daughter a hug at the time' - McGuinness on Clones chaos
They found a way. For Jim McGuinness, that was the ultimate triumph. His side showed huge character to come back from a poor finish in normal time to eventually clinch the Anglo Celt Cup. Armagh lost out in a dramatic Ulster final for the third year in a row. Donegal were unable to see it out in normal time but found way after two additional periods, with Niall O'Donnell's final point proving the winner. "That's where your training comes in,' said McGuinness post-match. 'That is every night. It's everything you do. It's everything you do away from the training. All of those moments are going to come to the surface at some stage and that's what we were talking about in our huddle at half time and extra time. ''We've a lot of work done, lads. You know, we've a lot of work done. We can't let this slip because we've been so dedicated to this thing for the last number of months.' So I'm sure Armagh were saying exactly the same thing. But these are the conversations you have to find with yourself because you have to find something.' It was a thrilling contest. A crowd of 28,788 were captivated throughout. 'For me, the Ulster Championship and the Munster Hurling Championship are just on a par. They bring so much. They ignite so much within people. It's crazy. But at the same time, there'll be a serious game in Croke Park tomorrow. The Connacht Final was seriously competitive. 'Listen, I think the provincials are in a good place. I think there's a lot of people, for whatever reason, talking them down or had been talking them down. But maybe that narrative will change on the back of this season because that was a serious competition in all provinces this year. And for us, we're just thankful. We're delighted.' After the conclusion, a scuffle broke out on the pitch involving members of both squads. 'I don't have a perspective on that,' said McGuinness when asked. 'It is not nice to see. It shouldn't happen. I was giving my daughter a hug at the time. I didn't see what happened, but no, it shouldn't be in the game.' Meanwhile, Kieran McGeeney was left frustrated by a late refereeing decision. 'The less said about the rub of the green in our sport, the better," he said. 'Unless it comes from me, nobody ever does (say it). When Ross McQuillan won the kick-out, how he didn't get a free kick is beyond comprehension. It is hard to fathom, it really is.' The All-Ireland champions will now join Galway, Dublin and Derry in Group 4. Donegal will face Mayo, Tyrone and Cavan. 'As far as I know, we've been in the Group of Death for the last three years,' said McGeeney. 'So what's new? 'It is a tough one. Derry are playing well by all accounts in the challenge games, and Dublin are Dublin, and Galway are probably one of the best teams in the country at the minute, but there is no easy ones left.'
BBC News
04-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Galway in group of death after Connacht triumph
Galway's 1-17 to 1-15 Connacht Final win over Mayo means the Tribesmen will join Dublin, Derry and the losers of next Saturday's Ulster Final between Armagh and Donegal in what has been dubbed the 'group of death' in the All-Ireland Football Padraic Joyce's Galway side now confirmed in group four, Mayo will be placed in group one alongside Tyrone, Cavan and the winners of the Ulster 4-20 to 0-21 Munster Final victory over Clare means the Kingdom face a rematch with Cork in a group two that will also include Roscommon and the losers of next Sunday's Leinster Final between Louth and defeat puts them in group three alongside Monaghan, Down the winners of the Leinster Final in what is being regarded as the weakest of the four to follow.
