LEINSTER CLUB FOOTBALL - Kilmacud Crokes 0-13 Celbridge 0-8:KILMACUD CROKES, the Dublin champions, front-loaded all the drama in Parnell Park yesterday before settling for a mature and businesslike win over a Celbridge side who huffed and puffed for long periods but never looked like blowing down the house, writes Tom Humphries
Crokes had made a pre-match switch, putting the substantial veteran Jonny Magee into their full-forward line. Two minutes into the game a high swirling ball came overhead. Magee stuck a hand up; dislocated a finger and came off straightaway to be replaced by the sprightly young prospect Barry O'Rorke.
The loss of the more totemic of the Magee brothers affected Crokes hardly a whit. And for the next quarter of an hour they played better, more cohesive football than they managed in most outings in their domestic championship where they continually give the impression of being a team with far more in them.
Mark Vaughan, a genius with a regularly used "off" switch, was having one of his good days. Mark Davoren and Brian Kavanagh both stepped up as well and some of the interplay in that period was magical as Crokes, level on one point apiece after five minutes, scored the next seven points without reply to effectively lock down the game.
That period of impressive fluency was interrupted only by the rather surprising dismissal of Cian O'Sullivan, the impressive Crokes centre back. O'Sullivan and his marker had been involved in some relatively harmless niggles a few minutes previously, but there was a ripple of genuine surprise when in the 17th minute, after an apparent off-the-ball incident, O'Sullivan was given his marching orders.
For a side with less self-confidence than Crokes the loss could have been debilitating.
O'Sullivan is a powerful defender and fine distributor of the ball and has been a fulcrum through the Dublin championship. Crokes covered his loss in the classic manner by working harder and if they never moved with quite the same smoothness for the rest of the game they never seriously looked like leaving it behind them.
Celbridge, even with O'Sullivan gone, found it difficult to penetrate Croke's excellent defence and tended to get more value out of high balls played into the full-forward line. They added two points before half-time, but still went to the break trailing by six points.
After the break Crokes absorbed pressure for quite a while without looking unduly alarmed. Celbridge picked off the first score of the half from Shane Harte but the replies were swift, a point from the excellent and robust Pat Burke and then a Vaughan free stretched the gap to seven points.
Celbridge kept chipping away but never got back to closer than four points. Typical of the second half was the instant after Cormac McEvoy scored the point of the day for his side to bring the gap back to four. From the kickout Darren Magee soared majestically and fielded the ball lifting the entire Kilmacud contingent in Parnell Park and handing his side back the momentum.
Minutes later Davoren made a similarly eye-catching catch in his own half and rejoined the move he initiated some 60 metres later to pop the ball over the bar .
So it went, a comfortable win for Dublin's blue bloods. Ray Cosgrove to return soon, moving well. The big fish in Leinster's modest pond.
KILMACUD CROKES: D Nestor; K Nolan, P Griffin, C Lambe; B McGrath, C O'Sullivan, A Morrissey; D Magee, N Corkery; L McBarron, P Burke (0-2), J Magee; M Vaughan (0-5, all frees), M Davoren (0-2) B Kavanagh (0-2). Subs: B O'Rorke (0-2) for J Magee (2 mins), R O'Carroll for McBarron (44 mins), J Magee for B O'Rorke (52 mins), K O'Carroll for M Vaughan (60 mins).
CELBRIDGE: P Spratt; D McEvoy, R Hannon, S Harte (0-3, two frees); C Brophy, M Wright, P Carty; H McGrillen (0-2), D Byrne; P Fitzgerald, C McEvoy (0-1), A Cahill; O Lyons, T Fitzgerald, M O'Sullivan (0-1). Subs: M Maloney for P Fitzgerald (38 mins), B Moyles (0-1) for A Cahill (38 mins), D Moore for Lyons (43 mins), J Creighton for D Byrne (59 mins).
Referee: C O'Reilly (Meath).
