Offaly goalkeeper Alan Mulhall believes Offaly have what it takes to keep their summer fires burning by slaying Westmeath in the Leinster SFC quarter-final after their first championship victory in nine years against Longford on Sunday.
It was a success to savour for the Faithful County after such a barren spell studded with disappointment and frustration, and captain Mulhall admitted all the pain was worth it at the final whistle.
"Even the small little victories, they're things that you really latch onto when you're in one of these smaller counties that you're trying to bring forward," speaking to the RTE GAA podcast Jones' Road, hosted by Damian Lawlor, with former Meath footballer Cian Ward and ex-Tipperary hurler Benny Dunne also running the rule over the weekend's GAA action.
"For us to win that one match in Leinster is a huge boost. We're looking at Westmeath next and I know it's easy to say we're taking one match at a time, but we believe that if we play the way we're able to that we're good enough to beat Westmeath.
"It's going to be a very tight match but we're looking to get over Westmeath.
"I love playing for Offaly, I love pulling on the jersey and representing the county. There are tough days, days you wonder, 'Jeez, why am I going again?' But the likes of yesterday far outweighs that."
"We knew we messed up last year. We knew we let it slip."
Mulhall had gone nine years playing for his county without experiencing a provincial win. The 33-year-old started life as a full-forward before moving between the sticks, a position he's gone on to master.
The Walsh Island man outlined the hunger and desire in the camp after last year's gut-wrenching loss to Longford in Leinster, as they came back battle-hardened and improved for the pain of that setback.
"I made my debut against Westmeath in 2008 at full-forward in the championship. The following year Richie Connor came in as manager.
"I'd know Richie very well and he had a bit of a chat with me that pace was going to be a bit of an issue! But he'd seen me messing around at training and said he wanted to try me in the goals, so he tried me and I've been there since.
"We knew we messed up last year. We knew we let it slip. We knew we were after coming back fitter and stronger. Mentally we were a lot tougher.
"The first meeting [manager Pat Flanagan] came into at the start of the year, he said 'lads, I'm not going to bring gimmicks, I'm not going to be looking ta what other teams are doing, all I'm going to do is bring experience'. And that's what he's done. He's brought experience and an honesty. He knows what it takes and he's bringing us to that level."
Mulhall himself suffered every goalkeeper's worst nightmare in the first half of Sunday's win, completely misjudging Barry McKeown's punt towards the goal and seeing the ball bounce over his head and into the net.
However his reponse defined the current mindset in the Faithful camp as he - and his team-mates - refused to dwell on it and instead ploughed forward towards a landmark result.
"A lot of people were saying that to me, 'it was very uncharacteristic, what were you thinking?'," he added. "I made a snap decision and I didn't get there quick enough. I got caught.
"It did rattle me but I just had to get my head right as captain. I just wanted to go back in at half-time and start talking to the boys as if nothing was after happening.
"I had to put my head down and show it didn't affect me and that it wasn't going to affect the team.
"I'd be my own biggest critic, I'd be hard on myself. The likes of those things they don't generally happen. I'd beat myself up for a few minutes but I had to have it in my head to focus and get my kick-outs right.
"Longford dropped two or three balls around the square so I got my hands on the ball soon enough after it. It was good to get the confidence back and then I was more settled. Once half-time came it was like a new match. The boys were a huge support, every one of them."
