Croke Park, 4.0 – Live, TG4

Has there ever been a better club championship? One semi-final went to extra-time, the other was decided by a point. Two provincial finals were decided by a point, another went to extra-time, another saw Castlebar dethrone the All-Ireland champions. Go back even to Ballyboden’s rarely-less-than-dramatic passage through the Dublin championship and it’s hard to recall a dud game.

Dare we hope for a final to match? If Castlebar learned one thing from their torrid experience two years ago, it’s that a free-flowing, open, devil-may care shootout is a dangerous door to walk through in Croke Park. That isn’t to say they won’t profit from trying to play a bit – Ballyboden don’t have Diarmuid Connolly, after all – just they can’t help but be a more circumspect.

The Dublin champions have had to claw and scratch for every inch of the journey to this point. Go back as far as last October and it was Dublin hurler Dotsy O’Callaghan who provided the impetus off the bench to get them across the line in the Dublin quarter-final. If they have never looked overly impressive, they have shown an admiral refusal to be beaten time and time again.

Castlebar have been irresistible all the way along, by contrast. They were head and shoulders above everyone in Mayo and have put away Corofin and Crossmaglen since then. In Patrick Durcan, they have a defender and leader who ought to be a fixture in green and red come the summer and Barry Moran’s steadying influence around the middle was vital in the Mayo champions.

You gotta lose one to win one, as they say. Castlebar have done their losing, time to see the flipside of the coin. Verdict: Castlebar Mitchels