Pearse Park yesterday was no place for fancy footwork, frills or flair. This was a day - miserable weather, soft ground, high grass - to roll up the sleeves, work hard for a living and prove that good honest endeavour counts as much as anything.
Which is why, on a day when it would have been just as easy to throw in the towel and lament that the gods were against you, Na Fianna showed their mettle and progressed into next month's All-Ireland club football final. Of course, it was a team win, most good wins are; but, in the midst of that collective responsibility, one man - Dessie Farrell - played a huge part in constructing the Glasnevin club's victory.
Not that victory, even with the eventual comfort of a four points margin, appeared likely as the Na Fianna men trooped in at halftime. "We were dumbfounded," admitted Farrell, "and a few severe words were spoken." At that stage, having played with the assistance of a very strong wind, the sides were level and all the cards appeared stacked in Crossmolina's favour.
But there is no logic to this game, no divine right for any team to assume the win is there for the taking. And, so, in a second-half performance of guts and spirit as much as skill, Na Fianna put their heads down, worked like trojans and reaped the rewards. Remarkably, Crossmolina were limited to a meagre point in that spell (and forced into kicking seven wides by a determined Na Fianna rearguard action).
Crossmolina got off to an excellent start. Just 55 seconds into the match, Kieran McDonald's free was held up in the wind, rebounded off an upright and dropped kindly to Michael Moyles who first timed to the net.
Although Na Fianna hit back with a seventh minute goal, when Arron Sherar's long ball found Farrell who flicked it on to Des Mackin and the Armaghman side-stepped the advancing Barry Heffernan to fire into the net, the Dublin champions couldn't break free. Mick Galvin kicked three frees but then McDonald replied with one of his own - a remarkable effort into the teeth of the wind from near the sideline - before Crossmolina regained the lead.
McDonald's free-taking was again a factor. On this occasion, though, the ball appeared to be going wide when it was fisted back from the endline and Paul McGuinness fired through a wall of players to the back of the net for as soft a goal as you're likely to see.
With the scores tied 1-5 to 2-2 at the break, the pendulum looked to have swung very firmly in Crossmolina's direction. They had played the best football, were first to most breaking balls and were extremely clever in playing possession football into the wind.
With the wind on their backs, however, everything went askew and it was Na Fianna who played like men inspired.
Farrell set the trend with an early solo point but Galvin and Jason Sherlock were also using their experience to good effect in attack and Kieran McGeeney, after an unsettled start, gradually got the better of his duel with James Nallen.
Na Fianna had kicked three points before Johnny Leonard's free gave Crossmolina their token point of the second-half and, then, the Mayo side's cause was damaged further when Gerard O'Malley was sent off in the 52nd minute for his second indiscretion inside two minutes. On the first occasion, the linesman drew referee Paddy Russell's attention to an incident but the second act - on Karl Donnelly - was perpetrated under Russell's nose and the referee had no option.
Crossmolina had a couple of scoring opportunities but the calmness which had been a part of their play in the first-half deserted them and the pressure of playing catch-up resulted in some poor wides.
Na Fianna's Galvin got on the end of the best move of the game in the 59th minutes - with no less than eight players involved in the end-to-end move - before Farrell, fittingly, booked their place in the final with a free in injury time.
"We had our backs to the wall at half-time," acknowledged Farrell afterwards, "but we really showed our mettle. I think our experience was an important factor."
Na Fianna: S Gray; P McCarthy, B Quinn, T Lynch; S Connell, M Foley (0-1), S McGlinchey; S Forde, K McGeeney; K Donnelly, D Farrell (0- 3, two frees), M Galvin (0-6, four frees); D Mackin (1-0), J Sherlock, A Shearer. Subs - D Keegan for Forde (57 mins), I Foley for Shearer (59 mins).
Crossmolina: B Heffernan; S Rochford, L Moffatt, F Costello; P McAndrew, D Mulligan, G O'Malley; G Walsh, J Nallen; E Lavelle, C Mc- Donald (0-2, one free), M Moyles (1-0); J Leonard (0-1, free), J Keane, P McGuinness (1-0). Subs - T Loftus for Walsh (45 mins), P Gardner for Keane (48 mins), N Convey for McGuinness (54 mins).
Referee - P Russell (Tipperary).
