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Go Ahead Ireland Dublin LGFA Senior Club Championship Final
Kilmacud Crokes 1-11 St Sylvesters 0-12
By Nigel McCarthy
In stormy weather conditions Kilmacud Crokes claimed their fourth senior club title in a row on Friday evening in Parnell Park as they held on to claim a two-point victory over St Sylvesters in the 2025 Go Ahead Ireland Dublin LGFA Senior Club Championship Final.
Weather conditions due to storm Amy weren’t ideal for football with very strong winds blowing from the Church End throughout the game, but that didn’t stop both teams putting on a tactical, extremely intense, but very entertaining battle for the large crowd gathered at the home of Dublin GAA.
Both sides met in last year’s decider with Kilmacud Crokes prevailing by one point and with both teams once again evenly matched Fridays final was just as tight as the 2024 final.
There was little between them in opening quarter of the game, but a quick interchange of passes involving Aoife Kane, Amy Conroy and Niamh Cotter opened up the St Sylvesters defence and the move was finished off by Michelle Davoren to the net for an excellent goal.
That looked like it could be a momentum shifter, but St Sylvesters hit back with three unanswered points, two from Kate Sullivan and one from Kate O’Toole to cancel out the Crokes goal.
Just before the half-time break Kilmacud Crokes broke through what was a well drilled defensive set-up from St Sylvesters, Amy Conroy got free in a small pocket of space one and one with the keeper, but Conroy could only look on in disbelief as Siobhan Cassidy Fagan pulled off a stunning save to deny Crokes a second goal of the half and the Stillorgan side had to settle for a one point lead at the break with the score 1-04 to 0-06.
Kilmacud Crokes with the strong wind at their backs doubled their lead two minutes after the restart with a point from Michelle Davoren who was proving to be a handful to contain for the St Sylvesters defence.
The game was an interesting tactical battle throughout, both sides aggressively pushed up on their opponents kick-outs and if primary possession wasn’t won or the ball wasn’t turned over, then out of possession both teams dropped twelve players into their own half to set up a defensive wall to limit scoring opportunities.
In the second half though Crokes, with the wind at their backs used the tactics to perfection, they defended aggressively and either turned the ball over or forced Sylvester’s players to over carry, then quickly move the ball to midfield and hit long accurate ball to Michelle Davoren who continually got out in front of her marker to gather possession.
The tactic almost paid dividends in the thirty sixth minute, Niamh Cotter hit a long pass from midfield to Davoren who gathered the ball, turned past her marker Cliona Fitzpatrick and was unlucky to see her pile-driver of a shot get the slightest of deflections onto the crossbar and out for a forty-five.
Crokes extended their lead further in the fortieth minute with a point from Éabha Rutledge, but St Sylvester’s hit back with two quick points of their own, a pointed free from Kate Sullivan who finished with an impressive nine points to her name and the other from Angela McGuigan as this intense battle swung one way and then the other.
With twelve minutes left in the final Michelle Davoren went from the high of scoring her third point of the game to the devastating low of been shown a yellow card and ten nervy minutes on the sideline for a high tackle on Dannielle Lawless.
Unfortunately for St Sylvesters, despite having an extra player a Kate Sullivan converted free was all they managed while Crokes hit three points in the same period from Éabha Rutledge, Niamh Cotter and Kate Murray to leave five points between the teams as the game headed into the final minutes of action.
St Sylvesters though weren’t going down without a fight, a point from Dannielle Lawless and a converted free from Kate Sullivan left just a goal between the teams. And just before the whistle Kate Sullivan somehow found a small pocket of space but agonisingly for the Malahide outfit Sullivan’s well struck shot just cleared the crossbar by inches and Kilmacud Crokes held on to claim their fourth senior title in a row.
The game started with a brace of attacks from both sides which came to nothing, but in the fourth minute a mistake in the Kilmacud Crokes defence was pounced on by Sinéad Aherne who gathered the loose ball, exchanged passes with Angela McGuigan and Aherne was fouled, Kate Sullivan stepped up stroked the free over the bar to open the scoring.
The sides were level five minutes later, midfielder Kate Murray hit a long ball to Michelle Davoren who cut inside her marker and popped the ball over.
St Sylvesters retook the lead with the next attack, Nicole Owens switched the ball from midfield to Kate Sullivan on the left wing, the corner forward cut back into the centre and hit a wonderful effort from forty metres out over the bar.
Kilmacud attacked down the left, Ailbhe Davoren carried the ball to the endline, turned back and picked out a fine pass to Éabha Rutledge who swung over her first point of the game.
