Mayo love this kind of thing.
These players relish the risk, they live for the pressure, they come into their own when it matters the most. After 51 minutes of action in Semple Stadium, they looked in serious bother. Three points behind and with Colm Boyle gone to a black card, their lives were on the line.
By the 60th they were nearly home and dry as they channelled the spirit they’re so renowned for. In the end, they passed this test with flying colours but it took a fright for Mayo’s true colours to emerge.
When the men in green and red bursted out of their jerseys, Tipperary had no answer, few teams in the country would have been able to stop them in the final quarter of this game.
The funny thing was that they started well.
Tipperary were slow to get going in front of their home Thurles crowd. They looked leggy, slow and off the pace in the first few minutes – just as they were when hammered by Cork last time out – and Mayo were all over them.
Seamus O’Shea kicked a point, so did Cillian O’Connor and you worried for the Premier men. But then, something clicked. Then Tipperary started giving Michael Quinlivan the ball, then Tipperary were back in this game.
Josh Keane lofted a looping high ball into the square, Quinlivan turned water into wine and left David Clarke and Paddy Durcan scratching their heads as he out-jumped and outfoxed the two of them.
Paddy Durcan will be having nightmares about Michael Quinlivan! https://t.co/J2CnpEiNDv
— GAA JOE (@GAA__JOE) June 23, 2018
Then we had a game. The sides traded blows from here to half-time with the home side shading it. Liam McGrath and Conor Sweeney kicked points alongside him, but really, it was all about Michael Quinlivan.
The Clonmel Commercials ace was denied a superb second goal only by a sharp David Clarke save, but he bullied his way to two more gorgeous points before the break.
You’d have to question Stephen Rochford’s decision to task his most attack-minded defender, in Paddy Durcan, with the unenviable job of marking Tipp’s danger man and they were made pay for it.
Full back is a problem position for Mayo as we saw last year when Aidan O’Shea was moved back to mind the house. Rochford’s hands were tied with Donie Vaughan on the sidelines, but playing Paddy Durcan there looks like a case of robbing Peter to pay Paul.
Yes, he exploded into it in the second half but surely, he’s more of a loss to the half back line than he is a gain to the last line.
Philip Austin and Jack Kennedy were also going well for Tipp, however, and they went into the break with a two point, 1-7 to 0-8 lead.
And they picked up from where they’d left off in the second.
Quinlivan was again dominating Durcan and Bill Maher was cutting Mayo open with his trademark runs from deep. The Premier County held a 1-11 to 0-11 lead after 51 minutes but that was as good as it would get for them.
Jack Kennedy kicked a wide ball when a pass and the goal was on and Mayo awoke from their slumber almost immediately after. Jason Doherty kicked a couple of gorgeous long-rangers and Kevin McLoughlin matched him with an outside of the boot beauty.
Then, this game was turned on its head when an attempted pointed effort from James Durcan ended up in the back of Evan Comerford’s net. The Tipperary goalkeeper was extremely unfortunate rather than at fault here.
Mayo are at their best when they’re looking down the barrel of a gun and they kicked on when this game was in the melting pot.
Tipperary, rocked by that goal, wouldn’t register another score as Mayo kicked onto win by eight points, 1-19 to 1-11 the final score.
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