KEY CLASHES

AIDAN O’SHEA v CIAN O’SULLIVAN

WHAT role O’Shea plays today will be fascinating. I don’t believe that Stephen Rochford will be influenced by the talk that his main man will be a disruptive influence on an attack which was so fluid in the two games against Kerry. This is a whole different ball game and you can’t invest faith in just picking locks in the Dublin defence, and I believe that O’Shea at the located at the edge of their square is the last thing the

DAVID CLARKE v STEPHEN CLUXTON

I DON’T think people still get just how good Clarke has been this summer. He has made so many matchchanging saves – the penalty stop against Derry, the save from Jamie Malone to prevent Mayo going eight points down against Clare, those huge interventions on both days against Kerry to deny James Barry and Stephen O’Brien – that it is easy to forget he can kick the ball too – as he reminded

TOM PARSONS v JAMES McCARTHY

PARSONS has been a revelation in the middle of the field; an excellent primary ball winner but he also provides Mayo with the mobility they crave in the middle of the field. He is a leader too; while Aidan O’Shea rightly took much of the credit for digging Mayo out of a deep hole against Derry in that fraugh second round qualifier in Castlebar, Parsons was also

champions will want. If they do, that will mean Philly McMahon will be all over him like a rash, while Cian O’Sullivan will defend the aerial threat from the front. If O’Shea has joy early on, it will give Mayo the doublepronged game-plan – they can vary it with their running game – they will need. If he doesn’t, O’Shea will have to go out the field where his stamina will be stresstested. everyone in the second-half of the semi-final replay against the Kingdom. Of course, he can’t touch Cluxton on restarts and the Dublin captain is not immune to pressure – but that opening kick-out to Niall Scully against Tyrone reminded us that he is a rare talent. Clarke will not have the better game off the kicking tee, but if he comes close it will mean a good day for Mayo. superb that evening when Mayo’s need was at its greatest. McCarthy is a hard but quite brilliant footballer. He swallows ground with that huge stride of his, while his decision-making is always on the money. The middle third is huge and how they fare against each other will go a long way to determining which way that crucial battlezone flips.