Crokes took the lead for the first time in the final courtesy of a pointed free from Niamh Cotter. The best passage of play in the first half arrived in the nineteenth minute, Kilmacud broke from deep, a quick interchange of passes between Aoife Kane, Amy Conroy and Niamh Cotter through the centre cut the Sylvesters defence apart, Cotter hit a pass to Michelle Davoren who broke past two players and slotted the ball into the net under the despairing dive of goalkeeper Siobhan Cassidy Fagan.
With four points now between the teams St Sylvesters needed a response and respond they did.
Kate Sullivan converted a free in the twenty first minute. The Sylvesters players aggressively pushed up on the resultant kick-out, Dannielle Lawless won the ball, passed out to the right to Sinéad Aherne who’s effort for a point sailed high across the goal, the ball deflected off the hands of goalkeeper Dearbhla Gower, Nicole Owens was quickest to react and collected the ball on the endline and played the ball back out to Kate O’Toole who swung the ball over the bar.
Seconds later and Sylvesters again overturned the ball deep in the Crokes half and Kate Sullivan pointed to leave just a point between the sides.
A point from Ailbhe Davoren five minutes before the break extended the Kilmacud Crokes lead to two. But a pointed free from Kate Sullivan once again left the bare minimum between the teams.
Just before the whistle for the half-time break Niamh Cotter went on a defence splitting run through the centre of the park, Cotter released Amy Conroy in front of goal with an accurate hand pass, Conroy was free one on one with the keeper and it looked inevitable that Crokes would score their second goal of the game, but Conroy looked on in astonishment as St Sylvesters goalkeeper Siobhan Cassidy Fagan pulled off a stunning save and Crokes had to be satisfied with just a one point lead at the break with the score 1-04 to 0-06.
Kilmacud Crokes doubled their lead two minutes into the second half, an excellent foot pass from Ailbhe Davoren found Michelle Davoren just to the left of the goal, Michelle turned inside two players and slotted over.
St Sylvesters were finding it difficult in the early stages of the second half to break down Crokes defensive set-up to conjure up scoring opportunities with the intensity of the tackling from Kilmacud players forcing numerous turnovers or Sylvesters players penalised for over carrying.
In the thirty sixth minute a long ball from midfield by Niamh Cotter found Michelle Davoren who once again broke past her marker and let fly at goal, but the slightest touch from goalkeeper Siobhan Cassidy Fagan deflected the ball onto the crossbar and out for a forty-five.
Cotter found Éabha Rutledge with the kick from the forty-five and Rutledge popped the ball over to extend the lead to three points.
With twenty minutes to go Niamh Cotter hit another excellent long pass to Michelle Davoren who offloaded to Rutledge to score a sweet point and put Kilmacud four points in front.
Kate Sullivan pulled a point back with a converted free and the St Sylvesters players applied a huge amount of pressure from the restart to force an over carrying decision from the referee, the resultant free was quickly taken to Angela McGuigan who made no mistake in reducing the deficit to just two points with a fine pointed score.
In the forty-eight minute another long direct ball from Niamh Cotter to Michelle Davoren did the trick as the full forward added another point to her tally.
But just seconds later Davoren plummeted from the high of scoring, to devastation when she was shown a yellow card for a high tackle on Dannielle Lawless and had to spend ten minutes in the sinbin.
A player up St Sylvesters reduced the deficit to two points with a converted free from Kate Sullivan, her seventh point of the game.
But Kilmacud Crokes hit three points on the spin to extend their lead to five points, Cliona Fitzpatrick tried to bring the ball out from defence, but Fitzpatrick lost control of the ball, Éabha Rutledge pounced on the loose ball and hit a wonderful point.
Niamh Cotter added another point in the fifty fourth minute and a point from the right wing from midfielder Kate Murray gave the Stillorgan outfit a five-point advantage with time running out.
St Sylvesters though battled to the end and almost brought the game to extra-time; Sinéad Aherne hit a quick free to Dannielle Lawless in space and the centre half-back hit a post splitting effort over.
Seconds later and Kate Sullivan converted yet another free to leave just a goal between the sides.
With time almost up St Sylvesters went for broke to get the goal they badly needed and in the frantic closing stages Kate Sullivan somehow found a yard of space in the packed Kilmacud defence, but Sullivan could only look on in agony as her well struck shot at goal went inches over the bar and moments later the full-time whistle went to confirm a fourth title in a row for Kilmacud Crokes.
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