It was the pivotal decision in a one-point game.
Dropping All-Star in waiting David Clarke in favour of Robbie Hennelly was a brave call by Stephen Rochford, but one that ultimately back-fired for Mayo.
Mayo had been briefly ahead at the start of the second half and were level with Dublin when Breaffy stopper Hennelly conceded the penalty that would give Dublin their only goal of a thrilling 1-15 to 1-14 win.
In the drawn game Mayo handed Dublin a pair of own goals and on Saturday evening the Connacht men gifted Jim Gavin’s men a penalty that could and should have been easily avoided.
Hennelly dropped a routine catch and was forced to tackle Paddy Andrews to the ground – undeniable penalty and black card for the Mayo keeper. Diarmuid Connolly blasted the spot kick past substitute Clarke and the Dubs were on their way to a first successful All-Ireland defence in nearly 40 years.
Should never have been there #DUBvMAYOhttps://t.co/FgQSzP7t3J
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) October 1, 2016
After the defeat, Rochford was asked by RTÉ’s Marty Morrissey what was the thinking behind the decision to drop Clarke in favour of Hennelly.
“In selection and that you make a calculated decision,” said the Mayo manager. “We felt in analysis of Dublin that they had pushed right up on our kick-outs in the drawn game and we felt they would target that again. That was the reason.”
Stephen Rochford on Keegan loss https://t.co/FTEVMhJinL
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) October 1, 2016
Before he was black-carded, many of Hennelly’s kick-outs had been a problem in the first half, with several resulting in Dublin turnovers and even scores.
The Breaffy man has a huge boot but Dublin appeared to be wise to the Mayo tactic again. In contrast Stephen Cluxton returned to kicking the ball long to great effect – goalkeeping is a capricious old game.
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