They said Kerry had more room for improvement. Not in Mayo’s book, not in Stephen Rochford’s book.
Mayo meant business from the word go. They exploded into the first half, and they kept this momentum going throughout.
Their forwards were dragging their opponents all over the Croke Park turf, with Andy Moran’s destroyal of Shane Enright for a second week running a clear example of this.
Cillian O’Connor was typically deadly from placed balls, and Kerry were always made pay for their defensive indiscipline.
Mayo were bursting out of their skin, while Kerry were stuck to the ground.
From the moment they darted out of the dressing room and out under the Hogan Stand entrance, you could almost see the hair standing on the back of these lads heads.
Cillian O’Connor lead out his lions like a man possessed, and Colm Boyle took the mantle which every other player followed.
Even one of their coaches was flat-out sprinting, but what was most notable was that their subs had as much fire in the belly as those playing, speaking of a team united and with a common goal.
Our boys are ready. #16thman #mayogaa pic.twitter.com/s9mvNBhI8I
— Mayo GAA (@MayoGAA) August 26, 2017
They went out onto the field and manager Stephen Rochford was determined to keep these motivation levels high.
He was involved, he was stuck in the middle of it, he was leading by example, according to our SportsJOE representative at Croke Park, Darragh Culhane.
Nice to see Stephen Rochford in the middle when Mayo doing their drills screaming at his players.
— Darragh Culhane (@DarraghCulhane) August 26, 2017
Rochford had his troops focusing on the basic skills, but their focus was intense. Everything was performed to a tee.
Nothing too fancy by Mayo in the warm up. The weave, basic handpassing kickpassing, tackling and blocking.
— Darragh Culhane (@DarraghCulhane) August 26, 2017
This determination, this vigour extended into their first half play, and Kerry just weren’t able to match it, as Mayo got inside their heads.
This came to a head with Kerry goalkeeper kicking the ball over his own end line just before half-time.
Their second half play was just as intense, with Keith Higgins and Colm Boyle laying down a marker with their thunderous fire, while up front Andy Moran and half-time substitution Conor Loftus were wreaking havoc.
One of the most notable factors in Kerry’s downfall was their inability to involve target-man Kieran Donaghy in the game.
He didn’t get a sniff.
This frustration culminated in a red card for the full forward.
Mayo marched on with defiance, with a relentless urge to prove everybody wrong as they carved out a 2-16 to 0-17 victory.
We all owe that man Rochford an apology.
