Not a great game in terrible conditions but intriguing nonetheless. Mayo showed great resolve to come from 5 points down at half time and again from 3 down late in the game. Trying to think of the last side who failed to close out a 5 point half team lead in an All Ireland Football Final? Dublin will be kicking themselves for blowing a winning position twice as they are huge leads on a wet day. Mayo will be even more dangerous the next day after pulling it out of the fire today. 0-15 a good total in such bad weather. Only Kerry in 2009 and Cork in 2010, scoring 0-16 each have posted more scores in an All Ireland Football Final in the last decade.
Dublin have problems. Paul Flynn, Bernard Brogan and MD Mcauley are finished. They badly miss O’Carroll and Jack McCaffrey in defence. John Small did okay as he has done most of the year, but the team misses the pace and dynamism of McCaffrey.
That was some score by Cillian O’Connor to level it up for Mayo. He’s a real clutch player.
That was an unbelievable game,theres some amount of hurling snobs on here talking shite,AOS was poor today very greedy with the ball at times when he could have laid it off to team mates in better positions.Mayo will need to bring the same aggression and more the next day and hopefully finish the job off.
Just home from it, absorbing if completely error-strewn. You could see in the minor game that handling was difficult but the shower that fell just as the game threw-in made a fuck of it altogether. Mayo will never have as good a chance to beat Dublin, but yet they were undone by the same failings, giving away cheap goals; and not tracking the runners. Great score by O’Connor at the end but as stated by others he shouldn’t have been on the field. Black card for McCarthy was a joke, his loss as a ball-carrier was also huge for Dublin. Ref was so-so, not great but didn’t cost either team unduly. There was so much going on off the ball though, yer man Regan that knocked himself out at the end did nothing but hang out of his man from the minute he came on. Connolly was always going to try and kick the sideline Gavin just accepts you’ll have to take the good with the bad at this stage. I’d actually like to see him torch Keegan the next day, he’s well overdue giving him that lesson. Hard to see Mayo improving more than the Dubs the next day. Listening to the radio interviews and the Dubs were spot-on attitude wise “lucky to get the draw, will need to be better the next day” etc
Dublin were only as good as mayo let them be ffs,they haven’t faced anything like that since they last played mayo,mayo don’t fear the dubs in fact they like playing them
This is the crux of the thibg. Style match ups are critical.
Kerry didn’t suit Tyrone, Mayo & Dublin suit each other, Kerry not suited to Dublin and many other examples.
The last 6 Mayo v Dublin championship games over the last decade have seen two wins apiece and two draws. We’re not talking Tottenham Hotspur going 73 years without winning at Anfield here.
Mayo rattled Dublin to within an inch of their lives today. They refused to go away. Those two goals would have killed Mayo teams of the past, but these boys are made of different stuff.
It’s unlikely they will perform as poorly as they did today the next day round.
Dublin are a better team than Mayo, they have better players. Today they were flat and didn’t perform to the level they can. Ergo, Dublin were there for the taking today.
Dublin weren’t under par,mayo didnt give them an inch and the pressure got to them,if mayo do the same the next day and dont concede any goals theyll bate them
Gavin just accepts you’ll have to take the good with the bad at this stage. I’d actually like to see him torch Keegan the next day, he’s well overdue giving him that lesson. Hard to see Mayo improving more than the Dubs the next day. Listening to the radio interviews and the Dubs were spot-on attitude wise “lucky to get the draw, will need to be better the next day” etc