In the gathering gloom of Pearse Park, Longford, this undistinguished contest took on a life of its own. Despite the evidence of woeful shooting and the palsied inability to control the ball, both teams appeared determined to forget the gloomy context and battle in earnest for the O'Byrne Cup semi-final place on offer.
Amid a welter of excitement Longford hung on by a point to depose the holders after extra time. As usual with these odd January meetings, there was more to it all than simply the result, but the local crowd went home happy after managing both a win and 20 points - even though it took them 100 minutes.
Neither would Dublin manager Tom Carr be entirely happy about the outcome. Admittedly his was virtually a second-string line-up, but of the troops of fringe performers in the 24 players used few conjured up images of wowing the crowds this summer.
They battled well, particularly in the second half, but lacked the composure or accuracy to take advantage of Longford's jittery incapacity to finish off the match.
The crowd of around 1,500 might have been spared the imposition of extra-time had the home side's regular full forward, Niall Sheridan, not dropped out because of the passing of his father, Tommy, for whom a minute's silence was observed before the throw-in.
In Niall's absence, the team's attack didn't perform too badly, but just one more point from the chances created would have made the difference. Up until well into the second half Longford had kicked only one wide, but as the clock ticked down, they added a further six.
Dublin weren't models of accuracy either, but they spread their 12 wides more evenly over the afternoon.
From the start, Longford looked more impressive and took control at centre-field, where Enda Barden made a big impact and kicked a couple of frees. Padraig Davis was, however, the star performer. Having moved to full forward, he contributed 0-5, all from play, in the first half.
Paul Barden was also prominent, using his pace to rattle the Dublin defence badly. He kicked 0-2 from play and was instrumental in three others.
After a reasonably competitive opening 10 minutes, Dublin fell away and did well to be as close as they were for so much of the half. Brendan O'Brien was the attack's most consistent performer and Jason Sherlock also played well, looking better on the ball than he has for a while and moving cleverly.
Unfortunately for Dublin, their half forwards were playing poorly. Paul Croft and his marker, Martin Mulleady, were niggling away at each other virtually from the throw-in, which led to Croft being withdrawn after 25 minutes and the unusual sight of Darren Homan being sent on to defuse things.
Michael Casey was almost totally subdued by David Blessington on the 40, and Enda Crennan, after a promising start, was substituted at half-time.
By then, Longford led 0-10 to 0-6 after a strong finish to the half, including a cheeky trip up the field by goalkeeper Gavin Tonra ostensibly to whack a 45 but which culminated in his chipping the ball to Davis who caught Dublin unaware and kicked an unopposed point.
For most of the second half, Longford held the whip-hand and surrendered the lead only once to a well-crafted goal by Sherlock. Substitute Stephen Cowap broke the ball to O'Brien and he drew Tonra to leave Sherlock an open goal and he palmed to the net.
Within minutes Longford were back in front, but O'Brien equalised. The home side blew some excellent chances before the end of normal time; Davis and Trevor Smullen were the most eye-catching culprits.
Dublin had a good chance at the beginning of extra time, but O'Brien and the now reintroduced Croft managed to fluff a good goal chance. Longford chipped away and led by three points at the end of the first period.
Although O'Brien hauled Dublin back into contention and Longford began to get nervous again, the various tableaux of stumbling and foostering never convinced that the visitors would prevent a deserved victory.
Longford will play Offaly in the semi-finals, while Laois face Westmeath.
Longford: G Tonra; P McWade, D Ledwith, P Jones; M Mulleady, D Blessington (0-1), C Conefrey; A Keogh, E Barden (0-3, all frees); P Brady (0-1), P Barden (0-5, one free), P Ross (0-1); J Martin, P Davis (0-8, one free), S Hagan. Subs: B Burke for Jones (22 mins); T Smullen for Hagan (43 mins); P Shanley for Martin (66 mins); L Keenan (0-1) for Keogh (70 mins); E Ledwith for Brady (98 mins).
Dublin: C Boyle; M Cahill, B O'Toole, D Moore; T Lynch, I Clarke, C Goggins; J Magee (0-1), E Horgan; C Croft, M Casey, E Crennan; B O'Brien (0-9, five frees), E Sheehy (0-2), J Sherlock (1-1). Subs: D Homan (0-2) for Croft (26 mins); D Conlon for Moore (34 mins); S Cowap for Crennan (half-time); B Stynes for Horgan (45 mins); K Galvin for Goggins (63 mins); P Croft for Casey (72 mins); C Moran (0- 1) for Homan (76 mins); S Doherty for Lynch (81 mins); E Crennan for Croft (91).
Referee: S McCormack (Meath).
