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ALL-IRELAND SFC FINAL
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Tribe swept aside at Headquarters
Saturday, July 25
Connacht Senior Football Championship final (Croke Park)
Mayo 2-14 Galway 2-8
MAYO ended their Croke Park hoodoo –
sort of – in epic style in July, outgunning
Galway in a hail of second half scoring to
claim their 48th Connacht SFC title.
Mattie Ruane’s powerful performance, a
brilliant showing from Ryan O’Donoghue
and a lion-hearted display from Aidan
O’Shea helped get the job done. There
were thrilling cameos too from Padraig
O’Hora, Conor Loftus and Tommy Conroy
as Mayo shook off a slow start to ease
past their great rivals.
As poor as their first-half performance
was at Headquarters, they cut loose
with an exhibition of hard running,
craft, scoretaking and efficiency when
it truly counted. Trailing by five points
55
54
SPORT
SPORT
at half-time,
They outscored
end drought One Croke Park
Kingdom romp
O’Donoghue’s Mayo
Galway by
at Headquarters
to effortless win
and turn sights to title down...
37th-minute
2-8 to 0-3 in
All-Ireland crown
over poor Rebels
goal from
the second
A
A
a penalty
half, held
got the
Padraic Joyce’s
comeback
Tribesmen
under way.
scoreless
Horan hails skipper O’Shea
And Ruane,
in the third
I
who struck
quarter and
1-2 from
scoreless from
midfield,
play in the
sealed
entire second
back-to-back
half.
provincial
Mayo manager
final wins over Galway with their second James Horan could take plenty of the
goal in the 67th minute.
credit because his decision to bring
MONDAY JULY 26 2021
sportsdesk@irishnews.com
sportsdesk@irishnews.com
MONDAY JULY 26 2021
www.irishnews.com
www.irishnews.com
Munster SFC final Kerry 4-22 Cork 1-9
Connacht SFC final Galway 2-8 Mayo 2-14
FROM PAUL KEANE
AT CROKE PARK
FTER 70 years without an
All-Ireland title, it would
be just like Mayo to win
two Championship finals
at Croke Park in the one
summer.
They sealed the first of those
victories in typically epic style,
outgunning Galway in a hail of
second half scoring to claim their
48th Connacht SFC title.
The big one they crave, of course,
is the All-Ireland title and they’re
just two games away now from the
Holy Grail.
Mattie
Ruane’s
powerful
performance, a brilliant showing
from Ryan O’Donoghue and a
lion-hearted display from Aidan
O’Shea helped get the job done.
There were thrilling cameos too
from Padraig O’Hora, Conor Loftus
and Tommy Conroy as Mayo shook
off a slow start to ease past their
great rivals.
Next up is an All-Ireland semi-final
against the Leinster champions,
probably all-conquering Dublin, in
just under three weeks.
Mayo can fancy their chances
because as poor as their first half
performance was, they cut loose
with an exhibition of hard running,
craft, score-taking and efficiency
when it truly counted.
Trailing by five points at half-time,
O’Donoghue’s 37th minute goal from
a penalty got the comeback under
way.
And Ruane (below), who struck
1-2 from midfield, sealed back-toback provincial final wins over
Galway with their second goal in the
67th minute.
They outscored Galway by 2-8 to
0-3 in the second half, held Padraic
Joyce’s Tribesmen scoreless in the
third quarter, and scoreless from
play for the entire second half,
much to the annoyance of their
manager.
“It’s
disappointing,
I
can’t
remember a Galway team doing that
for a long, long time, not scoring
from play in the second
half, especially in Croke
Park,” said Joyce, whose
two-year term at the
helm is now up.
Mayo manager James
Horan can take plenty
of the credit because
his decision to bring
on Eoghan McLaughlin
and Kevin McLoughlin at
half-time helped turn the
game.
Ex-boxer McLaughlin consistently
punched holes in Galway’s defence
with his power play while attacker
McLoughlin brought much-needed
craft.
Captain O’Shea was terrific
throughout with a series of fine
fetches, setting up the penalty with
one of them.
It wasn’t all good news for Horan.
