Meath Forum

Mayo Vs Meath - All Ireland Round 3

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Thoughts on the draw? Feels like a pure 50 50 game to me. Think Meath will dominate midfield and overall have the better forwards. Ryan O'Donoghue, Kobe and Darragh Beirne will no doubt cause our struggling defence a lot of problems. Think Mayo have the better defenders, hoping the big pitch in Castlebar will suit meath and they will have had an extra day recovery on Mayo. Such a hard game to call, should be a cracker.

Sheridan2010louth (Meath) - Posts: 348 - 15/06/2026 12:18:07    2679837

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Would have preferred it in Croke Park but it's about as good as we could have gotten. Mayo are a good team, but also vulnerable and we are absolutely capable of beating them. Think both teams will be relatively happy with the draw

Cabbagepatch1667 (Meath) - Posts: 172 - 15/06/2026 13:04:43    2679869

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Probably not the worst draw we could have had. Need to get a fairer way of giving teams an opportunity of playing a home game. Meath on their 3rd away trip and will have covered just shy of 1400km following the boys in green. Glad to be able to do it but surely fairness has to come into the equation. Look at Monaghan, 3 home games, no travelling at all. I know it's the luck of the draw but some common sense has to prevail. Fuel prices are quite high at present. I think and I am open to contradiction but Meath are the only team who have not got a home draw in this series of games.

Diego (Meath) - Posts: 1212 - 15/06/2026 13:46:29    2679898

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Glad to have avoided Donegal & Armagh at this stage. Not easy being on the road again but think we'll match up well against them. Would hope / expect that the Derry game will have brought us on.

gwanyagudthing (Meath) - Posts: 203 - 15/06/2026 13:46:44    2679899

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Mayos defence as suspect as ours, we defo have the better midfield. They probably have the stars up front but they probably have that flakey Mayo DNA so happy to have ours

southmeathgael (Meath) - Posts: 1094 - 15/06/2026 14:02:44    2679911

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Replying To Sheridan2010louth:  "Thoughts on the draw? Feels like a pure 50 50 game to me. Think Meath will dominate midfield and overall have the better forwards. Ryan O'Donoghue, Kobe and Darragh Beirne will no doubt cause our struggling defence a lot of problems. Think Mayo have the better defenders, hoping the big pitch in Castlebar will suit meath and they will have had an extra day recovery on Mayo. Such a hard game to call, should be a cracker."
Yeah I'm happy with that, haven't been to MacHale Park before so looking forward to the trip over. The Mayo forwards you've mentioned are all dangerous so will definitely need to have our intensity up defensively, they'll struggle with our attacking players too so will be a shootout no doubt!

LowerHogan (Meath) - Posts: 106 - 15/06/2026 14:15:08    2679916

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Replying To Cabbagepatch1667:  "Would have preferred it in Croke Park but it's about as good as we could have gotten. Mayo are a good team, but also vulnerable and we are absolutely capable of beating them. Think both teams will be relatively happy with the draw"
Nail on the head here. Both teams going to feel like they can win this game. Not overly worried about it being an away game except for the travel for players and fans.

Armagh and Donegal avoided is a positive. Plus Mayo tired and down in the dumps after a game they thought they could've won yesterday.

NYRoyal (USA) - Posts: 169 - 15/06/2026 15:04:12    2679935

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Replying To Sheridan2010louth:  "Thoughts on the draw? Feels like a pure 50 50 game to me. Think Meath will dominate midfield and overall have the better forwards. Ryan O'Donoghue, Kobe and Darragh Beirne will no doubt cause our struggling defence a lot of problems. Think Mayo have the better defenders, hoping the big pitch in Castlebar will suit meath and they will have had an extra day recovery on Mayo. Such a hard game to call, should be a cracker."
Largely agree. Its probably 50-50 and both teams will be happy to get each other and will fancy their chances. So expect it to be close.

Meath have already comprehensively beat Mayo in challenges this season and while nothing can be read into such results, it would at least mean there is a familiarity amongst squad and potential set ups.

I would hope the short turn around will let the team carry the positive momentum of last weeks game to Castlebar.

Issues still remain but its all building for 2027.

