Dublin SFC Final

ST. VINCENT'S 0-15 CASTLEKNOCK 0-10

By John Harrington at Parnell Park

A strong second-half showing from St. Vincent’s saw them win the club’s 27th Dublin SFC title in Parnell Park this afternoon.

First-time finalists Castleknock were very game opponents, but they just didn’t have the same craft or cutting edge in attack that St. Vincent’s did.

The Marino club showed a lot of know-how to win despite the red-carding of Ger Brennan in the second-half and an uncharacteristically quiet performance by talisman Diarmuid Connolly.

He was held scoreless by man-marker Tom Quinn who did a more than passable of Mayo’s Lee Keegan in the manner in which he stuck like tar to Connolly.

St. Vincent’s had an impressive Quinn of their own though in the shape of veteran corner-forward Tomás who top-scored with five points and along with Enda Varley gave his team the sort of finishing power that Castleknock lacked.

Considering they were playing in their first ever county final, it was not all that surprising that Castleknock started the game a little nervously.

Passes were over or undercooked, ball-carriers ran into traffic, and their first couple of shots on goal were off target.

St. Vincent’s, as befitting a club sitting on top of the roll of honour with 26 previous county title wins, seemed much more at ease with the occasion.

They won most of the early collisions in the middle third, defended smartly, and were clinical whenever they got within scoring range.

They hit the first two points of the match, two of them from the very lively Varley who was troubling the Castleknock defence with his speed and low centre of gravity.

Like he so often does, it was Castleknock’s Dublin star, Ciaran Kilkenny, who provided his team with some much needed leadership.

Clearly he didn’t stay out too late at the All-Star Awards last night, because his first point was a beauty as the made space for himself on the right touch-line with a jinking solo, and then slung the ball over the bar from a tight angle.

Gavin Burke responded with a fourth point for St. Vincent’s, but Castleknock had settled now and were playing with a lot more composure and conviction.

Kilkenny and Kevin Kindlon were giving them great thrust in the half-forward line with their ability to carry the ball at pace and really go for the jugular.

Another point from Kilkenny and two from the turbo-charged Kindlon cut the deficit to just one – 0-5 to 0-4 – by the 22nd minute and by now the large Castleknock support were really finding their voice.

The decibel levels grew further as their team dominated the last few minutes of the half and went in level at the break – 0-7 apiece – thanks to two clinically kicked frees in a row from Des Carlos.

They were unable to sustain that momentum at the start of the second-half though, instead it was a reinvigorated looking St. Vincent’s who took a grip on the contest.

Now they were stifling Castleknock’s running game more effectively than they had in the first-half, and after consistently turning over the ball they counter-attacked effectively.

Former Dublin county star, Tomás Quinn, was proving he’s still a quality operator and two sweet points from play from him helped push St. Vincent’s 0-11 to 0-7 ahead by the 43rd minute.

Castleknock looked like they were running out of ideas, but they were then handed a life-line when St. Vincent’s centre-back Ger Brennan was earned as second yellow card and was sent off for flattening Kindlon with a high tackle.

Carlos knocked over the resulting free and then another one a minute later after a charging Ciaran Kilkenny was stopped illegally.

With the gap now down to two points, it looked like it was anyone’s game again, but 14-man St. Vincent’s showed a lot of resolve and know-how to defend stubbornly and counter-attack clinically.

Three points in quick succession from Varley, Ruairi Trainor, and substitute Joe Feeney took the steam out of the Castleknock comeback and gave the Marino outfit a decent buffer on the scoreboard again.

They saw out the game comfortably enough from there and now advance to an AIB Leinster Club SFC quarter-final against Carlow champions Palatine next weekend.

**Scorers for St. Vincents: **Tomás Quinn 0-5 (2f), Enda Varley 0-4 (1f), Gavin Burke 0-2, Ruairi Trainor 0-1, Joe Feeney 0-1, Shane Carthy 0-1, Cormac Diamond 0-1

**Scorers for Castleknock: **Des Carlos 0-5 (5f), Ciaran Kilkenny 0-2, Kevin Kindlon 0-2, Eoin O’Brien 0-1.

St. Vincent’s: Michael Savage; Michael Concarr, Jarlath Curley, Craig Wilson; Brendan Egan, Ger Brennan, Cameron Diamond; Daithi Murphy, Shane Carthy; Gavin Burke, Diarmuid Connolly, Cormac Diamond; Ruairi Trainor, Enda Varley, Tomas Quinn. Subs: Albert Martin for Daithi Murphy (34), Joe Feeney for Cormac Diamond (42)

Castleknock: Morven Connolly; Paul Bourke, Peter Sherry, Eoin O’Brien; Graham Hannigan, Tom Shiels, Tom Quinn; Ciaran Kilkenny, Shane Boland; Des Carlos, Ben Galvin, Kevin Kindlon; Mikey Galvin, James Sherry, Colin Lynch. Subs: Matt Griffin for Mikey Galvin (42), John Kindlon for Colin Lynch (52), Martin Brady for Ben Galvin (55)