HS football team of the week
August 28, 2017
Mayo fans celebrate a goal during the All-Ireland SFC semi-final replay victory over Kerry at Croke Park.
INPHO/Ryan Byrne.
And then there were two - for the second year running Dublin and Mayo will contest the All-Ireland SFC final following their impressive victories over Tyrone and Kerry respectively. Here is our team of the week...
1. David Clarke (Mayo)
Clarke's kick-outs were put under pressure in the drawn game but they were flawless on Saturday and helped to lay the foundations for Mayo's five point success.
2. Michael Fitzsimons (Dublin)
Kept Mark Bradley on a tight leash and, as per usual, went about his business with a minimum of fuss.
3. Aidan O'Shea (Mayo)
Stephen Rochford shipped quite a bit of flak for positioning the Breaffy man in the full-back spot but he stuck to his guns and the bold move paid off in the replay.
4. Keith Higgins (Mayo)
Combined his defensive duties with driving his team on a forward footing at every available opportunity, another excellent outing from Mayo's Mr Dependable.
5. John Small (Dublin)
The Ballymun Kickhams clubman was asked to nullify Peter Harte's threat and carried out Jim Gavin's instructions to the letter of the law.
6. Colm Boyle (Mayo)
There's no way that Stephen Rochford could have contemplated taking Boyle off any earlier than the 69th minute as he epitomised all that was good about Mayo's gutsy display.
7. Jack McCaffrey (Dublin)
The 2015 'Footballer of the Year' was at his electric best as he regularly put the Red Hands on the back foot but he will have been disappointed not to have found the back of Niall Morgan's net in the second-half.
8. James McCarthy (Dublin)
Shadowed Sean Cavanagh wherever he went and made sure that the 2008 'Footballer of the Year' won't recall his last game in the Tyrone jersey with any great fondness.
9. Colm Cavanagh (Tyrone)
The Ulster champions were second best in every department against the Dubs but Cavanagh - who kicked two points - can't be faulted for effort.
10. Ciaran Kilkenny (Dublin)
The Castleknock player's composure in possession ensured that the sky blues didn't waste any ball when faced with Tyrone's blanket defence.
11. Con O'Callaghan (Dublin)
The 21-year-old's excellent fifth minute goal set the tone for the contest and the Mayo defence will have to be on their toes when they come up against him on September 17th.
12. Paul Mannion (Dublin)
Tracked back into his defence on a number of occasions to help disposses Tyrone and his movement caused plenty of problems for the opposition.
13. Paul Geaney (Kerry)
Not many Kerry players did themselves justice on Saturday but Geaney - who finished with 0-10 to his name - was an exception.
14. Andy Moran (Mayo)
Scorer of 1-1, the 33-year-old led Shane Enright a merry dance for the second time in the space of a week and the Kerry defender was called ashore in the 39th minute.
15. Jason Doherty (Mayo)
Stepped up to the plate to convert a free and a 45 in the absence of the black carded Cillian O'Connor and contributed three points in total to his county's cause.
