Search Results for 'Andy Moran'

At the end of the day the long and winding road has led back to the destination that most had hoped for, Mayo in the first All Ireland semifinal on Sunday August 21. Rather than coming through to this stage as provincial champions with just a quarter-final to play, Mayo have made their way through the scenic route and disposed of Leinster opposition twice and then the Ulster champions to get here. Next up for them is a challenge from a group of men from Munster, but once again it is not one of the ones we would have expected. Tipperary, a division three side that finished their league campaign just two points above relegation to division four for next year, have wandered their way through this championship summer to become the story of the summer.

Now that was more like it. We asked for a performance,we wanted passion,we got them both in abundance. Mayo produced their best display in 12 months to send Ulster champions and hot favourites Tyrone packing out of this year's championship. The game was not the best advertisement for Gaelic football but it was intriguing, intense, and tactical and had everybody on the edge of their seats right until the final whistle.

At the end of the day, the result is all that matters. It wasn’t the prettiest of games in Croke Park, but it was intense, intriguing and full of industry and some moments of pure inspiration. Mayo are in the All Ireland semi-final in two weeks time and that’s exactly where they want to be. They dug in and put in the hard yards on the field in Croke Park and thanks to Lee Keegan’s point five minutes from the end, that seemed to take at least five minutes before it dropped over Niall Morgan’s bar they won the day and moved step closer to their ultimate goal.

The All Ireland quarterfinal is where Mayo wanted to be when the season threw in and they have got back there, they have taken a somewhat more circuitous route than they would have hoped, but that goal has been achieved. Mayo's championship form has been patchy all year, no more so than last weekend when they mixed the good with the bad, but they still got the result if not the full performance, they wanted to get there.

Mayo made hard work of progressing to the last eight of the championship against Westmeath in Croke Park on Saturday afternoon, despite leading by 12 points at one stage early on.

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.

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.

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.

Meetings between Mayo and Fermanagh have not been the most regular of clashes down through the years, you have to go back nine years for the last time the sides met in serious competition, and four years further for their last meeting in the qualifiers. The last time that Mayo tussled with Fermanagh in competitive action was way back in March 2007, when they squared off in the league in March of that year in Clones. Mayo ran out 0-12 to 0-7 winners that day, of the team that started for Mayo nine years ago, only three of them survive in the panel now, with Keith Higgins the only one who started in Clones on the starting 15 for Mayo's last game against Galway. Higgins lined out at corner back in that game, while both Alan Dillon and Andy Moran were in the full-foward line for a John O'Mahony managed team that was guided home to victory due in no small part to a six point return from Conor Mortimer over the hour.

There's no more room for error for the Mayo seniors of 2016, after five successive Connacht titles, rather than looking forward to a Sunday afternoon showdown for the Nestor Cup, they are back on the chicken and chips circuit of the qualifiers for the first time in six years looking to rebuild their fortunes on the backstreets of the championship. The first step in moving from those backstreets to the main streets is tomorrow afternoon when they host a dangerous visitor from Ulster at 3.30pm