The Alternative View: Moore and Murphy inflict more pain on Mayo in the Hyde

Amazingly it’s 18 years since Keith Duggan published the book ‘House of Pain’,  which detailed the hurt and setbacks suffered by Mayo footballers since their last All-Ireland win in 1951.

They have appeared in six All-Ireland finals since 2007 losing them all, one of them after scoring two own goals. In those games alone there was enough for four or five further volumes for Duggan to work on.

On Sunday last Ciaran Moore and Michael Murphy took it upon themselves to inflict further pain on the green and red with Moore’s point after the hooter being the final nail in the championship coffin for 2025. It was ironic for Mayo that the winning point was at the graveyard end of the ground.

When Mayo look back on Sunday and their encounter with Donegal in the King & Moffatt Dr Hyde Park they should not be lamenting the late, late blow for if truth be told they should not have been in the contest come hooter time.

By the same token Donegal must not get carried away with getting the win with the last kick as they have so much to work on if they are to continue their journey to a Croke Park appointment in late July.

You can add in another fly in the ointment after Sunday’s game, which was probably a thriller to watch both in the stadium and for those watching on TV. The refereeing performance of Paul Faloon was a big talking point, mainly from the Donegal point of view, although I have heard Mayo people giving out also (although I wonder how they could have got any more calls in their favour).

There was plenty of pressure on both sides as they went into the final game of the series. Donegal had to avoid defeat to advance; it was much the same for Mayo. When they scored their goal to go two ahead with 15 minutes left, the Connacht side were sitting on top of the table and through to the quarter-final. With Tyrone well ahead against Cavan, Donegal were destined to finish third and have an away trip next weekend.

It all changed again when Donegal got back in front but Mayo refused to die and seemed to have got their lifeline when they were back level with 20 seconds left through Fergal Boland. The kick-out from Shaun Patton went towards Brendan McCole but he was levelled with a head-high tackle from Boland. The ball reached Ciaran Moore and he glided through to dump Mayo out.

I don’t know if the referee Paul Faloon was playing advantage for the challenge on McCole and I assume Boland was not reprimanded as the final whistle went. The Donegal full-back had earlier collided with the upright trying to stop the Mayo goal and did well to carry on before the final hit.

Referees and refereeing performances are always topical but I would respectfully try to be fair in analysing their work in every game. With that in mind I sat down to watch the recording of the match on Monday and while I felt Faloon got a lot of things right, there were at least nine calls which all went against Donegal. Some of them resulted in Mayo scores; others were just not consistent. 

Ciaran Moore going down to pick up a ball in the first half and a Mayo boot comes in - no free. Ciaran Thompson and Aidan O’Shea go down for a ball at the same time and Mayo get a free from the 20m line; Aidan O’Shea commits three fouls in the opening half and gets two ticks and no yellow; Peadar Mogan’s black card could just as easy been a free in his favour as Ryan O’Donoghue charged into him.

Mogan’s 10 minutes in the bin was extended to 13 minutes due to no stoppage in play, which was further punishment on Donegal (although referee Faloon cannot be blamed in that regard!)

Late in the second half when Michael Murphy’s ‘45’ came back off an upright, Patrick McBrearty was adjudged to have fouled Jack Coyne when there was clearly no contact. Indeed, if anything Coyne ended up fouling McBrearty and it should have been a free to Donegal.

Those are just a snapshot of the decisions and maybe it was coincidental but they all went against Donegal on the day. It is more normal to apportion blame on refereeing decisions when you lose a game.

Those decisions were a factor in keeping the game close but there was an even greater anomaly and that was Donegal’s inability to finish their goal chances - something which has been a talking point through the league campaign and now into the championship.

There were at least four goal scoring opportunities with no return. Of the 12 teams left in the All-Ireland championship Donegal lie fourth in the goalscoring table with seven so far. Galway lead the way with 13; Louth with 12 and Kerry 11. Three of Donegal’s tally came against Cavan and while being in the top four looks healthy, the return from chances created is a different story.

But at the other end of the scale, are goals that important? Tyrone have scored just three goals and Armagh, Dublin and Monaghan four so far.

There were positives also on the plus side of the table for Donegal on Sunday. After watching the game again a number of those came to the fore. The phenomenal performance of Michael Murphy, involved in more than two thirds of the final tally of 0-19; the kick-outs of Shaun Patton, especially in the second half were exceptional. The one that landed with Dáire Ó Baoill on the Mayo ‘45’ should have put the game to bed.

