Search Results for 'David Clarke'

Now that the dust has finally settled, I spent some time discussing the quality of the senior football championship this year with a few GAA heads. Overall it was generally felt that it was a reasonably good championship as there were several good games that were of high quality. Obviously Mayo’s victory over Dublin is a stand out match for me, and I’m sure several of you too. But you would also have to admit that Donegal’s victories over both Kerry and Cork, when they produced their two best performances, were really eye-catching. Donegal were the best team in the country all year and deserved their All-Ireland success.

Donegal 2-11

Mayo were 10 points to the good on Sunday early in the second half, leading 0-17 to 0-7, and yet they were reduced to stumbling over the finish line to win by three. Had David Clarke not made a tremendous save in a one-on-one with Bernard Brogan near the finish, which would have levelled the game, it would probably be Dublin who would be facing Donegal in the All-Ireland final.

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.

Mayo were 10 points to the good on Sunday early in the second half, leading 0-17 to 0-7, and yet they were reduced to stumbling over the finish line to win by three.

Mayo 0-19

It has taken a little over 210 minutes of championship football to get here. Leitrim, Sligo and Down all stood in the way, but were not up to the challenge. On Sunday things get very real, but this is what Mayo have been preparing for ever since the final whistle blew in the same venue in last year’s All Ireland semi-final against Kerry. They are back to where they want to be, their fourth championship game in a five game series they hope will end in victory and a place in the All Ireland final for the first time in six years and another crack at bringing Sam Maguire back to Mayo. But that is another battle to be fought at a later date, and all that will be on Mayo minds on Sunday is the game ahead of them.

I sent a text to a Dublin friend of mine at half time during Mayo’s match against Down last Saturday telling him that, for the first time ever while following Mayo teams in Croke Park, I was going to sit back, relax, and enjoy the second half safe in the knowledge that we had almost definitely secured our place in the last four.

Mayo 3-18

I thought the Mayo team looked a little bit spooked last Sunday in Hyde Park and I really do not know why they appeared that way. Some might suggest that Conor Mortimer’s surprise departure from the squad placed a difficult burden on Mayo. I don’t believe it did. On the other hand I bumped into the Mayo manager in Castlebar last Saturday and could see he had the weary look of a man that had a belly-full of the Mortimer issue over the previous few days. I am sure he is sleeping a little more soundly since Sunday as his squad did just about enough to get over the line against a typically sticky Sligo challenge. As I stood to watch the presentation of the Nestor Cup, I engaged with a few Mayo supporters who were just as relieved that Mayo won the match. And I have to agree with their view which was that winning is the most important thing.