GAA Football 2017

Ros v Mayo
Kerry  v   Galway
Dublin  v  Mon/Down
Tyrone v  Kildare/Armagh

That will change if Armagh beat us which will mean it will be an open draw between Armagh and the winners of the all Nordy clash to see who plays Tyrone and Dublin,with Feely back i fancy us to beat Armagh though.

Can see Kerry comfortably beating Mayo next week. They stumbled over the line this evening IMO. Playing extra time won't have helped either

Edited by Denis Irwin - 22 Jul 2017 at 8:37pm

sh*t I knew that and all don't know what made me post that

Denis Irwin wrote: Can see Kerry comfortably beating Mayo next week. They stumbled over the line this evening IMO. Playing extra time won't have helped either

Robot  malfunction

Gashley Grimes wrote: Is it not Ros v Mayo?   Given Galway look home and hosed against Donegal,will they not play Kerry? As Galway played Roscommon in CF.   Great first game felt sorry for Cork really put it up to Mayo. Don't think that ref will be allowed into Cork.

Jimmy Cooney the 2nd! What a stupid mistake to make! Had an awful game really for both sides he doesn't give free's out that easily!

Edited by Trigboy 10 - 22 Jul 2017 at 9:03pm

The only Donegal man in Croke park this summer

Gashley Grimes wrote: Down would be nice for Dublin.   Can only see Monaghan and Kildare coming through though. Given the two week break you'd expect both to win out.   Expect a reaction from Monaghan after their performance against Carlow. Even though there'll be a bit of needle in the Kil/Armagh match - Kildare should be too strong for the Orchard county.

Why though? I mean, they were poor enough against Down the first time around, and poor enough against Carlow. I'm not sure they'll improve. I don't expect Down to win but I don't think it's fair to say that only Monaghan can win.

Been quiet on this thread recently due to my own absence from Galway games in the Championship. Saturdays qualifier was the first championship game I made this summer and by jesus I wasn't disappointed.

Promotion from Division 2 was the primary goal this season and we've done that. However, a lot of the good work that done would have been lost if we didn;t answer the critics on Saturday evening. The Connacht final was a major disappointment. I didn't even get to see that game live in full but the snippets I saw were enough to conclude why we lost. Roscommon to their credit were the better team, and outfought us in every position. Tactically were left wanting but more alarming was our attitude. Only for a 10 minute spell when we reeled off six points in a row to narrow the gap to three points, did we show what we were capable of. But the Rossies stepped it up another gear and we had no answer.

There was no question who wanted to win this game more. The attitude, hunger, and execution for the 70 minutes on Saturday was everything any Galway fan who travelled to Sligo could ask for. I knew this team had more to offer, and I was pissed off with the way people in our county wrote us off. We hadn't turned into a bad team overnight and coming out of Markievicz Park on Saturday, I was beyond satisfied they had proved that.

We learned from our mistakes and played to our strengths. Kevin Walsh needed to focus on the approach that got us this far. Ruairi Lavelle came in for huge criticism not only for the final but in the Mayo game. We suddenly decided in the Championship to put a huge emphasis on short kickouts and building from the back. I have no issue with that. However, it was clear in both games we were not comfortable with doing that. I'd hazard a guess that the level of preparation to execute it properly in match situations wasn't done and we were punished for it. I can remember three years ago in Walshs first year how we could barely handpass across the field facing a blanket defence without dropping it in the League. Its important to point out though that no matter if Lavelle had struck every kickout perfectly, the players weren't working hard enough to secure that ball and support the man in possession. If Lavelle had went long, Roscommon more than likely would have won the majority of clean ball because they wanted it more.

Against Donegal, we didn't abandon the short kickout, we just showed for it far more often when we had to and set up a solid platform to attack from. The same went for long kickouts. We either won the ball cleanly or winning the breaking ball. Attitude can make a savage adjustment at this level. I felt sorry for Lavelle that he was dropped but his replacement Bernard Power (last years No.1) could not be faulted throughout and capped his display off with a fantastic penalty double save. Its secured his position for the rest of the championship.

The same hunger and desire we showed against Mayo was there Saturday. And what we did on and off the ball was simply too much for Donegal to handle. We went to basics, in terms of our football but the system Kevin Walsh has introduced. Every player was tracking back and nullifying Donegal when we didn;t have the ball. Theere always players in support when we had the ball. Johnny Heaney was superb from first minute to last. Two great goals running from deep and a constant nuisance with his tracking. He left Conroy and Flynn to take control of midfield and orchestrate the attack.

Ian Burke for years has been talked up as a key player for Galway, first not getting much opportunity and then this year, not taking it. He proved to me anyways that he's well able for this level with a fine display. His composure on the ball and how he used it made a huge difference in amongst Donegals packed defence. Michael Daly has nailed down the No.11 position and his impact this year only points to a positive future. Comer is always a threat and he is struggling to hit the same heights as last year. He is getting drawn into sledging contests that aren't doing him no favours. I know if he can cut that out he'll be more effective. Shane Walsh has been utilised at No.11, No.14 at wing half forward but for now he has stay at corner forward. He is a quality footballer that can do plenty of damage inside if given the chance. The return of Sean Armstrong has been a delight. For years he infuriated me with lacklustre displays never matching his potential. But since he's returned he's been fantastic, I dont understand why he was dropped for the Connacht final but he won;t be dropped next Sunday. Excellent of frees and his movement belying that of a veteran inter-county forward.

And yet, the most talked about forward that evening was Michael Meehan. I don't want to jinx him because he has suffered setback upon setback over the last 10 years with injury. In the time he was on, you couldn;t take your eyes off him. He looked in good shape and while I think he still has a bit to go, even for 20 minutes, he could make a massive difference. His talent is unquestionable and the boost to have him come off the bench could be a game changer going forward. He was desperate to score but not at the expense of the team, selfishly laying off a pass that led to a point when the game was well and truly over. Danny Cummins came on to score a cracker of a goal. Depth and talent is there, and we're certainly worthy of our place in the last 8.

I will sound a note of caution that we can only play what was in front of us. After the first ten minutes I was expecting a much closer game against Donegal. Once we got the first goal however, their heads suddenly dropped. I noticed that Eoin McHugh had started well but after making three good runs he was out of gas and barely threatened after. McBrearty got a wonderful point to piut Donegal ahead before that goal but got little service after that. Had to feel sorry for Michael Murphy. For years, he has been the go to man with this team but the onus of leading the team is becoming greater and greater on him. He cannot do it by himself. I'm sure there is enough talent in the county to play alongside him and make Donegal a threat in the Championship. Sincerely doubt Rory Gallagher is the man to do that, he's been there three years now and there is little he can point to that suggests he is doing a good job. Kevin Walsh in comparison has brought several new players and a new system in the same timeframe to a team that was much worse than Donegal in 2014.

As for Sunday, I can only hope we bring the same attitude and performance against Kerry. And after that who knows? The last thing I want to see from Galway is to become a Jekyll and Hyde team on the big occasion. We all know what Tipp did last year to us. We could very well lose to Kerry but with this being our third quarter final in four years and with Division 1 football coming next year, we need a big performance at Croker regardless of the opposition in front of us.