Mayo’s rearguard can be Silas Marner to Donegal’s Scrooge

Final debate: Is the Mayo defence as mean as Donegal’s?

The minefield Donegal negotiated to reach next Sunday’s showdown has been considerably more treacherous than Mayo’s path.

Just as Cork and Kerry did, Dublin and Down made appearances in two of the previous All-Ireland finals but Donegal’s victories over the former pair were more considerable than Mayo’s against the latter couple.

Why? Down are not the greatest defenders in the world while Dublin didn’t address fears about their appetite until it was too late. Donegal’s victories were slow and meticulous executions of teams whose stock combined was higher.

Yet Mayo’s performance curve is rising sharper than Donegal’s, the win over Down light years ahead of their Connacht final display; their first 60 minutes then against Dublin possibly the most complete period played by a team all summer.

That ascension has been continued despite losing two of their wing-backs to injury the last day out: Colm Boyle reduced to a substitute’s role with a virus while Lee Keegan had to exit the fray after fracturing his finger.

On top of Andy Moran’s cruciate, a Mayo team may have been expected to bend but not this one. In fact, they seemed to blossom in the seemingly adverse conditions.

Mark McHugh and Frank McGlynn exchange positions between sweeper and somewhere in the half-back line with ease but Mayo’s rearguard has shown itself to be flexible too.

Richie Feeney was superb when introduced for Keegan and Chris Barrett looked up to the job on Bryan Cullen.

Players not positions are what matter to the Mayo defence. Against Dublin, Ger Cafferkey was going to follow Bernard Brogan wherever he went. Donal Vaughan, even though he is seen as the physical linchpin at centre-back, started against Down on the wing opposite Conor Maginn.

There is a school of thought among astute observers of Mayo football, men who have been attending training sessions, is they have the players capable of matching and negating Donegal’s forward line.

Keegan, with Boyle out, is now fancied for McHugh, Cafferkey potentially the man for Colm McFadden and Kevin Keane on Michael Murphy.

Keith Higgins could be given a slightly freer rein picking up the deeper-lying Paddy McBrearty with Vaughan and Chris Barrett taking up Leo McLoone and Ryan Bradley.

Higgins would also have the engine to move with McHugh from end to end but Mayo are unlikely to take away from the man-marking duties.

It’s also worth noting David Clarke’s shutout against Dublin was his third in the county’s four Championship games, the only two goals he conceded coming against Down.

He has enjoyed just as many clean sheets as his opposite number Paul Durcan who has been beaten in the last two games but has played two more games.

Behind Cork’s Alan Quirke, the pair of them have the best goal concession records in the competition with an average of one every two games.

There’s little doubting the discipline of Donegal’s defence — less than 28% of the 65 scores (3-62) against them have come from placed balls compared to 53% of the 47 (2-45) against Mayo.

Donegal also have been conceding less on average, 11.83 points per game compared to Mayo’s 13.

Yet the Ulster champions have slackened off in the closing stages of their last two games and Durcan has been beaten twice, Mayo were resilient under ferocious pressure in their last game.

Don’t expect goals on Sunday but in turn anticipate Mayo’s defence will be Silas Marner to Donegal’s Scrooge.