Dublin or Mayo for All Ireland glory?

Another titanic battle is in store when Dublin and Mayo lock horns again in Saturday’s All-Ireland SFC final replay at Croke Park, writes Shane Curran in his Westmeath Independent column this week:

I thought Mayo were outstanding on the first day, and it remains my gut feeling that this will be their year to finally end a long wait for Sam Maguire.

But there’s no doubt that Mayo will need to show similar characteristics to these displayed in the first game to win the replay. These characteristics included relentless energy levels, physical prowess and no little skill - on what was a difficult day, conditions-wise, for football.

I don’t see a reason why Mayo cannot reach these high levels again. People are saying that Mayo have probably missed their chance, and that Dublin won’t be as poor as they were in the drawn game. But I disagree and feel that Mayo have the matching of Dublin on any given day.

Okay, Dublin have an advantage in terms of the strength of their overall squad. And I would expect them to make a few changes in their forward-line, with Paddy Andrews, Eoghan O’Gara and Paul Mannion coming into the reckoning. Also, maybe Denis Bastick will come into Jim Gavin’s thoughts for a starting place at midfield. Mayo are unlikely, I would imagine, to make any changes to the personnel that started the drawn game. They don’t have as many options in terms of changing the game from the bench, but they have enough, in my opinion, to get the job done on Saturday.

There are things that both sides will be looking to improve on, with Mayo hoping for more from the O’Shea brothers (Seamus and Aidan) and Dublin looking for Diarmuid Connolly and Bernard Brogan to produce a bit more. But Mayo got their match-ups perfect the last day and so, I don’t think it’s entirely likely that Connolly and Brogan will improve from the first day.

At the end of the day, I think Mayo’s huge hunger, need and desire for an All-Ireland will help them defeat the Dubs. There will, I would expect, be a more subdued atmosphere for the replay, and this could help Mayo, too.

Usually, replays don’t reach the noise levels of the original fixture, and there’s not the same type of hype and off-field stuff going on in the build-up to a replay.

There are not as many distractions, which should aid both sides, but I am pretty sure, in my mind, that it’s going to be Mayo lifting the famous trophy at the final whistle on Saturday.