Seniors bow out of the Championship

This Dublin senior hurling championship quarter final at O’Toole Park on Saturday 10th October 2009 opened with a bang but it was not the start Crokes wanted.  Lucan Sarsfields were 1-1 to no score clear within four minutes.  It took a good Richie Sweetnam save, at the expense of a 65, in the fifth minute to keep it at that.  Sixty seconds later Fergal Armstrong opened the Kilmacud account.  Lucan added two overs before Kevin O’Loughlin pulled one back in the thirteenth minute.  The same player converted a free and Hugh Gannon’s nineteenth minute point had it 1-3 to 0-4.  Three O’Loughlin placed ball conversions to one from the opposition, over the next eight minutes, meant the minimum lay between the sides.  With the interval looming, Lucan were awarded a 40 metre free in front of the posts that allowed them go in 1-6 to 0-7 to the good. 

 

 

Team; R Sweetman, N Corcoran (capt.), N Lillis, G McMorrow, D Byrne, A de Paor, A Cleary, S Gillen, A Grogan, J Burke, H Gannon (0-1), F Armstrong (0-1), R Walsh, Ross O’Carroll, K O’Loughlin (0-8, f-7).  Subs B O’Rorke (1-0) for J Burke (blood 32 min and inj 50 mins), Rory O’Carroll for S Gillen (40 mins)

 

 

For more reports see Hill16 by clicking on the image below

 

 

 

 

 

There could be no excuses or what might have beens as victory went to the better, hungrier and sharper team.  Notwithstanding the slow start, Crokes were well in the game at half time and for at least the first ten minutes of the second half.  However lack of penetration up front, as evidenced by just three points from play, proved a major handicap.  The defence as a unit performed capably with Niall Corcoran showing exemplary leadership, his full back line colleagues Niall Lillis and Gary McMorrow giving everything and Aodhan de Paor dominant in the pivotal slot.    Of the forwards the greatest threat came from James Burke, before his retirement through injury, while Hugh Gannon strove manfully.

 

In the thirty second minute Kevin O’Loughlin activated the point umpire from a 20 metre free. Shortly after, hesitancy in the Crokes defence permitted Lucan restore the two point margin. Three similar Lucan scores preceded O’Loughlin’s second and third placed ball minors of the half in the fortieth and forty first minute. At 1-10 to 0-10 the game was still very much to be won but it was the west county men who raised their game. A tap over from a 20 metre free was followed by what may well have been the crucial score when Lucan won a free from the puck out. From 90 metres the ball sailed over (the seventh of ten scored frees for Lucan on the day) and it was 1-12 to 0-10. In the remaining quarter, while Crokes had a few sallies, there was only one team in it on the scoreboard which read 1-20 to 1-10 at the finale, with the Crokes goal coming from Barry O’Rorke in the fifty fifth minute.