Junior 5's beat Setanta

Crokes took on a young and fit Setanta team in Silverpark on an afternoon so warm that the Croke’s water-bottles had to be refilled after the warm-up before the game!

The first half was evenly contested and at half time the score was 2-4 to 1-5; Crokes had their noses ahead by 2 points. This was thanks to some stout defending against the tricky and nimble Setanta forwards – the Crokes men by and large stuck to their men like limpets and made a succession of good blocks. Corner back, Paul Byrne in particular made some important interventions and clearing drives while Billy Condon at No. 6 was having an old-style physical tussle with his opposite number. Decent ball was going into the full-forward line where Barry Gavigan was showing well to catch, turn and strike. At mid-field Pádraig Doheny was showing good speed and broke through to send a low shot away for what looked a certain goal however it rebounded off the upright and after some goal-mouth pinball when the chance appeared lost, Niall Heavin cracked it emphatically to the net for Croke’s first goal.

Crokes looked to be the better hurlers however the Ballymun men appeared to have the edge for fitness and speed and it was doubtful whether the two point margin at the turnaround on the hot day would be enough. But the resolve of this Crokes team is growing and they tore into the second half of the game and looked completely dominant in the third quarter.  Also Crokes were in the happy position of being able to bring on several pairs of fresh legs as the second half wore on. However the scores were not coming as they should, despite an early point from Fran Saunders (his second).  Chances were going a-begging with a lot of shots dropping short and only when Gerald Kelly’s long shot was missed by the Setanta keeper and dropped into the goal, did Crokes look to be safe.

However, Setanta came back into the game and Crokes gave away a succession of silly frees in scorable range. Still Crokes appeared to have the match under control until, with about two minutes to go, Setanta goaled to level up the match! From the puck-out, Crokes got the ball back down the field where after some ferocious tackling in the full-forward line, the ball popped out to Nick Canning who struck a ground-ball with venom from a very narrow angle to the roof of the net. There were more heroics when Cormac Cummins and then Pat Halpin (who classily doubled the ball away for a 65) made last ditch saves. Setanta did manage one more point before the ref blew up to leave this Crokes team with one win out of two following two very competitive matches in this championship in the space of  four days. 

Scorers for Kilmacud Crokes:

Niall Heavin 1-0, Barry Gavigan 1-1, Fran Saunders 0-2, Gerald Kelly 1-1, Ian O’Keefe (0-1) free, Nick Canny (1-0).

For images of this game click on team photo above, or click HERE