WE WENT MINUTE-by-minute as Dublin and Mayo went head-to-head for the right to play Kerry in this year’s All-Ireland football final.
Hello and welcome to our coverage of the second of this year’s All-Ireland senior football semi-finals.
Throw in at Croke Park is at 3.30pm but we’ll have all the team news you need to know before that.
We assume O’Connor is saying something along the lines of:
“Well, what do ya think of that Joe Brolly?!”
Some great colour on the way in to Croke Park already
There are two changes for Mayo with Rob Hennelly and David Drake in for David Clarke and Barry Moran.
Mayo
16. Rob Hennelly — Breaffy
2. Ger Cafferkey – Ballina Stephenites
3. Donal Vaughan – Ballinrobe
4. Keith Higgins – Ballyhaunis (Capt.)
5. Lee Keegan – Westport
6. Chris Barrett – Belmullet
7. Colm Boyle – Davitts
8. Seamus O’Shea – Breaffy
9. Tom Parsons – Charlestown Sarsfields
10. Diarmuid O’Connor – Ballintubber
11. Aidan O’Shea – Breaffy
12. Kevin McLoughlin – Knockmore
19. David Drake - Ballaghaderreen
14. Cillian O’Connor – Ballintubber
15. Jason Doherty – Burrishoole
And, to nobody’s surprise, Michael Darragh MacAuley starts for Dublin in place of Denis Bastick.
Dublin
1. Stephen Cluxton (Parnells)
2. Jonny Cooper (Na Fianna)
3. Rory O’Carroll (Kilmacud Crokes)
4. Philly McMahon (Ballymun Kickhams)
5. James McCarthy (Ballymun Kickhams)
6. Cian O’Sullivan (Kilmacud Crokes)
7. Jack McCaffrey (Clontarf)
8. Brian Fenton (Raheny)
23. Michael Darragh MacAuley (Ballyboden St Enda’s)
10. Paul Flynn (Fingallians)
11. Ciaran Kilkenny (Castleknock)
12. Diarmuid Connolly (St Vincents)
13. Dean Rock (Ballymun Kickhams)
14. Paddy Andrews (St Brigids)
15. Bernard Brogan (St Oliver Plunketts/ER)
The teams are marching around behind the Artane Boys’ Band and the volume in headquarters is turned all the way up to 11.
It’s almost time for throw-in.
Who is your money on?
Cavan’s Joe McQuillan is our referee today and the game is under way.
1 mins — Mayo 0-1 – Dublin 0-0:
Lee Keegan gets the first score of the game after being picked out in space by Aidan O’Shea.
3 mins — Mayo 0-1 – Dublin 0-0:
Rory O’Carroll is gone off the field for treatment of a blood injury. Michael Fitzsimmons comes on in his place
5 mins — GOAL! — Dublin 1-0 – Mayo 0-1
7 mins — Dublin 1-0 – Mayo 0-1:
That’s a bad wide from a kickable free by Dean Rock.
5 mins — Dublin 1-0 – Mayo 0-1:
David Drake fouls Paul Flynn and the referee has no choice but to award a penalty. Diarmuid Connolly makes no mistake and Dublin have an early lead.
9 mins — Dublin 1-1 – Mayo 0-1:
Paddy Andrews with his first score of the game. Bernard Brogan did well to free up space for his team-mate.
Early substitution for Mayo as the injured Donal Vaughan replaced by (20) Patrick Durkan.
11 mins — Dublin 1-2 – Mayo 0-1:
Mayo’s strategy of launching long balls into the square not exactly paying much dividend so far and Diarmuid Connolly makes it a goal and a point with a curling right-footed effort.
13 mins — Dublin 1-3 – Mayo 0-1:
Bernard Brogan opens his account and Mayo haven’t scored now since the opening minute.
14 mins — Dublin 1-3 – Mayo 0-2:
Mayo finally trouble the umpires again through Cillian O’Connor who points from the dead ball after Aidan O’Shea wins the free.
17 mins — Dublin 1-3 – Mayo 0-3:
Another free from Cillian O’Connor closes the gap to three points. Johnny Cooper picked up a yellow card for a foul in the build up to that score.
19 mins — Dublin 1-4 – Mayo 0-3:
Make that four points as Paddy Andrews add a second point making Keith Higgins look a bit foolish in the build-up.
21 mins — Dublin 1-4 – Mayo 0-4:
Another Cillian O’Connor free, another Mayo score.
22 mins — Dublin 1-5 – Mayo 0-4:
Ciaran Kilkenny was through one-on-one with the Mayo goalkeeper but opts to fist a point from the narrow angle.
23 mins — Dublin 1-5 – Mayo 0-4:
Mayo continue to pump long, high balls in to Aidan O’Shea and he’s only won one of them so far.
Maybe it’s time for the Connacht champions to revert to plan b?
