HE HADN’T RAISED a white flag in Dr Crokes two Munster championship wins that brought them to yesterday’s decider at the Gaelic Grounds.
And for much of the provincial final against Cratloe, Johnny Buckley had contended himself with performing midfield duties.
Deep in injury-time as the teams were locked together at 0-12 apiece, Buckley surged forward and got free to the right of goal.
He was there to round off a patient Dr Crokes passing movement by clipping the ball over the bar. As good a time as any for the Kerry senior to kick his first point in 2013 provincial fare. It being the last one of the competition increased the value even more.
“When you’re kicking it, you’re aware that it’s late in the game, but you don’t think that it’ll be the last point”, remarked Buckley after Dr Crokes had hoisted the silverware for the third successive year.
“Ambrose (O’Donovan) was winding it up and in the position he was in, I’m sure it would have gone over. But in fairness to him, he passed it out wide and thankfully it snuck between the posts.
“I’d say that’s definitely the most important point I’ve hit. I thought it was gone from us. There’s a lot of shocked faces around the place and we’re just relieved.”
Dr Crokes have sauntered through the campaign, scattering opponents aside with powerful displays. Yesterday they had to go to the well in a gut-testing finish. Cratloe’s players may have forged national reputations in 2013 in hurling but they shone here in football against Buckley and his teammates.
“Cratloe were some side. You can see the hurling background in them but they’ve a lot of football too. They were very comfortable on the ball and they gave us a lot of trouble.
“They came out all guns blazing and they set the tone for the second-half. We struggled to get up to their pace. It was a big setback when Colm (Cooper) went off. It’s gas though, it can often drive on a team late in the game and that’s what happened.”
Colm Cooper of Crokes looks on from the bench after being red carded
Pic: INPHO/Donall Farmer
All-Ireland
They have reigned supreme in Munster but Dr Crokes have hurt on the All-Ireland stage over the past couple of years. Getting back to a semi-final was their goal yesterday. The determination to realize that propelled them to a February meeting with Castlebar.
“We’ve had a lot of tough days in this championship”, reflected Buckley. “Maybe that had a big part to play in that we didn’t want another one of those days.
“Everyone pulled together and thankfully we got over the line. You can see what it means to all the supporters here. We’d a very disappointing day against Ballymun and it was always our focus to get back to that stage. We’re there now.”
