Phew.
Paddy Durcan nearly does his own chances of starting games harm with the ridiculous impact he makes to this Mayo team from the bench.
Once Rochford calls upon the Castlebar Mitchels man, the Mayo crowd are sent into raptures, and his teammates are visibly lifted by his drive and gusto.
He was called upon earlier than usual on Sunday, on the stroke of half-time, and he impacted the game immediately with a typically committed lung-bursting drive along the sideline.
Durcan brought energy to the table, he brought direct running, and he brought fire to an already fired up team.
When he received his second yellow card in the 73rd minute, just moments after a typically inspirational score, the 19th card of the day issued by referee Daivd Gough, Mayo fans were understandably worried.
The people of the west will be delighted to know, then, that Durcan will be available for the final, as he’s already served a one-match ban for his red card against Derry earlier in the year.
Duecan served a one-match ban in the subsequent game against Clare, which means that he won’t miss the final.
The GAA’s Central Competition Controls Committee (CCCC) confirmed to RTÉ Sport that he was in the clear.
The question on everybody’s lips now is, will he start the final?
There’s only one man that can answer that question and that’s the man of the moment Stephen Rochford.
