AFL 1 ROUNDUP – 22ND OCTOBER
ADULT FOOTBALL LEAGUE DIVISION ONE ROUND-UP (OCTOBER 22)
Mark Vaughan and Pat Burke were in fine form at Silver Park on Sunday morning, when Kilmacud Crokes recorded a comprehensive victory against Lucan Sarsfields in Division One of the Adult Football League.
With 10 wins under their belt prior to this fixture, Crokes had already been assured of a place in the end of season play-offs, but they were eager to bounce back from their county semi-final defeat to Ballymun Kickhams eight days earlier.
A narrow triumph over Cuala on August 26th had effectively helped Lucan to retain their own top-flight status, and although the clash between the two clubs on the same day in the Dublin Senior Hurling Championship was foremost in people’s minds, they were aiming to finish the regular season on a high.
In their last two league fixtures, Kilmacud and Lucan have both experienced one-point wins and one-point losses to Cuala and St Maur’s respectively, but with Pat Duggan and Conor Casey in excellent form at midfield, it was Gabriel Bannigan’s Glenalbyn outfit who dominated the proceedings.
James Murphy and Ross McGowan also produced impressive defensive displays, and thanks to all six starting forwards getting their names on the scoresheet, they remained in control throughout the course of the contest.
However, former county stars Vaughan (1-5) and Burke (1-4) were the main scoring threats for Kilmacud, who ultimately had 20 points to spare – 4-14 to 0-6 – over their 12th Lock counterparts. In terms of the final league standing, Crokes had been in second place before their meeting with Lucan.
Yet, after St Jude’s lost out to St Sylvester’s in Tymon North (0-17 to 3-11), Kilmacud have leapfrogged them at the top of the table. This ensures that Crokes will renew acquaintances with Ballymun for the third time in 2017, while Jude’s are set to face St Maur’s of Rush in the other Division One semi-final.
Maur’s have been one of the most consistent performers in the second half of the season, and they claimed their eight win from nine matches at home to Na Fianna on Sunday. Their Glasnevin opponents were squeezed in between Castleknock and Lucan in 12th place before their final outing of 2017, but with Ciaran Reddin leading by example, Maur’s were in the driving seat from the opening moments of the action.
The excellent Reddin (who started for Dublin in their league decider against Kerry back in May), Eoin Fletcher and Chris Carthy were all prominent during the opening period, and thanks in no small part to a coolly-converted penalty by Davy McGuinness, Maur’s brought a commanding 3-8 to 0-6 lead into the interval.
Scores were harder to come by after the restart, but with Carthy (two) and Reddin adding to their own individual tallies, Maur’s comfortably prevailed on a scoreline of 3-11 to 0-10.
By Daire Walsh