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3rd February 2024
09:19pm GMT

"Paddy is essentially the leader of that Mayo team. He is the one guy where if he is going well and running hard, then that Mayo team are probably going really well. Once he gets the injection of pace, everyone just lights up a little bit. "Mayo get four points on the spin, and that's no coincidence, that's down to Paddy Durcan's influence."Ciaran Whelan was also quick to credit the comeback to Durcan's leadership and ability to grab a game by the scruff of the neck. "It was Paddy Durcan, it's as simple as that, he was involved in all four points, and Mayo were terrible, but this was the first time the Mayo players were like 'right, we are going to run at Dublin, we are going to ask questions of them' and they ran hard into the heart of the defence and won a free. "Up until this point there was a lack of penetration from them, the running that we saw against Galway last week simply was not there. He (Durcan) was the one who gets down to win a free, and it puts Mayo on the front foot." https://twitter.com/officialgaa/status/1753882541700915534 The second half was played in a similar tune, with Dublin getting off to a bright spark, with scores from David O'Hanolon, Paddy Small and Cormac Costello, giving the Dubs a three point lead and looking in charge of the game. However, just like in the first half Mayo sparked into life when a player decided to take on Dublin's defence, this time t was O'Donoghue who did so, won a free in the process, which he kicked over himself. Now with Mayo back in action, Jordan Flynn went for a point which dropped short, and Stephen Coen managed to get a hand to it, scoring a Goa, and giving the home side the lead in the process. The two sides went point for point for the next 20 minutes in an enticing match, although it's worth noting that Dublin were particularly focused on shoring up the defensive issues that leaked them three goals last week against Monaghan. A consequence of this defensive priority meant that they Boys in Blue spent a lot of time behind the ball, even Con O'Callaghan, and there was always a sense that the game could be even more exciting and expansive. There was no shortage of tension though and with everything all square in injury time, that man again, Coen, kicked a lovely ball into O'Donoghue who managed to win a free, which was played short to Feargal Boland who kicked the winner with seconds remaining. Related links:
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