Search Results for 'Pat Gilroy'

We are down to the last nine in the football championship with all of the main protagonists still standing. Kerry are still my favourites to land Sam this year. They should beat Limerick with scores to spare on Sunday. They definitely appear to be focused and sharp this year. From what I hear they are putting in an extra effort to ensure that one of their favourite sons, the ‘Gooch’ has the opportunity to walk the steps in September. Extra miles on the clock and All-Ireland medals in the back pocket tend to blunt hunger levels, but Kerry look ferociously hungry. A number of their players, namely Declan O’Sullivan, Kieran Donaghy, Darren O’Sullivan, and Donnchadh Walsh, have been particularly outstanding for them. I believe they played a challenge last week against Roscommon in Limerick and, despite pulling off half of their first 15, managed to win by seven points. And the word from that game was that the two best players on show were….. you guessed it…… Tomas O’Se and Paul Galvin.

I have been chatting to a few of my Roscommon friends over recent days and they appear very confident about their team’s chances this Sunday. I can understand why they might feel that way. Former midfielder and current team manager Fergal O’ Donnell has his team putting in good performances these days. I have heard stories of training camps and twice daily sessions being conducted, so it would appear that no stone is being left unturned as he pushes and strives for success. They are extremely fit and well drilled and are a formidable side. In their two games played in this year’s championship they played superbly. OK, the quality of the opposition i.e. New York and Leitrim wouldn’t be ranked very highly in the current ratings of championship contenders, but other teams have struggled in New York and Leitrim have always proved to be formidable opposition in Carrick on Shannon.

Last week I suggested that home advantage might prove decisive in deciding who would advance to play Roscommon in the Connacht final on July 17. I was wrong. Having witnessed the display from Galway last Sunday I am now of the opinion that if Mayo had played the first half of last Sunday’s encounter in Pearse Stadium and the second half in Tuam we still would have won in a canter. I have never in my lifetime witnessed such an inept performance from a Galway senior side. They were spiritless and soft when it came to putting up any sort of a challenge to Mayo last Sunday. In fact the game, particularly the first half, ranks as one of the worst of this year’s championship. (I would rank the first game played in this year’s championship, Donegal v Antrim as the worst.) I accept that the second half did improve but that improvement came from Mayo as a single point from play by Galway in the entire second half tells its own story. At no point did Galway radiate the belief that they had the measure of Mayo. When a team plays without any semblance of a pattern as Galway did last weekend, it suggests that there is little synchronisation between management and players.

I walked into Maughan’s bar last Sunday evening in Crossmolina and noticed that the Donegal v Antrim Ulster Championship match was still on. It was showing on the big screen, but to be honest it was a match that would have been more appropriate for a small black and white monitor such was the poor quality of football. Maybe it is too early in the year? I am not sure what the reason is, but it was awful stuff. I turned away after a few minutes of watching for no other reason than the fact that I lost complete interest in it. From what I could see there weren’t too many other patrons that interested either. Maybe people are not quite into championship mode yet.

Following their impressive 1-20 to 0-18 victory over Armagh on Sunday, the Galway seniors face Pat Gilroy’s Dublin in Pearse Stadium this weekend. If Galway win, and other results go their way, they could avoid relegation to division two.

Who would have predicted that Dublin, Kildare, Down and Cork would be the last four standing in the chase for this year’s All-Ireland? It is so refreshing to see new teams emerge and it is also good that we will see new champions later this summer. Tyrone and Kerry have dominated the scene for the last eight years, and to be honest, it was becoming predictable and a little boring. That is why last weekend’s results were like a breath of fresh air.

Mayo 1-19

Saturday night, in round six of the National football league, the Galway footballers take on Pat Gilroy’s Dublin in Parnell Park (7.30pm).

Dublin 1-9    ::   Mayo 1-8

I didn’t get to Kerry on Sunday due to my own club commitments, but reports from the south would appear to be encouraging. My spies tell me Mayo could have won, or at least drawn, the match, which is more than anticipated. Rightly, John O’Mahony was critical afterwards of the demands being made on certain players. Take a footballer like Kevin McLoughlin, who didn’t play on Sunday due to an injury – he has come through a Sigerson Cup campaign, his senior debut, and the start of the u21 championship, all in the space of a few weeks.