MAYO have been one of the least impressive teams to reach an All-Ireland final in the last 10 years.
When they click they are a match for anyone in the country. So far this year they haven’t played consistently over 70 minutes.
Their loyal supporters will hope they are saving that for All-Ireland final day.
Last Sunday Mayo’s slow start allowed Tipperary to grow into the game.
When playing against an underdog, a good start can win you the game.
There was little energy about Mayo early on and from an attacking point of view they looked lost; running into tacklers and kicking aimless ball inside.
Mayo again started the second half poorly which is a sign of a team struggling to reach their top form.
They have been challenging for several years and have looked well short of that form in 2016. A typical sign of a team going backwards is that they can only produce their best play for short periods in a game, but they do not have the energy to maintain that for longer spells.
Tipperary were able to find a huge amount of space in the Mayo defence when they ran at them. In the quarter-final, Tyrone seemed happy to retain possession and showed a lack of positivity on the ball.
Tipperary showed that the Mayo back line, like most, is susceptible to runners.
Mayo seemed to expect high ball to be kicked inside with Barry Moran playing the sweeper role.
He intercepted very little ball as Tipperary decided to run at the Mayo defence and they exposed the lack of defensive instinct in Moran’s game.
Once Mayo pushed up on the kick-outs and injected some pace into their play, the game totally changed.
In the space of 10 minutes, Mayo scored 1-7 after only scoring three points in the opening 25 minutes.
They will need to play at that level for the majority of the final to have a chance of ending their long wait for Sam.
Tipperary have had an amazing year, one which few of their players thought was possible despite what they may say in interviews.
They lost a number of players this year and it looked like it would make it difficult for them to build on their underage success.
They have shown all the other counties in the country what can be achieved by building the proper underage structures.
No matter what happens for the remainder of the year, Tipperary footballers have been the GAA story of 2016.
Mayo will be watching with interest to see who will come out on top in this weekend’s semi-final between Dublin and Kerry.
Kerry don’t like being dominated by anyone, but that’s exactly what Dublin have done to them in recent years.
Dublin have come out on top in the last three Championship encounters and that will be a huge source of motivation for this Kerry team.
If Kerry are to play Kieran Donaghy then they must play him in the full-forward line.
He lacks the mobility required to play in the middle third against Dublin; the energy and pace they have all over the pitch must be matched and that isn’t a strength of Donaghy’s.
On top of that, I think Kerry will need to score goals to win this game and, in the absence of Rory O’Carroll, Dublin do not have a real physical presence in their full-back line.
Donaghy is well capable of exploiting that weakness if he receives quality ball.
Eamonn Fitzmaurice has options at midfield with David Moran and Anthony Maher more than good enough to match Dublin in this area.
He must make a choice between starting Donaghy or springing him from the bench.
If Donaghy is to be accommodated at 14 then Paul Geaney or James O’Donoghue will need to play further out the field.
I think Fitzmaurice may hold Donaghy in reserve, so Geaney and O’Donoghue must be constantly on the move inside.
Cian O’Sullivan is superb at sweeping in front of the full-back line, so the inside forwards must force him to cover one of them.
If the inside men can pull him out of position by making runs across him, it will leave space for the other to attack, as well allowing runners from deep to find space in the scoring zone.
Dublin’s forwards will present huge questions for the Kerry back line.
Kerry no longer have the great defenders they used to and they now face a forward line containing the likes of Diarmuid Connolly, Kevin McManamon and Bernard Brogan.
They will rely on their defensive shape to nullify the attacking threats of Dublin, as apart from Shane Enright I don’t see them having the man markers to do a job one on one.
Dublin’s biggest advantage is the mobility they have within their team. They run so hard with the ball and wear the opposition down.
Much has been made of the League final win for Dublin, but for 55 minutes Kerry were right in the game.
However, the key was that Dublin were able to introduce quality players from the bench that were just as good as their starters.
Those fresh legs took advantage of the Kerry players who were tiring after matching the athleticism of Dublin for much of the game.
For Kerry to win they must be leading entering the final 15 minutes of the match.
They must put Dublin into a position that they have not been in for some time – chasing the game in the closing stages.
They must ask questions of their desire as defending champions and put doubts into their minds.
Dublin have the better players and are the more mobile side. However, I believe Kerry have the more astute tactical manager and Fitzmaurice will target the weaknesses in the Dublin team.
Are Fitzmaurice’s tactics enough to account for the talent differential between the players? Dublin’s hunger to retain the All-Ireland title is the key in answering that question.