O’Hora got ‘a bad bang’ in the
MATCH STATS
Galway C Gleeson; S Mulkerrin, D McHugh,
L Silke; K Molloy, S Kelly, J Heaney; P Conroy
(0-2), M Tierney (0-4, 0-3 frees); P Cooke,
C Sweeney (0-1), P Kelly; R Finnerty, D Comer
(1-0), S Walsh (1-1)
Subs F O Laoi for Finnerty (17), J Glynn for
S Kelly (26), M Farragher for Sweeney (51),
E Brannigan for P Kelly (57), J Duane for Walsh
(72)
FROM JASON O’CONNOR
IN KILLARNEY
Mayo R Hennelly (0-1, free); L Keegan,
P O’Hora, M Plunkett; P Durcan (0-1),
O Mullen, S Coen; M Ruane (1-2), C Loftus
(0-2); B Walsh, A O’Shea, D O’Connor;
T Conroy (0-2), D McHale (0-1), R O’Donoghue
(1-3, 1-0 pen, 0-1 free)
Subs E McLaughlin for Walsh (ht),
K McLoughlin (0-1) for McHale (ht), J Flynn
for Loftus (45-51, blood sub), R Brickenden
for O’Hora (57-ft, blood sub), E Hession for
Plunkett (64), J Carr (0-1) for A O’Shea (68),
C O’Shea for O’Connor (76)
Referee: C Lane (Cork)
‘It’s disappointing, I can’t
remember a Galway team
doing that for a long, long
time, not scoring in the
second half, especially in
Croke Park’
Galway manager Padraic Joyce
second half and went to hospital
for X-Rays on an apparent shoulder
problem.
There were enough errors and
butchered scoring chances in the
first half to suggest that they’re not
the finished article just yet either.
Two separate episodes in the
21st and 23rd minutes summed up
Mayo’s early difficulties.
Firstly, O’Shea forced a terrific
turnover on Shane Walsh and kicked
a precise pass to Tommy Conroy
but he was bottled up and pulled for
over-carrying.
Then Stephen Coen claimed an
advanced mark in a dangerous
central position.
He’d split the posts from
there eight times out of
10 but sliced his kick
badly wide. On both
occasions, the Galway
support went wild.
At the other end,
Walsh
and
Damien
Comer sniped Galway
goals that were easily
preventable.
Walsh’s 20th minute major came
after a Paul Conroy shot off the post
that bounced three times before the
captain collected it and struck the
net.
And Walsh somehow escaped a
clutch of players on the right before
playing in Comer for the second
goal.
Trailing by 2-5 to 0-6 at half-time,
Horan figured that they were only
five points down despite doing very
THE WEST IS AWAKE Mayo captain
Aidan O’Shea hoists the Nestor Cup
aloft at Croke Park yesterday after his
side’s six-point victory over Galway in
the Connacht SFC final
Picture: Sportsfile
little right.
The glass being half-full, all they
needed to do was improve.
O’Shea, who’d earlier made a great
catch close to goal only to turn and
clash heads with Sean Mulkerrin,
engineered the penalty with a
skyscraping fetch and lay-off. Ruane
was the recipient and was fouled
by Matthew Tierney, O’Donoghue
nailing the spot kick.
Mayo had a second O’Donoghue
goal chalked off for an apparent foul
on Jack Glynn in the build-up.
But Ruane eventually landed their
second major when he slalomed
through Galway’s defence for a
brilliant 67th minute solo goal.
Galway looked out of ideas and
badly overwhelmed. Comer fisted a
shot off the bar in the 49th minute
when the scores were tied but it
would have been a goal against the
run of play.
They were admittedly shorn of
Sean Kelly and Rob Finnerty due to
injuries picked up early on.
Joyce also raged that nothing was
done about star man Walsh being
‘dumped to the ground’ in the 27th
minute, damaging his shoulder and
limiting his effectiveness from there
on.
FROM PAUL KEANE
AT CROKE PARK
T was a tale of two halves on
Connacht final day at Croke Park
but also a tale of two captains.
The fizz from an early 1-1 for
Galway skipper Shane Walsh soon
turned flat as he suffered a shoulder
injury that limited his involvement.
Without his craft and influence,
Galway looked leaderless.
Mayo, meanwhile, had a captain in
Aidan O’Shea who went from good
in the first half to great in the second
half, mirroring his team at large.
It was O’Shea’s high catch that led
to them winning the penalty early in
the second half that got a dramatic
revival underway.
“He’s phenomenal,” said Mayo
manager James Horan of the vastlyexperienced O’Shea.
“You saw his tackling out there. He
targets key turnovers and turnovers
are huge. He got a great one off
Shane Walsh that created a goal
chance for us.
