Na Fianna show no mercy against Sarsfields to clinch All-Ireland title

Sars started slowly and were not allowed to get back within touching distance. 

Sarsfields' goalkeeper Ben Graham makes first half save from Na Fianna's AJ Murphy during the AIB GAA hurling All-Ireland senior club championship final at Croke park. Picture: Eddie O'Hare

Na Fianna 2-23 Sarsfields 0-20 

The hallmark of Na Fianna’s road to Croker had been injury-time specials. Time and again they had to show a nerveless capacity to dig themselves out of a seemingly undiggable hole. Not here. Not today. This was frighteningly easy. This wasn’t far off perfect.

St Vincent’s, Kilmacud Crokes, and Loughrea had brought them to the brink. None had able to land that last punch. On All-Ireland final afternoon, Niall Ó Ceallacháin's side hadn’t a single glove laid on them.

The scoreboard, as is its remit, is to tell the story of the game. It was by far the most reliable metric in outlining the gulf in class between the Dublin champions and Cork representatives.

Na Fianna forged eight clear by the 16th minute. 0-9 to 0-1. Four minutes later, that lead hit double digits for the first time. 1-10 to 0-3. By half-time, that advantage was 12 strong. 1-16 to 0-7. Nine different scorers.

Their dominance was total. They swallowed their opponents whole in the middle third. It ensured a high quality of delivery into a set of forwards that routinely had a step on the Sars defenders.

Their second half didn’t need to be anything special. It wasn’t. But neither was the door left even slightly ajar for Sars.

Brian Ryan sent over boomers from distance. The second saw the midfielder clinch both fists and raise them to the sky. AJ Murphy continued to zip here and there, ever elusive. The full-forward finished with five from play.

Tom Brennan’s second major on 41 minutes served to take the last pulse from this non-event. Na Fianna well on their way to becoming only the second Dublin side, after Cuala in 2017 and 2018, to lift the Tommy Moore Cup.

Twenty-one minutes into the first-half, a graphic shot up on the two main screens in the stadium that was every bit as comprehensive as the 1-10 to 0-3 scoreline it appeared under. The graphic told us that Na Fianna had created 13 chances from play in the first 21 minutes, Sars just four.

It was just two minutes earlier that Daniel Kearney had delivered Sars’ first point from play. 19 minutes it took them in an All-Ireland final to find a score from play. This was no early wobble, this was so much more. This was blinding by All-Ireland final stage lights.

Na Fianna’s response was to execute the first green flag of this All-Ireland final. It had been coming. The surprise was that the goal hadn’t come earlier. Na Fianna were creating overlaps at their ease.

Inside the opening 10 minutes, corner-back Paul Leopold twice blocked the strikes of Colin Currie. On 18 minutes, goalkeeper Ben Graham emerged and spread himself to deny AJ Murphy.

On 20 minutes, there was no block. No denying anybody. Na Fianna sweeper and chief roamer Jack Meagher created the overlap for Tom Brennan. The latter’s finish was sufficient. In his first start of the campaign, Brennan top-scored.

Those aforementioned green flag denials aside, it was a first half where very little went wrong for Na Fianna. It was a first half where quite literally everything went wrong for Johnny Crowley's Sars.

Not long after the goal, Graham fed a short restart to half-back Luke Elliott. Sean Currie swooped and forced the turnover. A free was won and duly converted by Colin Currie.

There was another goal chance not taken approaching the half hour mark. Jack Meagher again with the assist, the ever-threatening Murphy blazing over. It was still a highly productive finish to the half for the lads from just out the road. Murphy and Seán Currie on target to stretch out the interval difference to 12 points. Not even the Ballygunner hammering of 2023 had Sars this far adrift at the break.

The warning signs flashed right from the off. What was presumed to be a nervous opening act became an entire first-half act of mistakes and malfunction.

In the opening passage, the typically clinical Cathal McCarthy was hooked by Kevin Burke as he dithered between white and green flag. Cian Darcy fumbled. Others ran out over possession.

By the eighth minute, Na Fianna had five points on the board, two strokes in the wides column, and two blocked goal opportunities. All Sars had to show was a single solitary Aaron Myers free.

Na Fianna were finding space wherever they looked. The angled deliveries of Liam Rushe, Peter Feeney, and Jack Meagher were fridge magnets for their intended yellow targets.

Eight-in-a-row between the fourth and 16th minute sent the Leinster champions 0-9 to 0-1 clear. Seven different players contributed, including a pair from Donal Burke.

Sars had to wait 17 minutes for a second, the county as a whole will have to wait another 12 months to attempt to bridge the gap to Newtownshandrum’s club success of St Patrick’s Day 2004.

For Na Fianna, the short spin back up to Mobhi Road will be so incredibly sweet.

Scorers for Na Fianna: T Brennan (2-1); C Currie (0-6, 0-5 frees, 0-1 65); AJ Murphy (0-5); D Burke (0-1 free), B Ryan (0-3); C Stacey (0-2); S Currie, J Meagher, P O’Dea (0-1 each).

Scorers for Sars: A Myers (0-10, 0-8 frees); J O’Connor (0-5); D Kearney (0-3, 0-1 65); D Hogan, B Murphy (0-1 each).

Na Fianna: J Tracey; S Burke, C McHugh, K Burke; P O’Dea, L Rushe, P Feeney; B Ryan, S Currie; J Meagher, D Burke, C Stacey; T Brennan, AJ Murphy, C Currie.

Subs: D Clerkin for Ryan (53); G King for Tom Brennan (56); D Ryan for P O’Dea (58); S Barrett for AJ Murphy (61); S Ryan for Meagher (62).

Sarsfields: B Graham; C Roche, C O’Sullivan, P Leopold; B Murphy, E Murphy, L Elliott; Colm McCarthy, Cillian McCarthy; D Kearney, D Hogan, C Darcy; J Sweeney, J O’Connor, A Myers.

Subs: S O’Regan for C Darcy, C Leahy for Elliott (both HT); L Healy for Colm McCarthy (40); K Murphy for E Murphy (45); E O’Sullivan for Sweeney (50).

Referee: L Gordon (Galway).