“You’ll probably not win the All-Ireland this year without beating Dublin, and if you’ve never beaten them…”
Four full seasons have passed since Mayo managed it. A final, a semi-final, and another final defeat have passed without them taken the opportunity to beat Dublin.
10 games against the capital have come and gone and, each time, the westerners have come away empty-handed.
On Saturday, Stephen Rochford takes his men back down the road to Croke Park where they left after 140 minutes of football last year with just one point separating the two counties.
Mayo-Dublin is the great rivalry of our time but, significantly, Mayo haven’t beaten them in five years – which, despite the competitive nature of their battles, begs the question of just how big a rivalry it is.
On the recent GAA Hour football show, Colm Parkinson and Stevie McDonnell argued it out about whether this league game in March is a must-win clash for Mayo.
Colm Parkinson
“Mayo have to win this game,” Wooly said.
“I’ll tell you why they have to win this game: in 2012, they beat Dublin in league and championship – there’s an impression that Mayo are a match for Dublin but they’ve never beaten them since 2012.
“A lot of the players now on the Dublin team will have never lost to Mayo, they just won’t entertain it. Likewise, a lot of the Mayo players – the newer players – will have never beaten Dublin.
“They’ve lost seven and drawn three of their last 10 games against Dublin in league and championship so, psychologically, this just cannot happen again.”
Steven McDonnell
“For the fourth game in the league, it holds so much importance for the Mayo cause – not so much for Dublin, even though they have drawn their last couple of games,” the Armagh legend explained.
“Mayo, whilst they’ve gotten off to a difficult start the first day out, they’ve responded well. This is another opportunity to lay a firm marker down for the season ahead.
“A few weeks ago, they were talked about being finished and we certainly built them up but I think Mayo are in the top three teams in the country. They have always competed against Dublin. Is the be-all and end-all beating Dublin in a league game? I’m not so sure that it is.”
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