TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2020 • THE MAYO NEWS V 1 MAYO DUBLIN ALL-IRELAND FINAL PREVIEW Illustration: Jen Murphy Jen Illustration: Season’s greetings! Christmas comes early for Dublin and Mayo ISSUE SECTION SUB SECTION PAGE PDF MADE DESIGN SALES READ EDITOR PDF OK DEC 15 1 0 KL DAY DAY DAY DAY TIME TIME TIME TIME MOdifiED Mon, Dec 14, 13:00 OUTPUT Wed, Dec 16, 14:48 LOCATION Server:THIS WEEK:z OLD:20201215:SPORT:ALL-IRELAND PREVIEW:SPORT Championship Preview Page 1-15.indd 2 ALL-IRELAND FINAL PREVIEW MAYO V DUBLIN THE MAYO NEWS • TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2020 TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2020 • THE MAYO NEWS MAYO V DUBLIN ALL-IRELAND FINAL PREVIEW 3 One great team deserves another TAKE All Ireland Final Match-Ups CHRIS Barrett MIKE GER EDWIN SEÁN Anne-MARIE BILLY JOE V Paddy Small Finnerty flanagan MCGREAL RICE flynn padden PREDICTING these pairings is not an exact science but given Small’s style and recent form then the All Star from Belmullet seems the most obvious man to THE BIG MATCH ZONE WITH MIKE FINNERTY pick him up. Barrett is fiercely competitive and abrasive BETTING ODDS KEY NUMBER and has got touch-tight and disciplined defending off TO WIN to a fine art. Mayo 9/2 Small has hit five points (three from marks) in Dublin 2/9 Dublin’s last two games and is keeping Paul Draw 10/1 Mannion out of the team. So he needs watching. HANDICAP Mayo (+6) 10/11 0TIMES Mayo have scored more than one goal Dublin (-6) 11/10 against Dublin in a championship match. LEE KEEGAN V CIARAN KILKENNY MAYO CAMP UPDATE DID YOU KNOW? TRYING to second-guess James Horan ASSUMING everyone is fit then Mayo are likely to DUBLIN manager Dessie Farrell and Mayo boss any time is something of a fool’s errand, be unchanged again from the win over Tipperary. James Horan crossed paths for the first time on a but we think he will go with the tried and If that is the case then James Horan will have football field at MacHale Park in a National trusted here to pick up the marauding picked the same starting XV for the fourth game League match 24 years ago. Kilkenny. in a row. Farrell played in the Dublin attack while James Dublin’s quarter-back hit the ground So the spotlight will turn to which 11 players will Horan was at full-forward for Mayo in a match running with five points from play against make the cut for the bench. that finished in a draw — 0-10 apiece. READY FOR ACTION One of Mayo’s biggest fans, Ann Baynes, is pictured with her husband, Padraig last Westmeath, and we know he likes to There were some notable absentees from the Little did either know what the future held on that weekend. Ann, who has been organising Mayo supporter buses to games since 1997, will watch Saturday’s drift back into his own defence to pick subs last Sunday week — Bryan Walsh, Fionn wintry day in November, 1996. All-Ireland SFC Final at home in Drummin, Westport. Pic: Conor McKeown up ball. McDonagh and Mark Moran all absent and So if Keegan tags him, then the believed to be injured. four-time All Star defender is going to This in turn opened the door for Fergal Boland KEY NUMBER spend some time on the front foot. and Paul Towey to get into the replacements for the first time in this championship. Mayo ready for Darren Coen and Tom Parsons also both got their first championship minutes of 2020 at Croke Matthew Ruane Park the last day, while Padraig O’Hora came on V BRIAN Fenton during the second half to make his championship debut. 14GAMES that Dublin has gone unbeaten in league latest title shot THIS looks fairly cut and dry unless Aidan However, veterans Colm Boyle, Donie Vaughan and championship against Mayo. O’Shea is stationed in the middle of the field and Seamie O’Shea were all conspicuous by It’s just over eight years since the Green and Red on a full-time basis. their absence and are yet to feature in this managed to lower the Dub’s colours in a Fenton is the engine of this Dublin team, and campaign. competitive fixture — the 2012 All-Ireland Preview giving people a bit of joy from time goal. It’s little wonder then the his all-round game, scoring ability and sheer semi-final. to time.” bookmakers think the ‘Boys in power has always caused Mayo issues. MIKE FINNERTY ‘Bullish’ is probably stretching Blue’ will win their sixth succes- It’s a big challenge for Ruane to try and knock DUBLIN CAMP UPDATE