All-Ireland SFC semi-final Mayo v Dublin
SATURDAY 14 AUGUST
All-Ireland SFC semi-final
Mayo v Dublin, Croke Park, 6pm
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ONLINE
Live blogs on RTÉ.ie and the RTÉ News app, with video highlights on social media.
TV
Live on RTÉ Two and RTÉ Player from 5pm, and on Sky Sports Arena from 5pm. Highlights on The Sunday Game on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player from 9.30pm.
Viewers outside Ireland can watch the game on GAAGO.
RADIO
Live commentary on Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1 from 2pm.
WEATHER
Overcast skies will extend to most areas through the day, bringing outbreaks of rain and drizzle, heaviest later; hill and coastal fog in parts too. Highest temperatures of 15 to 18 or 19 degrees in light to moderate southeasterly winds. For more go to met.ie.
Will this be the day?
It's 2,540 days since Dublin last tasted a championship defeat. Call it a Donegal ambush or brilliant execution of well-timed sucker-punches from Jim McGuinness' side, the Dubs were well and truly dumbstruck on that August Sunday in 2014.
Since then it is them who have called the tune, it is them who have showed composure, craft and guile when it was needed most against the likes of Mayo and Kerry. Going down the stretch you could always rely on the Dublin to see things out. Those off the bench played their part, they had all the aces - two more games to win to complete a magnificent seven.
First up to try and stop them is Mayo. A familiar foe - a rivalry that has embellished the football championship since 2012. Before that we had John Finn's broken jaw in the 1985 semi-final - an off-the-ball incident - but nobody was called to book over it. Names were mentioned alright. John Finn knows he did it, but he will not reveal the culprit's identity. A GAA mystery!
Onwards to the 2006 semi-final and the 'Mill on The Hill'. Mayo standing their ground defiantly, John Morrison standing firm to a shoulder from Paul Caffrey. Great craic for those of us watching on.
David Clarke saves late on from Bernard Brogan in the 2012 semi-final
Mayo's defiance was again on display as he repelled a late Dublin surge to book a place in the 2012 All-Ireland. Since then, however, it's the blue that has held sway over the green and red in eight meetings. We've had All-Ireland semi-finals and finals, with a couple of replays thrown in, all games to savour but not without controversy.
Both parties on different occasions have been accused of cynicism, we've had scuffles in the tunnel, Mayo accusing Dublin of trying to influence a referee, and Lee Keegan throwing his GPS device at Dean Rock just before the Ballymun man took the kick that won Sam for the Dubs in 2017. There's needle alright.
On the evening that 'Newbridge or Nowhere' rejuvenated Kildare and Mayo's summer was cut short, I was in the company of Dublin fans who sneered and sniggered as Mayo players traipsed off the St Conleth's Park pitch. A case of they're down and let's hope they stay down.
Dublin and the moment a sixth All-Ireland on the trot was won last December
What would spice up the rivalry is a Mayo win in 2021. The Connacht side are in a similar position to where Dublin were in their own rivalry with Kerry heading into the 2011 final, or the Wexford hurlers before they finally got one over on Kilkenny in 2017.
There is a growing view out there that Dublin are vulnerable this year, their bench isn't as strong, their scoring rate has dropped, all may not be right in the camp. Mayo's bench, you could say is stronger, but still is there enough from what we've seen so far from Mayo to say with confidence that they can finally end a nine-year wait?
If they are in front going into the last few minutes, then this indeed could be the day. Mayo don't want to be chasing the game at the death. Dublin are just too good at protecting what they have.
A game to match the intensity of what was served up in the 2017 final would do nicely.
Mayo are improving but will that be enough against streetwise opposition?
Mayo players celebrating their latest Connacht triumph
In Mayo's championship campaign to date, they have only made us sit up and take notice for 40 minutes or so. That was the second half against Galway in the Connacht final. Before that their games against Sligo and Leitrim were non events.
At the break against the Tribsemen, Mayo were five points down and not playing well. There was a melee of sorts as both sides headed down the Croke Park tunnel. Whether that sparked James Horan's side into life on the resumption we don't know, but what played out thereafter showed Mayo at their best.
They outscored Galway by 1-3 to 0-0 in the third quarter and held them scoreless from play in the entire second half, forced an 11-point turnaround by full-time.
Ryan O'Donoghue was terrific and struck a goal from a 37th-minute penalty which got the fightback underway.
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