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Irish Times
16-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Lousy game-management, too few scorers - what Mayo, Derry and the Rossies can teach the teams that remain
As the football championship keeps on partying on, a thought for the first teams to be kicked out onto the street. The kicker for Roscommon , Mayo , Clare and Derry is that all four of them could feasibly still be alive. Clare were outclassed for most of the game against Louth on Sunday but they rattled off 1-3 on the bounce down the stretch to bring the gap back to two points. Had they nipped a late goal, they'd have eliminated the Leinster champions. But they couldn't and they didn't. And so, as the various Monday clubs get underway in parts of the west and north, what lessons could the four teams pass on to those who remain? Let's take them in reverse order of their exit. READ MORE Mayo Oh, Mayo. How many teams in Monday's draw were delighted that Mayo weren't in it? Three, in the immediate term – neither Dublin, Kerry or Down wanted to see them coming for a visit next weekend. But on a broader level, there isn't one of the remaining dozen who aren't delighted to see them and Derry gone. Both are eminently beatable – and have proved themselves assiduously in that particular realm – but it's not a fun day out. Lessonwise, their game management is an object lesson in how not to do it. From the closing minutes of the Connacht final, right down to the dying seconds against Donegal on Sunday, Mayo have time and again shown a lack of composure when it mattered most. Fergal Boland's equaliser was fantastic, the sort of sugar-rush score that has sustained Mayo forever. But it was the wrong option. There's a big old clock behind the goal in Dr Hyde Park – one look at it would have told Mayo that all they needed was one more pass and they'd have ensured that the next time the ball went dead, the game was over. It's hard to turn down the shot when you have the chance but that's what the sport is now. Be wise. Be conscious of the game situation. Do not give the other crowd a chance, however slim, to catch you with an uppercut. None of the contenders would. That's why they're contenders. Louth's Dara McDonnell competes in the air with Keenan Sexton and Mark McInerney of Clare. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho Clare Peter Keane was getting pretty exercised afterwards about the plans to seed the Munster championship according to league standing but it's hard to agree with him really. The presence of the provincial runners-up in the Sam Maguire is a reasonable enough way to do things, up until a team makes it there by winning one game against a Division Four county. In the years when Clare are good enough to be Cork – as was the case as recently as 2023 – they'll be in the Munster final. In the years they aren't they won't. As for what lessons they can leave for those left behind, stemming the flow of two-pointers is probably key, even if it's a tad obvious. Clare conceded 12 two-pointers in three games, seven of them from play. As a result, they frequently found themselves on the receiving end of scoring barrages – they lost halves by eight (Louth), 12 (Down) and 16 (Monaghan). No future in that. Dublin's Peadar Ó Cofaigh Byrne and Derry's Conor Glass compete in the air at Pairc Esler. Photograph: Evan Logan/Inpho Derry Paddy Tally was quick – maybe a little too quick – to zero in on the reason behind Derry's exit. 'Conditioning,' he said, essentially laying the blame on their winless year on the fact that he was appointed late. Which is all fine and well, except it makes a rod for his own back next year. Let's see what he says this time 12 months. Unquestionably, Derry are leaving the championship in the best shape they've been all year. They gave both Dublin and Galway their fill of it in the last two games and it wouldn't have taken much to get a result either time. That's the key lesson for everyone else though – Derry have spent far too long finding ways not to win games. Whether it was Kerry at home in the league, Galway at home in the championship or Dublin in Newry, Derry were close without being clinical. The late goal chance for Brendan Rogers on Saturday wasn't easy but it had to be scored. The loss of Odhran Lynch was a killer – Derry never had a settled kickout routine because they were changing their goalkeeper so often. Conor McCluskey's brief cameo showed what they'd been missing, again through injury. Injuries happen. Derry had a glut of crucial ones and still almost made it through. The takeaway for everyone else is that you can overcome. But you must take your chances. Roscommon's Eddie Nolan tackles Paul Walsh of Cork. Photograph: Leah Scholes/Inpho Roscommon One win in three-and-a-half months is an obvious starting point. Davy Burke tried to make a defence of his team's season by saying that everyone forgot they got promoted to Division One but there's a good reason for that – other than London, the Rossies didn't win a game after March 1st. It's all very well making reference to all their handy forwards but if they're not winning games, what are they for? Especially when the glaring problem for Roscommon was scoring. Yes, they have the Murtaghs, the Smiths, Daire Cregg, Ben O'Carroll and the rest – but they were only averaging 14 scores a game. They put up scorelines of 0-17 against Kerry (with three two-pointers), 2-15 against Meath (five two-pointers) and 0-17 against Cork (zero two-pointers). We know the new rules can be a bit of a wild west and not every game has to make the scoreboard whizz like a casino game. But you're not going to get anywhere in the coming six weeks putting up 14 scores a game. Can't be done. One for Cavan (14 scores per game in the group stage), Cork (15) and Louth (15) to keep an eye on ahead of their various trips this weekend.
