Christmas comes early as Crokes get title gift

THERE may still be only 12 days of Christmas, but it still seems to start earlier with each passing year. Unfortunately for Rhode, they took that all too literally yesterday by gift-wrapping a Leinster Club SFC title for Kilmacud that was theirs for the taking.

Rhode were six points to the good at the end of the first quarter. They had a man extra too after Cian O’Sullivan received a harsh red card from referee Pat Fox after what was an admittedly high tackle on Páraic Sullivan.

The rest of the afternoon looked like being easy peasy. Not so. Instead, they scored just one point in the last 40 minutes of play, kicked a succession of wides and conceded two soft goals.

With luck this good, the entire Kilmacud squad should make a point of doing the lottery this week though, in fairness ,they demonstrated incredible resilience to come back from the dead like they did.

They looked anything but champions in waiting in the initial exchanges. Crokes had conceded 1-3 after just 10 minutes and, without a single score of their own, the south Dublin side were already snookered behind the black ball. The goal was a tough blow to take as much for the manner in which it was scored as for its value on the scoreboard, and it said much about the difference between the sides in that opening spell.

Receiving the ball wide on the left and with his back to goal, Niall McNamee turned Paul Griffin, tiptoed along the end line and pulled the trigger past David Nestor and into the net. It was all much too easy. Griffin has been a fine servant for club and county but he had a nightmare here — even after he was finally relieved of the onerous task of marking the number 15 — and he should have bundled McNamee into touch long before he ever sniffed the net.

O’Sullivan’s exit followed five minutes later and, though his departure was somewhat unlucky, he was the third Crokes defender to be noted in the official’s book as Kilmacud’s frustration began to grow. Slowly, they set about steadying the ship. Ross O’Carroll took over on Niall McNamee, Mark Davoren retreated from the edge of the square to the midfield and further surgery was undertaken at half-time.

Crokes responded well. The first score of the second-half, with O’Carroll beating McNamee to the ball and Allstar Brian Kavanagh scoring his first point, was indicative of the overall improvement.

Five minutes later and the ball was in the Rhode net for the first time, though more by accident than design. Kavanagh’s point attempt was punched away by goalkeeper Colm Masterson but only as far as Davoren who fisted it right back past him.

The second followed 12 minutes from time when another Kavanagh shot at the sticks bounced short. Masterson seemed to have it covered, but was distracted by Davoren charging towards him and the ball continued on its merry way in.

Crokes sandwiched two points between that couple of goals while Niall McNamee had also registered Rhode’s first point of the half from a free, but it was the only successful attempt on the sticks they could manage as the end game took shape.

Rhode kicked seven wides in that second period and Niall McNamee was responsible for five of them. Some were hard, some were easy enough for a player of his class but this just wasn’t to be his, or his team’s, day.

He hit the side netting with one effort after rounding the goalkeeper with the ball at his feet and captain Roy Malone also saw a possible three-pointer averted by the number one with just over 10 minutes to play.

It was a day littered with what-ifs. Prominent among them will be Pauric Sullivan’s point 22 minutes in when he sent the ball over the bar rather than under it when one-on-one with goalkeeper David Nestor.

That could have killed Crokes off before they had a chance to regroup but it was the second-half when Rhode shipped most damage and it scarcely seems possible that they could enjoy so much possession in that period without scoring from play.

The game lacked little, that apart, though the quality of entertainment will be scant consolation to Tom Coffey’s lads who must hate the sight of Kilmacud’s purple shirts, having lost to the Glenalbyn side after a semi-final replay three years ago.

Scorers for Kilmacud Crokes: B Kavanagh 1-1, M Davoren 1-0, M Vaughan 0-3, P Griffin 0-1, L Óg Ó hEinneacháin 0-1, R Cosgrove 0-1.

Scorers for Rhode: N McNamee 1-3 (1f), P Sullivan 0-1, A McNamee 0-1, N Darby 0-1f, A Sullivan 0-1.

KILMACUD CROKES: D Nestor; P Griffin, Ross O’Carroll, C Lambe; B McGrath, C O’Sullivan, K Nolan; D Magee, L McBarron; L Og O’hEinneachain, P Burke, A Morrissey; M Vaughan, M Davoren, B Kavanagh.

Subs: Rory O’Carroll for Lambe 23, R Cosgrove for Burke 33, N Corkery for McBarron 35, J Magee for Ó hEinneacháin 50.

RHODE: C Masterson; J Kilmurray, E Byrne, D Murphy; C Heavey, B Darby, D Hope; P Sullivan, A McNamee; N Darby, R Malone, G O’Connoll; A Sullivan, P Kellaghan, N McNamee.

Subs: P Glennon for N Darby 52, J Kavanagh for Heavey 53, G Hickey for Murphy 61.

Referee: P Fox (Westmeath).