We're now just a day away from the All-Ireland final and anticipation is building while nerves are already frayed in Tyrone and Mayo. Whatever happens on Saturday the team lifting the Sam Maguire will be one which not many fancied to do so at the start of the year but then, can you ever really doubt Mayo? In our fans' view column this morning, Martin Dyar writes that the long quest of the men in green and red has been life-giving. "We've been jumpy this week, and superstitious, but we can be rational about the curse," he writes. Speaking of the 'curse', the last Mayo man to lift the Sam Maguire was Seán Flanagan in 1951 and yesterday his son Dermot told Seán Moran that such an idea was never really mentioned at home and is roundly dismissed in the county even as the final defeats rack up. For Tyrone there is a chance to bring the trophy back home for the first time since 2008 and final defeat is not something they're unused to and, indeed, is something they have learned from. Speaking yesterday, joint-manager Feargal Logan recalled his experience as a player losing to Dublin in 1995 and what he and the current crop can take from experience.
Moving to soccer and FAI CEO Jonathan Hill yesterday spoke of his confidence in Stephen Kenny as the Ireland manager and how he holds the same long-term view of progress. Hill reiterated that Kenny's performance will be evaluated at the end of the current qualifying campaign but it is clear that long-term is how the FAI is thinking with Hill mentioning how important he feels it is to qualify for the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico. Overnight it was the turn of Lionel Messi to break an international goals record as he moved past Pele to become the highest-scoring South American of all time.
In golf it was a solid opening round from Shane Lowry at Wentworth yesterday as he finished at two under par with the lead at eight under heading in to round two. Lowry spoke earlier in the week of how he would love to emulate Leona Maguire at the Ryder Cup and yesterday the Cavan woman spoke of her desire to push on now and get to the very top of the game after showing just what she is capable of at the Solheim Cup.
But despite the progress of the likes of Maguire, Katie Taylor and numerous other Irish female athletes, Johnny Watterson writes this morning that it's hard to fathom just how hard women in sport must fight for a level playing field. "Despite a huge amount of progress a mindset still exists that puts needless barriers in place," he writes.
In Britain Emma Raducanu is certainly showing just what can be achieved even at the age of 18 as she beat Maria Sakkari in straight sets overnight to reach the final of the US Open. Meanwhile, in the opening NFL match of the season, Tom Brady continued to do what he does best by leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to victory over the Dallas Cowboys.
