Kilmacud Crokes Ease Past Naomh Barróg To Reach Go-Ahead Ireland Senior 1 Hurling Semi Finals

KILMACUD CROKES 3-27

NAOMH BARRÓG 0-18

Image courtesy Eamon O'Callaghan

Kilmacud Crokes progressed to the semi-finals of the Go-Ahead Ireland Dublin Senior 1 Hurling Championship following their eighteen-point victory over Naomh Barróg at Parnell Park on Saturday afternoon. 

Crokes were strong favourites to advance to the last four with five Oisín O’Rorke points and a trio of Alex Considine scores helping build an 0-14 to 0-9 advantage by the turnaround.

They put the contest to bed with two early goals upon the resumption by Brian Hayes and Brendan Kenny and further gloss was added to the final scoreline as Michael Roche added a third goal in the 50th minute. 

With the breeze at their backs, it was the Kilbarrack outfit that started brightly with Aodhán O’Donoghue’s point within forty seconds followed up by an excellent Joe Flanagan score. 

Ronan Hayes replied for Crokes in the 3rd minute but the Dublin full-forward was forced off through injury soon after as Barróg regained their two-point lead through a Flanagan free. 

Kilmacud gradually drew level through Considine and O’Rorke but some encouraging play from the underdogs was rewarded thanks to Séadhna Ryan’s 10th minute score. 

Despite a superb score from deep by Paddy Doyle, the Barróg scoring dried up somewhat as we entered the second quarter as their opponents pushed ahead through a brace from substitute Roche and further points by O’Rorke, Fergal Whitely and Considine.  

With Cian Mac Gabhann impressing behind his half-back line, Kilmacud continued to hold the upper hand and while Flanagan and O’Donoghue popped up with scores approaching the break, an O’Rorke brace edged his side five-points clear by half-time.

O’Donoghue’s third point from wing-back cancelled out an early Caolán Conway score but an uphill task became even steeper for Barróg in the 33rd minute as Brian Hayes raced onto Roche’s pass before coolly cutting inside Josh Rooney and blasting to the net. 

The contest was effectively settled three minutes later in a similar fashion as Kenny’s pace took him beyond the Barróg and he made no mistake with a clinical finish across the helpless Rooney from ten yards. 

It proved one-way traffic from that juncture as Crokes piled on the pain with Considine, Whitely, Brendan Scanlan, O’Rorke and Kenny all adding points by the three-quarter mark. 

Roche finished well to add a third goal in the 50th minute and while Flanagan took his personal tally to thirteen points by the final whistle, it proved a disappointing day for Barróg in their first ever quarter-final at the highest grade.      

Scorers – Kilmacud Crokes: O O’Rorke 0-7 (5f); M Roche 1-3; B Kenny 1-2; A Considine, F Whitely 0-4 each; B Hayes 1-0; C Donovan, B Scanlan 0-2 each; C Conway, R Hayes, D Purcell 0-1 apiece. Naomh Barróg: J Flanagan 0-13 (9f); A O’Donoghue 0-3; P Doyle, S Ryan 0-1 apiece.

Kilmacud Crokes: E Gibbons; C Ryan, P Linehan, D Lucey; B Sheehy, C Mac Gabhann, M Grogan; B Hayes, F Whitely; R Hayes, O O’Rorke, C Conway; D Purcell, A Considine, B Kenny. Subs: M Roche for R Hayes (6), A Hatt for O’Rorke (Temp, 28-31), B Scanlan for Considine (43), D Crowe for Grogan (46), Hatt for Kenny (49), C Donovan for O’Rorke (49).    

Naomh Barróg: J Rooney; L Glynn, S Duggan, C Gibson; A O’Donoghue, P Doyle, H Nolan; S Gallagher, C Gallagher; S Doyle, F McDonald, J Flanagan; E Hart, M Tierney, S Ryan. Subs: D Duggan for Flanagan (Temp, 15-18), D Moore for Tierney (29), D Duggan for McDonald (half-time),  

Referee: Colm McCarthy (St Vincent’s).