25 mins — Dublin 1-5 – Mayo 0-5:
Dublin’s indiscipline keeping Mayo in this game. A difficult Mayo free turned into a chip shot because of Diarmuid Connolly’s dissent and Cillian O’Connor makes it a three point game yet again.
27 mins — Dublin 1-6 – Mayo 0-5:
Kilkenny with another point from play and we’ve gone a whole two minutes without a free which may be a record in this game.
30 mins — Dublin 1-6 – Mayo 0-5:
Looked a penalty to Mayo but Joe McQuillan awards a free out to Dublin instead.
32 mins — Dublin 1-6 – Mayo 0-6:
Another Mayo free and guess what… O’Connor points again.
34 mins — Dublin 1-7 – Mayo 0-6:
Kilkenny with his third free and Dublin look like they’ll go into the break with a comfortable enough lead.
34 mins — Dublin 1-7 – Mayo 0-6:
Kilkenny with his third score and Dublin look like they’ll go into the break with a comfortable enough lead.
34 mins — Dublin 1-7 – Mayo 0-7:
Cillian O’Connor brings his personal total to 0-6 — all from frees — with another simple dead ball.
HALF-TIME – Dublin 1-7 Mayo 0-7
It was a tale of two penalties in the first half. One that Dublin may have been lucky to win and one Mayo were certainly unlucky not to be awarded.
Here are the scorers from the first half:
The second half is under way.
Dublin change at half-time sees Kevin McManamon come on for Dean Rock.
Dublin 1-7 – Mayo 0-8:
Dublin keep giving Cillian O’Connor easy free kicks and the Mayo man keeps punishing them. That’s his seventh point of the game.37
Dublin 1-8 Mayo 0-9:
Mayo just one behind now thanks to their first score from play since the first minute through Diarmuid O’Connor with the point of the game.
Kevin McManamon returns the favour down the other end though.
Dublin 1-8 Mayo 0-9:
Cian O’Sullivan — who really should have seen a black card in the first half — goes into the book.
John Small (26) is on for Johnny Cooper for Dublin.
Dublin 1-8 Mayo 0-10:
It’s a one point game again, Cillian O’Connor remaining perfect from free kicks.
Andy Moran on for David Drake for Mayo.
Dublin 1-8 – Mayo 0-10:
Kevin McLoughlin misses a glorious opportunity to draw the sides level and Dublin still lead by one.
Dublin 1-8 – Mayo 0-10:
BLACK CARD! MDMA is shown the line for a pull down with Denis Bastick coming on in his place.
Diarmuid O’Connor misses another great chance to level things up.
Dublin 1-9 – Mayo 0-10:
Diarmuid Connolly with a wonderful point off the outside of his right boot as Dublin score just their second point of the second half.
Dublin 1-9 – Mayo 0-10:
Alan Brogan has come on in place of Paddy Andrews.
GOAL! Dublin 2-9 – Mayo 0-10
Dublin 2-9 – Mayo 0-10:
Kevin McManamon puts Dublin five points up with their second maximum of the day:
Dublin 2-9 – Mayo 0-11:
Cillian O’Connor cuts the gap to four with a 45.
Dublin 2-11 – Mayo 0-11:
Bernard and Alan Brogan may well have just put Dublin into the All-Ireland final as they make it a six point game with 10 to play.
Dublin 2-12 – Mayo 0-11:
Dublin now scoring at will, Jack McCaffery with the latest and Mayo’s goose looks well and truly cooked.
They only have themselves to blame really, three bad wides when they were just a point down and all of a sudden they trail by seven.
Dublin 2-12 – Mayo 0-12:
Andy Moran makes it a six point game.
Dublin 2-12 – Mayo 0-3:
Keith Higgins steps up to cut the gap to five.
Stephen Cluxton almost gifts Mayo a way back into the game but John Small does his keeper a massive favour on the line:
PENALTY MAYO!
GOAL! Dublin 2-12 – Mayo 1-14 – Cillian O’Connor
Dublin 2-12 – Mayo 1-15:
Mayo are level!
Andy Moran
Dublin 2-12 – Mayo 1-15:
Dublin were leading by seven not so long ago and we’re level.
Five minutes of added time.
Dublin 2-12 – Mayo 1-15:
RED CARD! Diarmuid Connolly. Yellow for Mayo’s Lee Keegan.
Stephen Cluxton with a long-range free to put his side a point up.
AND HE MISSES.
FULL-TIME! Dublin 2-12 – Mayo 1-15
Well then. What do you think of that?
It was certainly messy, and they’ll have to do it all over again next weekend.
Dublin will be kicking themselves after letting Mayo come from seven points down with ten minutes to go. Not only that, but 1-8 of Mayo’s 1-15 total came from dead balls.
That’s it from us. Thanks, as always, for joining us.
We’ll be back for the replay next Saturday.
