Naas secure another double as they 'back it up'
This time last year, Naas celebrated a dramatic Kildare SFC title success with a thrown together player-management team after boss Paul Kelly's mid-championship resignation.
It was their first win since 1990 and the good news story of a win against all the odds was widely hailed.
This season they've simply gone through the motions and there was little surprise or, truth be told, romance about how the superior and more experienced force secured back to back titles in heavy conditions at St Conleth's Park.
Running into a young and cautious Clane side on a stormy day, the reigning champions applied the pressure early on and ultimately squeezed the life out of their opponents.
Naas scored a modest 1-12 but still won by nine points as they embraced the chaos of a wild and windy October afternoon.
Alex Beirne won the Man of the Match award but Paddy McDermot must have pushed him close and the attack minded wing-back drove home the goal Naas deserved in stoppage time to gloss the scoreline.
It set the seal on back to back titles for Naas and, given that their hurlers recently completed a Kildare four-in-a-row, it represents a double-double of senior successes.
"It's the old saying, a good team has one (title) but a great team can back it up," said Naas manager Joe Murphy. "And Kildare is a very competitive championship, there are some marvellous teams there. But we went through all the top teams; they beat Moorefield, Athy, Sarsfields, Celbridge and now Clane. You can't really take that away from them."
Back in the 1990s, Murphy was part of the Eire Og team that came out of Carlow and claimed five Leinster titles. All of those wins were in Newbridge. He was manager of Eire Og last season before switching to Naas and enjoying more success at the home of Kildare GAA.
The intriguing reward for a 10th Kildare title is a Leinster club clash with the Dublin champions on November 5/6. Kilmacud Crokes face Na Fianna in the Dublin final and if Crokes win then it will be a repeat of last season's Leinster final. Naas won't require any motivation for that one.
"I wouldn't be writing off Na Fianna," said Murphy. "They're a fabulous team so it's going to be a really good game and we'll get to have a look at it."
From a Naas perspective, they surely have plenty more in the tank. Darragh Kirwan is one of the county's best forwards but was held to a point. That was partly down to the excellence of Clane goalkeeper Cian Burke who pulled off several great saves, including two late on.
Naas had 10 wides in total and dropped four score attempts short. Where they really impressed was in strangling the Clane attack, limiting Tom Cribbin's side to just four points from play. They dominated the Clane kick-out too, winning 14 out of 23.
Naas should have led by more than 0-5 to 0-1 at half-time and, for a brief spell late in the third quarter when Clane struck three points in a row to trail by just three, it looked like that profligacy could prove costly.
They never flinched though and finished strongly, outscoring Clane by 1-4 to 0-1 from there on. McDermot's goal, when he trotted in from the right and blasted to the net, was a peach. And they could have had more but for Burke in Clane's goal.
Paddy McDermot (1-0); L Mullins (0-3, 2 frees, 1 45); A Beirne, T Browne (0-2); D Kirwan, E Callaghan (1 free), D Hanafin, C Doyle, J Cleary (0-1).
S O'Sullivan (0-4, 2 free); S McCormack, R Philips (0-1).
L Mullins; M Maguire, B Byrne, C Daly; T Browne, E Doyle, Paddy McDermot; A Beirne, J Burke; Paul McDermot, D Hanafin, B Kane; E Callaghan, D Kirwan, C Doyle.
S Hanafin for Burke (36); J Cleary for Paul McDermot (52); J McKevitt for Kane (53); K Cummins for C Doyle (57); E Prizeman for Browne (63).
C Burke; J Lynch, C Byrne, H O'Neill; R Philips; S McCormack, C Shanahan, T Montgomery; S Christanseen, S McCormack; C Vizzard, S Reilly, A Fanning; B McLoughlin, S O'Sullivan.
C O'Brien for Christanseen & J Burke for Vizzard (42); O Tighe for Lynch (49); S Callan for Fanning & D Egan for McCormack (60).
B Cawley (Sarsfields).
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