Mayo beat Kerry in thriller to end 75-year All-Ireland wait

ByMatt Gault

BBC Sport NI senior journalist at Croke Park

Mayo ended a 75-year wait for the county's fourth All-Ireland Senior Football title with a 1-20 to 1-17 victory over Kerry in a captivating and intense final that went down to the wire at a raucous Croke Park.

In remarkable scenes, the emotion came pouring out of the Mayo squad and supporters as they lifted three quarters of a century worth of pain with a ferocious and tireless performance that denied Kerry a second straight title.

Mayo, who came into the game having lost 13 finals - including two replays - since their 1951 triumph, suffered a slow start and fell 1-6 to 0-3 behind in the opening exchanges as talisman David Clifford's goal helped Kerry establish early dominance.

But Mayo bounced back and trailed by only a point at 1-8 to 0-10 at half-time before surging clear in the third quarter, with Darragh Beirne's goal helping the Westerners build a five-point lead.

Kerry clawed their way back and sat just two points down as they chased a late leveller, but they failed to strike before Tommy Conroy's score capped a famous win for Mayo.

It also provided an unforgettable conclusion to a whirlwind first season under manager Andy Moran - who lost six finals during his Mayo playing days - and sends starlet Kobe McDonald off to Australia an All-Ireland champion at just 18 years of age.

"We kept the faith. We're All-Ireland champions," said an overjoyed Mayo captain Jack Coyne.

"This is what every day of my life I've dreamed of doing. To be able to do this, I can't put it into words."

It would not be a big day at Croke Park for Mayo without pain for their long-suffering fans - and it came early this year during a nervy opening 15 minutes when Kerry threatened to dart off into the distance.

With the always-excellent Paudie Clifford influential early on, Kerry feasted on Mayo nerves to register the game's three opening scores, with David Clifford striking twice after Dylan Casey fisted over the bar.

It could have been worse for Mayo, who breathed a sigh of relief when Sean O'Brien shot wide after receiving a Sean O'Shea fist pass and turning sharply to outfox his marker Bob Tuohy.

While David McBrien delivered a nerve-settling score for Mayo, the high-pressing Westerners kicked a succession of shots short during the opening quarter as they favoured low-percentage efforts in a bid to ramp up scoreboard pressure.

Kerry's scores seemed to come easier, and when a Sean O'Shea effort was followed by Clifford sneaking in behind Donnacha McHugh, rounding Jack Livingstone and blasting the ball into the net, there was a sense that the game was already slipping away from the Connacht county.

But back they came. Armed with ferocious intent and a forward line ravenous for turnover ball, Mayo rattled Kerry during a period when they clawed back from seven points down to revive their hopes.

Suddenly it was Kerry shots going awry, with David Clifford's two-point free missing after Jack Carney had raised an orange flag at the Hill 16 end.

While Sean O'Shea fisted a score to put Kerry 1-6 to 0-3 up, Ryan O'Donoghue's superb two-pointer, coupled with Tommy Conroy's introduction for Paul Towey, breathed new life into the Mayo cause.

Indeed, after Darragh Beirne and O'Donoghue frees and a Sam Callinan score, Kerry's lead was cut to one at 1-6 to 0-8. After Tom O'Sullivan's score, Beirne and Conroy struck to draw Mayo level, although a cleverly worked point from totemic Kingdom midfielder Joe O'Connor ensured Kerry held a slender advantage at the break.

Lifted by a spirited second-quarter showing, Mayo emerged for the second half and continued to rattle Kerry, shutting down space and flooding forward in numbers.

It paid dividends during a crucial 10-minute period after the restart when a Beirne point and McDonald's '45 put Mayo ahead before Beirne side-footed a cool finish into the Kerry net after O'Donoghue and David McBrien combined in a flowing attack.

"I had envisioned during the week that the ball would get flicked across to me and I was going to hit it top right," said Beirne of his goal.

"When the ball came to me, I just put the foot through it, saw it nestle in the top corner and the rest is history."

Substitute Keith Evans replied for a rocked Kerry, but Jack Carney's nailed two-pointed effort put Mayo 1-14 to 1-9 ahead and amid a barely conceivable cacophony of noise from the Croke Park stands.

Wary of not panicking, Kerry reeled off the next four scores to pull within one but their hopes were kept alive by goalkeeper Shane Murphy, who tipped Kobe McDonald's goal-bound shot over the bar.

After David Clifford fisted over the bar, Mayo again streaked clear when the brilliant O'Donoghue landed a two-pointer after another McDonald score to put Moran's men 1-19 to 1-14 in front.

In a frantic and incredibly tense closing 10 minutes, brothers David and Paudie Clifford combined for three points to bring Kerry back to within two.

Chasing a late shooting opportunity, Kerry held on to the ball before Sean O'Shea's do-or-die effort from outside the two-point arc dropped short.

Having regained possession, Mayo - as they had done so often - streamed forward and found Conroy, who kicked the insurance score to ensure Mayo's success and spark ecstatic scenes among the green and red fans at Croke Park.

Kerry: Shane Murphy; Paul Murphy, Jason Foley, Dylan Casey (0-1); Graham O'Sullivan (0-1), Mike Breen, Gavin White; Mark O'Shea, Sean O'Brien; Joe O'Connor (0-1), Sean O'Shea (0-3), Tom O'Sullivan (0-1); Paudie Clifford (0-3, 1x'45), David Clifford (1-6, 1x2pt), Dylan Geaney.

Subs: Evan Looney for Casey (28-30), Keith Evans (0-1) for T O'Sullivan (half-time), Tomas Kennedy for Geaney (50), Brian O Beaglaioch for White (60), Evan Looney for P Murphy (61), Micheal Burns for O'Brien (63).

Mayo: Jack Livingstone; Jack Coyne (capt), Donnacha McHugh, Eoin McGreal; Sam Callinan, David McBrien, Enda Hession; Bob Tuohy, Jack Carney (0-4, 2x2pt); Paul Towey, Diarmuid O'Connor, Jordan Flynn; Darragh Beirne- (1-3, 2f), Ryan O'Donoghue (0-5, 2x2pt, 1f), Kobe McDonald (0-3, 1x'45).

Subs: Tommy Conroy (0-2) for Towey (25), Mattie Ruane for Tuohy (53), Rory Brickenden for McGreal (53), Conor Loftus for O'Connor (58), Paddy Durcan for Callinan (66).

Referee: Martin McNally (Monaghan)