Kilmacud Crokes 0-15 Rhode 1-7:CONTRASTING STATISTICS in Portlaoise yesterday, as Kilmacud Crokes won a third AIB Leinster club football title in six seasons, whereas Rhode, completing a downbeat weekend for Offaly in front of outgoing Taoiseach Brian Cowen, went down to a third final defeat in the past five provincial championships.
The clubs met at this stage two seasons ago and Rhode blew a big half-time lead and failed to capitalise on the Dublin champions’ having a player red carded.
Yesterday’s loss of initiative wasn’t as graphic, but had the Offaly side maintained the fluid, penetrative attacking play of the first quarter or so, they would again have had a nice cushion on the interval scoreboard.
Instead, they failed to score in the first half after the 17th minute and watched Crokes clip three points off the deficit to trail by just one at the break.
The other key factors were an inability to score more than two points in the face of an intensified effort from the 2009 All-Ireland champions, and when a couple of opportunities to get back into the game unexpectedly presented themselves, a certain amount of misfortune, but chiefly a lack of clinical finishing, undid them.
Niall McNamee was at the heart of the two incidents in question, going for goal in the 49th minute, but hitting the crossbar, and then, eight minutes later, seeing his penalty well saved by David Nestor, but being unable to get to the rebound.
The ball ran loose a second time, but Roy Malone’s scrambled attempt to force it home was blocked out for a 45, which McNamee pointed. But Rhode needed a goal at that stage.
Kilmacud, emboldened by their escape, tacked on another two points from Declan Kellegher and a Brian Kavanagh free for a comfortable, two-point win.
Yet, it all started so promisingly for the outsiders, who confirmed their eagerness to make amends for 2008 with an impressive start to the final postponed from last month.
Quick, early movement of the ball into the forwards caused big trouble in the Kilmacud defence, which was without Rory O’Carroll, and as early as the seventh minute the veteran Pascal Kellaghan drilled home the only goal of the afternoon after Niall McNamee had broken the ball nicely.
McNamee kicked a couple of points, as did Niall Darby, and David Hope, starting at centre back, popped up from the back for one of his own as Rhode pushed into a four-point lead, 1-5 to 0-4.
Their frequent success in getting players in behind the defence was leaving Kilmacud exposed and they were coping reasonably at the back.
Crucially though, the Dublin champions hung on. Cian O’Sullivan, Brian McGrath and Ronan Ryan steadied the ship and, eventually, the defence in general closed ranks.
They were assisted by Rhode’s decision to become more cautious and ponderous in their build-up, which didn’t even have the merit of keeping possession because Kilmacud disrupted a few of the slow-moving relays. But it did deprive McNamee and his forwards of the crucial early deliveries.
Kavanagh kicked a couple of frees and Mark Vaughan a couple from play. Declan Kellegher got on the end of two moves that came off ball won on Rhode’s kick-outs to kick another two in the space of a minute and the margin at the break was just one, 1-5 to 0-7.
The critical phase came after half-time when the one-point deficit was turned into a three-point lead. McGrath, Craig Dias, Adrian Morrissey and captain Pat Burke kicked the scores.
Centrefield went significantly in Kilmacud’s favour with Paddy Duggan giving a man-of-the-match performance, based on work-rate and a succession of high catches, and getting able support from young Dias, who as manager Paddy Carr pointed out has started only a handful of adult matches.
That Duggan gave away the penalty by bringing down Anton Sullivan with four minutes to go indicated he was still tracking back after an exhausting second half. To complete their woes, Rhode’s Alan McNamee was sent off for a second yellow in 64th minute.
Kilmacud manager Paddy Carr took the opportunity to confront the charge that as a “super club” their big catchment and resources made things easy for them.
“There are a lot of things that are said about Kilmacud Crokes which I know aren’t true because you don’t achieve what those lads have achieved without a massive sense of humility and a massive sense of togetherness. I’m very, very proud of those lads.”
His Rhode counterpart Tom Coffey said the third final defeat was “devastating for a village the size of Rhode. We needed the rub of the green from the ref, but we missed a penalty and hit the crossbar.”
KILMACUD CROKES:D Nestor; R O'Carroll, K Nolan, C Lamb; C O'Sullivan, B McGrath (0-1), R Ryan; P Duggan, C Dias (0-1); L Ó hEineachain (0-1), D Kellegher (0-3), A Morrissey (0-1); P Burke (0-1), B Kavanagh (0-5, 4f), M Vaughan (0-2). Subs:B O'Rorke for Morrissey (46 mins), N McGrath for Lamb (58 mins).
RHODE:E McDonald; S Sullivan, B Darby, D Murphy; C Heavey, D Hope (0-1), E Byrne; M Dunne, A McNamee; N Darby (0-2), P Sullivan, A Sullivan (0-1); G O'Connell, P Kellaghan (1-0), N McNamee (0-3, one 45). Subs:R Malone for O'Connell (50 mins).
Referee:E Kinsella (Laois).