Royalio11 (Meath) - Posts: 853 - 15/06/2026 16:42:59    2679974

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Three away games in a row is a complete failure of oversight. Nobody is earning home advantage anymore, neutral venues need to be seriously considered for the backdoor.

Personally, I'm gutted I can't make it on Saturday. I was hoping for a Sunday fixture, but you can't have it all. I've been lucky this year - the only game I couldn't travel to and wasn't televised either was cork in the league.

As for Mayo, they have the type of forwards who can cause problems for the way we defend. It'll be interesting to see the match-ups, but I'd be surprised if Brennan tinkers too much with a winning team. Smyth has certainly put his hand up, though I'd expect him to be used as an impact sub. This is the first div 1 side we will have faced this year.

The big positive is midfield. If they perform like they did on Saturday, we have a huge chance. They absolutely dominated kick-outs and won more than twice as many as the opposition.

We need more from Costello and Morris. Flynn, Menton and Keoghan stepped up brilliantly in Kinsella's absence and covered his usual scoring contribution, but we need another forward to chip in with 3-4 points. Conlon is flying, but you can't expect seven points every game.

I still have a quiet confidence someone is about to explode. O'Connor got into plenty of scoring positions but didn't finish, Frayne was quiet from play, and Morris feels like a coiled spring ready to go. One of them is due a big day.

Mayo have athletes to match us physically, so lads like Caufield(endurance) , Flynn (power), McBride (height) and Coffey(pace) may not enjoy the same edge they usually do.

I honestly am not sure about the result. While Derry had in the past been known for being tough to play against( it looks to be fully gone now) and this made me unsure about the game last week. Mayo have always played football, they are loose at times, they can score big, concede big, 2 point shooters and have big men. This gives me more us v cork vibes. We somewhat mirror each other.

If we were to add another layer of hard work to the team, I think you can outwork this mayo team. We can go toe to toe in a shoot out and maybe it's 50:50 but I think we have the capacity to be more prgamatic than them.

royalcounty1 (Meath) - Posts: 108 - 15/06/2026 19:38:40    2680031

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Replying To royalcounty1:  "Three away games in a row is a complete failure of oversight. Nobody is earning home advantage anymore, neutral venues need to be seriously considered for the backdoor.

Personally, I'm gutted I can't make it on Saturday. I was hoping for a Sunday fixture, but you can't have it all. I've been lucky this year - the only game I couldn't travel to and wasn't televised either was cork in the league.

As for Mayo, they have the type of forwards who can cause problems for the way we defend. It'll be interesting to see the match-ups, but I'd be surprised if Brennan tinkers too much with a winning team. Smyth has certainly put his hand up, though I'd expect him to be used as an impact sub. This is the first div 1 side we will have faced this year.

The big positive is midfield. If they perform like they did on Saturday, we have a huge chance. They absolutely dominated kick-outs and won more than twice as many as the opposition.

We need more from Costello and Morris. Flynn, Menton and Keoghan stepped up brilliantly in Kinsella's absence and covered his usual scoring contribution, but we need another forward to chip in with 3-4 points. Conlon is flying, but you can't expect seven points every game.

I still have a quiet confidence someone is about to explode. O'Connor got into plenty of scoring positions but didn't finish, Frayne was quiet from play, and Morris feels like a coiled spring ready to go. One of them is due a big day.

Mayo have athletes to match us physically, so lads like Caufield(endurance) , Flynn (power), McBride (height) and Coffey(pace) may not enjoy the same edge they usually do.

I honestly am not sure about the result. While Derry had in the past been known for being tough to play against( it looks to be fully gone now) and this made me unsure about the game last week. Mayo have always played football, they are loose at times, they can score big, concede big, 2 point shooters and have big men. This gives me more us v cork vibes. We somewhat mirror each other.

If we were to add another layer of hard work to the team, I think you can outwork this mayo team. We can go toe to toe in a shoot out and maybe it's 50:50 but I think we have the capacity to be more prgamatic than them."
I agree, it's a flaw in the system that in round 3 one team can have home advantage. It's not fair for a team's fate to be potentially decided by a flip of the coin at this stage of the season. Armagh - win Ulster, lose with last kick of the ball against Louth and then straight down to play Kerry in Killarney - that's not right. GAA and the TV execs delighted with the big crowds at home venues but it's not fair on the teams and their management. Also not fair sending supporters all around the country. Meath supporters will have travelled 1400km in the All Ireland series. That's a joke.

