Andy's Mayo saved the very best for last

What has been one of the best football championships we’ve ever seen got the ending it deserved.

Regardless of where you’re from, it’s hard not to feel the significance of watching history being made before your very eyes. The men clad in all white did just that in Croke Park on Sunday and, for years to come, their names will be etched in footballing folklore.

Taking a step back from the emotion of it all - which is much easier to do as a neutral, admittedly - the result, based on what transpired over the 70 minutes, was absolutely correct. In fact, it’s a wonder Mayo didn’t win by more.

Andy Moran’s team were the better side by a distance.

I thought the pre-match formalities showed something interesting, when the players were exchanging handshakes before the throw-in. Graham O’Sullivan, as he went along, appeared to be trying to very deliberately eyeball each Mayo player in a way that said ‘welcome to the big-time’ and perhaps try to rattle some of the younger men on the Mayo 15.

If that didn’t quite rattle Mayo, you’d have understood if the start did. Sixteen minutes in, Kerry led by 1-5 to 0-1 and with Mayo struggling to get their hands on ball from their own restarts, the signs were ominous.

Indeed, the flow of the match mirrored the championship campaign itself for Mayo.

A poor start, as the Roscommon defeat was, was followed by a resurrection and, in the most remarkable of fashion, they saved the very best for last, much like their second half display on Sunday.

There are others that are better informed to assess how this Mayo team compares to previous sides in green and red, and the margins are razor thin when comparing the sides of a decade ago, for instance, with the current crop.

What does seem slightly different with this Mayo team has been the mood music around the whole thing over the last six or eight weeks. It felt different.

Andy Moran, as a player, always seemed to be in sync with the Mayo support and that has translated to his management style.

His shrewd communication was in full view after the semi-final when he did two things after the win over Louth in his press conference: he heaped all the pressure on Kerry by emphasising the fact that no one expected Mayo to win the final and he helped generate more goodwill by encouraging supporters to go and enjoy the experience of being back in the decider.

Was all of that part of a masterplan? I think it certainly plays a part because it suits the way Mayo play to have a wild and vociferous support in Croke Park.

Winning turnovers in those periods of play where Mayo chase opposition players requires a huge amount of energy but, in turn, it generates energy from the crowd too. And, when you’ve the likes of Beirne, O’Donoghue and McDonald urging the crowd on after every score, it creates an almost unstoppable wave of momentum as Kerry found out on Sunday. Indeed, even though Mayo trailed by seven points early on, there were signs that things were going the right way for them.

They were getting shots off but their accuracy and execution was poor. They had more than enough possession to get everyone a touch or two on the ball to settle into an All-Ireland final. And, when they pressed aggressively, they were having some joy but were unfortunate on a couple of occasions to give away frees to let Kerry off the hook.

Jack Carney’s two-pointer was the catalyst for Mayo to spark into life, but what was most impressive was their utter commitment to the gameplan and a willingness to stick at it and stick at it until it turned for them.

It would have been understandable to an extent if a young side, with many playing in their first All-Ireland final, would go back into their shell a bit after enduring such a tough opening. But Mayo’s commitment is resolute - from both management and players - and their belief is as strong as it ever was.

On the flip side, it was unusual to see a Kerry team so flummoxed by the Mayo press. Again, this was not something that they hadn’t prepared for, but perhaps they were surprised by the level of intensity Mayo brought to that aggressive tackling from the full-forward line and back.

Kerry looked stuck to the floor and had, on a couple of occasions, literally nowhere to go with possession.

They did have one flowing move, where two kick passes down along the Hogan Stand carved open a chance for a David Clifford point, which he duly converted. But, Kerry’s kicking game never got a chance to leave its mark on the match because Mayo didn’t afford them the space to let it happen.

There were at least a dozen moments during the match that suggested Kerry were slightly off their game; poor hand passes (Gavin White’s to Sean O’Shea shortly before the hour mark being one example), uncharacteristic wides and a failure to nail their own kickout as regularly as they had been.

But, the crucial point is this: Kerry were slightly off because Mayo didn’t let them play.

All of the credit must go to Mayo for what is one of the most astonishing sporting stories you will see the world over this year.

To come from virtually nowhere to win an All-Ireland crown after so many years of hurt is something that only Mayo could manage.

As a county, they’ve provided ample entertainment and talking points over the years without scaling the summit.

Now, Mayo should rightly savour the most extraordinary of sporting triumphs.

Winter is cancelled out west.