There was no shortage of drama or excitement as Mayo snatched a last-gasp victory over All-Ireland champions Dublin in Saturday's Allianz Football League Division 1 clash at Hastings Insurance MacHale Park in Castlebar for the first time since 2012.
Fergal Boland was the hero of the hour, popping up four minutes into added time to shoot the winning point after he was picked out from a quick free by Ryan O'Donoghue.
The crowd of 14,789 were on the edge of their seats as the game ended in a welter of excitement before the league champions came out on top.
The sides had been deadlocked five minutes during a game that hung in the balance from the moment that Mayo substitute Stephen Coen fisted in the first goal of his senior career in the 52nd minute to put the Westerners into the lead.
The sides had been all square at the interval, but Dublin had hit the ground running at the start of the second half to race three points ahead after scores from goalkeeper David O’Hanlon (free), Paddy Small (free) and Cormac Costello.
But Coen’s goal from close-range, after Jordan Flynn’s effort for a point had dropped short, brought Mayo right back into contention.
Kevin McStay’s team were still a point ahead swinging into the home straight, but Dublin continued to engineer scoring chances and, while some were spurned, Cian Murphy and Con O’Callaghan did raise white flags that edged the Metropolitans ahead after 62 minutes.
Remarkably though, Dessie Farrell’s men failed to score for the final 12 minutes as Mayo upped the ante in an effort to stop a run of four successive home defeats to the Dubs.
Kevin McStay had introduced Tommy Conroy and Cillian O’Connor into the Mayo attack in the closing stages, and the duo made telling impacts.
A seventh point of the evening from Ryan O’Donoghue (six from frees) levelled the match in the 64th minute and ten action-packed minutes followed as both sides chased a winner.
There were misses at both ends as a first draw between the sides in this competition since 2014 loomed large.
But Mayo had other ideas and O’Donoghue’s quick-thinking from a free wide on the right created the chance for Fergal Boland to steal the headlines and maintain Mayo’s unbeaten start to this campaign.
The sides were level at 0-8 apiece after a frantic first half.
Such a scenario had seemed highly unlikely after 20 minutes as Dublin completely dominated the opening 20 minutes and deservedly led by 0-6 to 0-2.
The usual suspects like Jack McCaffrey, Brian Fenton, Seán Bugler, Ciarán Kilkenny and Con O’Callaghan were pulling the strings, and the scores flowed easily.
Fenton, O’Callaghan, McCaffrey and Cormac Costello (two frees) were all on target in the first quarter as Dessie Farrell’s team dictated the pace and the tempo.
Mayo were struggling to make much headway early on and all their only score came from a booming effort from midfielder Jack Carney.
But the homeside gradually got to grips with Dublin’s high-press and defensive block, and a series of incisive raids led to a string of five points in eight minutes that brought Mayo right back into contention.
Goalkeeper Colm Reape got the ball rolling with a sweetly-struck '45 before Ryan O’Donoghue clipped two frees in a row and Paul Towey fired over a magnificent long-range effort in the 26th minute.
The gap was now back to the bare minimum, and Mayo’s raids from deeps were starting to pay dividends.
So it was no surprise when Bob Tuohy claimed a nice delivery from Paul Towey before swinging over the equaliser from a tight angle on 27 minutes.
Dublin’s forwards were having to work harder to get their shots off, but midfielder Seán Bugler popped up in space to land a couple of superb scores in quick succession to propel the visitors back in front.
The ebb and flow of the second quarter continued unabated though with Ryan O’Donoghue drilling a brilliant point off the outside of his right foot in the 33rd minute before the Belmullet attacker tapped over the levelling score from a free three minutes later.
That meant there was no separating the teams at the interval, and the outcome hung in the balance all through an eventful second half.
Mayo will make the long journey to Kerry when the league resumes in a fortnight’s time while Dublin will have home advantage when they take on Roscommon at Croke Park, chasing their first win of the campaign at the third attempt.
Mayo: C Reape (0-1, '45); J Coyne, R Brickenden, S Callinan; P Durcan, D McBrien, E McLaughlin; J Flynn, J Carney (0-1); B Tuohy (0-1), F Boland (0-1), C Reid; A O'Shea, P Towey (0-1), R O’Donoghue (0-7, 6fs).
Subs: D McHugh for Reid (10); S Coen (1-0) for McLaughlin (30); T Conroy for Towey (48); C O’Connor for O’Shea (57); D Duffy for Tuohy (64);
Dublin: D O’Hanlon (0-1, 1f); T Clancy, S McMahon, L Gannon; G McEneaney, C Murphy (0-1), J McCaffrey (0-2); B Fenton (0-1), S Bugler (0-2); R McGarry, C Basquel, C Kilkenny; P Small (0-1, 1f), C O’Callaghan (0-2), C Costello (0-4, 3fs).
Subs: J Small for McCaffrey (50); N Scully for McGarry (53); P Ó Cofaigh Byrne for Basquel (57); L O’Dell for Costello (65); K O’Gara for P Small (69);
Referee: F Kelly (Longford)
