KNOCK SEAL TITLE WITH LATE FLOURISH
Somerton side’s lethal forward line produce the goods against Thomas Davis in gripping showpiece
DUBLIN MFC ‘A’ FINAL
CASTLEKNOCK 2-16
THOMAS DAVIS 0-16
Daire Walsh
CASTLEKNOCK produced an outstanding final-quarter display at O’Toole Park on Sunday to claim the Dublin Minor ‘A’ Football Championship title at the expense of Thomas Davis.
When Davis’ centre-forward Fionn Murray kicked his ninth score on 47 minutes, their Somerton Park counterparts found themselves two points in arrears. All the momentum appeared to be with the Tallaght men, but ‘Knock knuckled down in the face of extreme adversity and subsequently regained control of the action.
They comprehensively outscored their opponents – 1-6 to 0-1 – in the remaining minutes, with centre-back Senan Forker’s stoppage-time goal proving to be the icing on the cake.
The attacking triumvirate of Luke Swan, Conor Murray and skipper Conor Chawke played pivotal roles in Castleknock’s eventual success, amassing a combined tally of 1-10.
This was the second meeting between the sides in this year’s competition – a thrilling draw on October 6 ensuring that both teams progressed to the knockout rounds.
Castleknock subsequently overcame Lucan Sarsfields in a quarter-final replay before squeezing past Ballyboden St Enda’s in the last-four.
Davis’ defeated Kilmacud Crokes and Skerries Harps en route to this showpiece, offering them a perfect platform for a shot at the top-tier crown.
The aforementioned Fionn Murray got them up and running with a brace of early points, while full-forward Conor Guilfoyle also found the target from close-range.
However, Castleknock soon came to terms with the task at hand. The impressive Conor Murray cut inside off the left-wing for a superb point and immediately bolstered his personal haul with another eye-catching effort on the far side of the pitch.
Although a Fionn Murray ’45’ briefly halted their march, Castleknock were at their brilliant best either side of the first-quarter mark. After inside forwards Conor Murray and Cian Boyle had restored parity to a gripping affair, Evan McSherry edged the westside outfit in front.
They received a further boost on the stroke of 20 minutes when dual county minor Luke Swan flicked to the net off a wayward Chawke free. This pushed the Castleknock challenge into overdrive with Chawke (free), corner-back Robert O’Shea, Swan and Fionn Gibbons adding four points in as many minutes.
Following an encouraging start to the game, Thomas Davis had struggled to counteract the pace and power of Castleknock. Nevertheless, unanswered contributions by the dynamic duo of Fionn Murray (two) and Guilfoyle made it an encouraging end to the opening period for the Kiltipper brigade.
They were slowly rediscovering their attacking groove and within 11 minutes of the resumption, they had wiped out the Castleknock cushion. Fionn Murray’s dead-ball accuracy was a standout feature of the game and he converted three frees in this juncture to significantly aid the Davis’ cause.
He also kicked his second point from play and with Kevin Mullarkey splitting the uprights at a tight angle, a nail-biting finale lay ahead. Castleknock finally opened their second half account with a Ronan McCann point, but Davis’ simply refused to give in.
Thanks to additional scores for wing-back Jamie McDonnell, Guilfoyle and Fionn Murray, they were in pole position with the finishing line moving into view. Yet when the chips were down, Castleknock delivered the goods in confident style.
With Joe Kelly and Gibbons getting on top at midfield, they embarked on another devastating scoring blitz.
While Swan, McCann (free) and Conor Murray all found the range, it was Chawke’s three-point salvo in this spell that truly turned the tie on its head.
Now facing into a 0-15 to 1-16 deficit, Davis’ needed another Fionn Murray point on the hour – his 10th – to keep themselves within touching distance. A series of hold-ups over the course of the half meant nine minutes were added on at the tail end of the contest.
Though this left Thomas Davis with a realistic chance of conjuring an equalising goal, it was Castleknock who ultimately clinched the silverware in clinical fashion. Off a swift counter-attack, the excellent Chawke released raiding defensive lynchpin Forker for a simple three-point finish.
MATCH FILE
Scorers – Castleknock: L Swan 1-2, C Chawke (2f), C Murray 0-4 each, S Forker 1-0, R McCann 0-2 (1f), R O’Shea, F Gibbons, E McSherry, C Boyle 0-1 each. Thomas Davis: F Murray 0-10 (6f, 1 ’45’), C Guilfoyle 0-4, J McDonnell, K Mullarkey 0-1 each.
CASTLEKNOCK: C Kelly; T Mantero Belard, D Bohan, R O’Shea; B Harding, S Forker, A Watson; J Kelly, F Gibbons; E McSherry, L Swan, R McCann; C Boyle, C Murray, C Chawke.
Subs: E Sawyer for McSherry (57), M Byrne for McCann (58), T Norton for Harding (62), J Dargan Akiwumi for Boyle (66).
THOMAS DAVIS: S O’Reilly; S Byrne, C Winders, D Nugent; B Keogh, L McDonnell, J McDonnell; A Waddick, L Dempsey; L Gannon, F Murray, P Kennedy; K Mullarkey, C Guilfoyle, L Giglione.
Subs: C Davis for Keogh (50), D Horan for Mullarkey (57), D Hogan for McDonnell (66).
MENTORS – Castleknock: Gerry Kindlon, Declan Hannigan, Mick Maron, John Kilkenny. Thomas Davis: David Nugent, Peter Boland, Danny McCann, Sean Blanchfield, Adam Fallon.
Referee: David Sweeney (St Oliver Plunkett’s/Eoghan Ruadh).
WIDES – Castleknock: 6 (3+3). Thomas Davis: 6 (3+3).
CONDITIONS: Chilly but dry throughout.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH: Conor Murray (Castleknock).