Strength and cuteness a winning formula

Looking at the pre-match parade yesterday it struck me that Donegal were the more conditioned team and had a big advantage in terms of height and physique, especially in attack.

Mark McHugh and Paddy McBrearty were the only two Donegal forwards smaller than their direct opponent, whereas no Connacht man had a size advantage over his marker.

The Donegal defence, and in particular the McGee brothers, were very sharp and physical early on and bullied the Mayo forwards in the first quarter. They did not allow an opposing forward to win a ball which could be laid off to a support runner to develop the types of moves and get the scores that James Horan’s side produced in the wins against Down and Dublin.