Kieran Shannon: If James Horan can get Aidan O’Shea firing bullets, Mayo can still find holy grail

Physically there isn’t a more durable and courageous player in the country than Aidan O’Shea. But the fact is he again went scoreless in a final when he has so much potential scoring power

Mayo's Aidan O'Shea and manager James Horan at Croke Park after their All-Ireland semi-final win. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

This time they won’t have a year til Saturday. Indeed in exactly six months’ time, the pair of them could be getting ready to rumble and growl at each other again, football’s Sugar Ray in the blue corner looking across the ring to find its indefatigable Jake LaMotta in the red and green.

Just as the 2020 All-Ireland final was played on December 19, the 2021 All-Ireland quarter-finals are set for June 19, which means should they both navigate that stage as well as their respective provincial championships, Dublin and Mayo that Saturday evening would be entering a two-week lead-in to what be the 10th time in nine years that they’ve clashed in the last four of the championship.