Early Craig Dias crucial as Kilmacud Crokes earn All-Ireland final place

Craig Dias of Kilmacud Crokes celebrates after scoring his side's goal. Picture: Daire Brennan/Sportsfile

Kilmacud Crokes 1-11 Pádraig Pearses 0-8

Kilmacud Crokes followed the pattern of their win over Naas in the Leinster final when they took on Roscommon and Connacht champions Pádraig Pearses in Cavan this evening, locking themselves in an arm-wrestle for the first 45 minutes or so, before kicking on to win comfortably with a powerful final quarter performance.

A first half goal from Craig Dias gave the Dublin side the platform to keep Pearses just at bay for long stretches of the game, but Pat Flanagan’s side rallied well to get within a single point in the second half.

The contest changed completely when Conor Casey and Cian O’Connor came off the bench to make a decisive contribution to the Kilmacud side, and Pearses simply had no answer to their opponents in the closing stages.

A point from Niall Daly in the opening minute, greeted by a raucous roar from the Pearses-dominated crowd, suggested that a good evening might be in store for the Roscommon side, but that burst of space proved to be a rare opening at the heart of a Kilmacud defence that held firm, anchored by man of the match Rory O’Carroll.

Tempers flare during the game between Padraig Pearses' David Murray and Kilmacud Crokes' Andrew McGowan. Picture: INPHO/Laszlo Geczo

The game’s crucial score arrived after eight minutes when quick hands from Hugh Kenny and Shane Horan set up Craig Dias, and the big midfielder’s footwork was no less slick as he slipped the ball under Paul Whelan for the game’s first and only goal.

Pearses replied with a Paul Carey free but in general, space at either end of the ground was impossible to find and the contest developed into a war of attrition, with huge numbers committing to the tackle and both sides making sure that quick counter-attacks out of defence were snuffed out before they got started.

Points from Dara Mullen and Callum Pearson either side of a Tom Fox free moved Kilmacud 1-3 to 0-2 ahead before half-time, but a Paul Carey free narrowed the gap and a lively third quarter saw the gap trimmed to a single point on several occasions. Niall Daly, Paul Carey and Tom Butler all struck inspirational scores for the men in red, but every time they got within one, it seemed like Kilmacud were able to come up with a reply.

Kilmacud’s final decisive move was the introduction of substitutes Conor Casey and Cian O’Connor, who had a decisive impact on the game in the final quarter.

Shane Cunningham of Kilmacud Crokes and team mates are congratulated by supporters after the game. Picture: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile

O’Connor’s kicked two points and added a real injection of pace to the Kilmacud attack, while Casey claimed two kickouts and also tagged on a late point to round off a strong finish for the Dublin champions, who now advance to meet Kilcoo in the All-Ireland final in a fortnight.

Scorers for Kilmacud Crokes: C Dias (1-1); D Mullen, S Horan, C O’Connor (0-2 each); T Fox (f), C Pearson, C Casey, A Quinn (0-1 each).

Scorers for Pádraig Pearses: P Casey (0-3, 0-2f), N Daly, H Darcy (0-1f) (0-2 each), T Butler (0-1).

KILMACUD CROKES: C Ferris; M Mullen, R McGowan, D O’Brien; C O’Shea, R O’Carroll, A McGowan; B Shovlin, C Dias; T Fox, H Kenny, S Horan; C Pearson, D Mullen, S Cunningham.

Subs: C O’Connor for Kenny (47), C Casey for Shovlin (47), A Jones for Pearson (52), A Quinn for Fox (57), Theo Clancy for Horan (60+1).

PÁDRAIG PEARSES: P Whelan; C Keogh, M Richardson, A Butler; C Lohan, R Daly, D Murray; N Daly, C Daly; S Carty, N Carty, L Daly; C Payne, H Darcy, P Carey.

Subs: T Butler for Carty (39), E Kelly for Lohan (54), E Colleran for N Carty (60), S Mulvey for Richardson (60+3).

Referee: P Faloon (Down).