Brian Fenton
Dublin and Mayo will have to do it all over again after Sunday’s All-Ireland SFC Final ended in a draw.
Mayo somehow overcame the body-blow of conceding two first-half own goals to force their way back into the game in the second-half and then had their captain Cillian O’Connor to thank for kicking a last-gasp equaliser in the seventh minute of injury-time.
O’Connor makes the shortlist for this week’s GAA.ie Footballer of the Week award along with his Mayo colleague Donal Vaughan and Dublin midfielder Brian Fenton.
The voting process is simple: retweet the image of your chosen player on the GAA's official Twitter account (@officialgaa) or like their image on the GAA's official Facebook and Instagram pages. Voting will close at 1pm on Tuesday, September 20 and the winner will be announced on GAA.ie.
Footballer of the Week nominations.
Brian Fenton – Dublin
Fenton’s rise to prominence in the last couple of years has been really remarkable. He was man of the match in last year’s All-Ireland Final in his debut season, and was one of the best players on the pitch again in Sunday’s drawn Final.
He scored one classy point from play and troubled the Mayo defence time and again with his ability to make lung-busting runs past their half-back line. One such sally forward played a crucial role in the first own goal that Mayo conceded.
Fenton also did sterling work in defence, with his ability to tackle cleanly and turn the ball over a real feature of his play.
Donal Vaughan
Donal Vaughan – Mayo
Donal Vaughan has been a brilliant servant to Mayo football for many years now, and on Sunday he had one of his best days yet in the green and red.
Moved from midfield to wing-back, he defended tenaciously and also gave Mayo great energy in attack as he raided forward at every available opportunity.
He scored two excellent points, the second of which came in injury-time when Mayo were crying out for their leaders to really step forward.
Cillian
Cillian O’Connor – Mayo
Mayo’s captain showed incredible leadership by kicking the last-gasp equaliser that earned them a replay.
It was a brilliant score both in the skill of its execution, and the fact that he nailed it in the most pressurised situation possible.
O’Connor’s contribution to the match went far beyond that late equaliser. He was Mayo’s top-scorer with seven points, five of them nervelessly struck free-kicks, and also won a lot of hard ball in the Mayo forward line.
Players of the Week are decided based on votes cast by followers of @officialgaa on Twitter, on the Official GAA Facebook Page and on the Official GAA Instagram page.