“He’s very, very good at that and
he drifts around the place. He’s a
very clever player. I think him going
inside and spending some time
inside at the start of the second half
‘He’s
phenomenal.
You saw
his tackling
out there.
He targets key
turnovers and turnovers
are huge. He got a great
one off Shane Walsh that
created a goal chance for
us’
James Horan (above)
definitely stretched Galway a bit
more and gave us a bit more room
to use our pace.”
Horan acknowledged that in their
ongoing pursuit of All-Ireland
honours, winning a Championship
final – albeit a provincial one – at
Croke Park is significant for Mayo.
“Oh yeah, look, absolutely,” agreed
Horan.
“I suppose winning the way we
did with a middling first half and
coming back strong was great. We
Joyce considering his
future at Galway helm
were getting stronger and stronger
as the game went on so it was great
to win it that way as well.”
Horan’s opposite number, Galway
manager Padraic Joyce, will now
take time out to consider if he wants
to remain in the position – or indeed
if he’s wanted.
The Tribesmen slumped to their
seventh loss in nine League and
Championship games under Joyce
since the pandemic began.
Before that they’d won four of their
five League games under the new
manager and looked to be destined
for big things.
The future is far from rosy now
with Joyce also presiding over their
relegation from Division One this
season.
“I had a two-year term and I’ve done
two years so I’ll have to go and see
do they want to keep me, or see do I
want to stay,” said Joyce.
“I’ll have to check that out. Look,
today is not the day for that. We’re
after losing a Connacht final to our
bitter rivals.”
Worrying for Galway is the amount
of heavy defeats they’ve suffered
under Joyce. They lost to Mayo by
15 points last autumn in the League
and by 22 points to Kerry this
season.
Then they let slip a five-point lead
after 68 minutes in the relegation
play-off with Monaghan. And
there was an 11-point swing on the
scoreboard at Croke Park as Mayo
came from five down to win by six.
“It has been a disappointing year for
us overall, no doubt about it but the
lads have put in serious effort,” said
Joyce, a two-time All-Ireland winner
as a player.
“We have to look at where we are
and where we’re going as a group
and try to bridge that gap that’s
there between us and the top
teams.”
S much as the current
Kerry team is setting new
standards for themselves
with each game they play,
they set a new record for a
Munster final yesterday in claiming
the county’s 82nd provincial title
with a resounding 22-point win over
old rivals Cork at Fitzgerald Stadium.
Not since their 3-15 to 0-9 win
back in 1977 has a Kingdom team
been as comfortable against a Cork
side in a Munster decider, yet the
final scoreline belied a genuinely
competitive first quarter in the
scorching Killarney heat.
What made the final outcome even
more amazing was the fact it came
despite Kerry’s talisman David
Clifford failing to score from play.
Cork’s decision to start Michael
Hurley had a positive early effect as
they registered the first three points
before the hosts got on the board.
They hassled and harried Kerry
relentlessly in the first period as
Clifford was pretty much kept out
of the game, bar one missed goal
chance.
Sean O’Shea and Clifford had shots
at goal blocked by Micheal Martin
before Hurley combined with his
brother Brian at full-forward for
Cork’s goal in the 17th minute.
That gave the Rebels a 1-5 to 0-3
lead but Paudie Clifford got a point
for the Kingdom before the water
break to start the shift in momentum
that came their way.
In all, Kerry outscored Cork by 1-8
to 0-2 in the period up to half-time as
O’Shea put Kerry ahead for the first
time in the 30th minute at 0-10 to 1-6.
Luke Connolly got Cork’s only
other score of the first period before
Brian Ó Beaglaoich notched one of
the most amazing solo goals to grace
any final.
Collecting the ball on his own
65-metre line, the entire pitch
opened up for Ó Beaglaoich as he
neared the Cork goal and he had
the confidence to finish past Martin
in the 33rd minute to make it 1-10
to 1-7.
Substitute Killian Spillane, who
had come on for an injured Diarmuid
O’Connor, and O’Shea finished the
first half scoring as Kerry’s lead at
the break was 1-12 to 1-7.
Cork’s John O’Rourke had shots
come off the post twice as some of
the Rebel chances started to miss
the target when they needed them
to go over.
Cork manager Ronan McCarthy
was forced to change goalkeepers at
half-time due to injury, with Mark
White coming on for Martin.
