Search Results for 'Tom Parsons'

Mayo's 2017 league opener ended in defeat to an aggressive and physical Monaghan in Castlebar last Saturday evening. Despite my declaration last week that Mayo should target the national league for silverware, the target very much now is about survival. Again applause must be given to the 11,000 or so hardy souls who turned out to support the team. The basis for this first round defeat is pure and simple, Monaghan were better prepared and had a better pre season as it was purely obvious going into the final quarter that they had spent more time on the paddock than Stephen Rochford's team.

We've been here before and there is no reason to panic, last year Mayo were caught like deer in the headlights against Cork in their league opener, where a Rebel outfit who ultimately got relegated and had a championship season to forget ran riot on Leeside.

The start of the National Football League on Saturday evening will see thousands flock into MacHale Park to see the new season get under way properly. The league is often seen as time for guys to be given a chance to impress in the early rounds and stake their claim for a place later on in the year. But is this really the case?

It’s a long way from the business end of the year, but the determination shown by Mayo to dig out what looked like an impossible victory as the game moved towards the end of normal time and they trailed by five points is something that will warm the spirits of the Mayo faithful ahead of their league opener against Monaghan in a fortnights time.

It may still only be January, but the meeting of Mayo and Roscommon at any stage of the season is always an encounter to look forward to, and on Sunday Mayo will make the long trek to Kiltoom to take on their neighbours in the final round of the FBD League.

Strength in depth

Mayo picked up their first win of the season with a six point win over IT Sligo in Ballina on Sunday, but they will have to serious up their performance if they are to pick up a second win next weekend when they face Roscommon in their final group game of the FBD League and improve even more two weeks later when they host Monaghan in the opening round of the National Football League. That was the message from Mayo manager Stephen Rochford post their win on Sunday.

It was back to the grindstone for our county players last weekend as most of them had to put the hurt of the previous week's All-Ireland replay loss behind them to help their clubs in their bid to make the play offs, maintain status, and for others to help their team try to avoid being in a relegation dogfight.

This one is hard to comprehend,very hard. Some are harder to take than others. This defeat is pretty difficult to take. Our 1996 loss to Meath is forever etched in my memory for all the wrong reasons, it's very similar to last Sunday.