JUST LIKE that, three rounds of the NFL are done and dusted under football’s new rules.
There have been plenty of ups and downs as we all get to grips with a new dawn for the game, so here’s SunSport’s Jason Byrne’s mid-term report on the campaign so far.
CONFUSION APLENTY
WE ARE all still getting used to things – but it is bad when officials are confused too.
Mayo’s boring 0-12 to 0-10 win over Tyrone on Sunday was halted because the hosts did not have three players in the Red Hand half.
But Kevin McStay’s men were allowed to only have two up, because Conor Reid was black-carded on 26 minutes.
Referee Barry Cassidy was left red-faced as the Mayo bench protested their innocence before play continued.
The moment showed that the officials are still not up to scratch on the new laws – and that black and red cards are not as damaging to teams as they were before.
Mayo were still able to defend with 12 players including their goalkeeper, and the punishment of Reid’s sin-bin was minimal as Tyrone failed to increase their one-point lead.
Stopping the game was farcical considering we are almost at the league’s half way point, and the Mayo players and management alike took it on the chin.
GOAL-KEEPERS?
GOALIES are starting to go for goal – and it is only a matter of time before one of them hits the net from open play.
Niall Morgan was Tyrone’s top scorer on Sunday with 0-3, and the Edendork clubman had a shot saved by Mayo stopper Colm Reape in the second half.
Derry’s Neil McNicholl is traditionally a midfielder, and was drafted into Paddy Tally’s squad as a keeper for the league.
The Glenullin clubman came agonisingly close to raising a green flag for the Oak Leafers against Galway on Saturday night when his team trailed 1-11 to 0-5.
After bustling past Finnian Ó Laoi, his shot was destined for the top corner – but somehow Tribes defender John Daly deflected it over the bar.
COMEBACK KINGS
BIG LEADS count for nothing under the new rules.
Winds are always a factor too but at the weekend alone, several hefty deficits were clawed back.
Derry trailed Galway by nine points on Saturday night before Shane McGuigan;’s two-point free early in the second half sparked the revival, and the sides drew 0-16 to 1-13.
Dublin were in an even worse boat against Kerry in Tralee, when they fell 12 behind. But two-pointers from Lee Gannon, Ciaran Kilkenny and Lorcan O’Dell (twice) helped them win 0-19 to 1-15 in a cracker at Austin Stack Park.
Monaghan were 2-6 to 0-8 ahead of Roscommon in their Division 2 clash at Dr. Hyde Park, before Diarmuid Murtagh scored two orange flags and Conor Cox followed to steer the hosts home by five.
Oh and there was one more comeback, as Michael Murphy came off the Donegal bench to fire 0-3 against Armagh – two years on from his inter-county retirement.
TYRONE TRIBULATIONS
KERRY, Tyrone, Armagh and Mayo are all locked on four points – but the Red Hands look in real relegation trouble.
Stopper Niall Morgan was their top scorer in Sunday’s drab defeat to Mayo as they only managed 0-10.
Malachy O’Rourke needs to fire up the Bat signal and get Canavan brothers Ruairí and Darragh back on the pitch as soon as possible.
His team can defend – it’s engrained in them. But they failed to create anywhere near enough scoring chances in Castlebar, and kicked nine wides while they were at it.
It’s all good and well being able to keep teams out under the new rules, but scores are paramount now.
They did not create a single goal chance, bar a snapshot from Morgan in the second half when the game was in the melting pot.
They scored no two-pointers either, and the 2021 All-Ireland champions need to fire up fast if they want to stay up ahead of Kerry’s visit to Omagh on Sunday.
TO HELL OR TO CONNACHT
GALWAY are tipping along nicely and will be in the mix for All-Ireland glory, but what of the rest out west?
Sunday was Mayo’s first win of the league and a trip to All-Ireland champions Armagh on Saturday is the last thing they need.
Kevin McStay’s men edged Tyrone, but 0-12 at home was a poor return in front of a slack crowd of 6,029.
Even more worryingly, Sligo and Leitrim are rooted to the bottom of Division 3 with three defeats each on the spin.
Steven Poacher’s men were always going to struggle after a huge exodus from the panel, but they are doomed for an immediate return to Division 4.
They have a scoring difference of -59, which is the worst in the country by quite a stretch (Waterford are next with -21).
Sligo aimed for promotion to Division 2, but are fighting on the opposite front now after losing to Offaly, Kildare and Laois.
Honourable mention to Wexford, who are not in Connacht but are on a roll. John Hegarty’s men are top of Division 4 with six points and a scoring difference of +31.
A return to Division 3 is on the cards for the first time since 2018.
