Sherlock hits his best form

Long before the final whistle in Navan yesterday it was obvious part two of this semi-final wouldn't recreate the photo finish of the previous week. With every closing step Na Fianna were running away from Sarsfields, gradually heading towards their third Leinster final appearance in as many years.

Essentially Na Fianna had built up an advantage and had the class to sustain and extend it. In the end they had nine points to spare and Sarsfields had no argument.

Then came another reminder that in sport there is no such thing as a sure thing. As the Na Fianna team walked off the field it was clear they had made six substitutions, one more than the legal five. Four of those were made in the final four minutes - no doubt contributing to the confusion that caused the error - but the error was made nonetheless and could yet force Na Fianna to forfeit the game.

If, however, there is any room for discretion when the Leinster Council examine the matter then the margin and manner of victory is sure to be considered. The Dublin champions may have left some debate over the number of substitutes they meant to use, but they left no debate as to which side deserved to progress to the Leinster final.

Sarsfields lacked none of the fire that them helped draw level a week ago, but that fell well short of matching the range and effectiveness of Na Fianna's game. For a start, Jason Sherlock was at his most lethal, finishing off the two second-half goals that more or less sealed the fate of the Kildare champions.

Dessie Farrell, still ignoring his creaking knee, was also displaying some crucial touches, and Senan Connell as always ran himself into the ground while contributing 0-3.

Behind them stood a tidy defence that like last week was constantly refreshed by Nigel Clancy and Stephen McGlinchy.

In terms of tactics, though, it wasn't the perfect afternoon for Na Fianna. Kieran McGeeney played the first half like he'd just rolled out of bed, and too much of their early possession ended up falling into their opponents' hands.

With Dermot Earley covering every inch of the field, Sarsfields matched them stride for stride in the early stages. Full forward Stuart McKenzie-Smyth hinted that he was in for a good day when he opened the scores after five minutes, but, bar Padraig Brennan, the rest of the Sarsfields forwards didn't contribute a score at all.

Na Fianna, meanwhile, soon got their noses in front. Goal number one came after 13 minutes when Connell's ball was confidently carried and then sent into the goal by Pat McGeeney. Sherlock made his first couple of scores look easy and already Na Fianna looked like winners.

Surprisingly, though, the sides would go into the break on level terms. Michael Browne was an early substitute for Sarsfields and he chipped over two fine scores to help reduce the gap. They then drew level after 21 minutes when Brennan's high ball was won in the air by McKenzie-Smyth, who punched it into the net over goalkeeper Stephen Grey.

A couple more exchanges of scores and the sides turned around at 1-5 apiece. From then on, however, the game headed in one direction only. After less than two minutes Na Fianna were a (soft) goal up again when Sherlock first of all blocked the ball from going out over the sideline, then got back in front of goal to send Pat McGeeney's rebound into the net.

At the other end, the Sarsfields forwards now seemed addicted to error. David Earley was having no luck with the dead ball and Brennan also sent a couple of useful balls the wrong side of the posts. All they could salvage over the next half-hour were two frees from Brennan.

"Na Fianna definitely played with greater power all through the match," conceded Sarsfields manager John Courtney. "The first half did go tremendously well for us, but the thing is you can't give away a soft goal, because that was the canon in the whole operation."

Meanwhile, part three of this semi-final is now in the hands of the Leinster Council.

NA FIANNA: S Grey; N O Murchu, N Clancy, P McCarthy (0-1); T Lynch, S McGlinchy, B McManus; K Donnelly, K McGeeney (0-1); S Connell (0-3), D Macken, P McGeeney (1-0); I Foley (0-1), D Farrell (0-1), J Sherlock (2-3). Subs: M Foley for Lynch (half-time), A Shearer (0-1) for P McGeeney (47 mins), B Newman for Sherlock (57 mins), G Grey for O Murchu, P McEvoy for Foley (both 59 mins), J Hagan for Farrell (60 mins).

SARSFIELDS: G Slicker; N Campbell, M Dunne, M McIntyre; N Hedderman, L Sex, T Brennan; Dermot Earley, A Barry; J Whelan, B Moylan, David Earley; P Brennan (0-5, three frees), S McKenzie-Smyth (1-1), E Freaney. Subs: M Browne (0-2) for Sex (six mins), N Morrissey for Freaney (46 mins).

Referee: S McCormack (Meath).