PAT SPILLANE paid tribute to Mayo following their crushing defeat to Tyrone in the All-Ireland football final.
Despite a lightning start to the game and a litany of goal chances – including a missed penalty– Mayo fell to the Ulster champions in yet another All-Ireland decider.
With this latest setback, this was Mayo’s 11th consecutive defeat in an All-Ireland final, and their sixth loss since 2012; the last time they lifted Sam Maguire was back in 1951.
While he praised Tyrone for their deserved triumph, eight-time All-Ireland winner Pat Spillane made sure to highlight the Westerners’ contributions.
The Kerry legend said: “If I was a Tyrone man you would be proud of those players as individuals, as role models, for the way they played the game and their skill as footballers.
“But can I just say that, while today is about the victors, let’s spare a thought for Mayo. This is now 11 All-Ireland finals.
“They’ve played six All-Ireland finals in the last decade. The average losing margin is less than three points. They contributed to a really fascinating, tough, tight struggle today.
“I’m not too sure if Samuel Beckett was a GAA man or whether he ever kicked an O’Neill [ball], but his words sum up Mayo: ‘Try again, fail again. Fail better. I can’t go on, I will go on.’ That’s Mayo.”
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Spillane went on to assert that, despite their latest in a long line of setbacks, he opined that James Horan’s men will be back again in 2022.
“Today is another bad day but Mayo will bounce back. They’ll fight back and they’ll be there again next year close to the final day. Commiserations to Mayo. Warriors, a great day, but fell well short today of truly great All-Ireland champions.”
Speaking on RTE last night, Ciaran Whelan was less magnanimous towards Mayo’s performance on the day.
He said: “I thought Mayo were naive. I thought they would have played with a lot more width. I thought they would have played with a bit more patience.
“Tyrone set the trap [and] they went into it time after time, and that put [Tyrone] on the front foot.”