DUBLIN RATINGS
Stephen Cluxton: One poor early kick-out went straight out but picked out Brian Fenton brilliantly in lead-up to first goal. Saved an awkwardly bouncing 45 and generally alert to balls over the top. 7
Philly McMahon: Good block to deny Doherty but was outmuscled by Aidan O’Shea several times. Not as good going forward as usual, and kicked one pass straight out. 6
Jonny Cooper: Got in the way of an early Durcan shot. Won some high balls against Andy Moran but his man was getting out in front. Sweeper briefly at start of second half, and pushed forward more, but hit a very poor wide. 6
David Byrne: Steady enough on Cillian O’Connor before the break but found him increasingly a handful and was subbed. 6
James McCarthy: Had been getting forward to decent effect before his questionable black card. 5.5
Cian O’Sullivan: Covered well and tackled regularly against Aidan O’Shea and Andy Moran. Composed in possession, the launching pad for counter-attacks. 7
John Small: The pick of Dublin’s players, dominating Diarmuid O’Connor with his pace, notably on the counter-attack, always offering himself as an outlet. Set up scores and even got a point himself. 7.5
Bryan Fenton: Involved in the first goal, might have scored another, both the result of smart runs. Put in blocks and tackles but Vaughan edged him later in game. 6.5
Michael Darragh Macauley: Fortunate to stay on the pitch for as long as he did, after pulling down Lee Keegan and catching Cillian O’Connor high. Performed fairly well otherwise, doing the dirty work for the Dubs around midfield. 5.5
Paul Flynn: Most noteworthy aspect of his display was that he stayed on the pitch for so long. Made one good tackle back in his own square but kicked a poor wide. 5
Kevin McManamon: Booked early on for clattering Diarmuid O’Connor and his day did not improve. Shot short, kicked a wild wide, gave possession away – and was hooked after 46 minutes. 5
Ciaran Kilkenny: Covered plenty of ground trying to get on the ball, dropping deeper, and went into defence after McCarthy’s black card. One bad wide
but linked play fairly well at times. 5.5
Dean Rock: An off-target day by his high standards, with two frees sent wide, another dropped short. Also had a wide and shot short from play. Still scored 0-4. 5.5
Diarmuid Connolly: Did some good work, but often in his own half, tackling back. Struck superb kick-passes, including for the second goal, and snapped up Dublin’s last point. 6.5
Bernard Brogan: Contributed to first goal and offered some aerial threat but failed to score again and was taken off. 5
Substitutes
Paddy Andrews: Made a case for a starting slot by quickly scoring two points from play but had less joy once Mayo settled on Patrick Durcan to mark him. 7
Paul Mannion: Replaced McManamon but fared little better, running into trouble/ defenders on several occasions. Won a late Mayo kick-out. 6
Micheal Fitzsimons: Came on for Macauley, marked Cillian O’Connor when he went inside and did fairly well – until the late leveller. 6.5
Eoghan O’Gara: Won the final free that Dublin score but then scuffed a shot wide. 5.5
Darren Daly: Made one good run in centre-field to receive the ball and win a free. 5.5
Denis Bastick: Not on long enough to be rated.
MAYO RATINGS
David Clarke: It was a mistake to aim in the general direction of the in-form Brian Fenton for some of his kick-outs, but overall the Ballina keeper had a very good game.
Excellent in a couple of one-on-one situations and cool under the high ball. 7.5
Brendan Harrison: Stuck to Bernard Brogan like glue all afternoon and kept his man scoreless. Job done by the corner-back. 7
Donal Vaughan: Although he was badly caught out for one first half possession, the Ballinrobe man delivered an excellent performance. Stood tall to hit
a point in each half and harassed Dublin around the middle sector. 8
Keith Higgins: Minded Dean Rock and did well on him from open play. The veteran defender still has acceleration in his boots but he can play better than he did yesterday. 6.5
Lee Keegan: No surprises that he saddled up to Diarmuid Connolly from the start and apart from conceding one late point, the Mayo wing-back did a solid job. Tried to swap jerseys before the end of the game. 7.5
Colm Boyle: Had spells on a couple of Dublin forwards and was unlucky to find his own net in the first half. Had trouble on Dubs substitute Paddy Andrews before half-time. Very ragged second half display and was rightly replaced. 5.5
Patrick Durcan: A man-of-the-match contender. Never gave Kevin McManamon room to work in and broke forward to hit a smashing point that ignited Mayo’s second half comeback. Quality performer. 7.5
Seamus O’Shea: Actually had a good first half, but his game went to pieces in the second half. Gave away at least
three possessions in quick succession and that ended his afternoon. 5
Tom Parsons: Grabbed the first score of the day and won the Mayo kick-out that led to Patrick Durcan’s fine 39th minute scored. Great energy levels but Brian Fenton had dominant spells too. 7
Kevin McLoughlin: A good re-starter, but too slow to spot danger as the defensive sweeper. A first half to forget, conceded an own goal, lost one or two balls and fouled too readily. But pinched a great ball that allowed Alan Dillon to point. 6
Aidan O’Shea: Suffers from the ‘big man’ syndrome when tackled and cut a frustrated figure in the first half. Deserved several frees and didn’t get them. Failed the stress test in the second half, ballooning two efforts. 5.5
Diarmuid O’Connor: An introverted first half display, but much better in the second half. He covered a lot of ground, broke a few crucial kick-outs and did the ugly things well before running out of steam. 6
Jason Doherty: Didn’t see a lot of ball but showed courage when he did have it. Hit a super point in the first half when Mayo were in trouble and broke Dublin’s defensive lines to set up Andy Moran with a goal chance. 6.5
Andy Moran: You won’t find a more solid citizen in the game than this man, who is 32 going on 22. Scored two points from play and didn’t waste many possessions. 7
Cillian O’Connor: STAR MAN - Cometh the hour, cometh the man. O’Connor’s game has evolved to such an extent that you expect him to produce the goods on the big occasions. He was never going to miss his injury-time chance to force a replay. Showed incredible temperament under heavy provocation at times. 8.5
Substitutes
Alan Dillon: Hit a beautiful point that only Alan Dillon is capable of executing. 6.5
Chris Barrett: Steadied the Mayo defence. 6
Barry Moran: Didn’t see much of the ball. 5
Stephen Coen: Came on for O’Connor. 5
Evan Regan: Lively before suffering injury. 5.5
Conor Loftus: Not on long enough to be rated.
