Monday 23 September 2013

Mayo Heartbreak

All-Ireland Football Finals

Senior: Dublin 2-12; Mayo 1-14
Minor: Mayo 2-13; Tyrone 1-13

Yesterday, in Croke Park, Mayo suffered a one-point defeat to Dublin in the All-Ireland senior football final. Neither team reached the level of performance they had displayed in the earlier rounds of the championship—as a consequence the standard of the game never reached expected heights. For television viewers, the poor quality of the production did not help matters. The Mayo forwards found great difficulty in getting into good scoring positions and, when they did so, their shooting lacked confidence. Their kick-outs should have targeted mid-field where the O'Shea brothers usually dominate; this, coupled with quicker use of the ball going forward and better back-up for the player in possession, would have tilted the balance in their favour. Mayo will win a senior All-Ireland in the next year or two, and I hope that the gallant trio from' 51 will still be around to celebrate it. In the meantime, it is congratulations to Dublin!

In the minor final, Mayo had a fairly sluggish first half and were lucky to be leading by one point at half-time. Tyrone had the better of the first half but spoiled a lot of good approach play by poor shooting—either the ball being sent wide or into the goal-keeper's hands. Mayo won the match by scoring 1-4 without reply in the early stages of the second half. A good Tyrone team fought back well and were only a goal behind at the final whistle.

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