KILMACUD CROKES WIN DIVISION 1 CAMOGIE FÉILE FINAL FOR FIRST TIME
What a weekend for camogie in Kilmacud Crokes as the club won the Dublin Division 1 Féile final for the first time. The success is all the more impressive given that the majority of the girls are dual players and also experienced the excitement of a successful Féile weekend through their involvement with the football Féile that took place just the previous weekend.
All Division 1 group matches took place on Saturday in Silverpark. The Crokes girls opened the competition with a strong win over Ballyboden on a score line of 4.2 to 0.2 with Éabha Gannon and Louise Fenlon each scoring two goals. Next up was a strong Olaf’s team, with both teams having already qualified for the semi-finals by virtue of previous results. Following a very tight match, the sides were level at full time.
Our opponents in the semi-final were Ballinteer St Johns. The Crokes girls started the game strongly and with the aid of a goal and two points from Sadhbh McCann built up a six-point lead as the game moved into the closing stages. However, a late goal from Ballinteer ensured a nervy finish but Crokes held on for a deserved win on a score line of 1.5 to 1.2.
The final was set for Sunday in Trinity Sports Grounds in Santry against Lucan, a team against which the Crokes girls have had a couple of very close games in the recent past. Crokes started strongly and took the lead with an early goal thanks to a super finish from a tight angle by Anna Doherty. The lead was doubled shortly afterwards when a shot from out the field by Sadhbh McCann found its way to the Lucan net. Lucan finished the first half strongly and a goal and two points without reply left Crokes ahead at the break by just a single point.
The second half started with Lucan again on the front foot and following three points in a row Lucan went ahead for the first time in the match. At this point the Crokes girls dug deep and regained a foothold in the game. A quick-fire goal and three points, all scored from long range placed balls by Éabha Gannon put Crokes ahead again on a 3.3 to 1.5 score line. However, the momentum swung again and a goal from Lucan followed by a point from a free with the last puck of the ball deep into injury time meant the game was going to extra time.
The first two five-minute periods of extra time were a tight and tense affair with the only scores being a point to each team, so the game went into a further period of extra time. Crokes grabbed the initiative after the restart and took the lead again through a second goal of the game from Sadhbh McCann following a super turn and strike. The lead was extended to four points by Ella Jenkins following a solo run through the heart of the Lucan defence. Heroic defending by the Crokes full back line in particular helped keep Crokes ahead to the final whistle, winning on a final score of 4.5 to 2.8.
The match was played at a tremendous pace in a competitive but fair manner by two very good teams. On the final whistle there was a mixture of joy and relief as Kilmacud Crokes had won the Dublin Division 1 Féile title for the first time and captain, Emma O’Donnell received the Bunny Whelan memorial cup.
It was a fantastic effort from all 23 girls on the Kilmacud Crokes panel for the weekend. A special mention to our two squad members, Cathy McCabe and Fiona Lyndon, neither of whom were in a position to play over the weekend.
