Kilmacud Crokes Beat Lucan To Reach Go Ahead AFL Division One Decider

GO AHEAD ADULT FOOTBALL LEAGUE DIVISION ONE SOUTH 

KILMACUD CROKES 5-12 

LUCAN SARSFIELDS 0-12 

By Daire Walsh 

Kilmacud Crokes produced the goods at Silver Park on Saturday evening to claim a deserved victory against Lucan Sarsfields in Division One South of the Go Ahead Adult Football League. 

Supplementing a brace of goals from multiple All-Ireland winner Paul Mannion, Shane Horan, Conor Kinsella and Hugh Kenny also shook the net to ensure Robbie Brennan’s Stillorgan men came away with the two points on offer. As impressive as their attacking play was, Kilmacud’s triumph was also backboned by a strong defensive unit. 

Former county star Rory O'Carroll lined out at centre half-back and delivered an excellent display over the course of the hour. As well as forcing a succession of turnovers, the two-time All Star also broke forward to kick an opening half point.

As a result of this success, Crokes finish the Division One South campaign at the summit of the table - one point clear of Ballyboden St Enda’s. They will now face Na Fianna in an upcoming top-flight league decider after the Glasnevin outfit topped Division One North with seven successive wins.

Despite coming up short to Crokes, Lucan had done enough to secure fourth spot in the final standings - just behind St Jude’s on score difference. As ever, Brendan Gallagher was a reliable source of scores in this game as the former Leitrim footballer amassed a fine tally of five points.

Full-forward Harry Ladd and midfielder Darren Gavin also had their moments, but Kilmacud were always a step ahead of the 12th Lock men.

Having lost their 100% record in the division when losing out to Ballyboden at Pairc Ui Murchu on July 24, Crokes were eager to make amends on home soil. However, it was Lucan who drew first blood with Ladd expertly converting a mark inside the opening 60 seconds.

Yet the hosts were quick to respond with a point of their own from marauding wing-back Cian O’Connor. Kinsella and Horan also raised white flags at the end of subsequent moves and while Crokes were occasionally wasteful in front of the posts, another Horan effort stretched them further in front.

Gallagher finally interrupted this scoring sequence by slotting over a 35-metre free, but a Mannion free ensured Crokes were 0-5 to 0-2 in the ascendancy at the first water break. Although Ladd kicked his second point on the stroke of 20 minutes, there was danger on the horizon for Lucan.

So often the thorn of inter-county defenders in the past, Mannion exploded into life during the second-quarter. Gathering a direct ball on the edge of the square, the 28-year-old marksman displayed great composure to fire past Mark Gibbons for the maiden goal of the tie.

To their credit, Lucan’s initial reply to this set-back was strong. Gavin and Luke Curran - a sweet strike with the outside of his left boot - split the uprights to bring the gap back down to three. Crokes were slowly growing in confidence, however, and ended the first half with a flourish. 

After Mannion made no mistake off a tricky free, O’Carroll crept forward to get in on the scoring act. Mannion had a shot on the run tipped over by Gibbons on the half-hour mark and he then joined forces with O’Carroll to set-up a Shane Cunningham score. 

All this left Crokes seven points clear of Lucan at the interval and their performance levels continued to rise on the resumption. In the space of two minutes, Cunningham (two) and Mannion contributed three unanswered points to bolster their grip on the proceedings. 

Remarkably, Cunningham’s third of the day - following another O’Carroll incision - was to be Crokes’ final white flag score of the contest. That isn’t to say the 2009 All-Ireland eased off in any way as they had goals on their mind for the remainder of the action. 

Their second of the game arrived in the 38th-minute, when Mannion rolled to the net from close-range. This already left Lucan with considerable ground to cover, but it wasn’t for the lack of trying on their part. 

After his half-forward colleagues Colm Walsh and Sean Newcombe found the target, Gallagher kicked another free for the visitors. By this point (the 44th minute), Crokes had already introduced Theo Clancy, Dan O’Brien and Hugh Kenny off the bench. 

One of them was to make a telling contribution but before then, it was the turn of Kinsella to fire home with 12 minutes of normal time still to play. Gallagher's sole score from open play followed at the opposite end, preceding Crokes’ fourth goal of the day. 

Horan had been an industrious figure at wing-forward and he broke free to fire a low shot past the helpless Gibbons on 50 minutes. Lucan persisted with their challenge in the closing minutes as Gallagher (two) and Mark Lavin tagged on points. 

Still, they could do little to halt a rampant Crokes side and Kenny capitalised on excellent approach work from Horan to grab their fifth goal late on. 

Scorers - Kilmacud Crokes: Paul Mannion 2-4 (0-2f), Shane Horan 1-2, Conor Kinsella 1-1, Hugh Kenny 1-0, Shane Cunningham 0-3 (1f), Cian O’Connor, Rory O’Carroll 0-1 each. Lucan Sarsfields: Brendan Gallagher 0-5 (4f), Harry Ladd 0-2 (1 mark), Darren Gavin, Colm Walsh, Sean Newcombe, Luke Curran, Mark Lavin 0-1 each.

KILMACUD CROKES: Conor Ferris; Michael Mullin, Gavin English, James Murphy; Cian O’Connor, Rory O’Carroll, Anthony Quinn; Conor Casey, Ben Shovlin; Aidan Jones, Paul Mannion, Shane Horan; Conor Kinsella, Shane Cunningham, Callum Pearson. Subs: Theo Clancy for Pearson, Dan O’Brien for O’Connor, Hugh Kenny for English (all 38), English for Shovlin (44), O’Connor for Kinsella (49). 

LUCAN SARSFIELDS: Mark Gibbons; Robert Ennis, Derek Cahill, Andy Kirwin; Ciaran Smith, Alan Murphy, Luke Walsh; Jack Carey, Darren Gavin; Colm Walsh, Brendan Gallagher, Sean Newcombe; Luke Curran, Harry Ladd, Mark Lavin. Subs: Daire Newcombe for Cahill, John McCormack for L Walsh (both half-time), Conor Gallagher for Curran (42), Ben O’Toole for Kirwin (46), Shane Quinn for S Newcombe (53), Keith Moran for C Walsh (54). 

Referee: Seamus Farrelly (Ballinteer St John’s).