However, White had a baptism of
fire as three goals in eight minutes
pushed
Kerry
towards
their
emphatic win.
Cork could have had one at the
other end before the first of these
AT THE DOUBLE Paul Geaney found the Cork net twice in Kerry’s facile Munster
final victory in Killarney yesterday
but Kerry went down the field, Paul
Geaney getting the three-pointer
after being put through by O’Shea in
the 39th minute.
Paudie Clifford then provided
O’Shea with the opportunity to grab
another major in the 46th minute,
and barely 60 seconds later they
bulged the net yet again, Geaney
getting his second of the day with
the ball practically walked into the
Cork net.
That made the scoreline 4-14 to 1-7
as the Rebels failed to score in the
entire third quarter.
David Clifford finally got on the
board on the hour mark and in all
Kerry had 13 different scorers in
what was their most convincing
display of 2021, and arguably their
best performance since Peter Keane
took over as manager in 2019.
Paudie Clifford picked up another
man of the match award for a
stellar display while Mike Breen
was impressive on his Munster final
debut.
The ability of Ó Beaglaoich and
Tom O’Sullivan to come forward
and take scores was also quite
impressive in the overall analysis of
Kerry’s display.
They will watch this weekend’s
Ulster final between Tyrone and
Monaghan with keen interest as
the winners will be their All-Ireland
semi-final opponents on August 15
Despite having another year to
run in his tenure as Cork manager,
McCarthy declined to answer
questions about his future in the
post-match interviews.
The delight of last November’s
ambush in the rain in Pairc Uí
Chaoimh quickly evaporated in the
heat yesterday.
Indeed, despite some decent
underage results for the Cork set-up
it will be 10 full years next year since
their last senior Munster success.
MATCH STATS
Kerry S Ryan; B Ó Beaglaoich (1-0), J Foley,
Cork M Martin; K O’Donovan, S Meehan,
T O’Sullivan (0-2); M Breen (0-1), P Murphy,
K Flahive; C Kiely, S Powter, M Taylor; I Maguire
G White; D Moran (0-1), D O’Connor; J Barry
(0-1), M Hurley (0-2); J O’Rourke, R Deane,
(0-2), S O’Shea (1-6, 0-3 frees), S O’Brien (0-1); B Hartnett (0-1); L Connolly (0-1), B Hurley (1-3,
D Clifford (0-1, free), P Geaney (2-1), P Clifford
0-1 free), D Dineen (0-1, mark)
(0-3)
Subs M White for M Martin (ht), M Collins for
Subs K Spillane (0-2) for D O’Connor (17),
L Connolly (41), C O’Callaghan for D Dineen (43),
T Walsh for S O’Brien (45-57), G O’Sullivan for
K O’Driscoll for M Hurley (46), K Crowley for
B Ó Beaglaoich (53-58), M Burns for D Clifford
K O’Donovan (50)
(55-58), A Spillane for J Barry (56), T Walsh (0-1) Yellow cards D Dineen (42), B Hurley (53)
for P Geaney (59), G Crowley for T O’Sullivan (64), Red cards R Deane (70 +4)
T Morley (0-1) for G White (65)
Referee B Cassidy (Derry)
Yellow card T Walsh (70 +4)
Dublin downed at last
Saturday, August 14 2021
All-Ireland Senior Football Championship semi-final (Croke Park)
Mayo 0-17 Dublin 0-14 (aet)
AFTER the disappointments of half a
decade spent in Dublin’s shadow, Mayo
deserved this moment more than any
other.
Without the talismanic Cillian O’Connor,
and robbed of injured defender Oisin
Mullin in the week leading into the
game, Mayo found themselves six
behind at the break. Offering little
reason to forecast change, they looked
gone, only to throw off the shackles of
first-half passivity with a relentlessness
that ripped the heart from the reigning
All-Ireland champions.
In the first half, Aidan O’Shea was
completely isolated up top and Dublin
were able to drive forward from deep.
Going in at half-time, Dublin led 0-10 to
0-4. Colm O’Rourke told TV viewers the
game was over.
With Mayo, though, we should probably
have learnt by now that lost causes
don’t exist. After James McCarthy
passed up an early goal chance that
would surely have put the result beyond
doubt, Mayo – just as they had done in
the Connacht final third quarter against
Galway – started to turn the screw.
