PTSB Dublin SFC 1: Quarter-finals fixtures confirmed

​PTSB Dublin senior 1 football championship, Round 3

By Paul Keane

Not for the first time, Kilmacud Crokes have Paul Mannion to thank for keeping their interest alive in the PTSB Dublin SFC.

Needing to beat Ballinteer St Johns this afternoon by more than four points to advance from Group 2 to the knock-out stage, the Stillorgan side duly delivered with a 1-19 to 1-14 victory.

But it was a close shave for David Nestor's side and they were mightily grateful to former Dublin star Mannion who blasted a whopping 1-13, a haul that included no less than five two-pointers.

The last of Mannion's scores was a two-pointer, struck from a free off the ground five minutes into stoppage time, and this ultimately secured the coveted five-point win.

As a result, Crokes finished top of Group, edging Clontarf into second position while Ballinteer, who started the day in top spot after two wins, were nudged into third place.

Crokes fielded without Galway star Shane Walsh for the third game running due to injury while Mannion had his own injury scare in the second half.

The number 11 pulled up with an apparent lower back strain after converting a monster two-point free from his hands early in the second half and left the field for treatment.

He'd already missed the Round 1 defeat to Clontarf and only played 30 minutes of the Round 2 win over Whitehall Colmcille.

But fears of a fresh setback were allayed when Mannion returned to the pitch and struck three more vital scores.

The 11-times Dublin champions will take on Castleknock in the quarter-finals while Clontarf, who finished second in Group 2, will face holders Ballyboden St Endas.

Ballymun Kickhams will play Thomas Davis while the last of the quarter-finals in a fortnight will see Cuala meet Skerries Harps.

Ballymun beat St Jude's 1-20 to 1-13 in the second part of today's Parnell Park double header to advance from Group 4 as winners.

Fiach Andrews, who struck the winner for the Séamus O'Shea managed Kickhams in Round 2 against Lucan, struck 1-3 this time.

Dublin selector Dean Rock, in charge of the Sky Blues for a period this year, scored 0-6 including the last three points of the game as Ballymun outscored Judes 0-9 to 1-0 in the closing 15 minutes or so.

Thomas Davis had already secured their quarter-final berth so weren't overly troubled by a four-point 2-18 to 2-22 defeat to relegation-threatened Raheny.

Former All-Ireland winners Cuala underlined their quality this afternoon with a 4-27 to 0-14 demolition of Lucan.

In Group 1 on Saturday, Castleknock and Ballyboden each scored five goals in their respective wins to march confidently through to the last eight.

In Group 3, Raheny finished with that four-point win over Thomas Davis while Skerries' 2-17 to 3-13 win over 2025 finalists Na Fianna was a cracker, coming down to the very last kick at Parnell Park.

Late goals from Conor McHugh and Ciarán Reddin hauled Na Fianna back and David Lacey could have won it for them, and sent them through to the quarter-finals, but couldn't convert a last gasp free from outside the arc.

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Ballymun Kickhams scorers: Fiach Andrews 1-3, Dean Rock 0-6 (0-1f), Keelin McGann 0-3 (1 tp), Jamie Grant 0-2, Darragh Kane 0-2, Davey Leonard 0-1, Carl Keeley 0-1, James McCarthy 0-1, Dillon Keating 0-1.

St Judes scorers: Oisín Costello 1-2, Tom Lahiff 0-3, Alan Connolly 0-2, Michael Lawlor 0-2 (0-1f), Kamen Bagnall 0-1, Liam Toye 0-1, Kevin Lahiff 0-1, Kieran Doherty 0-1.

Ballymun Kickhams: Evan Comerford; Leon Young, Eamon Hill, Cian Fagan; Darragh Conlon, James McCarthy, Davey Leonard; Aaron Elliott, Cameron McCormack; Jamie Grant, Fiach Andrews, John Small; Darragh Kane, Keelin McGann, Dean Rock.

Subs: Carl Keeley for Elliott 43, Dean Robertson for Fagan 56, Dillon Keating for Andrews 56, Eoin Dolan for Small 64.

St Judes: Brendan Flynn; Seán Kirwan, Alex Hassett, Paddy Keighran; Eoghan Costello, Simon King, Tom Lahiff; Liam Toye, Kieran Doherty; Daragh Kavanagh, Kamen Bagnall, Oisín Costello; Hugh O'Neill, Alan Connolly, Michael Lawlor.

Subs: Jack Crennan for Hassett 3, Kevin Lahiff for Kavanagh h/t, Eoin Kenny for Bagnall 39, Simon Murphy for Eoghan Costello 56, Thomas Tisdall for Toye 61.

Referee: Séamus Farrelly (Ballinteer St Johns).

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​Kilmacud Crokes scorers: Paul Mannion 1-13 (1 pen, 2tp, 3 tpf, 3f), Dara Mullin 0-1, Niall Comerford 0-1, Conal Ó Riain 0-1, Cillian O'Shea 0-1, Finnian Donohoe 0-1, Mark O'Leary 0-1.

Ballinteer St John's scorers: Eoghan Fitzpatrick 1-2 (1 tp), Jack Lundy 0-4 (1 tpf, 2f), Luke Breathnach 0-1, Luke Cullen 0-1 (1m), Donal O'Meara 0-1, Mark McNally 0-1, Séamus Fenton 0-1, Nicky Devereux 0-1, Ronan Cullen 0-1, Liam Smith 0-1.

Kilmacud Crokes: Robbie Murray; Mikey Mullin, Theo Clancy, James Murphy; Aidan Jones, Cillian O'Shea, Leo Fearon; Ben Shovlin, Niall Comerford; Cian O'Connor, Paul Mannion, Conal Ó Riain; Finnian Donohoe, Dara Mullin, Shane Horan.

Subs: Paddy O'Connor for Mullin h/t, Mark O'Leary for Horan h/t, Craig Dias for Ó Riain 48, Dan O'Brien for Fearon 55, Dara Dempsey for Donohoe 58.

Ballinteer St Johns: Aodhán Clabby; Colm Fitzpatrick, Matthew Gardiner, Ben Millist; Mark McNally, Liam Smith, David Devereux; Eoghan Fitzpatrick, Séamus Fenton; Patrick Coleman, Jack Lundy, Ronan Cullen; Aaron Bradshaw, Luke Breathnach, Luke Cullen.

Subs: Donal O'Meara for Bradshaw 38, Iain O hEithir 48, Liam Fenton for Séamus Fenton 50, Nicky Devereux for Cullen 55, Finn Nolan for Coleman 57.

Referee: Seán McCarthy (St Vincent's).