Dr Crokes retain Kerry club crown as An Ghaeltacht upset Fossa for intermediate honours
Kerry Senior Club Football Championship Final
Dr Crokes 0-20 Na Gaeil 1-12
Kerry Intermediate Football Championship final
An Ghaeltacht 0-19 Fossa 1-11
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DR CROKES RETAINED their Kerry Senior Club Championship title with a little more ease than the five-point winning margin suggests, withstanding a late surge from Na Gaeil that was too little too late from the Tralee club.
It was a gutsy performance from a Na Gaeil team playing in the club’s first senior championship final but the champions were simply too strong in too many departments.
Kerry’s recent All-Ireland winners Tony Brosnan and Gavin White led the Crokes charge, with the former scoring eight points from play and White converting two two-point scores in the first half.
Leading by seven points at half time, a lead they grew to 10 points by the 50th minute, Dr Crokes made it back-to-back titles with five to spare at the end, despite that late flurry of Na Gaeil scores – including a Diarmuid O’Connor goal.
O’Connor gave Na Gaeil the lead inside 30 seconds but Dr Crokes were back on terms by the minute-mark through Tom Doyle and then Brosnan struck for his first three by the seventh minute to set the champions on their way.
White utilised a stiff wind at Crokes’ backs to fire over a point and then followed with the first of two two-pointers as the Killarney men settled into their work.
White’s second orange flag made it 0-10 to 0-2 after 20 minutes, before O’Connor flashed a shot over the crossbar with a touch from Crokes goalkeeper Shane Murphy to be sure.
Brosnan converted two more points late in the half – either side of a James O’Connor point for Na Gaeil – to see the champions lead 0-12 to 0-5 at the interval; a fully merited lead and one that looked like it would be sufficient despite having to play into the wind in the second half.
Brosnan’s stretched the lead within 25 seconds of the restart, and Crokes powered on from there, with Mark O’Shea, Brian Looney, White and Burns doing most of the heavy lifting that was required.
By the 50th minute the lead was 10 points, 0-18 to 0-8, but then O’Connor reacted best to a dropping ball that came off the post to punch past Murphy, and when Jack Sheehan swished over a two-pointer the lead was down to four, 1-12 to 0-9.
But the clock was running down too, Alex Hennigan settled things with a Dr Crokes point, and the silverware was on its way back to Killarney.
Scorers for Dr Crokes: T Brosnan 0-8, G White 0-6 (2tp), M Burns 0-2, T Doyle, C McMahon, B Looney, A Hennigan 0-1 each.
Scorers for Na Gaeil: D O’Connor 1-2, J Sheehan 0-5 (1tp), A Barry, N O’Mahony, J O’Connor, O Maunsell, S O’Connor 0-1 each.
DR CROKES: Shane Murphy, Michael Potts, Fionn Fitzgerald, Neil O’Shea, Billy Courtney, Gavin White, Evan Looney, Mark O’Shea, Billy Courtney, Micheál Burns, Gavin O’Shea, Brian Looney, Tony Brosnan, Tom Doyle, Cian McMahon. Subs: Kieran O’Leary for T Doyle (inj, 40), Mark Cooper for C Fitzgerald (45), Alex Hennigan for C McMahon (55), David Shaw for M Burns (60).
NA GAEIL: Conor Bohane; Niall O’Mahoney, Stefan Okunbor, Enda O’Connor; Jack Doyle, Andrew Barry, Fergal Barry; Jack Barry, Diarmuid O’Connor; James O’Connor, Oisín Maunsell, Tomás O hAiniféin; Peter Doyle, Dara Devine, Jack Sheehan. Subs: Kieran O’Connor for D Devine (40), Darragh Reen for P Doyle (40), Eoin Doody for O’Mahony (43), Sean O’Connor for T O hAiniféin (49).
Referee: Brendan Griffin
Kerry Intermediate Football Championship final
An Ghaeltacht upset the odds in the Intermediate final with a fully deserved five-point win over David and Paudie Clifford’s Fossa in a curtain-raiser in Tralee that somewhat outshone the main event.
Kerry defender Brian Ó Beaglaoich was the star of the show, as he converted four two-point scores in the first half to help the West Kerry club to a 0-14 to 1-4 half time lead.
An Ghaeltacht had played with a strong wind in the first period, but they backed that up in the second half with a show of collective strength that trumped any individual brilliance David Clifford could muster.
An Ghaeltacht were leading 0-11 to 0-3 when Emmett O’Shea’s quick free reaped a goal for Fossa, but they were outclassed in most areas for much of the game.
A David Clifford point and then two-point in the 41st minute made it 0-15 to 1-8, but 10 minutes later a struggling Paudie Clifford was taken off and An Ghaeltacht sensed victory.
Former Cork footballer Aidan Walsh was immense for the winners, as were Aodhna O Beaglaoich, Eanna O Conchuir and captain Franz Sauerland who did a commendable marking job on David Clifford, and An Ghaeltacht saw it out with a late Ruaidhrí Ó Beagaloich point after another Clifford two-pointer had kept the margin at four with four minutes to play.
Scorers for An Ghaeltacht: B O’Beaglaoich 0-9 (4 tp), E O’Conchuir (0-3), C O’Coorrduibh (0-2), R O’Beaglaoich (0-2, 2f), A O Beaglaoich (0-2), C O’Beaglaoich, (0-1 each)
Scorers for Fossa: D Clifford 0-7 (2 tp, 1f), E O’Shea (1-3, 3 frees), M Rennie (0-1).
AN GHAELTACHT: Diarmuid Ó Séaghdha, JJ Mac Liam, Peter Paul Sauerland, Aodhna Ó Beaglaoich, Brian Ó Beaglaoich, Pádraig Ó Sé, Franz Sauerland, Aodán Breathnach, Cathal Ó Beaglaoich, Seán Ó Cuinn, Éanna Ó Conchúir, PJ Mac Láimh, Conor Ó Corrduibh, Ruaidhrí Ó Beaglaoich, Conn Ó Riagáin Subs: Adam Mac Amhlaoibh for PJ Mac Láimh, 43, Tomás Ó Sé (DC) for C Ó Riagáin (inj), 43, Gavin Ó Cinnéide for S Ó Cuinn (inj), 54
FOSSA: Shane O’Sullivan, Dan O’Connell, Brian Myers, Sam Buckley, Kieran O’Sullivan, Eoin Talbot, Paddy Sheehan, Cian O’Shea, Matt Rennie, Fintan Coffey, Paudie Clifford, Ted O’Gorman, David Clifford, Emmett O’Shea, Killian Buckley Subs: Harry Buckley for F Coffey, 37, Rian Colleran for K Buckley, 41, Darren Ryan for M Rennie, 50, Michael O’Dwyer for P Clifford, 50
Referee: Paul Hayes (Kerins O’Rahillys)
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