Whatever expectations preceded this Leinster club meeting disappeared not long after the throw-in when an explosive first half performance from Na Fianna proved far too much for the Wicklow champions to handle.
There were high hopes surroundings Rathnew's potential, but even the talk of Aughrim being an intimidating spot for visitors failed to produce any sort of inspiration necessary to topple the Dublin side. What developed was a one-sided affair that completely failed to excite the strongly-attended Wicklow venue, and concluded with an ugly brawl that made it all the more forgettable.
So much of Na Fianna's strength is rooted in forwards Dessie Farrell, Mick Galvin and Senan Connell, but similar to the Dublin championship victory over St Brigid's, there were some vital contributions from Kieran McGeeney at centre back and Des Mackin at midfield. Indeed as a total outfit they were highly impressive for the first 30 minutes, but unfortunately for everyone involved there were precious little entertainment after that.
In fact, Farrell's goal midway through the second half was their only score in that period. If Rathnew had been any closer, it could have been different but unfortunately for them the gap at that stage was far too distant.
McGeeney had signalled Na Fianna's determination with the opening point inside the first minute. Darren Coffey's free equalised soon after but from then on there was only one team playing football. Ian Foley and Aron Shearer were combining so effectively with Farrell that all three added to the score inside the first quarter hour. On top of that, Galvin was having another good day with his free taking, helping Na Fianna build a five-point lead by the 20-minute mark.
The first real run at the Dubliners defence at that stage may well have sparked the perfect response for Rathnew. Declan Byrne sent on a short-range pass to Mark Doyle but he could only fist it wide of the posts. For the most part, Na Fianna were well able to tidy up in that area as well so that the Rathnew potential was well concealed.
Coffey managed another free before the end of the half although there was no diversion in the run of play. McGeeney then produced the best point so far from close to the left sideline, Connell got the one he deserved, and with Galvin converting every chance they got, it was hardly surprising that Na Fianna led 0-11 to 0-2 at the interval.
Rathnew improved somewhat after the break, with Trevor Doyle blasting off the post and Mark Doyle stopped at the last step by Stephen Grey in front of goal. James Snell was brought on to speed up the attack but three successive runs at goal yielded nothing.
Still, Na Fianna fell into an increasingly lethargic pattern which allowed Rathnew to sneak a few scores, albeit in a trickle. Mark Doyle added his second as the space finally opened up around midfield but what completely killed Rathnew off was to see McGeeney run half the length of the field and pop a short pass to Farrell 13 minutes into the half. He then stepped right past Tommy Murphy and fired the ball into the net.
Inside the last 10 minutes Connell was harshly red-carded for a high but clearly accidental tackle on Mark Coffey, and that served no other purpose than to heat up the tempers. Both sides spilled into a brawl as the clocked ticked out, but at that stage most interest in the game was lost and referee Brian White restarted without making any bookings.
NA FIANNA: S Grey; S McGlinchy, B Quinn, T Lynch; M Foley, K McGeeney (0-2), P McCarthy; S Forde, D Mackin; M Galvin (0-4, all frees), S Connell (0-1), K Donnelly; D Farrell (1-1), A Shearer (0-2), I Foley (0-1, a free). Subs: D Keagan for Forde (52 mins), D Lynch for Shearer (17 mins).
RATHNEW: T Murphy; D Doyle, E White, E Jameson; E Franey, M Coffey, C Murphy; D Coffey (0-3, all frees), D Byrne (0-1); M Doyle (0-2), T Doyle, S Byrne; T Gill, R Coffey, K Gill. Subs: J Snell for Byrne (half-time), J Connor for Jameson (40 mins).
Referee: Brian White (Wexford).
