“For a moment I thought Seán Quigley was going to wave the green flag himself,” was Pete McGrath’s take on Fermanagh’s first goal.
"At the end the goal was given. When people read the papers tomorrow they will see Fermanagh scored, what was it, 2-15? Against Dublin? Not bad."
Stephen Cluxton’s own goal would be a contentious, controversial, scandalous moment if this All-Ireland quarter-final ever bordered true competitiveness.
"I didn't realise you could tackle the goalkeeper in Gaelic football," said Jim Gavin. "That's the interpretation that was made today and you can't change it. You just got to roll with it, get on with it."
So, to be clear, Gavin’s interpretation is that Cluxton was illegally bumped over the goal line by Quigley? “That’s what I thought it was.”
That’s not what Kerry referee Pádraig O’Sullivan decided after a quick natter with his umpires.
Consistency
“I’m sure the referee did his best today but all you’re asking for is consistency. And if you get that, most people will be happy.”
Ultimately, it didn't matter – it even benefited Dublin in giving them a competitive last quarter for the first time this summer – but a pattern is emerging. Referees appear to be treating them differently to the opposition they steamroll. Dublin conceded 22 frees to just four by Fermanagh.
Feel hard done by, Jim? “We did, yeah, but once the game is on I can’t control the referee. It’s his interpretation of what’s happening on the field of play.
“I’m sure he did his best,” he repeated.
“Whatever frustrations were in the crowd, I thought our players held their composure and tried to be the best they could be. It didn’t happen in the last quarter but over the expanse of the game we’re happy with the win.”
McGrath has seen the light before having guided Down to All-Irelands in 1991 and 1994, and he takes enough encouragement from this performance to openly state Fermanagh can finally capture an Ulster title in 2016.
“In that first half we hit nine wides. We were down by 10 points.
“Our stats showed we had more attacks than Dublin; 1-5 of their first-half total came from us being turned over in attack.
“The choice was stark: we could lie down and take a 25-point hammering or we could go out and show people what we are capable of. I think we showed character, courage, enthusiasm, high skill levels. I am exceptionally proud of the players.
“We knew we had to put the jersey in a better place. I think this season we have done that. If you look at the reaction of the large Fermanagh support after the match, it’s very rare you see a team that has lost a game getting such rapturous, genuine applause. That will certainly live with me for a long time.”
They were intent on avoiding a moral victory, but in the immediate aftermath, it didn’t feel like that, not to McGrath anyway. “It’s like every situation in life; you look at it, you analyse it and say: ‘Right, what can we take out of this. What are the lessons to be learned?’
“And there are lessons, particularly from the first half. But what are the positives? What has this game shown us about ourselves today? What did it show our players to be? What light did it shine on their character on their courage, on their spirit?
Scoreboard
“I think that’s more important than a scoreboard. What does it tell you about the people filling the jerseys? I think it says so much that is positive about them, about all those values and characteristics and qualities that are needed. I think we came through that very strongly today.”
It is put to McGrath that a mere four fouls is a more naive than disciplined approach. The proof being, Dublin shot 20 points from play.
“You could say that we could have been a bit more negative or cynical, or it could have been in some cases Dublin were moving with such power and pace that we couldn’t actually get fouling them.
“We have never faced anything like that. Never. Their workrate is unbelievable but we will learn from it.”
