Con O'Callaghan off but Cuala dethrone Kilmacud Crokes to claim ...

A replay looked to be on the cards at Parnell Park (with no extra-time due) when Luke Keating’s free dropped short but defender Eoin Kennedy had the presence of mind and quick reflexes to flick the ball over the bar with the five added minutes all but up.

History made for a club that has known its fair share of success on the hurling fields.

It was all the more dramatic for the fact that Cuala had conceded a late goal and lost Con O’Callaghan to a red card just minutes before, but it was a fully merited win for a side that managed the game and Storm Ashley with no little skill and care.

Judging that wind direction was a job in itself. It looked initially as if it might favour Crokes in the first-half but not for long. While blustery and contrary, it was clearly blowing in the main from the church end and from behind Cuala’s backs.

They used it quite well.

Crokes looked to choke the life out of that first period and limit the damage until they could use the elements in their favour, but they were guilty of some hasty pots at goal and, inevitably given their interminable passing, poor decisions.

Six times they ballooned one wide or kicked it short into the goalkeeper’s hands with their sum total for the first 30 minutes amounting to a point apiece for their superstar forwards Paul Mannion and Shane Walsh.

Cuala’s attacking play was far more direct and determined in that spell. They registered half the amount of errant shots and played some lovely intricate team football in making their way up the field at speed.

Michael Fitzsimons, a renowned defender with Dublin, was part of their attacking efforts, kicking one lovely score and fist passing a second after flicking the ball over the head of Walsh and collecting it on the other side.

The question was if their five-point half-time lead would be enough of a buffer. Another puzzler was whether they would be left to rue two goal chances that got away from them in the first six minutes of the second-half.

Con O’Callaghan had the first, his glimpse of goal quickly blocked by a combination of goalkeeper and defender. Then Niall O’Callaghan had a brilliant shot to the top corner tipped over the bar for a point by the flying Devon Burns.

Crokes had the deficit down to three points by the 40th and 50th minutes as Cuala managed to keep them at arm’s length with the odd score and some superb defending. Then everything threatened to change in a madcap few minutes.

Luke Ward was only on the pitch a matter of seconds, as a blood sub, when Mannion found him with a sweeping pass across the defence and the new man buried the ball into the net to draw the sides level for the first time since the fourth minute.

Then drama at the far end with Con O’Callaghan shown the straight red under the shadow of the Crokes posts during the break in play. The sides traded frees as the clock slipped into the red but the best was yet to come.

Scorers for Cuala: L Keating (0-3, 0-2 frees); C Doran (0-3); M Fitzsimons (0-2); E Kennedy, C McMorrow, P Ó Cofaigh Byrne, P Duffy N O’Callaghan and C O’Callaghan (all 0-1).

Scorers for Kilmacud Crokes: P Mannion (0-4, 0-1 free and 0-1 mark); S Walsh (0-3, 0-1 free); L Ward (1-0); H Kenny, C Dias, D Mullin (all 0-1).

CUALA: R Scollard; D Conroy, M Fitzsimons, E O’Callaghan; E Kennedy, C McMorrow, D O’Dowd; P Ó Cofaigh Byrne, P Duffy; C Dunne, C Ó Giolláin, C Doran; L Keating, N O’Callaghan, C O’Callaghan.

Subs: C Groarke for Ó Giolláin (43); C Mulally for Dunne (48); L Ward for O’Brien (blood, 54) and for Murphy (56).

KILMACUD CROKES: D Burns; M Mullin, T Clancy, D O’Brien; M O’Leary, A McGowan, J Murphy; B Shovlin, R O’Carroll; H Kenny, C Dias, D Mullin; P Mannion, P O’Connor, S Walsh.

Subs: C O’Connor for O’Leary (43); T Fox for Kenny (45); M Conroy for D Conroy (56); S Cunningham for O’Connor (71).

Referee: S McCarthy (St Vincent’s).