It was still a fine kick, Mayo still deserve serious credit for their sheer bottle and stubbornness but imagine the injustice Declan Bonner and Donegal must feel.
The soreness of being relegated from Division One will hurt more for the men from the hills because of how they lost three games by a single point when they were said to have deserved victory. It’ll be compounded by the fact they led Mayo for 51 minutes right into the 74th minute in this relegation scrap and Paddy McBrearty, so good all season, had the chance to secure the win just seconds earlier at the other end of the field.
A lot of things conspired together to send Donegal packing from the top table and Mayo’s brute ignorance to accepting a beaten docket was certainly one of the killer blows.
"Now behold the stubbornness of the most stubborn team in all of sport" – @ConanDoherty can't believe he's still surprised by Mayo's refusal to die https://t.co/2eRsNq1lc8
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) March 25, 2018
But, just as Kevin McLoughlin’s nerve, his pure speed and his accuracy off his weaker foot rescued his county from the trap door they were dangling one foot in for nearly an hour, the referee missing the amount of steps he took to beat Eoghan Ban Gallagher was a major factor in the fate of both Mayo and Donegal.
Gallagher, who was man of the match after a simply breathtaking display himself, was turned by McLoughlin with his first four steps and the wing forward used the subsequent nine to burst away from the defender’s outstretched hand, steady himself and kick a marvellous, marvellous effort.
Kevin McLoughlin with the crucial point to leave the sides even as the ref blows the whistle pic.twitter.com/Rrj6zuSmCN
— The GAA (@officialgaa) March 25, 2018
When you slow it down though, like Brendan Tierney did, you see in black and white the amount of steps he took to get into such a position.
Kevin Mcloughlin 13 steps on his way to scoring that point. not a word on #leaguesunday @RTEgaa @officialdonegal @MayoGAA @tomas5ky @Woolberto @JoeBrolly1993 @SportsJOEdotie pic.twitter.com/Jsm3HMkw0t
— Brendan Tierney (@bennytierney) March 25, 2018
The steps rule has become like a lot of football rules to some referees – there to be penalised at their discretion. It’s almost like a black card now, it depends on the circumstance, the stage of the game, the mood of the referee to pull someone up for it and actually apply the rules they’re there to apply.
You thought lads were liberated during the International Rules series by being allowed 10 steps but you can get away with more nowadays for some of the most important moments in football.
