Road to the final: How did Westport get to Mayo GAA senior decider?

Mayo GAA Senior Football Championship: Quarter-final

Westport 2-16

Breaffy 1-16

In Breaffy

Finishing second in the group meant Westport had to travel into the lion's den. Just like last year in the senior championship.

And it turned out to be a match that will be talked about about for generations. Our reporter Ronan O'Donnell wrote 'in Westport it will be part of legend and lore, in Breaffy it will be the stuff of nightmares.'

Breaffy went into this as favourites. Sean Deane's men won the Division 1 league title earlier in the year and many thought this could be their year to win the Paddy Moclair Cup for the very first time.  

And it looked for a long time, as if Breaffy would book their ticket to the semi-final and a clash with Crossmolina, the team they had beaten in the league final.

At one stage in the second half, Westport were nine points down, a man down and had been playing second fiddle all afternoon.

But they drew a line in the sand and set off to stage one of the biggest comebacks in Mayo club football history.

Conal Dawson put up a man of the match performance. He kicked a massive two-pointer when Westport needed it most.

Mayo footballer Dawson was pivotal in many areas around the pitch. Undisputedly he made the Mayo News Team of the Week.

So did his teammates Niall McManamon and Killian Kilkelly, who scored 1-2 in this epic quarter-final.

The resilience of Pat Homles' side had reached historic levels, when the referee blew the whistle and the Westport contingent jumped into the Breaffy sky in wild celebration.