Ciaran Moore and Caolan McColgan were full of energy; McColgan is really establishing himself and showed another aspect to his game with his man-marking job on Aidan O’Shea. Eoghan Bán Gallagher is motoring again, now free of injury and it was good to see Jason McGee back on the field.

The big worry now is picking up injuries as the championship is coming to the business end. The sight of Michael Murphy sprinting back towards his own goal after a mistake on Sunday (and watching it again on TV) was a recipe for a hamstring pull. Is there a need to give the Glenswilly man a rest on Sunday next? Can we afford to do that against the reigning Leinster champions Louth?

Given that Louth have scored 12 goals so far in the championship, it might not be a great idea to tinker with the defence. But it might be possible to give the likes of Michael Murphy and Ryan McHugh some down time. Could Jason McGee be ready to start at midfield?

Worryingly there is still no sign of Caolan McGonagle and Niall O’Donnell, two of the most prominent performers from last year.  Also the form of Oisin Gallen and Patrick McBrearty seems to have dipped at the wrong time.

Sunday’s test against the Wee County cannot be taken for granted but there would be huge disappointment if Donegal were not to make it to Croke Park the following weekend for the All-Ireland quarter-finals. There is no back door from now on, just a trap door.

READ NEXT: 'I was nearly living out of a car' - Shane O'Donnell happy to be back working in Donegal

VENUE

Donegal boss Jim McGuinness was still annoyed after Sunday’s game about the fixing of the game for Roscommon. I have to say that the facilities at the venue were top class and there was a very welcoming atmosphere.

There seemed to be a siege mentality attached to the Donegal criticism of the venue. The only obvious alternative to Dr Hyde Park was St Tiernach’s Park, Clones. The chairman of the CCCC, Roscommon GAA chairman, Brian Carroll, responded to the Donegal criticism of the venue on Morning Ireland on Monday last stating that Cavan, Clones and Omagh were not available because those counties were involved in fixtures.

That was a valid argument but he was not giving the full picture regarding Clones as the fixture for Monaghan v Down could just as easily have been pencilled in for the Saturday to  leave St Tiernach’s Park available for Sunday.

But in the overall scheme of things Donegal, by virtue of geography, will always have to travel distances. Let’s hope in 2026 we get the chance to play Mayo again at a ‘neutral’ venue, but this time in Ulster.

Match Stats

Donegal 0-19

Mayo 1-15

Donegal scorers: Michael Murphy 0-5, 1tpf, 1 ‘45’; Ciaran Moore, Peadar Mogan, Conor O’Donnell 0-2 each; Dáire Ó Baoill 0-2, tp; Ciaran Thompson 0-2,1f;  Caolan McColgan, Oisin Gallen,  Finnbarr Roarty and Shane O’Donnell 0-1 each.

Mayo scorers: Ryan O’Donoghue 0-6,5f;  David McBrien 1-0; Darren McHale 0-3; Conal Dawson 0-2; Donnacha McHugh, Jack Carney, Jordan Flynn, Fergal Boland 0-1 each.

Donegal: Shaun Patton; Finnbarr Roarty; Brendan McCole, Peadar Mogan; Ryan McHugh, Eoghan Ban Gallagher, Ciaran Moore; Hugh McFadden, Michael Langan; Caolan McColgan, Ciaran Thompson, Shane O’Donnell; Conor O’Donnell, Michael Murphy, Oisin Gallen.

Subs: Jason McGee and Dáire Ó Baoill for McFadden and Gallen (52), Patrick McBrearty for McHugh (58), Eoin McHugh for S O’Donnell (67).

Mayo: Colm Reape; Jack Coyne, Rory Brickenden, Enda Hession; Stephen Coen, David McBrien, Paddy Durcan; Donnacha McHugh, Matthew Ruane; Conal Dawson, Jack Carney, Bob Tuohy; Aidan O’Shea, Darren McHale, Ryan O’Donoghue.

Subs: Jordan Flynn for Tuohy (22), Davitt Neary for D McHugh (43), Sean Morahan for Hession (52), Paul Towey for Neary (56), Fergal Boland for Coen (57).

Referee: Paul Faloon (Down).