WALSH IN FOR THE KIL

Super Shane seals treble for Crokes at Croker

Kilmacud Crokes Naas PAUL KEANE

0-10 BY GALWAY All Star Shane Walsh kicked Kilmacud Crokes into the history books with a blistering 1-8 at Croke Park.

The seven-point win flattered the All-ireland title holders slightly as they led by just two points with 60 minutes on the clock.

But Robbie Brennan’s men turned the screw with an unan- swered 1-2 in stoppage time to become the first ever club to win three Leinster football titles in a row.

The Dubliners’ seventh provincial success also moves them to the top of the Leinster roll of honour on seven wins alongside Portlaoise and St Vincent’s.

Their reward for their latest provincial win is an All-ireland semi-final clash against the Ulster champions, potentially old rivals Glen, on the weekend of January 6/7.

A third consecutive loss to Crokes will be a bitter pill for Naas to swallow. They previously lost the 2021 decider to the south Dublin outfit, as well as a quarterfinal last year.

It all got away from them in the closing minutes as, aside from that Walsh goal, they lost star forward Alex Beirne to a second yellow card in the 63rd minute.

Crokes approached the game on a 19-game winning streak in championship football, stretching all the way back to their early 2022 All-ireland final defeat to Kilcoo.

It was only a late, late goal that suckered the Stillorgan men on that occasion too and, had they held out, they’d have been coming into this one with 30 wins on the bounce.

They were considerable favourites as a result and while they conceded the opening score of the game, a Dermot Hanafin score for Naas, they led by the seventh minute and were on level terms or leading for the majority of the game.

Current Kildare halfforward Beirne had a couple of first-half goal chances for Naas but blazed over.

The scores came a little easier for Crokes and while 2022 Galway All-star Walsh filled his boots, clipping four points in the opening half, Craig Dias was the unsung hero with so much good work.

It all added up to a 0-9 to 0-7 half-time lead for Crokes who maintained a twopoint advantage at the end of a tense third quarter, 0-11 to 0-9.

Naas were probably the better side in that period but cursed their bad luck and poor handling.

They twice hit the post with point attempts, Cathal Daly fumbled the ball with the goal at his mercy on another occasion while Beirne later intercepted the ball and appeared set to create an easy score only to drop the ball.

That two-point margin remained at the beginning of stoppage time and Crokes, with all their big game experience, duly turned on the afterburners to kill off the game.

Beirne was sent to the line in the 63rd minute for a second booking after a heavy challenge on Brian Sheehy.

Walsh took full advantage when he struck to an empty net a minute later. Naas were caught out when they committed everyone to attack, including the goalkeeper, and were turned over.

Walsh still had plenty to do but struck a shot from the left wing with his left boot to the net.