Football Analyst: A truly incredible performance by Mayo, probably their best ever display in Croke Park, and certainly the best one I've ever seen. It wasn't just the win, because Mayo have won plenty of semi-finals here in the past, nor the fact they beat a widely fancied Dublin team. It was the way they won, a great physical effort and a mental performance without blemish.

Everyone, including myself, tipped Dublin to win and that was largely based on what we've seen already this year. All that changed over the course of the game and you have to give Mayo huge credit for the way they went about this win. To come from seven points down in the second half to win any game is sensational, all the more so when it involves beating a team like Dublin playing on their home turf of Croke Park.

In recent years we've seen Mayo showing great mental strength to win games against the likes of Galway, but they haven't shown that strength elsewhere to just get across the finish line like they did here. They may not have been under huge pressure to win here, but psychologically, they were loaded up to win.

I was a little worried when they ran to the Hill 16 end before the game. It was a brave and bold thing to do, cute as well. It was one of many things the management tried on the day that worked a treat. It was obviously planned, because you're told early in the week the plans for the day, like who comes on to the field first. It was strike one to Mayo in that sense.

I also feel Dublin lost a strike earlier in the week, from a media perspective. All the previews surrounding this game dealt with Dublin games from the past, because obviously the Dublin players weren't available for interview. It's easy in hindsight to say this, but maybe they allowed the pressure to build too much. Tommy Lyons was criticised in the past for having an open house with his players, but the opposite was tried here and doesn't seem to have worked either.

Mayo started very well, which was important for them. Dublin's defence was very slow to settle and Mayo could well have gone further ahead. Still they wiped out Mayo's lead in a couple of minutes, and obviously the goal was a big blow to Mayo.

Keith Higgins has been a sensation all year, but he was caught in his own corner for this one, Conal Keaney ended up putting it into the net.

Still, Mayo didn't linger on the setback, and went on to lead again going into half-time. That's further evidence of the greater mental strength in this particular team, because maybe in the past they wouldn't have recovered from such a sucker punch. In fact, Mayo dominated so much early on they should probably have been further ahead. So it was still very much advantage Mayo at half-time.

One of the big problems for Dublin was the midfield battle wasn't going their way. Ciarán Whelan just wasn't having his usual impact, and I think the incident with Ronan McGarrity reflected that. It was pure frustration. It was a real blow for Mayo to lose McGarrity, and that was another real excuse for them if they wanted it. But they just got on with the job. Pat Harte stepped up to deliver a superb display, and was brilliant in the second half.

Then the whole game turned again with a superb effort from Dublin early in the second half. They played some great football for a while, but when going seven points up I felt Dublin thought they had a divine right to meet Kerry in the final. And if you're playing an All-Ireland final in your mind in advance of the game that's a trap door waiting to break open. And I feel that happened.

On top of that, some of the old frailties of this Dublin team showed up again, like their problems with coming through close matches.

Most of all, I feel they might have had one eye on the Kerry match, and that is very hard to get over. I came out of the Mayo-Laois game last week, and all the talk was about Dublin and Kerry in the final. Because when the pressure came back on the Dublin defence they didn't hold up. It was said Mayo would be the best team Dublin met this year, and in the end they just couldn't cope. Again I feel that was a mental thing more than anything physical.

If anything McGarrity's loss later inspired Mayo even further, especially with the way the substitutes played. Harte took the leadership role at midfield. And the substitutes all worked a treat: David Brady, Kevin O'Neill, and of course Andy Moran, who scored the goal. The use of all those players was superb. O'Neill was a real inspiration when he came on, and Brady visibly lifted the team.

There's been huge debate in Mayo about Brady and what he should and shouldn't be doing, but he showed great leadership out there. The legs mightn't be what they used to but the head certainly is, and he cooled things down a great deal, and allowed the players around him to do their jobs.

Dublin battled back again to level it again. But even then I had the feeling it was Mayo's day. Dublin had their chance but Mayo refused to allow them to take it. They had a few opportunities to draw it in the end, but they were panicking a little, and that goes back to being new to this situation, whereas Mayo have been well used to scrapping for results.

The last thing we should do is to pile the pressure on them now going into the All-Ireland final, but they have done something Mayo teams haven't done in the past. That's already a superb vindication of these players and, of course, the management.