Castlebar Mitchels finished powerfully to put paid to Dr Crokes’ All-Ireland club dreams for another season as the Mayo club booked their place in the final with a 2-13 to 1-11 win.
When Alan O’Sullivan had brought Crokes to within a single point of the Mayo champions (2-9 to 1-11) with just under 50 minutes on the clock, it appeared all the momentum was with the Kerry club.
But Mitchels rallied superbly, shutting out their opponents for the rest of the contest while scoring at will at the other end. Aiden Walsh and Ger McDonagh were among those to carve through the Crokes defence and the game was up well before Patrick Durcan, who had notched his side's first three pointer, sealed the victory with his second goal on the final whistle.
The result will be hard to take for Dr Crokes, who were beaten at the same stage by Ballymun Kickhams last year. They have won four Kerry titles back-to-back, and three Munster titles too, yet winning the title outright will again remain beyond this particular team.
Their plight wasn't helped as they lost talisman Colm Cooper in the early stages, the forward injury his knee in the act of scoring his second point of the game.
