Vaughan cheering for Mayo

September 06, 2006
Dublin's Mark Vaughan is hoping Mayo can end their long wait for All-Ireland football success when they take on Kerry on Sunday week. The Kilmacud Crokes forward, who was introduced as a late sub against Mayo in the All-Ireland semi-final, came tantalizingly close to salvaging a replay for the Dubs when his '45' in the dying moments was prevented from going over the bar by the long reach of Mayo goalkeeper David Clarke. "I have nothing against Kerry, but it would be nice if the team that beat us went on to win the All-Ireland," he said. "Last year, the team that beat us (Tyrone in the All-Ireland quarter-final replay) won the All-Ireland, so that made the defeat a little easier to take. Kerry, of course, are the favourites, but if Mayo display a repeat of the character and work-rate they showed when coming back from seven points down against us, they will be hard to beat. "A lot will depend of how successful Kerry are in curbing Ciaran McDonald, who has the strength to fend off tackles and the ability to deliver inch-perfect passes. "But Mayo have a number of other fine forwards and, as they showed against us, they have a very strong bench. David Brady and Aidan Kilcoyne did particularly well when they came on in the semi-final," Vaughan added.

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