Crossmolina (Mayo) v Nemo Rangers (Cork), 3.40, TG4.

This afternoon's football final brings together heirs to divergent traditions at this level. Nemo, top of the competitions' roll of honour with their stack of six All-Ireland titles, take on the fourth Mayo club to have reached this stage in the past seven years and the only one, until this afternoon at least, not to lose a final.

Yet the three Mayo clubs beaten in the last decade - Castlebar, Knockmore and Ballina - were all beaten by empirically better teams (fired on by disastrously conceded early goals), even if Ballina threatened an upset for most of the 1999 final. So psychological influences shouldn't be over-estimated.

There is less of a gap between today's protagonists. Nemo's team contains fewer new, inter-county stars - as opposed to the handful who may well attain that status - than previous generations from the club. It's a consistent team with a competent centrefield and a touch of class up front. The defence is smart but not impregnable. Captain Larry Kavanagh's fortunate - if just - escape from suspension keeps the team's best full-back line performer on the field. Niall Geary is a fine player but accommodates the team rather than his talents at full back.

After the semi-final win over Bellaghy, Crossmolina's manager, Tom Jordan, spoke of his satisfaction with the team's unitary strength as reflected in the vital goal coming from wing back Pat McAndrew. The Mayo team have an excellent pedigree for this. Motivated by a semifinal loss last year, they are strong through the middle, and with Kieran McDonald back in the starting line-up they have that unpredictability up front which will pressure Nemo.

Nonetheless, the Cork team look that bit more composed when it comes to coping with the phases of the match which aren't going well. Under the cosh in the semi-final, they survived impressively and should do so today in a close encounter.

CROSSMOLINA: B Heffernan; S Rochford, T Nallen, C Reilly; P Gardiner, D Mulligan, P McAndrew; J Nallen, M Moyles; J Keane, K McDonald, E Lavelle; P McGuinness, L Moffatt, J Leonard.

NEMO RANGERS (Probable): D Heaphy; L Kavanagh, N Geary, I Gibbons; K Connolly, Steven O'Brien, M Cronin; D Kavanagh, K Cahill; Sean O'Brien, L O'Sullivan, D Niblock; J Kavanagh, C Corkery, A Cronin.