Castleknock 0-12 Kilmacud Crokes 1-11

Castleknock held Kilmacud scoreless for the last 18 minutes of this TG4 televised, Senior 1 Football Championship Round 3 match in Parnell Park this afternoon (Aug.16) but the full-time whistle went a couple of minutes too soon for Castleknock to get the crucial scores they needed to save the game.

Three times in the space of three minutes, between the 10th and 13th minutes of the second-half it seemed inevitable that Castleknock would score a goal. In fact in the 10th minute Seamus O’Carroll did rattle the Crokes net but unfortunately he over-carried in the process to deny Castleknock an equalising goal.

A minute later after Ciarán Kilkenny had mysteriously been denied a mark, Eoin O’Brien’s fisted effort came back off the Crokes bar and the follow shot up from Ben Galvin was stopped short of the line. Then less than two minutes later after Morven Connolly had advanced quickly to save the danger at one end, at the other end Seamus O’Carroll had a thunderous shot saved only for the rebound to once again be cleared to safety.

It was that kind of day although Castleknock will certainly rue their ten wides, eight in the first half, to just two wides for Kilmacud and none at all in the first-half.

Indeed Castleknock got off to the worse possible start conceding 1-2 in the first 5 minutes, the goal bundled in after a typically brilliant Morven Connolly save. Ciarán Kilkenny kick-started the recovery with a point from play inside 60 seconds and between then and the Water-Break Castleknock dominated the play.

Tommy McDaniel hit a fine point on 7 minutes and Ciarán Kilkenny’s fourth point from play just before the Water-Break meant that Castleknock were deservedly back on level terms at 0-5 1-2, one of those Ciaran Kilkenny points coming straight from a kick-out and another from a great catch by Shane Boland.

The break undoubtedly broke Castleknock’s momentum as Kilmacud grabbed the next four points, three from frees and one a fisted effort to make it 0-5 1-6 to restore Crokes four point lead.

 Castleknock ended the first-half strongly with Tommy McDaniel bringing his total to three points, the first after a fine inside catch to leave it 0-7 1-7 at the interval.

In the first nine minutes of the second-half Castleknock and Kilmacud went almost score about. Seamus O’Carroll scored two from play while another from Tommy McDaniel was sandwiched in between to keep the margin at three points, 0-10 1-10.

Then came that amazing sequence of close calls when it seems Castleknock simply had to score the goal which would have won the game.

In the middle of all that excitement Kilmacud tagged on their final score of the day and after that Castleknock did everything possible to catch them.

A Gerard McDermottroe pointed free brought the difference back to three then with nine minutes to play Rob Shaw who had an excellent afternoon, powered forward to hit a huge point from 40 metres, 0-12 1-11.

There were no further scores for either side as interruption after interruption killed the game dead and while Kilmacud finished with 14 players Castleknock just could not break down their massed defence, the final whistle coming ‘minutes too soon’ for the chase to be successfully completed.

Whatever happens now however, one thing is certain, Numbers 1-15 and the subs, Castleknock died with their boots on in Parnell Park today.

The situation as of this evening (Sunday Aug.16) remains uncertain and Castleknock’s continued involvement in this year’s Senior 1 Football Championship could even be determined by a name being pulled out of a hat. So all is not lost just yet. 

Castleknock: Morven Connolly; Ciaran Murphy; Eoin O’Brien; Rob Shaw (0-1); James Tolan; Tom Quinn; Paul Bourke; Darragh Warnock; James Sherry; Seamus O’Carroll (0-2); Ciarán Kilkenny (0-4); Shane Boland; Conor Chawke; Gerard McDermottroe (0-1); Tommy McDaniel (0-4). Subs: Ben Galvin; Kevin Kindlon; Kevin Stephenson.

Manager: Declan O’Sullivan
Report: Kevin Mallon