2016 WAS A strange year for Mayo goalkeeper David Clarke.

He finished the campaign as goalkeeper on the GAA/GPA Opel All-Star football team - despite his controversial axing from from the Mayo team for the All-Ireland senior final replay defeat to Dublin.

Clarke’s link to the Mayo senior panel dates back to 2001, when he was a 17-year-old.

And the old adage that some things get better with age certainly seems to apply to the Ballina Stephenites shot-stopper.

Clarke has a history of making brilliant saves for Mayo, including this one from the 2012 All-Ireland semi-final against Dublin:

And he’s started the 2017 in some style, making a vital penalty save to deny Kerry’s David Moran in round 2 of the Allianz Football League.

Clarke may have been at fault for Kerry’s goal in that game but he was back to his brilliant best against Roscommon in Castlebar on Saturday evening, pulling off three high-class saves to keep the Rossies at bay:

Mayo have collected two victories from three outings thus far in Division 1 – and Clarke’s had a big part to play in that.

And his comeback from last October’s very public setback is testament to the goalkeeper’s resilience and strength of character.

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