Search Results for 'James Kilcullen'

t’s been 36 years since it was last achieved when Garrymore saw off Knockmore by the smallest of margins on a scoreline of 1-9 to 2-5 to claim a historic three-in-a-row. On Sunday, Ballintubber are looking to become the latest side to enter their name in that ledger in the history books of Mayo football.

Come this time of the season, the win is all that matters and that's exactly what Ballintubber and Ballaghaderreen both delivered in Elvery's McHale Park on Sunday afternoon. Both of this years senior championship semi-finals weren't games for the ages. What they were, was games that had to be won. Ballintubber who are looking to be the first team since the historic Garrymore side of the mid-seventies to put together a three-in-a-row title rein, booked their place in this years final, by coming out on the right side of a result that looked for a good portion of the game, was going to go against them.

Ballaghaderreen v Garrymore

The Mayo Senior Football team to take on Cork this Sunday in the All-Ireland Senior Football quarter final in Croke Park has been announced and shows two changes to the team that lined out against Roscommon in the Connacht Final. Ger Cafferkey replaces Alan Feeney at full back while Enda Varley takes his place in the full forward line in place of Jason Doherty.

I recall watching the Irish rugby team playing a Triple Crown match in 1985 against England. The match was very much in the balance with minutes left on the clock. It was at a critical juncture in the game that team captain Ciaran Fitzgerald demanded his team step up to the plate with his by now (in) famous line “where’s your f***ing pride?” The team responded and delivered a magnificent final few minutes to beat England on that day. I have no doubt that Fitzgerald’s leadership was crucial to that victory. Mayo football is, to some extent, at a similar juncture right now. We need leadership both on and off the field and, more than anything else, we need to display a bit of f***ing pride and heart. After last year’s championship defeats to Sligo and Longford we need to resurrect our reputation before we slip into a downward spiral of mediocrity that could prove difficult to shake off were it to continue. Mayo looked very sluggish and tired last year and some critics even suggested that they did not appear to be playing for one another. This season, however, we retained our division one status with some credible gutsy performances but appeared to hit a dip again a few weeks before the London match.

Tomás Ó Flatharta will lead Galway into championship action for the first time this Sunday when his side takes on Mayo in McHale Park at 2pm in the Connacht semi-final.

Mayo 0-19

Mayo manager James Horan has named six players who will make their championship debut on Sunday in London. The game against the exiles will be Horan’s maiden championship contest in the Bainisteoir’s bib. The half dozen who will make their first championship starts are Robert Hennelly in goal, full back Alan Feeney, and his brother Richie Feeney at wing back. The midfield pairing of Jason Gibbons and James Kilcullen will also be making their first championship start, while Jason Doherty, whose goal-getting ability lit up Mayo’s National Football League campaign, has unsurprisingly been given the number 15 shirt for the championship opener.

Both the Mayo senior football team and hurlers will finish up their league campaign’s with trips to Monaghan on Sunday afternoon. Last Sunday’s win by the footballers over Cork ensured their division one status for next year, while on Saturday the hurlers saw off the challenge of Sligo to keep their 100 per cent record intact. However anyone who hoped to travel to the Farney county and catch a double header of football and hurling action between the two counties will unable to do so, with the hurling team who have already booked their place in the division 3B final playing in Clones at 2.30pm and the footballers playing in Inniskeen, 40 miles away at the same time. All games in both the national hurling and football leagues will be throwing in at the same time on Sunday across all the divisions, the reason being that no team in any division will have an advantage knowing results that may affect them beforehand.

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