The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
CROKES AND AN GHAELTACHT GO THROUGH
MUNSTER CLUB SFC SEMI-FINAL Dr Crokes 2-19 Kilmurry-Ibrickane 0-10
A TOUR de force from Johnny Buckley at midfield was the fulcrum around which Dr Crokes built this comfortable 15-point win over the visiting Clare champions to set up a Munster Final against Nemo Rangers of Cork which will decide whether or not Crokes retain their provincial title and stay on course for a successful defence of their All-Ireland crown.
There was nothing surprising in the result of this largely forgettable semi-final, and given what we’ve come to expect from Crokes on some of this Munster days, neither was the margin of victory all that unexpected. Perhaps more was expected from a Kilmurry-Ibrickane team that has caused different Kerry clubs plenty of bother in previous meetings, but that was usually at their home base in west Clare. The less familiar surrounds of Lewis Road rendered the Clare champions the proverbial fish out of water and Dr Crokes duly battered them.
Central to the home side’s effort was Buckley, who put in arguably his best hour for Crokes since last March, and it was his majestic high fielding, penetrating runs, and coolly dispatched first half goal that laid the platform for Crokes to build another win upon. The Crokes support cast wasn’t bad either. It seldom is. Colm Cooper regained his starting place to kick three points from play and convert six frees; Kieran O’Leary showed his predatory instincts to capitalise on a goalkeeping error to grab Crokes’ second goal; Micheal Burns kept up his impressive scoring rate with a brace from play; and the defence tightened up considerably as a unit and had fine individual performances from Gavin White and David O’Leary.
Kilmurry-Ibrickane hardly covered themselves in glory though. The Clare side were everything Dr Crokes weren’t: sluggish, clumsy, disjointed and overawed. A couple of early scores, from Mark McCarthy and goalkeeper Ian McInerney (free), kept them in touch for the first six minutes but once Dr Crokes settled into their rhythm it was one-way traffic.
In the 14th minute Buckley pulled down another Kilmurry-Ibrickane kickout and played a slick one-two before placing his shot past McInerney to give the hosts a 1-5 to 0-2 lead. Ambrose O’Donovan’s black card for a clumsy sliding tackle three minutes later was a set-back but only a small one given the depth of the Crokes panel, while the loss of goalkeeper Shane Murphy to a head injury after 27th minutes was more worrying, but Johnny O’Leary deputised more than capably for the remainder.
Murphy should have recovered in time for the Munster Final on Sujnday week - the suspended Alan O’Sullivan will be available too - but if the Crokes management have one quibble from last Sunday’s performance it will be the squandering of at least five great goal chances, with Kieran O’Leary and then Brian Looney sending first half shots just wide of McInerney’s goal.
Those misses aside, Dr Crokes lead 1-11 to 0-4 at the break, as Kilmurry-Ibrickane struggled for scores in that first half, with just two points from play, the second from Martin McMahon at the end of the half when he blazed his shot over the bar with just Johnny O’Leary to beat.
The Clare champions started brighter in the second half with early scores from McCarthy and a Keelan Sexton ‘45’ but Crokes were soon back into their stride with a couple of Cooper frees.
A sequence of brilliant block downs from Mike Moloney and Fionn Fitzgerald denied Kilmurry-Ibrickane a goal in the 40th minute that might have livened up the contest but the visitors didn’t help themselves with poor handling, bad decision making and a general lack of vim and vigour required at this level. In the 44th minute they pressed the self-destruct button when McInerney dropped Buckley’s high shot in and Kieran O’Leary pounced to score Crokes second goal to make it 2-15 to 0-8.
Thereafter, Crokes closed out the game with minimum fuss to set up that Final meeting with Nemo Rangers who did a similar number, 2-17 to 0-4, on Limerick champions Adare.
DR CROKES: Shane Murphy, John Payne, Michael Moloney, Luke Quinn, David O’Leary 0-1, Fionn Fitzgerald, Gavin White 0-1, Johnny Buckley 1-0, Ambrose O’Donovan, Micheal Burns 0-2, Gavin O’Shea 0-2, Brian Looney 0-1, Colm Cooper 0-9 (6f), Daithi Casey 0-1, Kieran O’Leary 1-1. Subs: Tony Brosnan 0-1 for A O’Donovan (17, black), Johnny O’Leary for S Murphy (26, injured), Shane Doolan for B Looney (45), Paul Clarke for K O’Leary (49), Jason Lyne for L Quinn (52), Eoin Brosnan for C Cooper (55)
KILMURRY-IBRICKANE: Ian McInerney 0-1f, Evan Talty, Darren Hickey, Mark Killeen, Stephen Moloney, Martin McMahon 0-1, Shane Hickey, Keelan Sexton 0-2 (1f, 1’45’), Keith King, Niall Hickey 0-1, Dermot Coughlan 0-1, Michael Hogan, Michael O’Dwyer, Mark McCarthy 0-4, Enda Coughlan. Subs: Noel Downes for M O’Dwyer (h-t), Peter O’Dwyer for D Coughlan (45), Thomas Lerhihan for M Hogan (49), Eamonn Bracken for S Moloney (52), Declan Callinan for E Talty (56), Darren Sexton for K King (57)
REFEREE: Sean Lonergan (Tipperary)