All-Ireland club football final/Salthill-Knocknacarra 0-7 St Gall's 0-6: When it ended and the Salthill-Knocknacarra players raised their arms in triumph and the St Gall's players dropped to the knees in disgust, the only thought they could possibly have shared was about finally getting warm.

With only a single point separating victory from defeat, or heaven from hell, all other thoughts were at opposite extremes.

The 33,454 that showed up in Croke Park on one of the coldest days of the year probably shared one thought too, involving the first available whiskey bar. Even with the celebratory mood of first-time All-Ireland champions, it wasn't much warmer in the Salthill dressingroom.

Maybe the younger ones didn't feel the cold as much. Such as Seán Armstrong. At just 20 he'd again added to his reputation as the most exciting player to emerge from Galway since, well, the player that inspired him on the day.

"Well it was very nerve- wracking there towards the end," said Armstrong, who looked anything but nervous on the field of play. "But once again Michael Donnellan was an inspiration for us there, intercepting that pass there at the end. Once he got that ball we knew we were safe.

"Michael also had a few inspirational words at half-time as well, just to sit down and refocus. And that helped. Eoin O'Donnellan (the team manager) also had a piece of turf from home from where we go training every weekend, and that lifted the team as well."

Part of the reason why Armstrong looked so calm is that winning All-Irelands is something he's getting used to. This victory adds to the under-21 title won with Galway, but he was clear on which meant more: "This is something I've dreamed about for 15 years, since I've been playing as an under-10, so that makes it very special."

Equally composed in the celebrations was team captain Maurice Sheridan ,who at 32 years of age was finally enjoying a moment of glory in Croke Park: "Yeah, I've had bad days here alright with Mayo, but this more than makes up for it. To captain this team is such an honour, but I know that's a cliche because this win comes down to everyone involved with this club. Underage and everything.

"I suppose it was a poor day for playing good football. And it was a close call in the end, but the important thing was we held our head until the end. The wind made it very hard for the kickers on both teams. But we just had to grind out the result. We knew our defence had been extremely good all year and it was the same today."

Among those who struggled with the wind was Seamie Crowe, although that took nothing from the satisfaction of victory: "No, nothing will compare ever with this. I know we made it hard on ourselves, but I think the conditions probably did help us, because we played on wild days all year, such as the county final and then the Connacht final. There were all bad days and that stood to us."

For St Gall's manager the conditions were also pinpointed as a deciding factor. But the real killer was the knowledge that they'll go back to Antrim knowing they didn't perform to their true potential.

"Maybe the Galway team were more used to playing in the bad weather that we were," said John Rafferty. "But I know the conditions we're exactly the same for both teams.

"It's just they adapted that bit better. So they've won the game on merit, and we've only ourselves to blame.

"The only thing that disappoints me is that the fact that we didn't play our best. If we'd lost by a point playing to our best I would have taken it. But we didn't. We under- performed, and were still beaten by a point.

"And a large part of that is my fault. I'm the one who has to get them to perform on the day. But I know the players themselves will be sick. I remember we trained ourselves on St Patrick's Day last year, and if you had asked us then would we take being here today, and lose by a point, well I'd say we would have. But being here now I don't know. It doesn't do much good."