Between
the posts
 BY
LIAM HASSETT
Mickey Moran urged people not to write his team off after their victory
to Laois and how right he was. They were in a word fantastic on Sunday
and fully deserve to be back in an All-Ireland final.
I’ve regularly backed Mayo in this column and have liked the way
they’ve played their football this year and while I was a little
surprised they beat Dublin I don’t think it was as much of a surprise
as people are making out.
It was definitely the best game of this year’s Championship. It
had everything excellent fielding, well taken scores, tough tackling and
plenty of tension towards the end of the game.
Mickey Moran’s team won the midfield battle with Pat Harte doing
a lot of the simple things extremely well and negating the influence of
Ciaran Whelan who needs time and space to work his magic.
Harte’s midfield partner, Ronan McGarrity was outstanding as an
attacking threat, Shane Ryan was forced to track back after him, meaning
that Dublin couldn’t launch an attack from their midfield. That
had been the key to their success all season and when they couldn’t
do it on Sunday, they were a much weaker team.
Mayo deserved their win, it was the most complete performance they have
produced in many years, and they will now pose a major threat to Kerry
in the All-Ireland final.
That game could also hinge on the midfield, Darragh O’Se and Tommy
Griffin were excellent for Kerry in the wins over Longford, Armagh and
Cork and their tussle with McGarrity and Harte will go a long way to deciding
whether it’s Kerry or Mayo who bring home the Sam Maguire trophy
in 2006.
Another major factor of course will be how Mayo handle Kieran Donaghy.
There are few better full-backs in the country than James Nallen, but
the Mayoman will have to be at his best to deal with Donaghy if indeed
he is chosen for the job.
Having looked at how well Mayo played on Sunday you would have to say
that Mayo don’t need to fear Kerry, and if Donaghy is not on top
form then it could be curtains for the Kingdom. Mayo’s forwards
have a habit of freezing on the big occasion, they won’t get as
many chances against Kerry as they did on Sunday so McDonald, Mortimer
and Co. will have to be on top form.
Most people were hoping for a Dublin vs. Kerry final reminiscent of the
classic clashes of the ’70s and ’80s, but Mayo and Kerry are
the form teams of this year’s championship, they deserve to be in
the final and it could be a classic to rival the great games of the past.
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