Horan deserves huge credit for
withdrawing the ineffective O’Shea,
opting to introduce the blistering pace
of Enda Hession to proceedings. With
Paddy Durcan, Matty Ruane and Lee
Keegan finding their form, and O’Hora
now mastering Ciaran Kilkenny, Mayo
ran Dublin ragged.
Scores from Paddy Small and Dean
Rock bought them some breathing room
before Diarmuid O’Connor provided
the moment of inspiration Horan’s
men needed heading towards the last,
sticking a left boot out to stop Rob
54
MONDAY AUGUST 16 2021
EVAN COMERFORD Barely missed
his kick-outs in first 60 minutes a beat with
but panicky in
the concession of Hennelly’s
Overcarrying led to Mayo score, late levelling 45.
and punished for a
wayward kick-out in extra-time.
6.5
6
MICHAEL FITZSIMONS Some
ferocious
tackling set the tone for Dublin
in the first
half. Found Conroy too hot to handle
in the
latter stages as the Neale man
found his groove.
DAVID BYRNE Over-carrying led
to a McLoughlin
score, and spilled the ball over
the line as Dublin
played hot potato in the dying
a last-gasp 45. Should have been seconds, gifting Mayo
instead of yellow for blatant pull given a black card
back on McLoughlin.
6
6.5
6.5
6.5
SPORT
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DUBLINRATINGS
7
JONNY COOPER Hardly a hair
out of place by halftime but twice conceded possession
as Dublin tried
to curtail Mayo after the break.
Eventually replaced.
Dublin 0-14 Mayo 0-17 (after
extra-time)
Mayo have
their moment
but curse yet
to be broken
BRIAN HOWARD Worked his socks
off in the
first half but drifted out of it as
Dublin came
under pressure.
JOHN SMALL Energetic and influential
in
the first half. Pole-axed Eoghan
McLaughlin
with a shoulder to the head in
the second –
whether malicious or mistimed,
it was still a red.
on Eoghan McLaughlin and Kevin
McLoughlin at half-time helped turn the
game. Ex-boxer McLaughlin consistently
punched holes in Galway’s defence
with his power play while attacker
McLoughlin brought much needed craft.
Captain O’Shea was terrific throughout
with a series of fine fetches, setting up
the penalty with one of them.
It wasn’t all good news for Horan. O’Hora
got ‘a bad bang’ in the second half
and went to hospital for X-Rays on an
apparent shoulder problem. There were
enough errors and butchered scoring
chances in the first half to suggest that
they’re not the finished article just yet
either.
sportsdesk@irishnews.com
ALL-IRELAND SFC SEMI-FINAL
6.5
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5.5
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MONDAY AUGUST 16 2021
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55
MAYORATINGS
7
8
7
5.5
8
ROB HENNELLY Banished memories
of bad days
with a nerveless 45 at the death
to
Kicked two frees as well. Couple force extra-time.
Dublin’s way in first half but otherwise of kick-outs went
very solid.
PADRAIG O’HORA A study in concentration.
He
struggled against Ciaran Kilkenny
shut him down after the interval. in the first half but
Super-fit and supercommitted, he was instrumental
in Mayo’s win.
LEE KEEGAN Grew in stature as
the game went on.
Sat at full-back in the first half
and
Con O’Callaghan. More adventurouskept an eye on
after half-time.
MICHAEL PLUNKETT Picked up
Niall Scully
and they cancelled each other
out. Few
opportunities to impress.
PATRICK DURCAN The tip of the
Mayo break-out
spear. He was one of the few who
matched the
Dubs in the first half and maintained
his energy and
commitment the whole way. Forced
turnovers, won frees,
brave block on Costello and he
used the ball well too.
AT CROKE PARK
I
Hennelly’s free drifting wide,
leaving Kevin McLoughlin.
When substitute Jordan
Flynn fired over a minute
later, the comeback was
on. Dublin knew it too.
Evan Comerford was called for
over-carrying and Ryan O’Donoghue
converted to reduce the gap to two
before the brilliant Tommy Conroy
stumbled and shot between the posts.
A Rock free steadied the ship but, in
trying to see out the game, the Dubs
invited a pack of wolves to their door –
Conor O’Shea eventually forcing Davy
Byrne over the line and presenting
Hennelly with the chance to bury the
ghosts of his 2016 All-Ireland final
nightmare.
The Breaffy goalkeeper breathed a sigh
of relief when a shanked effort was
5
6
5
SPORT
NEILLOUGHRAN
F it doesn’t happen now,
it’ll
cost in those epic All-Ireland
never happen. How many
showdowns of 2016 and
times were those words
’17.
