Horan’s heroes refuse to fold

Dublin 0-16 Mayo 0-19

Yesterday, they didn’t just end Dublin’s time on the pedestal; they also smashed their long-held stereotype as psychologically weak when the gaze on them is at its strongest.

They could have wilted when the All-Ireland champions stormed at them in the closing stages but they didn’t, further underlining that they are a Mayo team that doesn’t get hay-fever when they set foot on the Croke Park turf.

With Donegal, they will serve up the first Connacht-Ulster All-Ireland final since Cavan beat Mayo in 1948. Or, as Horan likes to put it in less colourful language, game five.

But just as Jim McGuinness has broken the wide-boy connotations of Donegal, so too has Horan of Mayo as the purest football team with the brittle backbone.

And yet what is on offer is a fairytale for two teams who were in the pits two seasons ago, both going out in the first round of the qualifiers on the same day.

Yesterday was a game of seconds for Mayo: reaching their second national final this year, dethroning the reigning All-Ireland champions for the second season in succession as well as managing to stretch themselves 10 points ahead of Dublin for the second time in six months.

It was a lead built on ferocious intensity in the 15 minutes either side of the break. Aidan O’Shea was the embodiment of that attitude in the first half, stealing ball from Michael Darragh Macauley and then Denis Bastick in two excellently executed turnovers.

Going 10 points ahead in the 59th minute, they attempted to kill off the game but were unsuccessful, as Macauley brought Dublin kicking and screaming back into the game.

They were three points behind when a superb David Clarke foot save deprived Bernard Brogan of a goal.

Had that gone in and with the momentum Dublin had accrued in whittling down Mayo’s lead, Horan’s team would be the subject of post mortems this morning.

But they survived, Cillian O’Connor making up for an awful wide to point a free in injury-time and then Seamus O’Shea answering a Bernard Brogan free before Joe McQuillan called a halt.

The immediate emotion was relief for Mayo but they were good value for their victory, giving Dublin a lesson in turnovers and clever movement in their forward line.

Although Dublin won the kick-out count 14-8 in the first-half and most of their scores came indirectly from such endeavour, Mayo were more tenacious in the tackle and forced Dublin into mistakes.

Michael Fitzsimons was given a horrid 35 minutes by Michael Conroy and made way at the break although his next marker, Cian O’Sullivan, found him just as difficult to pin.

Alan Dillon gave a master-class in playmaking, picking off three points but kicking an array of passes that had Dublin’s defence squirming.

Dublin’s equivalent Alan Brogan failed to start the game, effectively equalising the absence of Andy Moran in the Mayo team.

But then Mayo made light of his absence. They too shrugged off the loss of wing-back Colm Boyle just before the game, Chris Barrett taking the place of the virus-hit Davitts man.

On top of that, their most in-form defender, Lee Keegan, had to retire with a finger injury 15 minutes in.

When Horan spoke about how easily Mayo had moved on from the Moran setback, it was easy to dismiss it as a manager attempting to hard to play down a seismic loss.

Yet neither Boyle or Keegan’s departures were keenly felt. Keegan made way as Mayo led 0-3 to 0-2. By half-time, they had augmented that lead to six points, 0-12 to 0-6.

Paul Flynn may have rattled David Clarke’s crossbar in the 13th minute but Mayo took control from the 20th minute.

Diarmuid Connolly and Ciaran Kilkenny shot back with scores but for each Dublin score Mayo were managing two. By the 34th minute, all of their forward line had scored, the pick of them for effort Kevin McLoughlin’s first point after a determined Conroy had snaffled a ball from O’Sullivan. McLoughlin added a second in injury-time to make the margin six as a clearly stunned Dublin sought shelter at the break.

They returned to the field seemingly with purpose when the Brogan brothers set up Connolly for a shot which Clarke was equal to.

Stephen Cluxton kicked the resulting 45, his third of the day, but the next 12 minutes were all Mayo’s as they kicked five points without reply.

O’Connor answered the call to punish O’Sullivan and Kevin Nolan fouls and added one from play in between Richie Feeney and Dillon efforts.

Ten points ahead, the Mayo contingent in the 81,364 Croke Park were in jubilant mood but were back in their seats as Dublin ate into the lead, chiefly through four Bernard Brogan frees.

With Cluxton having made it a three-point game in the 65th minute, Clarke kept his goal free from Brogan’s shot.

Although Flynn ensured the move wasn’t a fruitless one with a point, it was an act of defiance that was to personify Mayo’s performance.

This wasn’t going to be another day in which they folded.

Scorers for Mayo: C O’Connor 0-7 (3 45s, 3 frees); A Dillon 0-3; E Varley (1f), K McLoughlin 0-2 each; M Conroy, B Moran, J Doherty, R Feeney, S O’Shea 0-1 each.

Scorers for Dublin: B Brogan 0-6 (all frees); C Kilkenny, S Cluxton (all 45s) 0-3 each; D Connolly, P Flynn 0-2 each.

Subs for Mayo: R Feeney for Keegan (blood 15); A Freeman for Varley (blood 42); C Boyle for McLoughlin (blood 55); J Gibbons for Feeney (61); S McHale for Keane (inj 65); McLoughlin for Doherty (69); S O’Shea for A O’Shea (71); P Gardiner for Freeman (76).

Subs for Dublin: A Brogan for Cullen and P McMahon for Fitzsimons (both h-t); E O’Gara for Bastick (49); K McManamon for A Brogan (inj 53); C Dias for Bastick (74).

Referee: Joe McQuillan (Cavan).