Gallery: Heartbreak yet again for Mayo as Dublin make it a blue September
Dublin claimed their second All-Ireland Final victory in three years as it was yet more heartbreak from the men from Mayo as they lost out on a scoreline of 2-12 to 1-14.
A game that was never found wanting for commitment and intensity, it was the Dubs that ultimately had that little extra in attack that was enough to see them over the line by the bare minimum and consign James Horan's men to back-to-back defeats.
It was Mayo who made all the early running and after thirteen minutes had a 0-4 to 0-1 lead with Cillian O’Connor showing no ill effects from his shoulder injury, Andy Moran prominent in the full-forward line and Lee Keegan a constant threat, with the Westport man grabbing two points in the opening 35 minutes.
Bernard Brogan brought the Dubs back into the game when he flicked home a high ball with Rob Hennelly and Ger Cafferky in close quarters.
The intensity of the first half was seen with the open nature of the game in the final 10 minutes in particular with dispossessions and turnovers a constant feature, with Eoghan O’Gara’s fisted point the last score of the opening half to leave the Dubs trailing 0-08 to 1-04.
In contrast to the opening 35 minutes, it was the Dubs that made the better start after the interval outscoring Mayo 0-5 to 0-1 in the 15 minutes after the break and the tide looked to be turning before Andy Moran picked the perfect time to score his fifth championship goal to level the scores at 1-09 to 2-09.
It wasn't to last long as Bernard Brogan grabbed his second goal of the game when he palmed a precise pass to the net to raise the green flag again and restore their three point lead and the 2009 Footballer of the Year would end the game with 2-03 to his name.
While it was another agonising defeat for Horan's men again, Dublin deserved their victory and after lighting up the championship with their attacking play, few outside of Mayo can begrudge the boys in blue their success.
