Seven times the rivalry between Donegal and Mayo turned ugly

 When it rains, it pours and Donegal's poor record against Mayo in championship continued in 2019

August 2019
All-Ireland group stage, Castlebar

Mayo 1-14:1-10 Donegal 

Declan Bonner was now in the Donegal dugout and after stringing back-to-back Ulster titles together, the side was tipped for an All-Ireland assault. 

However, Donegal would fail to reach the All-Ireland semi-finals across that same tenure. 

But after victory over Meath, and a ding-dong draw with Kerry at Croke Park in the Super 8s, Donegal went to Castlebar in a contest that was effectively a straight shootout to see who finished second in the group behind the Kingdom. 

There were thousands of people inside the ground two hours before the start despite the incessant rain throughout the afternoon as fans arrived early for the eagerly-awaited contest.

Donegal had just needed to avoid defeat to go through while it was a must-win game for the Connacht hosts.

Cillian O'Connor's goal helped a dominant Mayo team into a 1-7 to 0-4 lead at the break.

Michael Murphy scored a penalty as Donegal fought back to trail by a point but Mayo responded to take the win.

It was one of those days once again for Donegal. In front of a capacity crowd of 27,000 at MacHale Park, their aspirations of moving to the next level, post Jim McGuinness, once again ended in disappointment. 

On a brighter note, Mayo’s season would end at the All-Ireland semi-final stage as Dublin eased through on a 3-14 to 1-10 scoreline. 

Again, nothing too ugly to report from that clash but soaked to the bone before, during and after, it’s one of those that still sticks in the throat. 

Tailbacks en route, a difficult trek on foot upon arrival due to the volume of cars along the side of the road, it brought the curtain down on a season that Donegal supporters finally felt, once again, was there for the taking. 

Actually, and I’m reaching here but we’re almost done (thank god); the ugliness after Castlebar was the many bouts of pneumonia and - in this scribbler’s case, man flu suffered in the immediate days after.