1. A game that gripped the imagination until the end
After all the wailing post the quarter-final ties about the gulf that existed between the Top Four and everyone else in Gaelic football, this game was a timely reminder of what the sport can offer. Trust Kerry and Mayo to deliver a compelling duel on an afternoon borrowed from the depths of winter.
Nets were rattled three times in the opening twenty minutes. The teams were level six times from the 45th minute on and neither side ever enjoyed an advantage greater than a single point.
Mayo saving themselves at the death courtesy of substitute Paddy Durcan holding his nerve after the team had hit a few rash shots. A Bryan Sheehan free from a mile out that looped short as Kerry pursued a winner. Nerves were frayed amongst the 66,195 fans but everyone was treated to a true contest.
2. Mayo’s tactical choices
Amidst all the pre-match chat of who Mayo would pitch in to thwart Kieran Donaghy, the name of Aidan O’Shea was down the pecking order. Yet it was the Breaffy figure that was stationed alongside the Austin Stacks man for the duration of the afternoon. It was a brave, bold and at times baffling call.
Did it work? Donaghy may not have caused Mayo pain in the air but he was still regularly involved and while O’Shea battled furiously, his team lost something significant with him not operating in the middle third.
Lee Keegan featured in the Mayo half-forward line in an intriguing duel with Paul Murphy but didn’t get the same scoring return or surging runs as he has produced from his half-back berth. Keegan dropped two points attempts short, dragged another wide and did win a free which Cillian O’Connor converted.
Where Mayo place their two lynchpins in next Saturday’s replay will be influential.
3. Moran and Geaney sparkle in front of goal
Both teams saw scoring weapons wreak havoc on opposition defences. The impact that Andy Moran and Paul Geaney could make in their respective sectors was well advertised beforehand but both still delivered. It’s 13 years since Andy Moran made his senior championship bow yet the 33-year-old was still electric today.
He packed power and showed a clinical streak for the finish for that 4th minute goal before proceeding to take the Kerry defence for five points from play in a highly intelligent target man performance. Geaney showed his composure to land four first-half pointed frees before reeling off three points from play after the break. His importance to the Kerry cause was again rubber-stamped.
A combined haul of 1-12 between them illustrated the worth of Moran and Geaney.
4. Kerry’s concern at the back
Kerry may have kept clean sheets in their two games preceding today but that statistic masked the fact that both Cork and Galway had prised apart the Kingdom rearguard to create goalscoring chances. Neither side availed of those openings but Mayo were in no mood to cough up those opportunities in the first half.
Andy Moran and Colm Boyle billowed the net to highlight a problem sector for the Kerry defence. Mayo could have had a third when the ball pinged around the Kerry goalmouth in the 23rd minute, an example of the chaos that was reigning there. For the remainder of the game Kerry managed to tighten up with Brian Kelly not called into action again but it is a concern they will seek to address this week.
5. Marathon Mayo men keep on going
And so for the ninth time this season, Mayo’s fans have a championship game to look forward to. It’s a remarkable statistic considering that they’re not even at the final stage yet. It’s been an action-packed spell since they opened at home to Sligo on 21 May.
Since then they have lost to Galway, been taken to extra-time by Derry and Cork, won away to Clare, while facing All-Ireland series replays against Roscommon and Kerry. Their endeavour and resilience have been remarkable.
Even when Paul Murphy nudged Kerry ahead entering injury-time today, Mayo refused to quit and found a way to prolong their 2017 dream through Paddy Durcan’s point. The marathon men keep on going.
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Send those boys to Slovakia!
Zack Elbouzedi is some player MOTM from where I was sitting
@Eoin Murphy: he was excellent against Armenia as well.
@Eoin Murphy: He had a stint with WBA, I guess like Jack Byrne they will be heading back across the Irish sea again….soon!
Terrific 2nd half. Watched few of u21 games this year and they have given me hope COYBIG
I thought Lee O’Connor was terrific as well, a goal and an assist and equally worthy of MOTM.
I was roaring at the telly last night for Mick to bring Troy on in the last few minutes, really believe he could have got us something, well done Kenny and Co. The senior management need to take a leap with some of these young players, some are clearly better footballers than some regulars on the first team. Be brave Mick, we need natural strikers in the team against Slovakia
@Jimjamjim: stopped reading after roaring at the telly
@Jason Oliver: most of us watched it on telly,unfortunately we can’t all go to Dublin on a Monday night and take Tuesday off
@Jason Oliver: never read “after roaring at the telly”
@Pete mc pete: I didn’t get the impression that watching it on telly was the thing he was slagging.
Very encouraging talent in that team, and made all the better by the very smart manager. Kenny can’t take over the senior squad quick enough.
Like the new kit!
A
Such a brilliant send half performance. Ronan was like a man possessed and Parott worked so hard at tracking back. That being said they were helped by Sweden collapsing
Any chance of a look at the goals lads?
They’re all linked from this match thread:
https://www.reddit.com/r/coybig/comments/dylpdn/match_thread_ireland_u21_v_sweden_u21_u21s/
If he had brought on troy and Maguire we would have qualified
@Tony O Neill: with hendrick in midfield he wouldn’t have got the ball
@Eoin Murphy:
@Tony O Neill: You must have fallen asleep. He did bring on Maguire.
This is the most excited I’ve been about a group of young Irish players since Brian Kerrs under 16s and 18s in the 90s. Especially the attacking players. To think that we had two premiership strikers missing tonight but still put out the talent we did is crazy. Crazier still is that several of them are still in their teens and could have a couple or more years in the U 21s, though I suspect a few will be fast tracked into the senior squad more regularly.
@Ger: Always good to get your perspective Ger on the matches. I’ll make a few observations from this eventful week for Ireland (all levels). Our U17s beat Israel 4-2. Our U21s beat Sweden 4-1 (7-1 over both matches with them). McCarthy stuck to relying on the same starting 11 he has used for the most part throughout the group games. And yet, probably with a stark reminder and boot up the backside, the same players who could not pass a ball or keep possession, played last night, not with huff and puff, but with confidence, belief, and dare I say, like a team who can boss a match by playing football and even entertain. The same players who looked inept against Gibraltar and Georgia months ago.
There were few poor performances. They just didn’t have that one or two players to make a difference. Whelan is limited, but hats off to the guy. He has often outshone his midfield compatriots this campaign, including Hourihane and Hendrick and McLean. He does his job given by the manager, they don’t.
Like you. I’m positive. I have some serious concerns about Moran and the U19s. They seem out of sinc with the other youth levels. McCarthy can have his March Fair and let’s see where we go from there. By then, Kenny, hopefully, will have the U21s qualified, and ready to move in. It can’t come soon enough and a clearout of at least a third of the current senior squad.
Brilliant performance in the second half! Every single player at least 8/10.
@mar: Unfortunately there are 90 minutes in a match.
Agree with alot of comments here, was at both games, best performance in a good while on Monday, left me thinking about settling for a draw in Georgia, win that game and a draw would have done us. I know people will say Denmark didn’t beat them either but we had a chance and we really didn’t go for it. I thought Browne was excellent on Monday.
As for last night the result and second half performance was very impressive, coming from 1 down and bossing the game was great to see, one person not mentioned in comments was Liam Scales, thought he was terrific when he came on.
Future looks bright
Move all u21s up to senior squad