FIANNA LOOK SHARP’
Glasnevin men get the better of Crokes to record first league win
DUBLIN AHL DIVISION 4
NA FIANNA…………………………..2-22
KILMACUD CROKES……………….0-13
Daire Walsh
NA FIANNA recorded their first league win of 2018 in emphatic style at Silver Park last Wednesday evening – finished with all of 15 points to spare over Kilmacud Crokes in an Adult Hurling League Division 4 clash.
With a combined total of 1-7 between them, midfielders Liam Stacey and Andy Flaherty were leading lights throughout for Na Fianna.
John Sharpson, Aaron Jesson and Niall Madden also made big impacts in attack for the Glasnevin men – who had eight different scorers throughout the course of the contest.
While dead-ball specialist John Maher and centre-fielder Alistair Hatt were in fine form, they ultimately couldn’t halt the march of their northside opponents.
Despite being without a win prior to this encounter, hard-earned draws against St Jude’s and divisional pace-setters Cuala ensured Na Fianna had an element of breathing space in the fourth-tier table.
Although they defeated St Brigid’s and St Finian’s, Swords in comfortable fashion, Crokes were hoping to bounce back from a recent reversal to Faughs.
After Stacey opened the scoring at the end of a memorable solo run, their reliable centre-forward – Maher – was on hand to level matters with a fourth-minute free.
It was Na Fianna who made the early inroads in the Leopardstown venue, though – posting four points without to reply to create early daylight between themselves and the hosts. In addition to Stacey and Flaherty efforts, Jession and Cillian Heeney were also on target for Dermot Moran’s side.
Maher eventually responded at the opposite end, before Na Fianna added another set of unanswered scores through Flaherty (two) and Sharpson. Centre-back Kevin Dalton and Hatt lifted the Crokes spirits with inspirational points from distance, but Na Fianna continued to dominate as the half progressed.
Two-point salvos by Madden and Jesson helped them to open up a nine-point cushion, which was then marginally reduced by Crokes’ central attacking axis of Brian Hanniffy and Maher. Yet, with Heeney and Madden enhancing their own personal hauls, Na Fianna entered the break with a commanding 0-15 to 0-7 advantage at their disposal.
It got even better for the Mobhi Road outfit on the restart, when two goals in the space of a minute to effectively placed the outcome beyond reasonable doubt. Sharpson fired past Joe Codd on 32 minutes after an initial Madden effort had been blocked.
SWIFTLY
Even though Hatt swiftly added a point for Crokes, the increasingly-dangerous Stacey kicked to the net at the end of the next attack. Maher subsequent converted his fifth free of the action for the home team, only to be cancelled out by his opposite number – Jesson – on the three-quarter mark.
Maher (’65’) and Tommy Keogh traded scores with Na Fianna duo Sharpson and Madden to keep the deficit at 13 points, and it proved to be a generally low-key conclusion to this league showdown. Maher finished the proceedings with 0-8 to his name, but he couldn’t prevent Na Fianna from finishing the game on a high.
A series of positional switches saw centre-back Conor Baxter moving to the edge of the far square, and he joined Darragh Bergin, Sharpson and the outstanding Flaherty in splitting the uprights at the tail end of an accomplished display. They will hope to build on this performance when they host St Finian’s, Swords on June 16, whereas Crokes face an away assignment against Bray Emmet’s on the same evening.
MATCH FILE
Scorers – Na Fianna: J Sharpson 1-3, L Stacey 1-2, A Flaherty 0-5, A Jesson (1f), N Madden 0-4 each, C Heeney 0-2, C Baxter, D Bergin 0-1 each. Kilmacud Crokes: J Maher 0-8 (7f, 1 ’65’), A Hatt 0-2, K Dalton, T Keogh, B Hanniffy 0-1 each.
NA FIANNA: E Skelly; C Stacey, E Cassidy, E Heeney; D Flaherty, C Baxter, D Bergin; L Stacey, A Flaherty; E Campbell, A Jesson, N Madden; C Heeney, C Caverley, J Sharpson.
Subs: J Lyons for A Jesson (45), D Neylon for L Stacey (47), E Delaney for C Heeney (49).
KILMACUD CROKES: J Codd; M O’Dwyer, C Fulham, M Connor; P Comerford, K Dalton, T Stakelum; T Keogh, A Hatt; F Armstrong, J Maher, E Comerford; M Hogan, B Hanniffy, O O Siochfhradha.
Subs: R Geraghty for Armstrong (8), B Rafter for Hanniffy (h-t), N McDonald for Connor (35), O O’Carroll for Comerford (48).
MENTORS – Na Fianna: Dermot Moran, Willie Bergin, Greg Whooley, Phil Kelly. Kilmacud Crokes: Seamus Kennedy, Pat Duggan.
Referee: Tom Clinton (Croi Ro Naofa).
WIDES – Na Fianna: 11 (6+5). Kilmacud Crokes: 12 (6+6).
CONDITIONS: Dry weather throughout with only a slight breeze.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH: Andy Flaherty (Na Fianna).