Leinster Minor Q/Final Draws

Well done to all involved on a great win today. Tough game that will hopefully stand to them going forward now. Robinson was outstanding. Agree Marnell really stepped up in the second half.

Good enough win today alright, great to be back in another semi final but Kerry you'd imagine will be a big step up from Mayo.

Got cleaned out in midfield in the first half, needed a different option than just going long when we were kicking into a strong wind - one of the Mayo goals came straight from them winning one of our own kickouts on the 45 and just running straight up the middle.

Mayo had a good few bad wides in the first half as well, lucky to be only one point behind I thought at the break. Robinson's goal was a cracker, he seems to just breeze past players and created a number of chances for himself throughout.

Came into it much better in the second half, couple of bad balls into the forwards early on but once we got on top on midfield we seemed relatively comfortable. The last 2 days out Masterson stood out in the middle but Marnell really stepped up today. Would have been nice to kill the game off with one of the goal chances we created before McLoughlin eventually found the net. Had enough possession and got forward enough to rack up a bigger score but Mayo never really seemed out of it. When they resorted to the long ball late on the looked to have a couple of half chances for a goal. Dempsey and Shaw did well in the fullback line though and we had enough bodies back to crowd them out.

Two All Ireland semi's in a row now at least, probably shouldn't complain too much I suppose. Nice to get 1-10 without Hyland in the second half as well.

And if that's the standard of refereeing they enjoy in Fermanagh then I don't think we're in a position to complain about refs in this county. Never thought I'd say that...

Kerry vs Derey on TG4 now, Kerry look a serious outfit

Thought we were clearly the better team today but we didn't really hit top gear apart from a few patches in 2nd half. Some very good personal displays with Robinson being the standout. He was a joy to watch. Skillful and really intelligent on the ball.
Well be underdogs the next day no doubt but if these guys can put everything together on the day there's no reason they can't give it a right good rattle. They have talent all over pitch.
Important to remember also that we played the full 2nd half without Hyland and coped.
as for the referee the less said the better ....

flourman wrote:

Kerry vs Derey on TG4 now, Kerry look a serious outfit

They looked decent up front in that Derry allowed them the time they needed and they had the accuracy to punish them, however I thought they looked porous at the back and Derry ran through them numerous times.

I think we have the firepower to hurt them, if we can up the intensity and stay as tight as possible at the back we will give them plenty.

I honestly think both teams are very similar in that their strength is from 8 to 15. it could turn into a shootout. I was in Croke Park on Sunday and Kerrys defending is suspect but so is ours to be honest.

I don't think Kildare played as well today as they had done in Leinster so it was good to see us come out the right side of the result. Mayo were limited enough opposition talent wise (compared to Meath for example) but they played it a lot more streetwise than the teams we faced in Leinster. A lot of the football at all levels in Leinster is fierce naive innocent stuff which you realise when you step outside of the province. Kildare could have easily been rattled by the way the first half ended and the second half begun but great credit must go to the team for the way they wrested back control of the game and saw it out.

Kerry are going for three in a row at this level so you would expect them to be favourites. This particular group look quite athletic and powerful allied to their skillfulness. Kildare will not be expected to win this which may just suit them. It's obviously a much changed team but last year's minors seemed to struggle with the weight of expectation in the semi final. They didn't show anything like their best form on the day. I'm hopeful this team will have a real cut at it in four week's time. It's great to still have a team in there pitching at this time of year.

mayo did not realy look good at times players heads down,we where not so good at times,but we realy battled hard young robinson outstanding,big step up needed against kerry,i think at times i exspect to much from these young lads after all there learning the game,so well done to all players and management,