The men who made it five from five

GAA: Connacht SFC Final; Player Analysis

Mayo used 21 players yesterday on the field in their historic win over Sligo as they picked up their fifth Connacht title on the bounce, we run our eye over the performance of all those 21 players.

David Clarke

The big Ballina man was starting his first Connacht final since 2012 and hardly put a foot wrong all day. He could do nothing with both of Sligo's goals and pulled off two top drawer saves that kept the Sligo goal count down.

Keith Higgins

The man who picked up the Nestor Cup at full time put in another good showing for the county. Was calm and composed in on the ball  and tough in the tackle. Higgins' continues to show why he's one of the top rated defenders in the country.

Ger Cafferkey

The former All Star came back into the starting 15 after Kevin Keane picked up a knock in last weekends A v B game. Cafferekey was under pressure at times with the Sligo attack, but overall put in a composed enough performance. But he'll be looking to improve his performance in the quarter-final.

Tom Cunniffe

It was a mixed bag for the Castlebar Mitchels man, he was caught out on a few occasions and one particular one in the first half where he came for a high ball and completely missed the flight of it. But he cleaned up a lot of loose ball during the game.

Lee Keegan

The Westport man rounded off a great afternoon with a goal in the second half, he ran and ran all day at the Sligo defence and caused them all kinds of problems. Keegan looks to be hitting top form once again at the right time.

Donal Vaughan

Two points from play was a just reward for the Ballinrobe man who popped up all over the pitch, he made a number of breaks upfield for Mayo and was always offering himself as a runner as Mayo looked to break forward.

Colm Boyle

Not the greatest day at the office for the Davitts man, but he kept trying and never backed down. His determination to win was shown by his full length diving block down of a Criostoir Davey shot in the second half.

Seamus O'Shea

Bagged himself a brilliant goal early on, but was forced out with a groin niggle before the break. O'Shea will be a key man for Mayo as the season goes on.

Tom Parsons

The Charlestown man was in exceptional form on Sunday, he fielded and number of eye catching high balls in the middle of the park and worked his socks off all day long. Ended up in the full back line for the final few minutes. Parsons is back to his best and Mayo are the better for it.

Jason Doherty

While he didn't light up the scoreboard, he covered nearly every blade of grass on the field and worked tirelessly all day long. Doherty did a lot of unseen tracking back and was always looking to provide an option for an out ball.

Cillian O'Connor

Normally if you score 1-7 in a Connacht final you'd be the one everyone was writing the headlines about. O'Connor kick started Mayo's charge with their first goal and was a constant threat throughout.

Kevin McLoughlin

Like Doherty was a willing worker all day long, the fleet of foot Knockmore man was as liable to be seen in the full back line as he was in the full forward line for Mayo. Another good performances from one of Mayo's most reliable.

Andy Moran

The heart and soul of the team picked up another Connacht medal to add to his collection, he was a willing runner and his pinpoint pass to Aidan O'Shea for one of his goals showed his vision.

Aidan O'Shea

He was simply unplayable, crashing through the Sligo defence at will. With each game his status in the game rises even more. That's six Connacht titles for the only turned 25 three weeks ago.

Diarmuid O'Connor

Another man whose stock continues to rise with each game. He worked hard all day and has the same touch of class when it comes to finishing that his brother has and showed that with each of his four points.

Barry Moran

The big man slotted in easily when he replaced Seamus O'Shea in the first half, he flicked over a point within minutes of his introduction and put in a good showing in the middle third.

Alan Dillon

Replaced fellow veteran Andy Moran at the break and was his usual composed influence on the game, winning ball and spraying around some excellent passes and managed to chip in with a point. Connacht title number eight for the Ballintubber dynamo.

Patrick Durcan

The young Castlebar wing-back would have been pushing hard for inclusion in the starting 15. He's got bags of potential and got to grips with the game as soon as he came on and scored a point.

Brendan Harrision

Came on for Ger Cafferkey but ended out further up the field than the man he replaced. Worked hard and kept tabs on his man throughout.

Mark Ronaldson

The Shrule-Glencorrib man must have fancied his chances of bagging a few goals himself when he came on but had to make do with two points after another busy showing from him.

Chris Barrett

Was unlucky to lose his place in the starting 15 and came on with eight minutes to go, the Belmullet man will be in contention to start the next day.

 

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