Mayo boss Stephen Rochford said his team aren't into moral victories following last night's two-point defeat to Dublin in Castlebar.

The Ballinrobe man was encouraged by his side's improved display from last weekend's nine-point defeat to Cork but bemoaned the missed chances that saw them slump to a second defeat in six days.

"We battled hard throughout the game," Rochford told RTÉ Sport. "We did very well in the first half against the breeze and I would have liked us to be able to drive on but Dublin hit three points in the third quarter and, ultimately, that gap left us under pressure.

"We missed a crucial free in the first half and hit the post with another one and when you're coming up against Dublin, the league and All-Ireland champions, missing those opportunities just isn't enough. That was the difference at the end of the game."

While the 0-9 to 0-7 score-line against the holders suggested major improvement from the Connacht champions, Rochford knows that they'll need to up their game further.

"It was but we're not into moral victories. We're not into slapping ourselves on the back when we lose games. We're in it to win them and we didn't do that this evening," said the former Corofin manager.

"We've got to get ourselves together and work hard over the next three weeks in order to be able to put ourselves in a position to be able to win the game against Donegal."

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