It was a fascinating All Ireland final on Sunday; one that without a doubt Mayo should have won and put to rest the curse that has dogged them since 1951. 
But yet again they left it behind them. Two own goals, blocks, turnovers, mistakes and some questionable refereeing decisions all contributed to a thrilling and bizarre contest.
Before the game it was widely assumed that the result was a forgone conclusion and that the occasion may be bigger than the match itself with Mayo arriving more in hope than with any real expectation and Dublin arriving full of confidence from their semi-final success over Kerry. 
Many expected the game to be over after ten minutes.
As it turned out, Mayo will be kicking themselves for not taking the great opportunity presented to them. 
The mistakes they made were very frustrating to watch. The own goals kept Dublin in the game and left Mayo on the back foot chasing throughout. 
The second OG came when Keith Higgins hand passed the ball away on the Dublin 45’ before Diarmuid Connolly demonstrated his sublime skill with a pinpoint pass to Dean Rock after a smart run behind the Mayo defence.
With 20 minutes to go, Seamus O’Shea handed the ball back to Dublin on three separate occasions, two of which lead to points at the other end. 
Aidan O’Shea – who was in and out of the game – lacked composure in the dying minutes with an erratic shot that could have been costly. 
The playing conditions may have made it difficult to control the ball and footing but both teams will analyse their unforced error and turnover count and be bitterly disappointed with how easily they gave the ball away.
Defensively, Mayo set out to crowd Dublin with Kevin McLoughlin dropping back into a sweeper role, which in turn let the excellent Cian O’Sullivan do likewise at the other end. 
With the exception of Brian Fenton getting in for two goal chances, Mayo will be pleased with how their defence held a much raved about Dublin forward line scoreless from play until the 33rd minute and for the first 15 minutes of the second half.
Dublin only managed to register five points from play. Their first point in the game came in the 30th minute from one of a number of dubious refereeing decisions when goal keeper, David Clarke, successfully robbed the ball from Dean Rock. 
To go 30 minutes without registering a score after being totally outplayed and out fought and still go in at half time five points up added to the bizarre nature of this game.
The two goals may have been Dublin’s saving grace but crucially they hit seven points out of their total of nine over the last five minutes of each half – taking out injury time - four in the first half and three in second half. When Dublin get a run on a team they can rack up scores very quickly, something that Mayo need to be wary of the next day out. Any lapse in concentration and there is a fair chance Dublin will punish you. On this occasion however, Mayo were let off the hook. Maybe it’s due to a lack of hunger or ambition, or perhaps tiredness is beginning to creep in, but Dublin are certainly not as clinical as they were last year. When Ciaran Killkenny found open space in the closing stages he normally would have killed the game off with a point but instead, he took too much out of it and the ball was turned over. Kilkenny from last year would have stuck it over the bar!
James McCarthy’s black card was another talking point and very controversial given that many other incidents in the game went unpunished. Cillian O’Connor was lucky still to be on the pitch to kick the equaliser but in truth Dublin should have been reduced to 14 men when Michael Darragh Macauley, within minutes of picking up a yellow card for a high tackle, pulled a Mayo man down coming out of defence. And this was all long after Macauley should have left the field on a black card for a trip early in the first half.
Two weeks ago we were all enthralled as the hurlers of Tipperary and Kilkenny were let loose to entertain the public in a physical contest that was allowed to flow by the referee with not a single yellow card issued. The wrestle between Lee Keegan and Diarmuid Connolly on Sunday might not be part of the game but it sure as hell makes us want to see more.
I have received a few black cards over the last few years, some may have been warranted but in most cases I made a genuine attempt to tackle the ball. The referee adjudged them to be intentional fouls and that is why the black card is so controversial. Gaelic football is a supposed to be a physical game and a contact sport but we are falling behind our hurling colleagues with all the rule changes over the last few years. The inconsistency and controversy of the black card leads you to wonder how it can possibly be maintained. A topic for another day.
With regards to the final, Mayo’s character cannot not be questioned but if O’Connor had not kicked the equaliser, I feel a defeat on Sunday could have been the last straw for this current Mayo team. Unlike the finals of 2012 and ‘13 this was a game they really should have won. Dublin will expect more from their forwards, Mayo will expect more from Aidan O’Shea. It is about who improves the most over the next week and a half!
The Dubs will certainly improve but can Mayo? We will wait and see.