I said along that it’s the dream final.
Dublin v Kerry – I just thought it was written in the stars from a long way out.
And while Dublin are under pressure to make history, no-one can say that Kerry aren’t under pressure too.
While obviously wanting to win the All-Ireland, this Kerry team won’t want to go down as the team that let Dublin get the five in a row.
So there’s a lot riding on it.
People will say that Kerry are still a coming team but they’ll quietly fancy their chances. Dublin know there’s a serious Kerry train coming down the tracks with the quality they have on board.
That Stephen O’Brien black card will surely be overturned. No GAA follower will want to see a potential Footballer of the Year missing out for the sake of a third black card.
For the neutral, it will be a fantastic final. Both sides are armed with outstanding forwards, and there are question marks over both back lines.
It could be one to savour in terms of a real traditional game of football. But had Tyrone had got there, it would have been a real hard sell.
The match-ups will be fascinating. Jack Sherwood, who showed real pace off the bench yesterday, has done well on Brian Fenton in the past.
He could be given a man-marking job there – but all over the pitch the selections will be interesting.
Dublin will be giving Kerry their full attention. There will be no complacency in the camp, knowing that Kerry have beaten them in the League.
But make no mistake, the Dublin players will have enjoyed putting the sword through Mayo’s heart. Mayo have consistently got under their skin and a lot of satisfaction will have been taken from the manner of the victory on Saturday.
It was a gamble for James Horan to come back as Mayo manager and his team certainly didn’t look united once the tide turned.
There’s one glaring caveat with the schedule they’ve had – it’s nearly impossible to get to the final when faced with seven games in eight weeks.
They threw everything at Dublin in the first half and made them look very ordinary. Mayo got their match-ups spot on and, bar Paul Mannion, the Dublin attack was struggling badly.
But Mayo just didn’t do enough.
When you play that well you need to have something like 2-10 on the board. Mayo only had 0-8, so I was never worried Dublin would lose.
To score 2-6 as they did in the third quarter is the most ruthless Dublin have been yet under Jim Gavin. Everything they did in those 12 minutes was clinical.
Mayo got a lot of things right but still ended up well beaten long before the finish. That’ll be hard to take. I’d expect a flurry of retirements now.
The build-up to five-in-a-row really kicks in now but while plenty of people outside the camp will get giddy about it, I don’t believe it will impact on the players.
I saw two of them having a quiet drink together on Saturday evening after the game, left to their own devices and nobody bothering them. That sums it up.
They’ll get the heads down now and nobody will get near them until September 1. This group is impenetrable.
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