Crossmaglen can achieve greatness

When a team arrives in the final in hot pursuit of a third title in four years, the tendency would be to favour them strongly against a team with no experience at this level. Yet Crossmaglen Rangers' achievements tell a more complex tale than that. The champions are remarkable because of their contradictions and that is what gives Dublin challengers Na Fianna encouragement going into this afternoon's AIB All-Ireland final.

Crossmaglen's record co-exists with a habit of living dangerously. A very young side (an average age in the low 20s), they are nonetheless apparently impervious to panic. A team whose preponderance of talent is in attack their trademark is nevertheless the low-scoring victory and despite their domination of club football (one competitive defeat in four seasons), their displays in finals have never been their most impressive.

Crossmaglen's biggest failing is inconsistency over the hour. When on top they don't always work the scoreboard as vigorously as they might and they fade for periods. Invariably they work hard in these less prominent phases and prevent too much damage, but there has been a sense that if the opposition could stick enough on them, it would be a lot harder for Cross to launch those late comebacks.

The question is whether UCC's three-goal blast in the second half of the semi-final was an indicator of Crossmaglen's vulnerability or the fact that they had taken their foot off the pedal having led by 12 points at halftime? UCC reckoned that the champions were uncomfortable being run at and had the forwards to do it after attempts to hit in early ball had come unstuck.

Na Fianna are another side biased towards their attack. Dessie Farrell was brilliant in the second half of the All-Ireland semi-final against Crossmolina and with Jason Sherlock and Aaron Shearer exhibiting menace and Mick Galvin and Karl Donnelly giving physical presence, the Dublin champions are well equipped to make any advantages in possession pay.

Where teams playing Crossmaglen often come unstuck is around the middle. The Armagh side crowd the centre, with Colm O'Neill coming out from the corner to supplement Anthony Cunningham and John McEntee. This is their standard midfield formation but in addition the rest of the forwards drop back and the half backs press up.

This creates mayhem in the sector and makes clean possession difficult for opponents to win and decent ball into the forwards correspondingly rare. Positional anarchy also upsets opponents. One UCC player confessed afterwards that he never quite knew where John McEntee was during the semi-final.

McEntee is Crossmaglen's most important player. A model of industry, he reads the play well and uses the ball perceptively. He frequently drifts from midfield into more advanced, scoring positions and within the past year has won both the Ulster and All-Ireland finals with late points.

His countyman, Kieran McGeeney, will be in direct opposition today and that promises to have a vital bearing on the outcome because McGeeney has had an accomplished campaign and will be equally precise in his use of the ball.

In defence Na Fianna look less well served. Stephen McGlinchey may man-mark Oisin McConville but few club players have completed that job successfully. Against Crossmolina, the fullback line was rocky and unless much improved will struggle with Jim McConville's waspish presence in the corner and the pace and ball-winning ability - despite his less-than-imposing physique - of Cathal Short when he moves inside.

Crossmaglen may have a similar weakness but it is always very well protected and rarely do opponents manage to hack a way through the midfield thickets to expose the full-back line.

It's very hard to go against the champions' track record of winning matches in all sorts of circumstances and they look likely to push further their claims as the best club side in the championship's history.