Higgins hungry to get back to Croke Park

Fri, Jul 22, 2016

Mayo will be heading back to Croke Park next Saturday when they face Westmeath in the final round of the qualifiers with a place the last eight up for grabs. Keith Higgins was out to meet the press this week ahead of the game and he's looking forward to getting back to GAA HQ next weekend. "That's where everyone wants to play, we're delighted to get back there and hopefully and we'll have another day out there."

Mayo looking to have better of Model men

Fri, Jul 22, 2016

Tomorrow afternoon the Mayo junior footballers go looking to book their place in the All Ireland Junior Football Championship final when they take on Leinster champions Wexford in O'Connor Park in Tullamore. Sean McLoughlin has guided his side to wins over Sligo and Galway to claim the Connacht crown and now the the Model men are in his sides sights for a shot a glory in the All Ireland final.

Rochford's Mayo put in their best performance to date

Fri, Jul 22, 2016

Mayo put in their best 70 minutes of football under Stephen Rochford's watch to easily account for Kildare in their third round qualifier in sun drenched Elverys MacHale Park last Saturday. There is no question it had to have been the most relaxing 70 minutes Rochford has had since he took over the reins. The opposition has to be taken into account however. Kildare are no longer a force in football, they struggle to beat division four teams, they are probably the fifth best team in a Province that has only one decent team, but as the saying goes Mayo can only beat what is put in front of them.

Plenty room for improvement for Mayo

Sun, Jul 17, 2016

Mayo are through tot he last 12 of the All Ireland series after a big win over Kildare on Saturday night, but there is still plenty areas for them to improve on over the next few weeks said Stephen Rochford after the game. “The challenge for us over the next two weeks coming up against a provincial looser it’s to turn our performance into a 70 minute consistant performance, we’re probably at 40 or 45 minutes and the level of opposition that we’re playing against isn’t going to be good enough” he said,

O'Connor inspires Mayo to victory

Sat, Jul 16, 2016

Mayo are back within one game of the All Ireland quarter-final after a comprehensive win over Kildare in Elverys MacHale Park on Saturday night. Stephen Rochford’s men ran out nine point winners of the Lillywhites thanks in the most part to a late first half burst which saw them kick 2-2 in the closing seven minutes of the half.

Criticism of O'Shea beyond what is acceptable

Fri, Jul 15, 2016

Mayo qualified for a round three qualifier clash with Kildare after coming from six points down at half time against a very well organised and fired up Fermanagh in Castlebar. It was a nervy affair which had us on the edge of our seats throughout. The game had incidents aplenty, none more so than the awarding of a controversial penalty to Mayo when the game was in the melting pot, near the end of the game. The coverage this incident has received in the media is similar to the coverage given to the passing of David Bowie or Prince, it went viral and was scrutinised in every forum, totally uncalled for in my opinion.

Mayo need to see more return up front

Fri, Jul 15, 2016

For the first time since the year before Mayo claimed their first All Ireland senior title, Mayo will take on Kildare in a senior championship match. That meeting, in the All Ireland semifinal back in 1935, saw the Leinster men win 2-6 to 0-7; tomorrow evening the Mayo faithful will be hoping for a different result when the sides clash in MacHale Park.

GAA: All Ireland SFC Qualifier

Fri, Jul 15, 2016

Last Saturday saw Mayo move their historical record in the All Ireland Senior Football Championship qualifers into the black with their two point win over Fermanagh. This coming Saturday, they will be looking to move that win/loss record a little bit further into the black when they welcome Kildare to MacHale Park.

Minors fall short in the rain

Sun, Jul 10, 2016

The Mayo minors attempts to claim a 40th Connacht title for the county came up short on Sunday in a rain sodden Pearse Stadium in Galway. Enda Gilvarry’s side can have very little complaints about the outcome of this game as the hosts were deserved victors in a patchy affair, where both sides struggled with the conditions.

McGrath fumes over O’Shea penalty

Sat, Jul 09, 2016

There wasn’t much left in Stephen Rochford’s voice after full time on Saturday afternoon, when he spoke following Mayo’s win over Fermanagh in MacHale Park on the back of a controversial penalty. Asked whether he thought it might come back to cost Mayo later on down the track if they don’t get a big decision, Rochford said he felt it was along time coming that Aidan O’Shea got some luck to go his way when it came to the action on the field. “I would have hoped that after seeing the attention he got in the league, he got a break, he got a black card in Monaghan for a tackle that was just an arm out in the first three minutes, he got fellas you know jumping on his back here against Dublin, if he got a break it’s not before time.”

Second half fight back sees Mayo through

Sat, Jul 09, 2016

Was it a penalty? Probably not looking at the replays, but Aidan O’Shea has been fouled and dragged down enough times in his inter-county career and not gotten a free he deserved, some day a break was going to have to go his way.

Getting back on the horse

Fri, Jul 08, 2016

It's time for the talking to be done on the pitch. Leaving MacHale Park after Mayo's lethargic performance against Galway, disillusioned and bewildered, I now find myself with a nervous excitement as Mayo have to navigate their way to Croke Park via the qualifier route. Who knows where it will take us. It's a new experience for some of the team and an experience some of the others have only been through once (the nightmare loss to Longford in 2010), which brings its own pressure, lose and you're out. Defeat will mean it will be the first time in six years Mayo won't be making the trip east to play in Croke Park. To coin a phrase from Sir Alex Ferguson “it's squeaky bum time”.

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