Despite reaching the Alllianz Football League semi-finals for the third year in a row, it’s 13 years since Mayo won the last of their 11 titles, which made them the second most successful county in National Football League history.
While the westerners reached the final in 2012, they will look to improve on last year’s performance at this stage when they allowed Dublin hit 2-4 without reply during the first half to crash out of the competition.
Advertisement
2. Will Derry’s selection gamble pay off?
Last weekend’s 2-12 to 1-7 loss to Mayo in the final round of league games doesn’t really do justice to how bad Derry were in McHale Park. Mayo bossed the first half and leading 0-8 to just a solitary point at the break, they really should have kicked on and ran up a score.
However, Brian McIver had made numerous changes to the side which so comfortably took care of Kildare the weekend before as his charges had already qualified for the final four. Whether or not the eight-point defeat to Mayo will affect their momentum going into Sunday’s early throw-in remains to be seen.
3. How busy will the scoreboard operators be?
Three sides — Tyrone and the relegated Kildare and Westmeath — conceded more than Mayo did in the top flight this year. While it’s obviously a consequence of higher rates of scoring full stop in football, it is interesting that Mayo have gone from shipping 5-75 in 2013 to 14-91 this campaign.
Derry, on the other hand, may have been slightly less accurate in front of the posts than they were in Division 2 last year — 11-102 compared to 5-112 — but their consistency in attack is something that James Horan will have to prepare his defence for.
4. Do Mayo need national silverware to mount another All-Ireland challenge?
Cillian O’Connor insists there’s no hangover in Mayo from two successive All-Ireland final defeats but the very fact he was talking about the Championship just days before a league semi-final speaks volumes.
However, four wins and a draw in their last five games show they’re a team in form and perhaps they’ve decided that a win in the League might be the perfect tee-up for the Connacht championship.
5. What interpretation of the black card rule will we see?
Armagh’s Padraig Hughes will referee Sunday’s game and hopefully we’ll see a more consistent interpretation of cynical fouls than was on display in the high-profile Dublin v Tyrone game last weekend.
For the black card to work — and it has its critics — players should not get away with yellow cards for fouls the new card was brought in to cut out of the game.
5 talking points ahead of Mayo v Derry
1. Will it be third time lucky for Mayo?
Despite reaching the Alllianz Football League semi-finals for the third year in a row, it’s 13 years since Mayo won the last of their 11 titles, which made them the second most successful county in National Football League history.
While the westerners reached the final in 2012, they will look to improve on last year’s performance at this stage when they allowed Dublin hit 2-4 without reply during the first half to crash out of the competition.
2. Will Derry’s selection gamble pay off?
Last weekend’s 2-12 to 1-7 loss to Mayo in the final round of league games doesn’t really do justice to how bad Derry were in McHale Park. Mayo bossed the first half and leading 0-8 to just a solitary point at the break, they really should have kicked on and ran up a score.
However, Brian McIver had made numerous changes to the side which so comfortably took care of Kildare the weekend before as his charges had already qualified for the final four. Whether or not the eight-point defeat to Mayo will affect their momentum going into Sunday’s early throw-in remains to be seen.
3. How busy will the scoreboard operators be?
Three sides — Tyrone and the relegated Kildare and Westmeath — conceded more than Mayo did in the top flight this year. While it’s obviously a consequence of higher rates of scoring full stop in football, it is interesting that Mayo have gone from shipping 5-75 in 2013 to 14-91 this campaign.
Derry, on the other hand, may have been slightly less accurate in front of the posts than they were in Division 2 last year — 11-102 compared to 5-112 — but their consistency in attack is something that James Horan will have to prepare his defence for.
4. Do Mayo need national silverware to mount another All-Ireland challenge?
Cillian O’Connor insists there’s no hangover in Mayo from two successive All-Ireland final defeats but the very fact he was talking about the Championship just days before a league semi-final speaks volumes.
However, four wins and a draw in their last five games show they’re a team in form and perhaps they’ve decided that a win in the League might be the perfect tee-up for the Connacht championship.
5. What interpretation of the black card rule will we see?
Armagh’s Padraig Hughes will referee Sunday’s game and hopefully we’ll see a more consistent interpretation of cynical fouls than was on display in the high-profile Dublin v Tyrone game last weekend.
For the black card to work — and it has its critics — players should not get away with yellow cards for fouls the new card was brought in to cut out of the game.
Any hangover Mayo had after All-Ireland disappointment is over – Cillian O’Connor
Derry bring back their A-listers with 13 changes for semi-final against Mayo
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
All-Ireland Senior HC Comp:allia GAA Take your point Derry Mayo