CLASSY CROKES EDGE CLASH OF THE TITANS
O Ceallaigh and Gibbons lead way to glory Kilmacud crew
DUBLIN U15 ‘A’ HC FINAL
KILMACUD CROKES…………………………………………………. 2-16
WHITEHALL COLMCILLE…………………………………………… 1-14
Daire Walsh
EXCELLENT performances from attacking duo Fionn O Ceallaigh and Eddie Gibbons caught the eye on Sunday at Parnell Park, where Kilmacud Crokes secured the Dublin U15 ‘A’ Hurling Championship title with a five-point success over Whitehall Colmcille.
Whitehall had raced into a seven-point lead (0-9 to 0-2) by the 21st minute of the action, but once Crokes settled into their usual rhythm of play, they ultimately took control of the proceedings.
The Glenalbyn boys found it difficult to settle into the early exchanges, however, and even though centre-back Mark Grogan was acting as a sweeper at the heart of the Crokes defence, Ciaran S Murphy registered a brace of scores from long-distance for Whitehall.
ENERGETIC
Crokes did eventually open their account through a sixth-minute Gibbons free, but with a strong wind at their disposal, Whitehall were making significant headway. The energetic Enda O’Donnell and Sean Finn were on target from play, and they were subsequently joined on the scoresheet by wing-forwards Adam McDermott and Ciaran P Murphy (two).
This scoring cycle was brought to an end by the reliable Gibbons (who found the target from long-range), but with O’Donnell and Ciaran S Murphy adding to the Whitehall advantage, it was starting to look ominous for Crokes.
Yet, they never allowed panic to creep into their play, and after midfielder Sean Kinsella (who has been a star performer for Colaiste Eoin at schools level) converted a difficult placed-ball, O Ceallaigh added a 0-2 salvo to the Crokes tally.
Indeed, with their tails now up, O Ceallaigh flicked a Gibbons free to the back of the net (in spite of the best efforts from the Whitehall rearguard), and courtesy of Conor Kinsella’s magnificent point from the left-wing, they incredibly found themselves on level terms (1-6 to 0-9) in time for the interval.
This late surge by Crokes set-up a mouthwatering second half, and despite taking the lead for the very first time with a Padraig Purcell point, Whitehall’s ace marksman, O’Donnell, quickly restored parity after Ciaran P Murphy had displayed great vision to pick him out.
The northsiders were struggling to cope with the improving Crokes forward division, though, and three points in quick succession by Anthony Quinn, O Ceallaigh and Conor Kinsella outlined the ambition of Crokes.
However, Whitehall stayed in touch thanks to points from Ciaran S Murphy (free) and Cormac Gleeson, either side of a Gibbons score for Crokes, and they signalled their attacking intent by moving goalkeeper Jordan Leonard into their forward line on 42 minutes.
This was a big call by the Whitehall management team, but just three minutes after his introduction, substitute custodian Cathal Hogan was picking the ball out of the net. After points by Purcell and Quinn had helped Crokes to develop a three-point cushion, midfielder James Dillon collected a stray Hogan clearance, and finished calmly from a distance of 20 metres.
This was a major set-back for Whitehall, but they worked their way back into contention with a terrific 48th minute three-pointer from the redeployed Leonard, who also grabbed a point four minutes earlier.
Whitehall now had a fighting chance entering the closing stages, only for Crokes to place the outcome beyond any doubt with three consecutive points by Gibbons (two) and Dillon.
Half-back Ciaran George added an injury-time point for Whitehall, but it wasn’t enough to deny Kilmacud Crokes a hard-earned triumph.
Scorers – Kilmacud Crokes: F O Ceallaigh 1-3, E Gibbons 0-5 (4f), J Dillon 1-1, P Purcell, C Kinsella, A Quinn 0-2 each, S Kinsella 0-1. Whitehall Colmcille: Ciaran S Murphy 0-4 (3f), J Leonard 1-1, E O’Donnell 0-3, Ciaran P Murphy 0-2, C George (f), A McDermott, C Gleeson, S Finn 0-1 each.
KILMACUD CROKES: T Dunbar; C Lacey, C Keys, R Smith; T Stakelum, M Grogan, C Veale; J Dillon, S Kinsella; P Purcell, N Comerford, A Quinn; E Gibbons, C Kinsella, F O’Ceallaigh.
SUBS: T Fagan for Comerford (27-30, blood sub), D Murphy for Lacey (50), Fagan for Veale (53).
WHITEHALL COLMCILLE: J Leonard; Cian Murphy, C George, G O’Hannigan, S Myler, P Moloney, J Thorp; Ciaran S Murphy, A McNally; A McDermott, C Gleeson, Ciaran P Murphy; S Finn, E O’Donnell, L Gannon.
SUBS: J Murray for Myler (36), C Hogan for Finn (42), S Maguire for O’Hannigan (53).
MENTORS – KILMACUD CROKES: J Dillon, R Kinsella, M Lacey, K Walsh, S Canny. WHITEHALL COLMCILLE: C O’Hannigan, H Bodie, D Murphy.
REFEREE: Caomhan Bermingham (Naomh Olaf).
WIDES – Kilmacud Crokes: 13 (4+9). Whitehall Colmcille: 8 (4+4).
CONDITIONS: Warm and bright, but quite breezy at times.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH: Eddie Gibbons (Kilmacud Crokes).