Foul-by-foul analysis: Anatomy of Dublin v Mayo

Two years ago, we reviewed the Dublin-Mayo All-Ireland final after Jim Gavin contended Joe McQuillan was a 16th man against them. The foul count read 33-12 against them at the end. Our study found five of the 33 fouls against Dublin were contentious but only one of those conceded by Mayo was dubious.

After another raucous meeting between the pair on Sunday where McQuillan was again in charge, we sat down yesterday morning to look back on the recording. The viewing, once again, doesn’t make pretty ready for Dublin.

Although the count read 25-21 against them on Sunday, it should have been tighter. And yet, factoring in the flashpoints involving the penalty and Kevin McManamon’s double hop, Dublin scored three more points than they were entitled to (we assume Dean Rock would have pointed the free had the penalty not been awarded).