Kilmacud Crokes defeat Naomh Barróg in second round of PTSB Dublin SHC 1

KILMACUD CROKES 2-28

NAOMH BARRÓG 3-16

Kilmacud Crokes registered their second win on the bounce in Group 1 of the PTSB Dublin Senior 1 Hurling Championship when accounting for Naomh Barróg by nine points at Parnell Park on Saturday afternoon.

Having eased past St Vincent’s a week previously, Kilmacud played against the elements in the opening-half but impressed for the large part through nine Ronan Hayes points as they led by 1-15 to 0-9 by half-time.

Their opponents were far improved in the second-half and two Nathan Kidd goals made the final scoreline a more accurate reflection of their endeavours over the hour.  

Ronan Hayes added two quick points for Crokes in the early stages while Tom Stakelum scored a cracking third before Joe Flanagan opened the Barróg account when converting a 6th minute free.

Crokes maintained their control courtesy of classy strikes by Cian Ó Cathasaigh and Alex Considine but their opponents gradually settled into the clash with Flanagan, Dean Flood and Sean Doyle all on target from play.

Considine and Doyle exchanged points either side of the first-quarter mark with Barróg goalkeeper Josh Rooney making a brave intervention in the 21st minute as he raced out from goal to block Ó Cathasaigh’s goal bound shot.

The free-taking of Hayes kept the Crokes scoreboard ticking over with the Barróg defence beginning to creak as they received three relatively unarguable bookings.

Their rearguard was eventually breached in the 25th minute as Considine cleverly popped a pass to the inrushing Finnian Donohue, who cut inside before hammering high past the helpless Rooney.

A second goal could have arrived in added time but Rooney made another smart stop to deny Considine but Hayes added the resultant ‘65’ to leave Crokes leading by double scores at the turnaround.

Kilmacud resumed in an equally dominant manner as another Stakelum score preceded a Dara Purcell brace with Considine also joining in on the act in the first five minutes of the second-half.

Daniel Moore replied for the Kilbarrack side but their busiest player was Rooney, who thwarted Considine again before tipping a deft Purcell effort over the crossbar.

Barróg were handed a boost as substitute Nathan Kidd put the finishing touches to a well-worked move involving Flood and Seán Gallagher, reducing their arrears to eleven points by the start of the final quarter.

Points followed through Gallagher and Ring but Kilmacud regained their rhythm courtesy of scores from Brian Hayes, Fergal Whitely and Ronan Hayes as we entered the closing stages.

To their credit, Naomh Barróg continued to battle and were rewarded as Paddy Doyle joined the attack to net in the 54th minute but his evening ended three minutes later as he collected a second booking.

It mattered little in terms of the overall result as Donohue and Kidd both netted their second goals in added time of a largely enjoyable contest.

Scorers – Kilmacud Crokes: R Hayes 0-12 (8f, 1 ’65); F Donohue 2-1; T Stakelum, A Considine, D Purcell 0-3 each; C Ó Cathasaigh 0-2; B Hayes, C Conway, F Whitely, G Flannery 0-1 apiece. Naomh Barróg: J Flanagan 0-8 (6f); N Kidd 2-1; S Doyle 0-3; P Doyle 1-0; S Gallagher, D Moore, D Flood, E Ó Conghaile 0-1 apiece.

Kilmacud Crokes: E Gibbons; B Sheehy, P Linehan, D Geraghty; T Stakelum, M Grogan, C Ó Cathasaigh; B Hayes, C Conway; F Whitely, R Hayes, F Donohue; D Purcell, O O’Rorke, A Considine. Subs: G Flannery for O’Rorke (40), A Hatt for Considine (40), B O’Carroll for Grogan (51), C Keys for Ó Cathasaigh (51).

Naomh Barróg: J Rooney; M Flanagan, A O’Donohue, L Glynn; S Gallagher, P Doyle, F McDonald; E Hart, C Gallagher; D Duggan, S Doyle, S Ryan; J Flanagan, D Moore, D Flood. Subs: N Kidd for C Gallagher (36), E Ó Conghaile for Moore (43), N Ring for McDonald (49), S Duggan for Glynn (49). 

Referee: Thomas Gleeson (Naomh Fionnbarra).