I have always maintained that when Mayo do win the All-Ireland, it will be one of two ways. Either they will blow the door open and win comfortably or else hit the winner with the last kick of the game and with their opponents not having the time to muster an attack and an equaliser. 

Perhaps that’s a downbeat attitude, but I really do feel the weight of history is so great, that seeing out a tight game would be a huge ask for any group of Mayo footballers. 

Whatever about All-Ireland finals, it kinda feels like that way against Dublin. 

They are so damn hard to beat and so good in tight finishes that you either have to blow them away – as Mayo eventually did in the 2021 All-Ireland semi-final – or snatch a last-gasp winner, witness Seán O’Shea’s free in the 2022 semi-final.

They reminded us just how great they were after Ryan O’Donoghue kicked Mayo in front in the final minute of injury-time on Sunday. There was time for one more play and Dublin kicked what Colm Keys, not given to hyperbole, described on the podcast this week as ‘their best ever score’ to get a draw and top the group. 

There has been much debate about what Mayo could or should have done in that last play. Drag down Kilkenny as soon as he caught the ball? It happened so fast that it is hard to say that was an easy thing to do. Stop Kilkenny getting a run at the ball? Mayo would have been focused on guarding bigger men like Brians Fenton and Howard. Pull down Jack McCaffrey? You’d need to be able to catch him first. 

The long and the short of it is the only way Mayo could have denied Dublin a chance to equalise was to play the clock down a bit more before trying to work their lead score. They ran it down a nice bit, and knowing exactly how long is left is not easy. 

But that’s the level Dublin set.

Normally three days before a knock-out championship game you would be focusing entirely on it, but last Sunday was of such magnitude that it’s hard not to look back. 

You wonder how forward looking the Mayo dressing room is this week. That will be the aim but it’s hard to shake the feeling of how close they were to topping the group and giving themselves a weekend off. 

Crucially, though, the Dublin game can be a very good reference point for what Mayo need to do on Saturday. 

We have frequently said in the past that Mayo need to get much better at second phase attacks, ie attacks where the opposition are set, and not just fast transitions from turnovers etc, the calling card of ‘Horanball’. That if teams got bodies behind the ball, Mayo were a blunt force in attack and easily frustrated. 

For all the frustration of fans with Mayo’s methodical play in recent weeks, it has been overlooked that they have developed a very good competency at playing their way around such defensive screens. The tallies from the last three games – 0-20 v Cavan, 2-14 v Roscommon and 0-17 – saw Mayo hit the majority of their scores when their opponents were defensively set. 

And while there has been plenty of talk about the ‘mano-a-mano’ approach of both teams last Sunday, the reality is that both sides were able to flood bodies back most of the time and Mayo did not seem overly focused on fast transitions. 

So much so that it appears that not alone have Mayo developed an alternative attacking strategy to ‘Horanball’ but that the ‘McStay way’ is now a much more preferred mode of attacking for them. 

There is still room for a blend, though. 

Mayo have the staff for fast transition play, and it’s where the richest amount of goal chances will occur. On a few occasions on Sunday, you could see inside forwards were not necessarily inclined to be showing for the ball after a Mayo turnover. 

It appeared it wasn’t part of the plan. 

Now there is every chance this was a particular approach against Dublin. 

As Billy Joe Padden pointed out on Monday’s podcast, keeping the ball for long stages had an air of Mayo’s approach in 2016/17 under Stephen Rochford’s management. 

It allows you the chance to take the sting out of the game and reduce the amount of time that Dublin are on the ball. This was very evident in the first half on Sunday. 

Against different opposition, might Mayo be more inclined to transition at speed when the opportunity presents? 

It is what tore Derry to shreds against Donegal and Armagh. Mind you, they were more focused on defensive solidity against Westmeath so the opportunities – Armagh had eight goal chances against them – may not be as plentiful. But goals will hurt a Derry team who have to be quite vulnerable. Mayo should exploit any such opportunities. 

The ‘McStay way’ can then be a very useful second phase platform. 

Mayo did struggle greatly with Derry’s exceptional attacking movement in the league clash in Castlebar on St Patrick’s Day. Derry’s attack and Mayo’s defence have went in opposite directions since, but the potential for danger remains. 

Saturday should see a big home crowd in Castlebar. The Dublin game felt like a reawakening. The mood around the county for this team has been indifferent of late, rightly or wrongly. Sunday felt like the old days in the middle of the last decade. 

Indeed, there have not been many days like this in this decade. The Dublin win in 2021 for sure, and Kerry last year, but with a poor visiting support. 

Fans on Saturday will need patience though. A blistering start by Mayo against a damaged Derry team would be the ideal, but the visitors are dangerous and it will be a psychological blow for them if they can hear the Mayo fans getting antsy and restless. 

Because as good as Mayo were on Sunday, a short week means repeating the dose is no certainty. 

How Kevin McStay approaches the game in terms of selection – will he look at rotating players a bit? – and the tactical approach will be very instructive. 

Because fail on Saturday and the importance of that last play in The Hyde increases massively.