it, but there was certainly enough sive All-Ireland by at least six the Raheny midfielder out of his stride, but this MUCH like Mayo the big focus will be on who TWITTER WATCH confidence in many of James points. is his time to shine. Diarmuid O’Connor is makes the Dublin sub’s bench. David Brady AST week’s online All- Horan’s responses last week to But for all of that, Mayo have another option here. In that regard all eyes will be on Colm Basquel, No expectation..No tickets, Ireland Final press brief- suggest that he thinks his team traditionally pushed the Dubs to the man with the strongest Mayo connections in no hype & no Hill..No pressure ing had almost ended have enough ‘threats’ to cause the pin of their collar in recent the Dublin panel, who came on in the closing @D9BMayo when James Horan was anyone problems. Even Dessie championship encounters — three stages of their semi-final win over Cavan. asked, arguably, the Farrell’s invincibles. one point defeats and two draws Aidan O’SHEA A son of Noel Basquel (who is a native of Lmost important question of all “We’ll be looking to do the stuff confirm as much. V Davy BYRNE Mountbrown, Aughagower, just outside West- Nathan Murphy ahead of next Saturday evening’s that we’re strong at for longer in Although last year’s All-Ireland port), that was Colm’s first championship Hearing rumours that David Brady has organised All-Ireland with Dublin. ‘Why the game, it’s as simple as that,” semi-final got away from them in IT will be fascinating to see who Dessie Farrell appearance since the ‘Super 8s’ win over an early shipment of the vaccine for Mayo folk so could this year be different?’ he explained. “I think sometimes a ten-minute burst after half-time picks to try and curb the influence of Mayo’s Roscommon in August of 2018. we’ll all be free to do whatever the hell we want Why is there any reason to think teams try to do something that with Con O’Callaghan and com- most physically imposing forward-cum-mid- However, the talented Ballyboden St Enda’s on Saturday week. that this will be the day when Mayo they haven’t done before, and that pany freewheeling to a 10 points fielder. forward could feature against Mayo on Saturday @nathanmurf finally take down the Dubs for the can sometimes backfire on you. victory in the end. Philly McMahon may end up doing the job at — knowing that his dad and and 13 aunts and first time since August 2012, halt “We’ve a very good idea of what But most of this Mayo team have some stage, but Byrne will probably get the first uncles in the Basquel family would normally be a run of 14 matches without a vic- we want to do, how we’re going gone toe-to-toe with Dublin before shot at it. cheering on the men wearing Green and Red. KIERAN CUNNINGHAM tory over the five-in-a-row cham- to go about it, and we’d be very and, listening to James Horan last The full-back likes to go out the field so will roam Colm’s mother, Bernie Ryan from Tipperary, is a UP FOR THE MATCH Some third class pupils Even though they haven’t lost to Mayo since pions, and end the 69-year All- confident in the threat that can week, they clearly believe they can with O’Shea and try and reduce his influence. former All-Ireland ladies football winner with at Breaffy NS are pictured with a cut-out of LAST SEVEN 2012, Dublin view them as a stone in their shoe. Ireland famine in the process? pose for whoever we play. do it again. Mayo’s captain needs a huge game. Dublin. former pupil, Mayo captain Aidan O’Shea. Left CHAMPIONSHIP They badly want to crush them in a final. “It’s a different team, a different “Keeping our foot to the floor “We’ve our style of playing foot- to right: Roisin Moran, Clancy O’Connor, Liam @KCsixtyseven set-up, a different environment, a when we’re going well is impor- ball and when we do it well, I think O’Brien (in his Dublin jersey) and Ashling CLASHES different world,” replied Horan. tant.” it’s a challenge for anyone,” he Loughane. Pic: Conor McKeown JONNY Cooper V THE REFEREE 2019: Dublin 3-14, Mayo 1-10 (All-Ireland “But I think where we are, where The official line is that Chris said. “We’ve a lot of threats, a lot CILLIAN O’CONNOR David COLDRICK semi-final) JOHN Fogarty the team is, we’re absolutely enjoy- Barrett and Eoghan McLaughlin of danger in our team and we try Meath 2017: Dublin 1-17, Mayo 1-16 (All-Ireland Final) Ciaran McDonald kicking ball here in the ing what we’re doing.