Substitute Enda Varley then forced a free outside the 20-metre line with 73:28 on the clock. According to Moran, O'Connor opted to point the free to make it a one-point game as referee Joe McQuillan told him there was still 30 seconds left to play.

It seemed to the Connacht champions that after O'Connor sent over the last-gasp free at 74:10 - with 11 Dublin players between him and the goal, including net minder Stephen Cluxton - they would still have some time to win possession from the kick-out and look for a levelling score.

However, McQuillan blew for full-time as Cluxton's final kick-out found its target near the left sideline at 74:35 and James Horan's men were left feeling aggrieved.

"At the end, Cillian had a free, the ref tells him there's 30 seconds left, and then he blows it out from the kick-out," explained Moran.

"It's a bit of a pain in the arse, to be honest with you, but hey, these things happen.

"Cillian is an intelligent guy, a very intelligent footballer. He asked the ref how long was left, he (the ref) said 30 seconds and (then) he blew it up.

"It's a one out of 10 chance anyway, but it's still a chance - to get a goal and have a chance of winning an All-Ireland."

Mayo manager James Horan was also asked about the situation afterwards and backed O'Connor's take on things, although he said the westerners would not be making 'a hullabaloo about it'.

"When you ask the ref how long is left, when you ask him twice, you know...he tells you there's at least 30 seconds left after the score," said Horan.

"That's a little disappointing. But, look, that's neither here nor there. The game is over, we were beaten and we're very disappointed.

"You guys can write about that. There was a lot of hullabaloo when we played them before but we won't make a hullabaloo about it. It's disappointing, is there anything I can do about it? Not a frigging thing. It's pointless."