Awesome Naas recover from slow start to lift fourth successive Division 1 title
Naas celebrate with the Senior Football League Division 1 trophy Photo: Sean Brilly
The awesome depth and quality of playing resources available to new manager Philly McMahon was on show at Cedral St Conleth’s Park as a slow-starting Naas roared back to over-power Sarsfields in clinching their fourth successive Hanlon Concrete Senior Football League title.
When County Secretary Christine Murray presented the trophy to Naas captain Paul McDermott it must have crossed a few minds that perhaps we could save a lot of effort and just hand over the Dermot Bourke Cup now as well.
Naas, with only Paddy McDermott of their county panel members starting, though Ryan Sinkey came in as a late substitute, still had too much in the tank for a Sarsfields team who on paper were a lot closer to their full strength first fifteen with the injured Ben McCormack the most notable absentee.
Sarsfields, who must have targeted this as the game to lay down some sort of marker to the champions, seemed set to put it completely to bed in double quick time with the opening 1-6 of the match, though they were aided by a breeze blowing into the Town End.
Bolton opened the scoring with a point inside just eleven seconds after Tadhg Hoey claimed the throw-in and after that it was the Ben Loakman show. The Kildare under-20 forward, who ended with a remarkable 1-12, landed a two-point free after three minutes, added a point from play after eight, and three minutes later got on the end of a Ryan Kearney pass to side-foot home a goal, though Naas ‘keeper Luke Mullins got a touch.
It was twelve minutes before Naas had a shot at the posts, but Dermot Hanafin dragged his effort just wide. At the other end Loakman was having no such difficulties and his second two-point free made it 1-6 to no score after fourteen minutes.
With McMahon’s brooding presence on the sideline, Naas stirred themselves, though it took full back Cathal Daly to open their account after sixteen minutes. Set up by Paddy McDermott’s run his shot just cleared the crossbar from close range. McDermott immediately afterwards pointed from Elliott Beirne’s pass inside and the holders were up and running.
A Mullins two-pointer free and a single from Dallan Gallagher, though it looked easier to find the net than blaze over from a few yards out, narrowed the gap to four points (1-6 to 0-5) before Loakman pointed two frees to stretch the gap again. Mullins skewed a closer two-point free wide but points from Neil Aherne and Beirne helped them keep the gap at five points at the interval (1-9 to 0-7).
The game was at its best in the third quarter. Bolton registered another quick-fire point from the throw in, but Naas hit five in the space of two minutes with two-pointers from an Aherne free and Elliott from play bookmarking an attempted one from substitute Fintan Quinn that got a touch on the way over to limit the damage to a single.
By the 41st minute, though, Sarsfields were six ahead again, Kearney and Karl Hartley with points and Loakman with 0-3 from frees, including another two-pointer, his third.
Naas, though, went into overdrive over the following sixteen minutes and by the time Sarsfields scored again, three minutes from time, the holders had scored 1-8 without reply to blow them out of the water. Still, they only hit the front (at 0-19 to 1-15) in the 54th minute through Paul McDermott.
The spread of Naas scorers was impressive. Quinn’s two-pointer from play was followed by Aherne’s from a free before Gallagher, Paul McDermott and Hanafin added old-fashioned points.
Then, with five minutes left, the Duracell bunny Beirne was put through with plenty of time to pick his spot and beat Marc Courtney Byrne with a neat finish to the net. Hanafin added his second point to make it 1-20 to 1-15.
The closing stages were somewhat academic. Harry Redmond pointed for Sarsfields, but Brian Stynes and the two McDermott brothers replied for a rampant Naas, while McMahon picked up a yellow card for something said to the officials, both he and referee Henry Barrett laughing the moment off with the sting taken out of the game.
McMahon, well used to mixing with serial winners, will feel right at home in Kildare with Naas.
Luke Mullins 0-2 (tpf); Mark Maguire, Cathal Daly 0-1, Jamie McGuirk; Elliott Beirne 1-3 (0-2 tp), Eoghan Prizeman, Robert Fitzgerald; Brian Stynes 0-1, Paddy McDermott 0-2; Tom Browne, Kevin Cummins, Tom Kelly; Neil Aherne 0-5 (2 tpfs), Dermot Hanafin 0-2, Dallan Gallagher 0-2. Subs: Fintan Quinn 0-3 (1tp) for Browne HT, Paul McDermott 0-2 for Kelly 41, Ryan Sinkey for Cummins 49. Tom Maguire for Beirne 57, Shane Gibbons for Gallagher 61.
Marc Courtney Byrne; Daragh Conlon, Kieran Dwyer, David Higgins; James Aspell, Daragh Ryan, Harry Redmond 0-1; Tadhg Hoey, Callum Bolton 0-2; Cian McHugh, Cian Costigan, Shea Ryan; Ryan Kearney 0-1, Ben Loakman 1-12 (3 tpfs,4fs), Karl Hartley 0-1. Subs: Jimmy O’Neill for Aspell 4, Ethan Mountaine for McHugh 35, Gavin Anderson for Costigan 44, Conor O’Donovan for Kearney 56, Cian Byrne for Mountaine 56, Shane Doyle for Redmond 58.
Henry Barrett.
