Next Saturday can’t come quick enough.
Finger-nails were bitten, hearts were racing and through it all Mayo’s propensity to combine the sublime with the ridiculous burned brightly.
Mayo and Kerry’s All-Ireland semi-final meeting had it all. From the shock of Aidan O’Shea retreating to full back to mark Kieran Donaghy, to the titanic tussle the pair subsequently fought out.
The football Championship was hinging on this date for a long time, after a disappointing quarter-final series, and two of it’s most entertaining counties did what they do best in serving up a thriller.
In the end they just couldn’t be separated, and that was due to the shear refusal of the warriors of both sides to accept defeat.
Here’s who we thought stood tallest and earned a nomination as AIB Performance of the weekend.
Andy Moran
Age is only a number for Andy Moran. The Ballaghadereen club man may be pushing on at 33, but he’s as lively as he’s ever been.
It is often used cited as an indictment of this Mayo team they are still relying on Andy Moran, well you can be guaranteed that any other county in the country would only love to be relying on him.
He scored a goal and five points in a swashbuckling display against the Kingdom, during which he was at his opportunistic and clinical best.
The beauty about Moran is that as well as picking off score after score, he has near 20/20 vision to give that perfect pass to a fellow forward, and his link-up play with Cillian O’Connor is always a joy to watch.
Sometimes you just can’t beat experience.
Brendan Harrison
The Aghamore club man goes about his corner back duties in a quiet manner and with the minimal of fuss.
That’s what every manager wants of their number two and number four. Harrison is a dogged performer and with his pace and willingness he marks himself out as a corner forward’s worst nightmare.
Harrison hassles, he harries and he will fight tooth and nail to get the better of his man, and on Sunday it was James O’Donoghue who was sent for an early shower.
Paul Murphy
One of the tidiest half backs in the game. Murphy forced Lee Keegan to the periphery of the action, what more can a man do?
The Rathmore club man, who regularly plays in the forwards when representing his club is turning into a real leader of this Kerry team, and when he popped up to put Kerry in the lead with just five minutes left to play, it really was just classic Paul Murphy.
He may be small in stature, but he’s big in heart.
David Moran
The midfield maestro may have kicked three wides in the first half, but despite the fact that his prominence at the end of Kerry’s attacking moves may not have resulted in the return he would have hope for, his willingness was a constant.
Moran is a gust of energy, strength and momentum in the middle of the field and he really is the fulcrum around which this Kerry team operates.
He dominated the midfield section today with a typically powerful performance and you’d have to wonder will Stephen Rochford attempt to negate his influence next Saturday by restoring Aidan O’Shea to midfield.
So get your votes in and the poll will be discussed on Monday afternoon’s GAA Hour.
An absolute thriller in Croke Park today! But tell us, who was your Performance of the weekend ⬇️ #TheToughest
Any other suggestions?— AIB_GAA (@AIB_GAA) August 20, 2017
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