Dublin are currently handing Mayo a bit of a beat down.
The greatest rivalry in modern Gaelic football has been reduced to a one-sided spanking after the opening 35 minutes of a rain-soaked National League Division 1 clash in Croke Park.
Brian Fenton has been imperious in midfield as Jim Gavin continues to develop a running game that gets the best out of the likes of Philly McMahon and new boys Eric Lowndes and Niall Scully.
The slick passing, the interplay and the awareness of the Dubs has a Mayo defence, bolstered by a sweeper, chasing shadows. At the break Dublin boasted a six-point lead that should surely have been more but for an astounding miss from full-forward Eoghan O’Gara.
National Football League Half-Times:
Dublin 1-5 Mayo 0-2
Tyrone 0-9 Monaghan 0-2
Donegal 0-6 Cavan 0-4— GAA JOE (@GAA__JOE) March 4, 2017
Plagued by injuries in recent years, one of the most physically devastating forwards of an incredibly talented bunch has seen his Championship starts limited.
A league campaign where the frontliners have been dripped back sparingly is O’Gara’s opportunity to show what he can offer. On the plus side, he has shaken the attentions of footballer of the year Lee Keegan on two occasions to carve open fantastic goal chances.
Unfortunately he missed both. While the first eventually led to Conor McHugh’s goal after a sloppy David Clarke kick-out, the second will live long in the memory for all the wrong reasons.
The Mayo defence was sliced open by an intricate passing move, with O’Gara eventually receiving the ball on the edge of the square, with only the – admittedly – massive Clarke to beat.
All-Star keeper Clarke charges as O’Gara prepares to pull the trigger.
He appears to put off O’Gara, whose shot – untouched by Clarke – goes backwards and out for a Mayo sideline ball. That is the ball there, by the sideline.
Remarkable.
