After the gunsmoke had cleared at Croke Park yesterday evening, only half the National Football League final puzzle had been solved. Dublin and Armagh couldn't be separated at the first time of asking and will meet again at headquarters next Sunday. Cork, who banished Meath in a semi-final starved of scores, await the victors.

Some 26,859 souls committed themselves to the dismal chill for the penultimate stages of a competition which has had its pedigree called into question from a number of platforms of late. In fairness, yesterday's fare gave rise to the occasional noteworthy thunderclap and players from all four counties spoke up the league as one might a fondly-regarded rogue charged with wrongful impersonation. But there was a softness to their words.

The March warmth which Crossmaglen carried across the border with the All-Ireland club championship lured the Armagh faithful down south in significant numbers and they conspired to blow some bit of heat across the windy old coliseum.

Happy to ignite at the faintest bit of controversy, the crowd duly let rumble when Dublin players decided to occupy the Hill end, as is traditional, despite the fact that the Armagh players had already made their way there in the pre-game warm-up.

Both sides mutinously fired training shots between the same sets of posts, much to the delight of the crowd on Hill 16, who hadn't witnessed such carry on since Tyrone mixed it with Dublin back in 1986. There was no real nastiness, though.

After the puritanical nature of the game between Cork and Meath, this semi-final seemed like an exotic exhibition of free scoring, with both teams retiring at the break on the same score as had marked the end of the first match, 0-6 to 0-3.

It was, however, a day for the marksmen, with Dublin's Jim Gavin and Oisin McConville, back in orange for the first time since Crossmaglen scalped Ballina in the club final, both nailing six points, all from dead-ball situations save one from play by the Ulster man.

With the turf slippery as lard, the standard was patchy at best, though interest was held by the constantly swaying lead. Cathal O'Rourke was forced to cry off for Armagh, Jason Sherlock came on to scamper about for Dublin. Only once in the second half did Armagh prise some daylight between the sides, with Peter Loughran belting them into a 0-8 to 0-6 lead. Dublin rolled back into contention however and took the lead with a Jim Gavin free in the final minute. Armagh gained a fitting reprieve though a McConville free.

All chatted amicably at the whistle.

"This is our championship preparation. We'd all prefer this to up and downhill sort of stuff. The closeness of the game brought out an intensity there, it was a good, tough game. We'll go back now and have a look at things and see what we can learn from it," offered Dublin manager Tom Carr.

All Meath learned is that they will never be as errant again, not in this lifetime. After watching them register only one point in the first half, we neutrals in the crowd amused ourselves by guessing how long such a gifted forward unit could continue to misfire. Till nightfall, it transpired. Even the introduction of Messrs Dowd and Giles couldn't dam the profligacy. Cork, stubborn at the back, did enough at the creative end.

So any one of three teams could enjoy the fruits of winter's labour. Meath are gone. For a few weeks, anyway.