Women's football: Mayo 1-4 Dublin 0-5 Not exactly an ideal advertisement for the women's game, but this dour final was decided by the sheer stubbornness of a truly great Mayo side.
For the majority of the contest they lived in the shadow of their metropolitan opponents, only to pounce in injury-time with a well-taken goal from Diane O'Hora.
In fact, Mayo had failed to score in the second half until O'Hora gathered a loose ball on the edge of the Dublin square to fire home.
The trend of the game was very similar to the win-at-all-cost strategy that have been adopted by the last two male All-Ireland champions, Tyrone and Armagh. When the pressure really began to mount on the Mayo defence they resorted to some uncompromising hits that resulted in yellow cards for Chris Heffernan and Claire Egan.
No matter, it was a hugely physical contest and Mayo didn't seem too put off by winning a disappointing encounter - largely down to the ultra-defensive attitude of both sides - especially considering they had trailed entering the final furlong.
When Gemma Fay put Dublin into the lead in the final minute it appeared as if she had secured them their first All-Ireland crown.
It was not to be. Mayo have been in tight spots before. They also know what it's like to lose a final, as Laois caught them cold in 2001.
So despite Dublin's dominance after the interval the defending champions never panicked. They merely defended as if there were no tomorrow.
For long periods, though, it just didn't seem like it was Mayo's day. Their greatest asset, Cora Staunton, was clearly unfit. She had her right knee heavily strapped, due to a cruciate problem, and it seemed to weigh her down on the heavy surface. To make matters worse, Maria Kavanagh was by her side marking her tight all afternoon. The country's best woman footballer had a peripheral role in the match.
However, with nothing left on the clock, it was Staunton's high ball into the danger zone that resulted in O'Hora precious goal.
Dublin had quickly cast aside any fears there might have been of them freezing in the intimidating Croke Park arena as midfielder Angie McNally found herself testing the Mayo rearguard in the opening seconds with a forceful run.
Mayo captain Helena Lohan, who had a solid game at full back, managed to clear this initial charge, but within four minutes points from Karen Hopkins and Mary Nevin had Dublin in front.
It was Nevin's 28th point of the campaign, but she subsequently drifted into the shadows, before being replaced midway through the second half, as the rain made the playing surface more akin to an ice rink than a football pitch.
Staunton was finding it increasingly difficult to hit the target and four kickable frees were sent wide by the 21-year-old Carnacon forward.
It mattered little as the western women have plenty of players able to take up the scoring responsibilities when Staunton is subdued. Michele McGing struck a nice point to reduce the arrears before the left boot of O'Hora took over with two points in succession.
Then, after an 11-minute lull in the scoring stakes, due to the heavens opening, minor player Emma Mullin shrugged off corner back Nuala O'Shea to leave Mayo with a two-point lead at the break.
Dublin were still holding their own, with veterans McNally and Martina Farrell clearly revved up, but they just weren't able to transfer their superiority onto the scoreboard. McNally looked the most likely to reduce the deficit but she struck the first of three disappointing wides after 40 minutes. Although honest all day, she struggled to rediscover the levels she reached in the semi-final against Kerry.
The Dublin replacements still looked like they would tip the scales. Elaine Kelly was thrown into the fray after just 29 minutes and her strong running created plenty of problems, but it was the introduction of 17-year-old Sinéad Ahern that really caught the eye.
After O'Hora squandered a goal chance, when she fired straight at goalkeeper Cliodhna O'Connor, Dublin set up camp in Mayo territory with a McNally free leaving a single score in it before Ahern split the posts with a great strike from close quarters.
Farrell and Louise Keegan broke down countless Mayo advances while O'Connor continued with her heroics in goal. Such was Farrell's ferocity in the tackle she was lucky to stay on the pitch after a high tackle on Martha Carter.
Yet, Mayo managed to put themselves in the position to grab victory at the death. When player-of-the-match O'Hora was given the opportunity she delivered the crushing blow to allow Mayo to claim their fourth title in five years.
DUBLIN: C O'Connor; S Farrelly, L Keegan, M Kavanagh; N Hurley, M Farrell, O Colreavy; A McNally (0-1, free), N McEvoy; E Murphy, G Fay (0-1), B Finlay; M Nevin (0-1), L Kelly, K Hopkins (0-1). Subs: E Kelly for E Murphy (29 mins); S Ahern (0-1) for M Nevin; A McCormack for K Hopkins (both 47 mins)
MAYO: D Horan; N O'Shea, H Lohan, S McGing; M T Garvey, Y Byrne, C O'Hara; C Egan, J Moran; E Mullins (0-1), C Heffernan, M McGing (0-1); D O'Hora (1-2), M Heffernan, C Staunton. Subs: M Carter for J Moran (46 mins); A Gallagher for E Mullins (53 mins); E Reilly for M Heffernan (60 mins).
Referee: E O'Hare (Down).
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