BBC News
15-06-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Moore breaks Mayo hearts to seal thrilling win for Donegal
Ciaran Moore popped up with a dramatic last-gasp winner to secure a 0-19 to 1-15 victory for Donegal in Dr Hyde Park and send Mayo crashing out of the All-Ireland Senior Football substitute Fergal Boland thought he had rescued a point with a late score, which would have been enough for the Connacht side to move into third spot in the Group One standings and eliminate Moore's winner meant Mayo came up empty-handed and finish bottom on head-to-head with the Breffnimen, who beat them in Castlebar on the opening how delicately the group was poised prior to the game, there was a guarantee of drama and the 18,731 in attendance certainly got bang for their buck. Donegal edge ahead It was tense at times, brilliant at others as this game hung in the balance right until the final kick, which was enough for a Donegal win, but not enough to finish top of the pile due to their own opening day defeat to the Red Hands, who had the head-to-head game began with a bang as Peadar Mogan and Darren McHale swapped early points, but Mayo were fortunate not to be punished with a goal as an Aidan O'Shea slip saw a lightning Donegal counter with Mogan put in, but he thumped Caolan McColgan added another, Mogan was black carded for a trip in the ninth minute and while he was away, Mayo hit three points as Ryan O'Donoghue's frees sandwiched McHale's second of the was a tense opening period with both sides defending well and giving little away cheaply, but the advantage swung back to Donegal following a two-point free converted by Michael the Ulster champions outscored Mayo by four to two heading into the break to lead 0-9 to 0-6, it seemed the game was now beginning to open up a little. Mayo fight back Mayo upped their game early in the second period with points from Jack Carney and O'Donoghue, but Donegal always seemed to have an answer when Mayo got to within one as the point-for-point run ended as Conor O'Donnell and Moore hit back-to-back got it back to one again and it seemed they had taken a huge step towards victory when O'Shea laid off a delicate pass to Jack Carney, who played in David McBrien to swivel and find the net via the the Donegal reply was excellent as substitute Daire O Baoill kicked an outrageous two-pointer to level, whilst points from Murphy and O'Donnell would Flynn pulled one back, Donegal had their chance to put it away as Mayo goalkeeper Colm Reape was caught outfield from a restart and Patrick McBrearty was through and seemingly certain to bury with two minutes to play, but Reape somehow recovered to get a block out for a 45 that Murphy were then denied a goal of their own with Carney snuffed out, but after an O'Donoghue free, Mayo got on the attack in the final minute and Boland kicked over the there were still about five seconds until the hooter when Moore got on the ball and found the reserves to gallop forward and sling over the winner which sent the Donegal support into raptures and broke Mayo hearts.
Irish Independent
15-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Mayo dumped out of All-Ireland as Donegal's Ciaran Moore kicks last-gasp point in thriller
Breaking | Today at 13:09 Mayo were left crestfallen in a dramatic finish at King & Moffatt Hyde Park as Ciaran Moore knocked them out of the All-Ireland football championship with a 'hooter' score to bring a dramatic round robin game to a conclusion. Only seconds earlier Mayo looked to have done enough when substitute Fergal Boland landed an equaliser at the other end. There were just seconds left when Boland sliced off the outside of his right boot, a brave effort given the wind and Mayo reluctance to shoot.
