Kilmacud Crokes strike late to seal famous Dublin southside double-double

Kilmacud Crokes 0-20 Na Fianna 0-17

Experience is everything. Just when it seemed the Dublin hurling title might be heading north of the Liffey for the first time in 16 years, Kilmacud Crokes struck back to seal a famous southside double-double.

After defending their Dublin football title here last weekend, Crokes knew all about the opportunity presented. In a repeat of last year’s showdown, when first-time finalists Na Fianna lost out in extra-time after leading most of the way, experience made the telling difference in the end – Crokes winning a seventh title in all, a fourth in the last decade.

On a bright and balmy afternoon at Parnell Park they were made to properly sweat for it too, Na Fianna pulling four points clear as they game went into the last quarter, the brilliant Donal Burke leading the way from the front.

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After last year’s heartbreaking experience, their incentive was clear too, the Mobhi Road club looking to bridge the gap to Craobh Chiaráin, the last northside winners in 2006. Since then Crokes, Ballyboden St Enda’s and Cuala have won them all.

Whether that winning prospect somehow spooked them or not, Na Fianna couldn’t quite close out the deal, substitute Sean Baxter and Burke missing late chances to salvage something, a draw even, in the five minutes of added time.

Instead it was Crokes, clawing back that deficit with four points without reply, who finished with all adrenaline racing, even after losing forward Alex Considine to a straight red card with two minutes of normal time remaining. Despite having the extra man, Na Fianna didn’t score again

Though still only 28 it feels like Oisín O’Rorke is a Crokes veteran by now, his experience certainly telling too as he struck a brilliant point from play with three minutes remaining to force a one-point lead, before Ronan Hayes scored his first in added time, Cian Ó Cathasaigh also pointing late on to ensure another night of celebrations at the Stillorgan clubhouse.

O’Rorke finished with 0-9, two from play, his central performance only outshone on the day by Burke, who scored 0-11 for Na Fianna, including five from play. Only with 10 different scorers, compared to four for Na Fianna, that greater spread of experience was telling too.

“Well that’s what we expected, they’re a very good team, set up very well tactically,” Crokes manager Kieran Dowling said of the battle, sweat still dripping off his brow.

“We just got across the line, but we’ll take it, the first time we’ve done back-to-back in hurling, the footballers have done it before, so proud day for us, brilliant and delighted.

“All year though we’ve been relentless, we will keep going, and if you look at our games over the last nine months, we will wear teams down as we go through. Against Ballyboden, we just pulled away, against St Brigid’s too. So the lads have the work done, even with all the changes from last year, like Cian Ryan who got his reward this year, and was excellent today.”

Na Fianna will have some regrets, shooting eight wides in the first half, five in the first 10 minutes. The sides were level twice in that first half, Andrew Jamieson-Murphy finding his range for Na Fianna alongside Burke too, Crokes just a point up at the break, 0-10 to 0-9, Fergal Whitley and Considine adding two each.

With Hayes well marshalled by Conor McHugh, the Crokes scoring dried up a little in the third quarter, while Burke continued to dazzle, scoring two from play in quick succession to put Na Fianna for the first time on 36 minutes.

When that lead stretched to four, Diarmuid Clerkin doing the honours, all the momentum was with the northside club.

Enter again O’Rorke, Dara Purcell soaring at midfield too, and that momentum quickly swung again, and although level again for the fourth time on 53 minutes, it was all about Crokes from there – Eddie Gibbons half-blocking a goal chance for Baxter that might just have turned things for Na Fianna.

For Dowling keeping the club’s momentum is critical too: “It’s a treble actually, the girls won as well, and won their Leinster semi-final day. So great times. With a younger team than last year, staggeringly, and to go again and to do it so well is brilliant, testament to all the underage coaches who have given us this team.

“And people give out we’re a super club, forget all that rubbish about this being a super club, it’s taken 40 years of building it, we’re not going to stop, and the club and parish as a whole deserve huge credit for the work they’ve put in, to seed the stony soil that was south Dublin.

“If you take where our clubhouse is, from there up was only built since 1962. There was nothing there. Here we are today, and that’s the first time we started a hurling final with 15 lads who all came through the academy.

“Na Fianna deserve huge credit for the job they’re doing to promote hurling too. It’s easy to promote football, or easier, it’s much more difficult to promote the game of hurling because of the skills you need.”

First up in the Leinster championships are Laois winners Clough-Ballacolla, back in Parnell Park, in three weeks’ time. That will be a repeat of last year’s semi-final which Crokes lost.

KILMACUD CROKES: 1 Eddie Gibbons; 24 Cian Mac Gabhann (0-1), 3 Darragh Butler, 4 Cian Ryan; 5 Davy Crowe, 6 Mark Grogan, 7 Cian Ó Cathasaigh (0-1); 8 Brian Hayes (0-1), 9 Dara Purcell (0-1); 10 Caolan Conway (capt) (0-1), 12 Fergal Whitely (0-2) 11 Oisin O’Rorke (0-9, seven frees); 13 Michael Roche (0-1), 14 Ronan Hayes (0-1), 15 Alex Considine (0-2). Subs: 19 Brendan Scanlon for Conway (45 mins) 17 Rob O’Loughlin for Roche (47); 28 Bill O’Carroll for Ryan (55); 21 Fionn O Ceallaigh for Purcell (59); 20 Ronan Costello for Ronan Hayes (67).

NA FIANNA: 1 Jonathan Tracey; 2 Sean Burke, 3 Conor McHugh, 4 Hugh Fenlon; 5 Donal Ryan, 6 Liam Rushe, 7 Diarmuid Clerkin (0-1); 23 Micheal Murphy, 9 Peter Feeney; 15 Colin Currie, 8 Tom Brennan, 13 Sean Currie (0-1, a sideline); 11 Donal Burke (0-11, six frees)), 14 Andrew Jamieson-Murphy (0-4), 10 Feargal Breathnach. Subs: 17 Sean Baxter for Brennan (26); 22 Sean Ryan for Murphy (51); 21 Matthew Oliver for Ryan (55); 12 Shane Barrett for Jamieson-Murphy (59)

Referee: Thomas Gleeson (Naomh Fionbarra)