Mayo v Donegal NFL Rd7 23rd March 2025

You would think, following Mayo for so long, that we’d learn to keep a level head! After the first couple of league match’s, I was very despondent with the way we were playing, and the direction I thought we were headed. What a turnaround though in the last 3 or 4 games. The lads are playing much better football, and we still have some players to come back from injuries.

It was a funny type of game against Donegal. But what was even weirder, was the the way the results were going in all the other division 1 games. At one stage we were down in the relegation zone. The penalty save by Reape, and the smart thinking of Ryan O Donoghue to opt to take his free, back outside the 40m arc to score a 2 pointer. Those 2 not only saved us in division 1 for next year, but also sent us top of the table and a league final appearance with Kerry next Sunday.

It is one of the strangest leagues that I can remember anyways. Tyrone got relegated, even though they ended up with 7 points on the table. We topped the table with 9 points, but also had a n negative scoring difference of -1. If memory serves me correctly, I think Monaghan survived in division 1 with only 4 points on the table! Mayo 1-18 to Donegal 1-16. Willie Joe’s match report and discussion here; https://www.mayogaablog.com/mayo-1-18-donegal-1-16-into-the-final-after-wild-day-of-swinging-fortunes/