Kilmacud Crokes 0-14

Ballymun Kickhams 0-10

Paul Keane reports from Parnell Park

A TYPICALLY BUSINESSLIKE display did the trick for All-Ireland club SFC title holders Kilmacud Crokes who have safely navigated their way through to the last four of the Dublin championship.

On paper, this looked like a troublesome quarter-final assignment at Parnell Park, Crokes running into the last team that beat them in the county championship at the semi-final stage in 2020.

That was all of 15 games ago and with everything Crokes have won in the meantime – back-to-back county and Leinster titles along with the All-Ireland earlier this year – they are ultra-experienced and brought all of that maturity to bear on this encounter.

Galway star Shane Walsh fired five points and while he left the field with a bloodied nose late on, he will be fit for their semi-final against as-yet-unknown opposition.

Dublin’s Paul Mannion and Cian O’Connor struck three points apiece while the miserly Crokes defence restricted Ballymun to just four points from play.

This was the first of four Dublin quarter-finals which will take place across this evening and tomorrow afternoon and an open draw for the semi-finals will take place tomorrow evening.

Ballymun, who went on to win their last title in 2020, never really looked like upsetting Crokes again. The loss of All-Ireland winning Dublin captain James McCarthy to injury certainly didn’t help though Crokes were also without a county midfielder in Craig Dias.

It’s understood that nine-time All-Ireland winner McCarthy picked up a leg injury in their final group game. He was dressed in his civvies this time and pulled on a maor uisce bib which allowed him sideline privileges.

He watched his team produce a spirited first quarter performance but any early fizz from Kevin Leahy’s side quickly subsided.

The 2013 All-Ireland finalists led by 0-3 to 0-2 after 15 minutes, thanks in part to two points from play from county attacker Paddy Small.

But Ballymun didn’t score from play again until late in the game with five Crokes points in a row between the 16th and 29th minutes putting them in pole position.

Crokes could afford to drop four point attempts short in the first half and still pull comfortably clear with Walsh hitting the three-point mark before the break.

Shane Cunningham also dropped one over for the Glenalbyn men who deserved their 0-7 to 0-4 half-time lead.

O’Connor wore number five for Crokes but was a constant attacking threat down the right and struck his third point of the day after the restart.

The holders were unfortunate not to have scored a goal by that stage. O’Connor was thwarted in the 22nd minute while Kickhams had earlier somehow escaped a series of efforts from Rory O’Carroll, Cunningham and Hugh Kenny.

Substitute Andy Fox and Walsh were both denied by a mixture of the woodwork and a Ballymun defender late on too.

The missed opportunities didn’t prevent Crokes from being comfortable throughout with Ballymun only briefly reducing their arrears to three points in the second half.

Mannion got through plenty of defensive work on the night and took a ball off his own goalline in the second half. Walsh closed out Crokes’ scoring with their 14th point in stoppage time.

Ballyboden St Enda’s also progressed to the last four. The southside club were comfortable 1-19 to 0-11 winners against Ciarán Kilkenny’s Castleknock at Parnell Park.

Kilmacud Crokes scorers: Shane Walsh 0-5 (0-2 45′, 0-1f), Cian O’Connor 0-3, Paul Mannion 0-3 (0-2f), Dara Mullin 0-1, Shane Cunningham 0-1, Dan O’Brien 0-1.

Ballymun Kickhams scorers: Dean Rock 0-6 (0-6f), Paddy Small 0-2, Jason Whelan 0-1, John Small 0-1.

KILMACUD CROKES: 1. Conor Ferris; 3. Theo Clancy, 2. James Murphy, 4. Dan O’Brien; 5. Cian O’Connor, 6. Aidan Jones, 8. Andrew McGowan; 9. Rory O’Carroll, 10. Shane Horan; 7. Mark O’Leary, 13. Paul Mannion, 26. Dara Mullin; 11. Shane Cunningham, 14. Shane Walsh, 15. Hugh Kenny.

Subs: 17. Liam Flatman for O’Leary (42′ – FT, blood), 25. Andy Fox for Horan (52′), 18. Luke Ward for Cunningham (58′), 12. Darragh Dempsey for Kenny (58′), 21. Jeff Kenny for Walsh (64′).

BALLYMUN KICKHAMS: 1. Evan Comerford; 2. Glenn Sheridan, 3. Darragh Conlon, 7. Dean Robertson; 5. Carl Keeley, 6. John Small, 4. Leon Young; 12. Davey Byrne, 9. Aaron Elliot; 26. Andrew McCaul, 11. Paddy Small, 10. Dillon Keating; 13. Robbie Bolger, 14. Cameron McCormack, 15. Dean Rock.

Subs: 24. Fiach Andrews for McCaul (HT), 25. Jason Whelan for Keating (48′), 23. Ciaran McManus for Elliot (58′), 21. Cathal O Tighe for Byrne (61′).

Referee: Barry Tiernan.