‘It was impossible out there... we just had to grind out the result’
But do you think the Salthill-Knocknacarra boys give a damn about that? Not likely.
"It was a poor game of football," admitted captain Maurice Sheridan.
"I had the ball in my hands no more than two or three times in that second-half. It was impossible out there with that wind and it was very hard for both free-takers. The breeze was no advantage because it was as hard to shoot into the breeze as it was with it at your back.
"We just had to grind out the result. I thought the defence was the big thing for us there today. They have been brilliant for us all year and they were outstanding again today. It was all about winning and that's what we've done."
With less than five minutes left and a buffer of four points between the side, Salthill's job looked all but completed. Gall's eventually found their shooting boots Conor McGourty, with his two frees, in particular to at least give the freezing crowd a finish to set the pulse racing, but the Galway side had done enough to hold on.
As a Mayo man, Sheridan has experienced the pain of defeat in HQ far more than he would care to admit, but yesterday he was smiling.
"I've had bad days here alright, but this really makes up for it," he said.
"All the badness of years ago is gone. To do it with the club is nice, it's great for everyone, guys who are involved at under age, and up along."
Sheridan singled out Michael Donnellan and Finian Hanley for praise, as did young corner-forward Sean Armstrong who scored the last of his side's points with 17 minutes remaining.
"It was hard going at the end when they started kicking over a few frees. It was a nerve-wracking time," he said.
"It was just blanket defence at times. Fair play to Gall's, they kept at it right to the end, but Donnellan was an inspiration, especially when he intercepted one ball and took a fairly hefty shoulder near the end. I felt then that we nearly had it won."
Donnellan's influence was also felt in the dressing room at half-time where he ordered his team-mates to calm themselves and refocus for five minutes. It certainly worked for Armstrong.
An All-Ireland U21 winner with Galway last year and a widely touted star of the future at senior inter-county level, could he already be getting blasé about winning an All-Ireland at the ripe age of 19?
"Ah no. You can never get used to winning. I don't think it's sunk in yet. It's something I've been dreaming about for 15 years. Any All-Ireland is great to win but doing it with your club is something special."
His colleague in the far corner, Seamie Crowe, was in agreement. The 25-year-old spent six years playing soccer with Wolverhampton Wanderers and Galway United but never had he experienced anything like yesterday.
"(The soccer) just doesn't compare to this. I've got a lot of friends and a lot of good memories from my time in soccer but this is just unbelievable. It's like nothing I've ever experienced in my life."
The lads from St Gall's would probably say the same only for different reasons, of course.
"What disappointed me most is that, had we come down here, played our best and lost by a point, I wouldn't have liked it but I would have taken it," explained manager John Rafferty.
"To come down here, under-perform and lose by a point is harder to take."
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