Search Results for 'Colm Boyle'

Both Mayo and their visitors from Kildare tomorrow night could badly do with getting a win under their belts. Mayo are coming off the back of three losses on the bounce, while Kieran McGeeney’s men are heading west after a morale sapping mauling by a rampant Dublin side last Sunday. It was their first defeat of the league, but a number of questions had been hanging over them, especially after a winless and roundly agreed out of sorts Kerry side nearly turned them over in Newbridge a fortnight before.

Down 0-13

Mayo 0-15 : : Kerry 1-6

Galway Garda are back in the Connacht Senior Football final and on course for three All Ireland titles in succession after a narrow one-point victory over a resilient Mayo Teachers.

Ten Mayo players have been rewarded for their performances in this year’s football championship with nominations for the GAA GPA All Stars. Mayo’s haul of 10 nominations was only two short of All Ireland champions Donegal’s total. Both Alan Dillon and Andy Moran will be looking to pick up their second All Star awards with their nominations for this year. David Clark’s great year in goal has seen him get the nod alongside Dublin’s Stephen Cluxton and Donegal’s Paul Durcan. Both Keith Higgins and Ger Cafferkey were given nominations in the full back line, with Lee Keegan and Colm Boyle in the half back line. Both Aidan O’Shea and Barry Moran are up for one of the midfield berths, with Kevin McLoughlin joining Dillon and Moran in the race for a All Star in the forwards. Cillian O’Connor, who won the young player of the year last year, is nominated again this year for the same award.

The flags and the bunting have been put up around the towns and villages of the county. Songs have been written and learned with gusto, while those who left the wild sod of their homeland in search of better things afar, are clutching boarding cards to come home. It can only mean one thing — Mayo is in an All Ireland final.

With just over a week to go until the All Ireland final throw in at Croke Park, the excitement around the county is slowly building up by the day. On Wednesday evening Mayo held their press night ahead of the final and James Horan was in confident mood that he will have a fully fit squad come Sunday week. When asked about those who were injured in the semi-final and their outlook, he said: “We’ve a couple of guys still on rehab programmes at the moment and are progressing very well and I’d be very confident in the next couple of days they’ll be raring to go.”

Oh what an unforgettable day. It had everything. Great weather, huge numbers of good humoured supporters, great company for my journey up and down and, above all, an excellent game with the best outcome! This was a Gaelic football match that had everything you could hope for at the difficult business end of the season. Here we had a match that had many similarities with what we had witnessed the previous Sunday: brilliant scores, top drawer saves, magnificent fielding, and a dramatic finish. I listened to Eugene Magee being interviewed on Today FM as I travelled to Dublin on Sunday morning. You will be aware that Eugene is heading up the task force known as the ‘Football review committee’ to investigate areas where the game can be improved. He remarked that the “sky was the limit” in terms of the possible changes that could be made. Surely this group will now recognise that there is very little wrong with the game when it is played like it was last Sunday.

It is sometimes hard to remember that Cillian O'Connor is only in his second year out of minor football. Last years national young footballer of the year, stepped up in front of the Hill on Sunday and slotted free's and 45's over the bar like he was just out practicing shooting by himself in his native Ballintubber. Right from the off, O'Connor showed no sign of nerves effecting him at all when he stood up to take his first effort at a 45 early on. “Yeah, they’re not ideal, they’re not as easy as 14 yard frees but if you don’t love kicking ‘45s into the Hill on a sunny day in Croker, you’re playing the wrong game. I was excited, I couldn’t wait to get out there, I suppose they were two difficult ones but you have to want to take them and thank God they went over. I suppose they set me up then for the rest of the game, gave me a bit of confidence”

Mayo 0-19