Dublin produced an emphatic second half performance to defeat rivals Mayo to march into the All Ireland Semi-Finals.

The Dubs produced a performance of old, scoring an impressive 1-10 in the second half to Mayo’s 0-3 to take a comfortable victory this afternoon.

It was a pulsating first half of football, both teams playing at a relentless tempo. There was no patient build-up from either side, instead they opted to run the ball at high speed, making for a thoroughly entertaining half of inter-county football.

Mayo’s Ryan O’Donoghue opened the scoring inside the first minute, and it was evident early on that he had his shooting boots on, scoring five points in the opening 35. O’Donoghue proved to be a real thorn in Dublin’s backside, constantly finding himself in dangerous positions in between the lines of the Dublin defence.

With Dublin just one point behind in the 17th minute, Colm Basquel produced a moment of individual brilliance as he collected a difficult high ball and produced a brilliant spin move to set himself clear of the Mayo defence.

Basquel then composed himself and struck the ball powerfully down the middle of the goal, between the legs of Colm Reape in the Mayo goal.

From the goal, Mayo responded brilliantly to score four unanswered points to quell any momentum Dublin had accrued from their goal; one from Tommy Conroy and Aidan O’Shea and then a brace from O’Donoghue in the space of four minutes.

After leaking a goal, Mayo responded well and found themselves back in control of the tie.

Dublin finished the half strongly however, Cormac Costello converting two frees, with James McCarthy adding another on the stroke of half-time to give the Dubs a one-point lead heading into the second half.

Whatever Dessie Farrell said at half time, it certainly worked. The Dubs came out after the break on a mission, scoring four unanswered points and a second goal in the space of 8 minutes.

Colm Basquel added to his goal tally for the match after a defensive mistake from Mayo’s Sam Callinan set Cormac Costello through on goal, Basquel to his left, outnumbering the lone Reape in the Mayo net.

Basquel had a much easier finish this time, fisting the ball into an open net, following Costello’s move to sell the goalkeeper with a dummy.

Dublin were well and truly in the ascendency, and were able to use their remarkable bench to control the rest of the game. Substitutes Jack McCaffrey, Ciaran Kilkenny, Paddy Small and Dean Rock came onto the pitch throughout the second half to not only control Dublin’s lead, but to drastically extend it.

Dessie Farrell used his bench to perfection and was able to bring on some all-time footballing greats to sink Mayo even further.

With a double-figured deficit, Mayo needed goals rather than points; try as they might the Green and Red, there was no way through Dublin’s ferociously physical defence, who grouped together to hunt down the ball as if they were a pack of wolves.

Con O’Callaghan had a late flurry of points, all taken with extreme poise and precision under difficult circumstances, once again justifying his selection.

Despite an encouraging first-half performance from the Green and Red, they were blown away by a very impressive Dublin side in the second 35, who are now serious contenders for the All Ireland Championship.