In the end, it fell to Dean Rock to win it for Dublin. Win it he did.
The Ballymun Kickhams forward had an iffy start with his placed ball kicks but grew into the game. Dublin would not have won without him.
Rock was effective and punishing from play but, with 74 minutes on the clock and the game on the line, he did his worst damage. Diarmuid Connolly burst forward, drew a foul and gripped the ball in one palm after Joe McQuillan whistled for a foul.
Rock approached and Connolly backed his man:
Finish this Dean! pic.twitter.com/QDWPYkOGCG
— GAA JOE (@GAA__JOE) September 17, 2017
Another All-Ireland on the line and Rock slotted the ball over to break Mayo hearts all over again.
Not long after Stephen Cluxton had raised Sam Maguire, as captain, for the fourth time [his fifth title overall], RTE caught up with Rock and found him in magnanimous form. He said:
“Diarmuid did very well to win the free and it’s my job to put it over the bar and, thankfully, it went over.”
He added, “There’s a point in it again and, look, it’s always close when we play Mayo. There’s always a point in it. Thankfully we finished on the right side of it again.
“It’s just unfortunate for them that they’re on the wrong side of it but they are a fantastic team, they work really, really hard and they bring out the best in us, and I’m sure it will be the same again next year.”
Dublin's match-winner Dean Rock: Diarmuid did very well to win the free and it's my job to put it over. #DUBvMayo #RTEgaa pic.twitter.com/aqx5ul7iJ8
— RTÉ GAA (@RTEgaa) September 17, 2017
Rock also paid a nice tribute to the Dubs’ backroom staff and the panel members that did not make the matchday squad after nine months of slogging away with one goal in mind. “They’re up in the stands there today,” said Rock, “and this one is for them.”
