Mayo Mugged (or Mugs)

Kerry 4-15 Mayo 3-5

Gutted. Not by the defeat but by the manner of the capitulation. Mayo were humiliated by Kerry, it must have been their worst performance in any football match since 1951.

Two Mayo goals in a couple of minutes just before half-time brought us back to a 6-point deficit at the interval, but no momentum was evident after the break and Kerry kept ticking over points while Mayo simply made up the numbers.

I haven’t felt this bad since half-time in the France - Ireland rugby match in Paris earlier this year. We were blitzed, losing 29-3 at half-time in a game we had half expected to win. At least Ireland made a comeback in the second half, eventually losing 43-31 thanks, at least in part, to some easing of the French foot on the accelerator with the result in the bag. Mayo’s comeback yesterday lasted all of 3 minutes and then petered out.

Before the start of the season I’d backed Mayo @ 22/1 to win Sam. At least that allowed me to lay off some of that money and end up making a modest profit on Kerry’s win. But I’d have happily lost money to see Mayo win.

Maybe we should take up hurling, or basketball.

Postscript: While the Kerry team returned to major celebrations in Tralee and Killarney, the reception in Castlebar for the Mayo team was cancelled at the players request. It's probably the case that many of them now wish they had lost that famous semi-final to Dublin rather than have such a poor performance in the final on their record.

A sad end to the season and a sad end to the intercounty careers of several Mayo players.