Mayo endure more final misery as Dubs win second title in three years

Dublin 2-12 Mayo 1-14

Mayo endure more final misery as Dubs win second title in three years

Dublin 2-12 Mayo 1-14

The Dubs broke Mayo hearts once again, the westerners plunged into All-Ireland final day misery for the seventh time since their last Sam Maguire Cup triumph 62 years ago.

Dublin joy was released in all its emotional glory as Bernard Brogan’s two-goal salvo sent Jim Gavin’s men on their way to a second title in three seasons.

This was not the attacking classic we were led to expect, but it was nonetheless an intriguing battle that went right down the wire, albeit with Mayo chasing the game desperately throughout the second half.

They had bossed the contest for the opening half-hour, but failed to make their dominance count on the scoreboard, and the Dubs seized the opportunity, first with Brogan’s opening goal on 16 minutes, and his second at the same stage of the second half.

In front of a crowd of 82,274, all Mayo had to show for an early spell of intense pressure was an Andy Moran point, which was cancelled out by Diarmuid Connolly.

But the Connacht champions continue to stream forward, with Keith Higgins drifting deep to pick up possession, the O’Shea brothers getting through lots of positive work in midfield, and wing back Lee Keegan bombing forward at every opportunity.

Keegan and Higgins fired over points, and when Cillian O’Connor knocked over a 13 metre free, they led by 0-4 to 0-1 with 12 minutes played.

Dublin were forced to chase the game, but they were right back in it when they breached the Mayo defence for a 16th minute goal.

Bernard Brogan rose highest to flick Paul Flynn’s route one delivery past Rob Hennelly at the Hill 16 end, but rather than provide a platform for the Dubs to take control of the contest, they were ;pushed back again by a marauding Mayo side.

Keegan once gain got forward with menace to kick his second point to make it 0-7 to 1-1 on 23 minutes.

But they were unable to maintain a phenomenal level of intensity, and for the first time in the game, Dublin were able to retain possession and move the ball constructively.

Their shot selection still left much to be desired, with three shots landed in the arms of goalkeeper Hennelly, but they began to chip away at Mayos’ lead, with Brogan, Cluxton, from a’45, and substitute Eoghan O’Gara, who skipped around Tom Cunniffe much too easily, all on target in the final seven minutes of the half.

By the interval, Mayo’s advantage had been trimmed back to a single point, 0-8 to 1-4, and the Dubs took the lead for the first time three minute into the second half when O’Gara broke through, only to be denied by a superb Hennelly save, with the ball deflected over the bar.

They appeared to have finally found their rythmn when Paul Flynn and Brogan both floated over delightful long range scores for a three points lead, but in the 50th minute, Mayo conjured a goal.

Substitute Michael Conroy latched onto a loose ball that should have been cleared by the Dublin defence, and quickly transferred to Moran, who made the instinctive run to collect at pace and slide a low shot past Cluxton, all square at 1-9 each.

But there was soon to be another twist in an All-Ireland final that had finally caught fire. Denis Bastick had been on the field less than a minute when he picked out Brogan at the far post, and the former Football of the Year punched home his second goal in the 54th minute.

Mayo fought back again, but the demons were hovering, and Dublin kept them at arms length, restricting their scoring chances to a handful of frees, which O’Connor duly converted on his way to an eight points tally.

The Ballintubber man narrowed the gap back to a single point, but it was not enough, and the westerners were left to reflect ruefully on a seventh All-Ireland final loss since their last triumph 62 years ago.

[comment]Stephen Cluxton lifts the Sam Maguire Cup. Pic: Inpho.[/comment]

Dublin: S Cluxton (0-02, 1 ’45, 1f), P McMahon, R O’Carroll, J Cooper, J McCarthy, G Brennan (0-01), J McCaffrey, MD Macauley, C O’Sullivan (0-01), P Flynn (0-01), C Kilkenny, D Connolly (0-01), P Mannion, P Andrews (0-01), B Brogan (2-03, 0-1f).

Subs: E O’Gara (0-02) for Mannion, Darren Daly for McCaffrey, Dean Rock for Kilkenny, K McManamon for Andrews, D Bastick for Cooper

Mayo: R Hennelly, T Cunniffe, G Cafferkey, C Barrett, L Keegan (0-02), D Vaughan, C Boyle, A O’Shea, S O’Shea (0-01), K McLoughlin, K Higgins (0-01), A Dillon, C O’Connor (0-08, 8f) A Freeman, A Moran (1-2).

Subs: M Conroy for Freeman, E Varley for Dillon, B Moran for S O’Shea, J Doherty for Moran

Referee: J McQuillan (Cavan).

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