BALLYMUN KICKHAMS 2-15 KILMACUD CROKES 1-10
Daire Walsh
Dean Rock and Paddy Small were in excellent form at Parnell Park tonight, when Ballymun Kickhams booked their place in the Dublin Senior Football Championship decider with a comfortable semi-final victory over Kilmacud Crokes.
Small (a brother of Sky Blues senior footballer John) helped himself to three points during a productive first-half, and following a well-worked goal from Jason Whelan, Ballymun developed a commanding 1-8 to 0-3 interval cushion.
Indeed, after centre-back Ross O’Carroll was dismissed for a heavy sliding tackle challenge on Dublin star James McCarthy in the 20th-minute, the northside club also held a numerical advantage.
It looked an extremely harsh call and was a pivotal moment in the game.
An expertly-converted Rock penalty opened up a 12-point gap (2-13 to 0-7) with just 11 minutes remaining in the contest, and even though Crokes attacker Mark Vaughan responded with a three-pointer of his own, additional points from Rock and Whelan helped Ballymun towards a 2-15 to 1-10 triumph.
Scorers – Ballymun Kickhams: D Rock (1-0 pen), J Whelan 1-2 each, P Small 0-5, K Leahy 0-3, C Keeley, J McCarthy, D Byrne 0-1 each.
Kilmacud Crokes: M Vaughan 1-1, P Mannion 0-3 (2f), C Pearson 0-2, S Horan, P Burke, C O’Connor, A Jones 0-1 each.