By Declan Rooney
Dublin 0-9 Mayo 0-7
Stephen Rochford's Mayo fell to their second defeat of their Division 1 season as four Dean Rock points gave Dublin victory at MacHale Park.
In a fiery closing minute both teams saw red as Colm Boyle and John Small were both red carded, while Johnny Cooper became the second Dublin player to see black after Philly McMahon's third minute black card.
It doesn’t get any easier for Mayo either, with an away tie against Donegal next up in three weeks' time, before they go to the home of the Ulster champions the following week to take on Malachy O'Rourke's Monaghan.
In the other camp all is rosy. Two wins from two means Dublin can all but secure their top flight status by beating Cork at the end of the month.
Only Evan Regan and Diarmuid O'Connor scored from play for Mayo, who held solid for long stretches of the game, but three points in as many second-half minutes gave Dublin enough of a lead to hold onto in the home stretch.
With 27 minutes left the game was level at 0-4 each after Diarmuid O'Connor landed his second point of the game, but two frees from Rock and a third from the outstanding James McCarthy gave the reigning league and championship winners the win.
Playing into the gale in the first-half Mayo got off to a great start when O'Connor fisted a point in the fourth minute.
A minute earlier Dublin had centre-back Philly McMahon black carded for a trip on Aidan O'Shea, but that didn’t halt their progress as they led by 0-4 to 0-3 at the break thanks to a couple of good points from play from Diarmuid Connolly and Denis Bastick.
The loss of the in-form Donal Vaughan to a hamstring injury just as O'Connor levelled matters in the 43rd minute was crucial and Dublin's best period of play in the game came hot on its heels.
That trio of points gave Dublin a 0-7 to 0-4 lead and with 15 minutes to go Evan Regan landed his second point to cut the lead again.
But Dublin worked their bench well and Cormac Costello found the target shortly after his arrival to make it a three-point lead once more.
Hennelly and Regan pointed from frees late on, but another sub Emmett O Conghaile kicked the insurance point for Jim Gavin's men before the action turned nasty late on.
Scorers for Dublin: D Rock 0-4 (3f, 1'45), D Connolly 0-1, D Bastick 0-1, J McCarthy 0-1, C Costello 0-1, E O Conghaile 0-1.
Scorers for Mayo: E Regan 0-3 (2f), D O'Connor 0-2, R Hennelly 0-2 (2'45).
Mayo: R Hennelly; G Cafferkey, C Crowe, B Harrison; C Boyle, M Hall, S Nally; T Parsons, A O’Shea; D O’Connor, D Vaughan, C O’Shea; E Regan, J Doherty, M Sweeney.
Subs: J Gibbons for Parsons (h-t), D Drake for Vaughan (43), K Higgins for Hall (45), C Carolan for Sweeney (58), D McHale for C O'Shea (66), S McHale for Nally (71).
Dublin: S Cluxton; M Fitzsimons, J Cooper, David Byrne; J McCarthy, P McMahon, J Small; D Bastick, E O Conghaile; T Brady, C Kilkenny, D Connolly; D Rock, P Mannion, P Andrews.
Subs: J McCaffrey for McMahon (3 BC), S Carthy for Bastick (h-t), C Reddin for Brady (47), C Costello for Mannion (45), P Ryan for Andrews (66), D Daly for Cooper (71 BC).
Referee: P Hughes (Armagh).
