1 SHOT AT IMMORTALITY

After 66 years chasing Sam Maguire, Mayo have this year travelled on a marathon journey of 2640km to this big day – their 4th in 6 years – playing 670 minutes, scoring 16 goals and 148 points using 27 players – tomorrow they have . . . It’s 31 years sinc

WHEN Cillian O’Connor missed the chance to bring Mayo level late in last year’s All-Ireland final replay, many of their most loyal supporters feared it was the end of a tantalising cycle that had failed to end the title drought.

That view was reinforced in Pearse Stadium last June when Galway beat Mayo for a second successive year in the Connacht semi-final.

Granted, they played with 14 men for 44 minutes after Keith Higgins was sent off so they had a readymade excuse, but it still left them looking up a very steep mountain.

“We’ve got to take it on the chin, dust ourselves down and get ready for route in the back door,” said Stephen Rochford.

He knew it would take six wins to secure the All-Ireland title, a tall order for a squad which has been on a gruelling circuit for a long time.

Three months on, they have played seven games, including two draws, and now head for Croke Park seeking that crucial sixth win that would change the course of Mayo football history forever.

It has been a remarkable journey, underpinned by a resilience that, more than anything else, gives Mayo a real chance of upsetting the odds tomorrow.

Their individual and collective merit as footballers has been long since proven and it is now backed by a mental toughness that sustains them when their game isn’t going especially well.

It’s highly probable that Mayo would have won at least one All-Ireland in a different era but it has been their bad luck to coincide with a period when Dublin are setting such high standards.

And that may continue to be Mayo’s problem again tomorrow. For while Dublin are heading into the biggest challenge of all without sitting even one proper examination all summer, there’s no evidence to suggest that their studies haven’t prepared them for it.

It’s easy to be dismissive of their runaway wins over Westmeath, Kildare, Monaghan and Tyrone, blaming the opposition for poor attempts at matching them, but the reality is that Dublin gave none of them an opportunity to get into the games.

It’s unlikely that Mayo would have beaten them anything like as easily Dublin did. Still, Mayo’s impressive replay win over Kerry has sent their stock soaring, especially since the Kingdom beat Dublin in the league final in April. However, that game has to be put in context as it was evident from early on that Jim Gavin had calibrated the season differently to previous years.

There was less focus on the league this year, yet Dublin still came close to winning it. Conscious perhaps that they played with a tired look at times in August/September last year, the training programme was adjusted this season.

The results have been obvious, with all their rivals testifying to how slick Dublin have been over the last two months.

Mayo are well-equipped to stretch Dublin much further than the others did but it’s still unlikely to be enough.

One area where Mayo must really go for Dublin is on Stephen Cluxton’s kick-outs. They need to push up and force him to go long because if they allow Dublin to take possession close to their own goal, they are inviting trouble.

Dublin’s patient build-up is difficult to defend against so it would be most unwise to allow them take uncontested possession off Dublin’s kick-outs.

However accurate Cluxton may be off longer deliveries, Mayo have plenty big men to contest them.

Dublin’s keep-ball approach as they approached the ’45 frustrated Tyrone to the point of distraction but it will be much more difficult against a more aggressive Mayo team, whose tackling technique is very effective.

At the other end, Andy Moran, who has been the catalyst for much of Mayo’s scoring flourishes (he’s on 3-21 in the championship), is unlikely to be given anything like the amount of room and time he enjoyed in the earlier games.

If, as seems likely, his scoring threat is reduced, Mayo could struggle to return enough to win. Crucially, too, Dublin have far more options off the bench than Mayo when the occasion calls for it.

It all adds up to Dublin clinching the threein-a-row for the first time since 1923.

Verdict: Dublin