In terms of the game, agree that we will need a bit more from our forwards as a collective. While our midfield might have the edge we're unlikely to win as much ball as we did against Derry so our forwards will need to more efficient and incisive. Have to say though I liked the way they played in the second half the last day - kept working the opportunities and chipping over points. We don't need to rely on 2 point heroics but would be nice if we could find a few. Match ups in the backs will be crucial - can't give Kobe room because he will shoot and score from anywhere. I feel if we shackle him we might silence the crowd.

gwanyagudthing (Meath) - Posts: 203 - 16/06/2026 09:54:39    2680093

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Replying To gwanyagudthing:  "I agree, it's a flaw in the system that in round 3 one team can have home advantage. It's not fair for a team's fate to be potentially decided by a flip of the coin at this stage of the season. Armagh - win Ulster, lose with last kick of the ball against Louth and then straight down to play Kerry in Killarney - that's not right. GAA and the TV execs delighted with the big crowds at home venues but it's not fair on the teams and their management. Also not fair sending supporters all around the country. Meath supporters will have travelled 1400km in the All Ireland series. That's a joke.

In terms of the game, agree that we will need a bit more from our forwards as a collective. While our midfield might have the edge we're unlikely to win as much ball as we did against Derry so our forwards will need to more efficient and incisive. Have to say though I liked the way they played in the second half the last day - kept working the opportunities and chipping over points. We don't need to rely on 2 point heroics but would be nice if we could find a few. Match ups in the backs will be crucial - can't give Kobe room because he will shoot and score from anywhere. I feel if we shackle him we might silence the crowd."
Who marks Kobe? Worried we don't have anyone to shackle him, I think Sean Coffey takes Ryan O'Donoghue.

Sheridan2010louth (Meath) - Posts: 348 - 16/06/2026 10:18:30    2680099

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Replying To Sheridan2010louth:  "Who marks Kobe? Worried we don't have anyone to shackle him, I think Sean Coffey takes Ryan O'Donoghue."
There's no obvious candidate and it is the one type of player we are currently missing. The good news is that they played Mayo in two challenges already and assuming he played in at least one of them they might have a decent sense of what worked and what didn't. Realistically, keeping him to 0:5 or less would be a very good outcome.

gwanyagudthing (Meath) - Posts: 203 - 16/06/2026 11:53:39    2680133

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Replying To Sheridan2010louth:  "Who marks Kobe? Worried we don't have anyone to shackle him, I think Sean Coffey takes Ryan O'Donoghue."
We played them in a challenge in Ashbourne about 6 weeks ago and won, Kobe played too so would imagine we have a good idea of what the match ups will be.

Probably need someone younger and with legs to pick him up. Mayo have a lot of good forwards though so you can't just focus on one. My worry is that we stand off too much and invite 2 point attempts - did it against Cork and Sherlock destroyed us. Cannot stand off Kobe, Ryan O'Donoghue or Tommy Conroy who is coming back to full fitness.

Cabbagepatch1667 (Meath) - Posts: 172 - 16/06/2026 14:15:54    2680181

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Replying To Cabbagepatch1667:  "We played them in a challenge in Ashbourne about 6 weeks ago and won, Kobe played too so would imagine we have a good idea of what the match ups will be.

Probably need someone younger and with legs to pick him up. Mayo have a lot of good forwards though so you can't just focus on one. My worry is that we stand off too much and invite 2 point attempts - did it against Cork and Sherlock destroyed us. Cannot stand off Kobe, Ryan O'Donoghue or Tommy Conroy who is coming back to full fitness."
Agree about their forward options.

I'm very interested to see what are we like physically. I feel like there is a gulf between div 1 and div 2 in terms of athletes. Even Aidan osea is such a handful( wed probably have to put menton on him) .

It's more attitude for me. Mcdonald is silky athletic and young. You need someone who just doesn't give a hoot about him. A lee keegan, eamon mcgee, bryan cullen. Now obviously we don't have that calibre of player but I mean that attitude I'll stop you and still play my game.