On Saturday night, however,
uttered as Dublin choked
a
palpable sense of panic spread
on Mayo’s fumes over an
– and fast – as though finally
incredible, era-ending hour
this group had met with
Croke Park? Indeed, how at
its
many
mortality. Players recklesslyown
times has it been said since
JAMES McCARTHY Missed the
end
bounded into challenges
1951?
time due to a black card, but was of extraand
hauled down opponents,
Had anybody strayed in
still be on the field after earlier lucky to
off the ball
inviting referee Conor Lane
elbow to O’Connor’s neck. Used
unknowing from Jones’s
that
Road
to make a decision. Lucky
in a brilliant first half performance aggression for good
close to half-eight on Saturday,at
for
but missed second half
them, in most instances,
goal chance, and lost his head
they might have expected
he
as Dublin melted down.
a
chose the wrong one.
coronation as every western
Dean Rock and Paddy Small
soul belted out The Green
BRIAN FENTON His first-ever Championship
and
attempted low percentage
defeat.
Red of Mayo from the pit
Conducted the choir in a commanding
shots
of their that tailed wide
first 50
bellies.
as the pressure
minutes but found little room to
manoeuvre as
came on. James McCarthy
Ruane and Mayo turned up the
After the disappointments
lost
heat.
of
the run of himself completely,
half-a-decade spent in Dublin’s
becoming a liability the longer
shadow, Mayo deserved
PADDY SMALL Has become a
this
big
he remained on the field.
moment more than any other,
years and showed why in the first player in recent
half, scoring and
A defining image of the game
the descending drizzle washing
linking well. Struggled afterwards.
was Davy Byrne fumbling
away the sweat, and the
the
tears,
ball over the end line after
on a night never to be forgotten.
CIARAN KILKENNY Gave O’Hora
an
the
ill-timed game of hot potato
They only thought they had
in the opening 35, drifting across runaround
with Brian Howard and
seen fever pitch – the next
orchestrating the Dublin attack. the line and
four
The Ballina man got
goalkeeper Evan Comerford.
on top eventually, and it helped
weeks will be an eye-opener,
It
change the game.
was all so un-Dublin.
even for the most ardent
And yet, the most bizarre
supporter.
NIALL SCULLY Selfless runs created
aspect
of it all is just how easy they
And their heroes carried
channels for Dubs to run into in
out
first half,
had made it look in the first
the task in the most Mayo
but a largely peripheral figure.
With Mayo unsure whether half.
fashion imaginable. Without
to
stick or twist, erring far more
the talismanic Cillian O’Connor,
DEAN ROCK Kicked a couple of
uncharacteristic
on the side of containment
and robbed of injured defender
wides, but also two lovely points
from play and
proved a massive own goal
Oisin Mullin in the week
typically reliable from frees in a
leading
mixed bag.
as, with the out-of-sorts
into the game, Mayo found
Aidan
O’Shea completely isolated
themselves six behind at
MATCH STATS
CON O’CALLAGHAN Looked a
up
the
threat in the
top, McCarthy, Howard,
break.
first half but nullified by Keegan
Eoin
as Mayo got
Murchan and John Small
Dublin E Comerford; M Fitzsimons,
Offering little reason to forecast
on top, though he was feeding
were
D Byrne, Mayo R Hennelly (0-3,
on scraps.
able to drive forward from
J Cooper; J McCarthy, J Small,
0-2 frees, 0-1 45);
change, they looked gone,
deep.
E Murchan;
P O’Hora, L Keegan, M Plunkett;
Ciaran Kilkenny led Padraig
B Fenton, B Howard; P Small (0-2),
P
only to throw off the shackles
CORMAC COSTELLO Unable to
S Coen, E McLaughlin; M Ruane Durcan,
get into the game,
C Kilkenny (0-3, 0-1 mark), N Scully;
O’Hora a merry dance as
(0-1),
of first-half passivity with
either before he was withdrawn
he
C Loftus (0-1); D O’Connor, K McLoughlin
D Rock (0-7, 0-5 frees), C O’Callaghan
a
or when reintroduced
wandered from the left flank
relentlessness that ripped
in extra-time.
(0-1), D McHale; T Conroy (0-3),
(0-1), C Costello
the
A O’Shea,
to the edge of the square,
heart from the reigning
R O’Donoghue (0-5, 0-2 frees,
Subs C Basquel for Costello (49),
0-1 mark)
always free to receive the
All-Ireland champions.
