It could have gone many different ways during the course of a thrilling match that ebbed and flowed until the final hooter sounded, but in the end Mayo managed to escape with a victory that sends them into the Division 1 league final for the third time in four seasons — against Kerry at Croke Park next Sunday.
Such an outcome had seemed unlikely when Donegal's Daire Ó Baoill stood over a penalty in the 67th minute with Mayo clinging to a two point lead, and needing to win to avoid relegation given the way other games were going.
But Colm Reape came to the homeside’s rescue, diving low to his right to save Ó Baoill’s effort and keep Mayo in front.
They also stayed there moments later when Donegal midfielder Hugh McFadden saw a goal-bound shot rattle the crossbar, as Kevin McStay’s charges rode their luck and tried to keep the visitors at bay.
In the final frantic minutes, Aaron Doherty did clip a neat point for Donegal to heighten the tension, but the outstanding Ryan O’Donoghue popped up to fire over an insurance score five minutes into added time to settle the debate once and for all.
Mayo played their best football of the opening half in the second quarter to surge ahead by 1-07 to 0-06 at the interval. Jim McGuinness then made a statement of intent by introducing four substitutes during the break and two of them paid their way immediately; Michael Langan firing over a point before Eoin McHugh buried a goal to get the Donegal comeback going.
A point from Finbar Roarty then levelled the match for just the third time and it felt like the momentum had swung.
But Mayo weren’t long in wrestling it back again, and they had Donegal at arm’s length again within five minutes as a couple of brilliant two-point efforts from Ryan O’Donoghue left them up by 1-13 to 1-08.
Then it was Donegal’s turn to come roaring back with five points in six minutes from Ciaran Thompson, Conor O’Donnell (2), Aaron Doherty and Shane O’Donnell to draw level once more after 52 minutes.
From there to the end it was a rollercoaster of a contest, with the teams trading scores twice before Mattie Ruane stepped up to guide over an inspirational two-pointer that nudged Mayo ahead by 1-17 to 1-15.
Shortly afterwards Donegal missed the penalty that could have changed everything, and Mayo held their nerve in the closing stages to win their fourth game of the campaign.
Their half-time lead was built on an impressive 15-minute spell before the break when the homeside took control around the middle and shot 1-05 without reply. The goal came on 20 minutes from the outstanding Jack Carney, who took a perfectly-weighted pass from Ryan O’Donoghue before slipping the ball under the oncoming Gavin Mulreany.
Carney’s cool finish from close-range sliced Donegal’s lead from four points to the bare minimum, and gave Mayo the confidence to play with more pace and flair.
Enda Hession and Sam Callinan began to drive forward from deep, with plenty of support from the likes of Mattie Ruane and Jordan Flynn, and a string of scores arrived.
Carney clipped the equaliser before Frank Irwin split the posts twice and Ryan O’Donoghue converted a free to leave Mayo ahead by 1-06 to 0-06 after 30 minutes.
Donegal were struggling to make any inroads up front at that stage and, with Mayo now dictating the terms, it was no surprise that Jack Carney swung over the final score of the half right on the whistle.
Donegal would have been relatively happy with their work in the opening quarter as some trademark counter-attacking football saw them ease into a 0-06 to 0-02 lead.
Playing with the breeze, their long-range shooting was very easy to watch as Ciarán Thompson, Niall O’Donnell and Luke McGlynn all hit the target before Daire Ó Baoill fired over a two-pointer with plenty to spare.
But that was as good as it got for the Tir Chonaill men in that opening half as Mayo’s midfield dominance gave them the platform to take the initiative.
They almost lost it on a number of occasions in the second half, but managed to ride their luck and stick to the game-plan to deny Donegal a place in the league decider themselves.
Mayo: C Reape; J Coyne, D McHugh, E Hession; S Callinan, D McBrien, F Kelly; S Coen (0-01), M Ruane (0-03, 1tp); J Carney (1-03), D McHale, J Flynn (0-01); A O’Shea, F Irwin (0-03), R O’Donoghue (0-06, 1tp, 1tpf, 1f). Subs used: D Neary for McHale (47); P Towey (0-1) for O’Shea (54); E McLaughlin for Kelly (63); F Boland for Irwin (65); D O’Connor for Flynn (69).
Donegal: G Mulreany (0-01, '45); F Roarty (0-01), S McMenamin, B McCole; R McHugh, C McMonagle, C McColgan; H McFadden, C Moore; D Ó Baoill (0-02, tp), C Thompson (0-02), S O’Donnell (0-02); N O’Donnell (0-01), C O’Donnell (0-02), L McGlynn (0-01). Subs used: M Langan (0-02) for McGlynn (HT); A Doherty (0-02) for McGonagle (HT), M Curran for McColgan (HT), E McHugh (1-00) for N O’Donnell (HT); C Ward for McCole (63).
Referee: J McQuillan (Cavan)
