Leinster Club SHC quarter-final: Kilmacud Crokes 2-18 Clough/Ballacolla 1-12
They insisted revenge wasn’t the mission, but some will see it that way, a statement on the future and the past by the Dublin hurling champions.
A year on from that dirty wet night in Portlaoise, when Kilmacud Crokes were sent packing at the semi-final stage by rank outsiders Clough/Ballacolla, the tables were forcibly turned under warm grey skies at Parnell Park, their victory in the end being absolute.
It returns the now back-to-back Dublin hurling champions to the semi-final stage again, St Mullin’s of Carlow up next at Croke Park in a fortnight. Favouritism will be over Crokes there too, an extra layer of maturity was evident here however as they battled and eventually bossed their way past Ballacolla, who finished with 13 men.
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Arriving with three successive Laois titles to their name, Ballacolla had no fear and certainly played that way, settling first and going three points clear, before things suddenly spun from the 16th minute, first Brian Scanlon and then Oisín O’Rorke ripping the scoreboard apart with two goals inside 90 seconds.
For Crokes, beaten last year 1-16 to 1-13, there would be no let up. When, 12 minutes into the second half, Stephen Bergin took a pass from a quick free by Willie Dunphy and buried it neatly into the Crokes net, some hope for Ballacolla was restored. Another free from Maher got them back to four points, 2-11 to 1-10, before Crokes struck back with two points in quick succession, soon followed by another free from O’Rorke, who finished with 1-11
“We expected a battle, and we got a battle,” said Crokes manager Kieran Dowling. “We’d prepared by looking closely at their matches this year, if anything they’re better than last year, so we had to go even harder.
“They’re a very experienced team, and we had to try to get around their system, because Declan [Laffan, the Ballacolla manager] has them very, very well set up, and their workrate was absolutely savage. But we settled in, thankfully the two goals came at the right time, we got ahead of them, which we just couldn’t do last year, so another day out, thank God.”
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Both goals were struck beautifully too, Scanlon from some distance out, after Ronan Hayes shot first, O’Rorke then sweeping home from closer range after Brian Hayes set him up.
A little over-reliant on the free-taking of full forward and captain Stephen Maher, who finished with 0-8, with Willie Dunphy hitting 0-2, Ballacolla were reduced to 14 men after 24 minutes, a little burst of temper resulting in a straight red card for wing back Brian Corby, already booked in the 19th minute, after an off-the-ball clash with Dara Purcell.
Crokes were up 2-6 to 0-7 at half-time, showing the greater spread of scorers too, Brian Hayes showing pace to score from midfield and Fergal Whitely also adding two gems from play in either half.
The early physicality of Ballacolla began to waver somewhat in the second half as Crokes continued to up the pace. Hayes excellent at midfield in his first senior season, Cian Ó Cathasaigh as lively as ever at wing back.
“For us, as a club, we’re heading to where we want to be, continuing to develop,” added Dowling. “This year, we’re back-to-back hurling champions for the first time in our history, so that allows you to build on the work you’ve done last year, so the last three weeks we’ve done nothing else but prepare for the challenge of this – how do we beat them? We just worked relentlessly to get ready for them.”
“It’s taken us years to get this far, and we’ve worked relentlessly at improving out skills, and we’re back to Croke Park now, it doesn’t get better than this. And what is the best version of ourselves that we can be, that’s all we ask.”
Crokes finished with seven different scorers, O’Rorke leading the way with his magnificent display of placed-ball accuracy, finishing with 1-11, with Mark Grogan and Darragh Butler both outstanding in their central defence.
“He’s been in great form,” Dowling said of O’Rorke, “the last couple of years, since we brought him out of the corner, just gave him that freedom of the park.”
Ballacolla only scored one point in the last quarter, another Maher free, with Dunphy also shown a straight red, in the first minute of added time, his frustration clear for all around.
KILMACUD CROKES: E Gibbons; B Sheehy, D Butler, C Ó Cathasaigh; C MacGabhann (0-1), M Grogan, B O’Carroll; B Hayes (0-1), D Crowe; C Conway, O O’Rorke (1-11, 9 frees, one 65), F Whitely (0-2); B Scanlon (1-0), R Hayes, D Purcell (0-2). Subs: R O’Loughlin for O’Carroll (half-time), F Ó Ceallaigh (0-1) for Crowe (38 mins), M Roche for Scanlon (54), C Ryan for B Hayes (59), T Stakelum for Butler (62).
CLOUGH/BALLACOLLA: C Dunne; D Conway, D Maher, E Doyle; B Corby, L Cleere, R Broderick; W Hyland, A Corby; R Phelan, T Delaney, S Bergin (1-1); C Dunne, S Maher (capt) (0-8), seven frees), W Dunphy (0-2, one sideline). Subs: L Conway for Delaney (37), K Mulhall (0-1) for Hyland (41), M Hennessey for Phelan (44). P Brennan for A Corby (53).
Referee: R Fitzsimons (Offaly).
