Search Results for 'Tom Cunniffe'

“We had enough ball to win the game.” That was James Horan’s immediate reaction as he attempted to deal with the fall-out of another Croke Park nightmare for Mayo.

“We had enough ball to win the game.” That was James Horan’s immediate reaction as he attempted to deal with the fall-out of another Croke Park nightmare for Mayo.

They have been there and done it three times in the past decade, while we are still waiting to do it for the first time in over 60 years, and on Sunday in Croke Park the Mayo juggernaught will collide with the Tyrone colossus for a place in the All Ireland final in four weeks’ time. Mayo have breezed through Connacht and swatted aside the challenge of the reining All Ireland champions en route to this showdown, while Tyrone have taken the scenic route that has taken them from defeat in May in Ballybofey, on to Tullamore, Roscommon, Newbridge, and Croke Park to get to the semi-final. James Horan named an unchanged side from the one that beat Donegal in the quarter-final on Thursday afternoon, with Tom Cunniffe getting the nod despite limping out of the Donegal game.

Keith Higgins had his fair share of ups and downs with Mayo in the eight years he has been on the scene with the senior team, but the move up the field to the half-foward line from corner back was one that took most people by surprise before throw in for the All Ireland quarter final at the start of the month. But it was something that the Ballyhaunis man enjoyed, even if it did not last that long with Tom Cunniffe’s injury forcing him back into the full-back line before the half-time break. “As I said it was a new experience, but the fact the game went so well, it made it easier for the 20 minutes it lasted,” he laughed at last week’s press night.

1.Aidan O'Shea is playing the football of his life:

Mayo 4-17

Once Monaghan had ended Donegal’s three-in-a-row Ulster championship dreams in St Tiernach’s Park in Clones, a couple of hours after Mayo had wrapped up their own hat-trick of provincial titles, this Sunday’s quarter-final pairing was the one that the neutral and plenty of non-neutrals wanted to see come out of the hat. And so it came to pass, not long after 8.30pm last Saturday, the gods conspired to set up a rematch of last year’s All Ireland final, with Cavan man Joe McQuillan the man brokering the peace in the middle of the two packs.

And then there were eight. Watching the qualifier between Tyrone and Meath and Ger Canning announcing that Donegal seem to be into the quarter final after a struggle against Laois, I promptly let my Donegal wife Rita know that Mayo could now get drawn against Donegal. I knew it would happen, it was written in the stars, a chance for this Mayo team to right what went wrong in last year’s All-Ireland final. They could have got an easier draw in the likes of Cavan but getting pitted against Donegal - the All-Ireland champions, the team that made us sick to the pit of our stomachs last September means there is little needed in the line of motivation and complacency is gone out the window. It also means not much chat in the Casey house this week. I hope and expect to have bragging rights at 5.30pm next Sunday.

Mayo 5-11

Mayo manager James Horan has made four changes to the Mayo line-up for Sunday’s novel Connacht final against London in McHale Park. Breaffy’s Rob Hennelly who was recalled to the panel in recent days following a goalkeeping injury crisis, has been selected between the posts for his first championship start since the 2011 All Ireland semi-final defeat to Kerry in Croke Park.