Odonoghue is the big one for me, I don't know if the other mayo players can carry them if he doesn't play well. Menton might have 6 on his back but he won't be following odonoghue. It might be a full back line member that will tag him. Ohalloran or lavin perhaps, Ryan is our man marker but odonghue is too pacey for him.

royalcounty1 (Meath) - Posts: 108 - 16/06/2026 20:11:43    2680237

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Replying To royalcounty1:  "Agree about their forward options.

I'm very interested to see what are we like physically. I feel like there is a gulf between div 1 and div 2 in terms of athletes. Even Aidan osea is such a handful( wed probably have to put menton on him) .

It's more attitude for me. Mcdonald is silky athletic and young. You need someone who just doesn't give a hoot about him. A lee keegan, eamon mcgee, bryan cullen. Now obviously we don't have that calibre of player but I mean that attitude I'll stop you and still play my game.

Odonoghue is the big one for me, I don't know if the other mayo players can carry them if he doesn't play well. Menton might have 6 on his back but he won't be following odonoghue. It might be a full back line member that will tag him. Ohalloran or lavin perhaps, Ryan is our man marker but odonghue is too pacey for him."
The results so far don't suggest there is a gulf in physicality / athleticism. 3 division 2 teams in the quarters.

I think we're all starting to figure out the new rules but to me a lot of it boils down to which team has a good day on the kickouts and which team wins most possession around the middle 8. That was the platform for us beating Derry - they got their scores but we won a lot of ball and possession which meant we always had opportunities to hit back with scores. It's an area where we should have an advantage against Mayo. Doesn't matter how good Mayo's forwards are if they are living off scraps.

gwanyagudthing (Meath) - Posts: 203 - 17/06/2026 14:18:32    2680325

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Replying To gwanyagudthing:  "The results so far don't suggest there is a gulf in physicality / athleticism. 3 division 2 teams in the quarters.

I think we're all starting to figure out the new rules but to me a lot of it boils down to which team has a good day on the kickouts and which team wins most possession around the middle 8. That was the platform for us beating Derry - they got their scores but we won a lot of ball and possession which meant we always had opportunities to hit back with scores. It's an area where we should have an advantage against Mayo. Doesn't matter how good Mayo's forwards are if they are living off scraps."
The lads around the middle need to have the same desire as they had against Derry. Our midfield is probably better on paper but it can be flipped very easily as we never see 1 midfield dominate every single game, they can dominate one game and then next game be cleaned out.

Bottom line, win our fair share of long kick outs clean and have the same willingness to die for the breaking ball as the Derry game and I'd be confident. Plus we obviously take the pressure off our back line then as well.

NYRoyal (USA) - Posts: 169 - 17/06/2026 16:47:52    2680349

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Meath to win well 5 or more

clutch (Louth) - Posts: 33 - 17/06/2026 23:11:27    2680387

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What's the story with changed kits on Saturday? Presumably Meath are in gold with green shorts? Meath away strip is navy won't work with mayo away strip navy also , even mayo home kit of dark green and red won't go well with navy of Meath

dickie10 (UK) - Posts: 965 - 19/06/2026 02:49:49    2680530

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Replying To dickie10:  "What's the story with changed kits on Saturday? Presumably Meath are in gold with green shorts? Meath away strip is navy won't work with mayo away strip navy also , even mayo home kit of dark green and red won't go well with navy of Meath"
Meath's alternate kit is white, we wore it against Offaly. So after that Mayo can wear their green and red or their alternate jersey which is a dark navy or black I think.

Team named anyway, Flynn and O'Connor named on bench but you'd assume both start again. Thought O'Connor was taking crazy shots in the first half but his direct running is excellent and if he catches fire he can score. The first shot seems crucial with him, if he scores first one, they all go over or if he misses, they all start going wide.

NYRoyal (USA) - Posts: 169 - 19/06/2026 11:14:49    2680570

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Jordan Flynn and Jack Carney named to start midfield for Mayo, I'd be shocked if that's how they line out, expecting Matty Ruane and/or Aidan O'Shea to start midfield.

Sheridan2010louth (Meath) - Posts: 348 - 19/06/2026 12:06:34    2680580

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