Shane Stapleton reports from Croke Park as Dublin beat Mayo 2-14 to 0-15 to win six-in-a-row All-Ireland titles.
BY SHANE STAPLETON
Dublin completed a historic six-in-a-row with a controlled second-half performance at Croke Park.
Dean Rock and Con O’Callaghan used their palms and fist respectively to find the net in the first half, as Mayo recovered to draw level just after the half-hour mark.
Paddy Durcan had to go off injured at half time, and the forced rejigging of the Connacht side began to take its toll as the game wore on.
Ciaran Kilkenny started to exert a greater influence on the game, while Brian Fenton and substitute Brian Howard excelled.
Mayo could score only once from the 49th minute onwards, while the Dubs knocked over six points to secure the mix for six.
SCORERS
Dublin: D Rock 1-5 (4f), C O’Callaghan 1-1, C Kilkenny 0-3, J Small, B Fenton, N Scully, B Howard, P Mannion (1f) 0-1 each
Mayo: C O’Connor 0-9 (5f, 2m), R O’Donoghue 0-2, C Loftus, O Mullin, D Coen, S Coen (1m) 0-1 each
Dublin: S Cluxton; M Fitzsimons, D Byrne, J Cooper; E Murchan, J Small, R McDaid; B Fenton, J McCarthy; N Scully, C Kilkenny, S Bugler; P Small, C O’Callaghan, D Rock
Subs: B Howard for Bugler (ht), P Mannion for P Small (51), C Basquel for Cooper (54), C Costello for Scully (70), P McMahon for Murchan (75)
Mayo: D Clarke; C Barrett, O Mullin, L Keegan; P Durcan, S Coen, E McLaughlin; C Loftus, M Ruane; K McLoughlin, R O’Donoghue, D O’Connor; T Conroy, A O’Shea, C O’Connor
Subs: M Plunkett for Durcan (ht), J Carr for Conroy (50), D Coen for O’Donoghue (58), J Flynn for Loftus (62), J Durcan for McLaughlin (71)
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