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Former Mayo manager Stephen Rochford feels that the difference between Dublin and Mayo’s teams Kerry and Tyrone who have defeated en route five in a row is the ability to capitalize on their chances in the finals.
That is something that tracks back from the decisive 2011 when a Dublin managed by Pat Gilroy surpassed the Kingdom.
“We created enough opportunities to win the game and that was probably the decisive thing between Dublin and all the teams trying to defeat them,” Rochford told The Sunday Game, which will showcase highlights and analysis of the 2017 crash on RTÉ2 tomorrow. night from 9.30pm.
“In 2011, when they had that chance, Kevin McManamon’s goal against Kerry took advantage of it. The rest of us just haven’t taken advantage of those opportunities and that’s a testament to why Dublin is as good as they are.”
The Sunday Game returns this weekend with classic action and reaction, front-line player stories and the latest news from the world of Gaelic gaming. GAA President John Horan joins @sportsdes in the studio tomorrow night in @ rte2 at 9:30 p.m. pic.twitter.com/aX4ymEXKlG
– RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) May 9, 2020
Three years after Ireland’s final football crush, Rochford added that his team faced the “best team in GAA history” in their 2017 loss to Dublin.
A year after beating Green and Red in a repeat, another one-point victory sealed three in a row for then-boss Jim Gavin’s men, arguably the closest they came to defeating on the road to what they are now. there are five Sam Maguires in a row and counting.
“They are all difficult. The final three, between the two games in 2016, to come up short against a terrific Dublin team by two cumulative points can be difficult,” said Rochford.
“But at the same time we ran into probably the best team in GAA history. You just have to be able to face it and move on.”
“When you reflect now, it was also a good time, when we looked at the gap that will be in our summer with sport this year. We had incredible support.”
“I have fond memories and nothing I am prouder of than sitting on a bus with that Mayo team and driving to Croke Park.”
Tune in tomorrow night for more information on Rochford and Ciaran Whelan’s analysis.
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