Cooper (51), S Bugler (0-1) for T Lahiff for Subs E Hession for McHale (27), B Walsh for
ball
Scully (61), Plunkett (49), J
and supply others, as well
Still they kicked silly wides,
Carr for O’Shea (49),
S MacMahon for Murchan (67),
as
SUBSTITUTES
landing three points himself.
J Flynn (0-1) for McLaughlin (57),
P McMahon for MacMahon (76),
gave the ball away cheaply
C O’Shea
R
At times Kilkenny, Con
for Small (81), A Byrne for Howard McDaid for Loftus (64), D Coen (0-1) for S Coen
– even with the Dubs dead
COLM BASQUEL Off the pace,
(75), C Loftus (0-1) for McLoughlin
blazed wide a goal
O’Callaghan and Paddy Small
C Costello for Paddy Small (85) (82),
(81),
on their feet, particularly
chance, coughed up possession
B Harrison for O’Connor (87), A
in
twice and Mayo
Yellow cards D Rock (3), C Costello
looked to be deciding among
O’Shea for
capitalised when he was black
extra-time, those long-suffering
Coen (91)
carded in extra-time.
C O’Callaghan (48), M Fitzsimons (31),
themselves who might knock
(59),
supporters wouldn’t be allowed
Yellow card P Durcan (31)
D Byrne (74)
over the next one, such was
to rest until the long whistle
TOM LAHIFF Kicked a bad wide
Black cards C Basquel (74-84),
in extra-time and
ease with which their runs the
J McCarthy
finally sounded.
black carded late on.
(80+3), T Lahiff (80+3)
were
breaking the lines and creating
Referee C Lane (Cork)
Yet for all the unadulterated
overloads in attack.
joy that swamped the stadium,
SEAN BUGLER Fisted point turned
out
to
be
Going
Dublin’s
in
at half-time, Dublin
bearing witness to the
last of the game.
for next year’s Championship?
0-10 to 0-4. Colm O’Rourke led
ransacking of a kingdom
Mayo at arm’s length with
told
With Mayo, though, we should
takes
a
TV viewers the game was
some time to fully comprehend.
PHILLY McMAHON Penalised
score here and there. By
over.
probably have learnt by
for running across
the
There was no evidence to
now
A couple of days on, Dublin’s
Hennelly as he lined up his late
60th
minute,
argue
and
that
still
lost
45
ahead
causes don’t exist.
otherwise, despite all the
dead for a Conroy point in extra-time. leveller, and left for
spectacular disintegration
five, you could argue that by
After James McCarthy passed
plan
smart-arsery that has followed.
remains every bit as shocking
was paying off.
up an early goal chance
Rather than how they might
that
SEAN MacMAHON Not on long
as the manner in which Mayo
But the shift in the momentum
would surely have put the
enough to be rated.
haul themselves back into
result
put them away.
was
stark.
it,
Horan deserves
beyond doubt, Mayo – just
thoughts turned to whether
as
ROBBIE McDAID Not on long
Ever since Donegal last stormed
huge credit for withdrawing
they had done in the Connacht
enough to be rated.
Lee Keegan might join former
the fortress in 2014, Dublin
ineffective O’Shea, opting the
final third quarter against
to
AARON BYRNE Not on long enough
become the yardstick for have comrades Andy Moran, Tom
introduce the blistering pace
Galway – started to turn
cool,
to be rated.
Parsons, Chris Barrett and
the
calm control. No matter
Enda Hession to proceedings.of
screw.
how
Donal Vaughan in stepping
hot it would get in the kitchen,
RATINGS COMPILED BY NEIL
With Paddy Durcan, Matty
off
Unlike the Dublin sides of
LOUGHRAN
the inter-county stage. Would
yore
there were no beads on their
Ruane and Lee Keegan finding
who buried teams after the
Sky Sports be able to find
brow. Mayo learned this
their form, and O’Hora now
a way
break,
to their
the
current incarnation
to accommodate James Horan
mastering Kilkenny, Mayo
was happy enough to keep
ran
Dublin ragged.
EOIN MURCHAN Returned to the
starting
15 and given licence to burst forward
as
Mayo offered little in the first half.
Swamped
as Mayo dominated physical exchanges
before injury
forced him off.
sportsdesk