Kilmacud Crokes edge past Raheny in thriller penalty shoot out and claim their spot in the final

KILMACUD CROKES 2-15

RAHENY 2-15

(Kilmacud win 5-4 on penalties)

Kilmacud Crokes just about kept their title defence ambitions alive as they defeated Raheny on penalties in their thrilling Go Ahead Dublin Senior 1 Football Championship semi-final at Parnell Park on Saturday afternoon.

The holders looked to have most precarious hold on their title as they trailed by three points in injury time with Luke Ward’s superbly taken goal prompting extra-time on a scoreline of 2-11 to 1-14.

Extra-time could not separate the teams either with Crokes converting all of their five penalties as Shane Horan stepped up to coolly send his team to another final, at the expense of an heroic Raheny side.

Raheny made a mockery of their underdog status as they made a confident start through a point in the opening minute from Darren Lunney.

Dual player Sean Grenham doubled his team’s advantage two minutes later as he clipped over from twenty-five metres but that point proved their final score for fourteen minutes as the holders gradually played their way into proceedings.

Hugh Kenny got their first point when converting a ‘mark’ in the 4^th minute and the sides were deadlocked two minutes later as Paul Mannion made light work of a tricky-looking free.

A stalemate ensued before Mannion edged Crokes in front for the first time in the 12^th minute before Dara Mullin started the second quarter on a positive note as he fisted over from an acute angle.

The contest seemed to be slipping away from Raheny at this stage but they gradually regained a degree of control as Cian Ivers raced clear before intelligently punching the ball over Conor Ferris’ crossbar.

That score prompted a telling period of dominance by Raheny as Sean MacMahon embarked on one of his trademark runs through the middle before restoring parity by the 19^th minute.

A free by Rob Hennelly and an Ivers point brought further reward to Raheny’s control as Kilmacud struggled to find any cohesion in attack with Shane Walsh starting the contest on the Crokes bench.

The half finished with Lunney and Mark O’Leary trading points as Raheny entered the break with a deserved 0-7 to 0-5 lead.

An early Alan McLoughlin point added to Raheny’s sense of optimism but out of nowhere, Kilmacud created an overlap in the 34th minute that culminated in Kenny palming to the net from Dan O’Brien’s unselfish pass.

The introduction of Shane Walsh for the second-half added to Kilmacud’s attacking options and his two points in quick succession saw Raheny on the back foot and chasing the game.

Alan McLoughlin, Lunney and Ivers chipped away at that deficit as the half evolved but Kilmacud were able to keep their noses in front as Liam Flatman, Walsh and O’Leary made the most of the opportunities that came their way.

However, their accuracy waned towards the finish line as Raheny got to within a point in the 55^th minute thanks to Brian Talty’s inspirational score and they edged a point clear as Lunney coolly slotted home from the penalty spot in the 59^th minute.

Subsequent points from Lunney and Adam McAweeney looked to have sealed the deal for Raheny but like true champions, Kilmacud plundered a goal through substitute Luke Ward deep into added time to ensure a 2-11 to 1-14 stalemate at full-time.

Extra-time saw the holders make the most of their reprieve as they kicked three points on the bounce through Mullin, Cian O’Connor and Walsh to seize the initiative by the quick turnaround.

An Ivers goal restored parity once again and while Mannion edged Crokes ahead late on, Lunney’s brilliant snapshot with the last kick of the game ensured penalties would be required.

Scorers – Kilmacud Crokes: H Kenny 1-1 (0-1 mark), S Walsh 0-4 (3f), L Ward 1-0, P Mannion 0-3 (2f), M O’Leary, D Mullin, C O’Connor 0-2 apiece, L Flatman 0-1. Raheny: D Lunney 1-5 (1-0pen, 0-1f), C Ivers 1-3 (0-1f, 0-1 mark), A McLoughlin 0-2, R Hennelly (f), S MacMahon, B Talty, S Grenham, A McAweeney 0-1 apiece.

Kilmacud Crokes: C Ferris; J Murphy, T Clancy, D O’Brien; L Flatman, A Jones, A McGowan; M O’Leary, R O’Carroll; S Horan, S Cunningham, C O’Connor; P Mannion, D Mullin, H Kenny. Subs: S Walsh for Horan (half-time), B Sheehy for Flatman (47), D Dempsey for Cunningham (47), L Ward for Kenny (52), Horan for McGowan (69), J Kenny for Murphy (74), Kenny for O’Connor (81).

Raheny: R Hennelly; J Fagan, G McNamara, B McHugh; D Byrne, S MacMahon, R Real; B Fenton, B Talty; D Lunney, S Grenham, C Ivers; J O’Kane, P Reid, A McLoughlin. Subs: S McCarthy for Reid (40), D Shatwell for Fagan (50), A McAweeney for McLoughlin (52), C Hehir for McNamara (58), L Fahy for O’Kane (61), G Ivory for Talty (71)

Referee: Colm McCarthy (St Vincent’s).