Stakes high as All-Ireland finalists collide again

It possibly says more about their need for victory in Croke Park on Saturday night that Mayo will be a lot closer to their All-Ireland final line-up than Dublin. Either way, six months on from last September’s defeat, Mayo are back in winning mode.

Their meeting in the penultimate round of the Allianz Football League sees both teams delicately positioned in Division One: level (on six points) and points difference (+7), victory would steer one team towards the semi-finals, while defeat could steer the other into a potential relegation battle going into the final round of matches on Sunday week.

Mayo have been boosted by the return of the Castlebar Mitchels trio of Tom Cunniffe, Barry Moran and Richie Feeney, who were back training with the county panel last weekend, just days after losing the All-Ireland club football final to St Vincent's. Cunniffe started at corner-back in the one-point defeat to Dublin last September, Moran came on a substitute, while Feeney was also on the bench.

Exceptional performances
It's unclear whether Dublin manager Jim Gavin will recall the St Vincent's duo of Diarmuid Connolly and Ger Brennan: both players, particularly Connolly, put in exceptional performances in Croke Park on St Patrick's Day, but haven't been with the Dublin panel at all this season as they concentrated on the club campaign.

Dublin will be without the suspended Philly McMahon, while Bernard Brogan and Rory O’Carroll continue their rehab from injury. They’re also without Ciarán Kilkenny and Kevin O’Brien after season-ending cruciate injuries.

Mayo have won their last three games in succession (over Kerry, Westmeath and Cork), while Dublin have lost two of their last three (beating Kildare, but losing to Cork and Derry). Mayo's win over Cork in the last round was also notable for the first start of 2014 for forward Cillian O'Connor (who scored 1-2), after he underwent a shoulder operation after last year's All-Ireland.

Best hope
Long-term injured Alan Dillon's best hope now is being back in time for Mayo's Connacht championship opener against New York, in New York, on May 4th.

In the meantime, the New York County Board have expressed their disappointment after GAA president Liam O’Neill raised concerns about their future in the football championship, partly due to the “legality of people living in New York”. O’Neill also suggested New York might be better served by a world championship series.

New York chairman Liam Bermingham also questioned the validity of a world championship, as suggested by O’Neill: “That’s a concept we are not in a position to give full consideration given many of our own players’ difficulties with immigration. If it were to be played in the US, we’d certainly look at it closer but it’s not a concrete idea by any stretch.”

However, Bermingham did acknowledge O’Neill’s praise for the continuing development of the GAA in New York, including the Rockland and Shannon Gaels GAA clubs. GAA president elect Aogán Ó Fearghail is also headed to New York this weekend for the centenary banquet.