14-man Castleknock beat Raheny To Seal Quarter Final berth

CASTLEKNOCK 0-14 

RAHENY 0-11 

14-man Castleknock secured their place in the last eight of the Go-Ahead Ireland Dublin Senior 1 Football Championship when getting the better of Raheny by three points in their entertaining clash at Parnell Park on Sunday afternoon.

The early dismissal of Castleknock’s Tom Quinn allowed Raheny to seize the early initiative but four Ger McDermottroe scores saw Castleknock edge 0-9 to 0-8 ahead by half-time.

Crucially, the winners never fell behind upon the restart and substitute Ben Galvin made a significant impact when introduced, kicking two valuable scores to secure his team’s progress.

Despite taking the lead through a ‘mark’ from Luke Swan within twenty seconds, it proved a difficult opening quarter for Castleknock as they found themselves in arrears following points in quick succession from Brian Fenton and Darren Lunney.

Matters deteriorated in the 6^th minute as Quinn was dismissed for a high challenge on the marauding Sean MacMahon, with Cian Ivers converting the resultant free.

Brian Talty and Lunney added to the Raheny lead as Castleknock struggled to adapt to their numerical disadvantage although Ger McDermottroe offered them crumbs of optimism when landing a fine score from distance at the end of the first quarter.

While Glenn McNamara popped up with Raheny’s sixth score in the 17^th minute, it proved their final score for fourteen minutes as their opponents began to take control of events.

This period of Castleknock dominance was kick-started by a Ciarán Kilkenny point and they gained further momentum thanks to smart efforts by Niall Kilroy and Swan.

Kilkenny kicked a cracking point in the 24^th minute to restore parity and a trio of McDermottroe frees within four minutes suddenly saw Castleknock race into a three-point advantage.

Crucially, Raheny hit back through an inspirational score by Brian Howard and a Lunney free in added time reduced their deficit to a solitary point by the interval.

The sides exchanged points through Raheny’s Sean Grenham and Castleknock’s Ciaran Murphy in the early stages of the second-half with a ‘45’ converted by Rob Hennelly restoring the deadlock by the 40^th minute.

Both teams spurned presentable chances as the contest evolved before substitute Ben Galvin made an instant impact in the 50^th minute as he cut inside before splitting the uprights from twenty metres.

Galvin turned provider two minutes later as he placed McDermottroe for another score but their lead was halved in an instant as Grenham pointed following a break from substitute Rutherson Real.

Raheny never managed to draw level however with Galvin and Swan adding to their lead in injury time and a wonderful late block by Morven Connolly to repel Howard’s goal effort was a suitably thrilling conclusion to an enjoyable affair.

Scorers – Castleknock: G McDermottroe 0-5 (3f); L Swan 0-3 (1 mark); C Kilkenny, B Galvin 0-2 each; N Kilroy, C Murphy 0-1 apiece. Raheny: D Lunney 0-3 (1f); S Grenham 0-2; R Hennelly (‘45’), G McNamara, B Howard, B Fenton, B Talty (mark), C Ivers (f) 0-1 apiece. 

Castleknock: M Connolly; T Quinn, R O’Shea, T Shields; A Hughes, R Shaw, T Lowe; K Stephenson, S Forker; G McDermottroe, C Chawke, C Kilkenny; N Kilroy, L Swan, E Walsh. Subs: C Murphy for Lowe (half-time), E Sawyer for Forker (37), D Leonard for Hughes (43), B Galvin for Kilroy (48), T McDaniel for Chawke (56). 

Raheny: R Hennelly; B McHugh, S MacMahon, G McNamara; A McAweeney, B Howard, C Hehir; B Fenton, B Talty; A McLoughlin, P Reid, C Baldwin; C Ivers, D Lunney, S Grenham. Subs: D Shatwell for MacMahon (26), J O’Kane for McLoughlin (37), R Real for Baldwin (43), C Foran for Reid (53), K McGuirk for Ivers (63). 

Referee: Ian Howley (O’Dwyer’s).