Naas fall to Dublin champions for fourth successive year
Naas' Darragh Kirwan and Cuala's Peadar O Cofaigh Byrne Photo: Sean Brilly
All the pre-match talk was about Con O’Callaghan, whose red card in the Dublin final was rescinded during the week but it was his brother Niall whose goal and five points broke Naas hearts in the first ever game under lights at Cedral St Conleth’s Park.
It was a breathtaking game, and if every game was played like this Jim Gavin could put away his drawing board.
Naas played their part in full. Some of their performances were heroic, none more so than a defiant Alex Beirne, whose wonderful goal eight minutes from the end pulled them back into a game that was drifting away from then.
Darragh Kirwan too, each of his five points demonstrating the range of his scoring ability. The Eoin’s, Doyle and Lawlor were defiant at the back while Mark Maguire kept as tight a rein on Con as many an experienced inter-county marker.
There was no shame in defeat. Cuala perhaps suckered Naas into playing an expansive all-action game that was in total contrast to their controlled, possession-based, normal selves. On the break the Dalkey side were lethal, proving more clinical with their finishing, despite some wonderful Naas scores.
Ultimately, the cooler, more precise heads won out. Naas would rue three missed placed balls from goalkeeper Luke Mullins and a couple of other rash attempts down the finishing stretch while Cuala had an impressive three-point cameo from substitute Conor Grourke to keep to usher them across the line.
Although they tore into Cuala from the start and were ahead from a Kirwan point, Naas were sucker-punched from the ensuing kick out on three minutes when Niall O’Callaghan forced a fine save from Mullins, but Luke Keating was on hand for a simple finish to the net from the rebound.
A wonderful end-to-end first half ensued and despite heroics in front of the posts from Kirwan and Tom Browne, who shared six points between them, Cuala, led by the O’Callaghans, turned around 1-7 to 0-9 ahead.
It hardly seemed possible, but Cuala upped the pace at the start of the second half with Peadar Ó Cofaigh becoming more dominant at midfield and nine minutes in the two O’Callaghan brothers combined for Niall to finish to the net and stretch the lead to five.
In fairness to them Naas simply redoubled their efforts but three misses in a row from Ryan Sinkey, Paddy McDermott and Mullins didn’t help their cause.
They were still five adrift with eight minutes left when Beirne took matters into his own hands. Shrugging off Charlie McMorrow near midfield the Kildare star set off into open space down the right and when he cut inside you expected him to pop over a point.
Nothing of the sort. Beirne drove low and hard across goalkeeper Ryan Scollard, burying one of the best goals seen in Newbridge for a long time.
Naas threatened something extra special at that point, but a couple of assaults on the Cuala goalmouth were batted away and after Mullins had skewed a ’45 wide, Grourke’s point three minutes from time briefly pushed them three clear.
Substitute Seán Hanafin’s sweetly struck point a minute later kept it in the melting pot. A high ball from Kirwan was claimed by Scollard but Naas won it back on the terrace sideline and Neil Aherne’s shot was clawed away unconvincingly by the ‘keeper. Doyle swung a leg at the loose ball under pressure, but it bobbled wide.
As if to emphasise the difference between the sides, Cuala mounted another counterattack and Grourke again did the necessary to give them a three-point advantage. What they had they held, Kevin Cummins high ball into the box was batted away and referee David Coldrick signalled the end of Naas’ provincial hopes for another year.
As manager Joe Murphy put it afterwards, they were carried out on their shields, but after falling to the Dublin champions for the fourth year in a row, Naas were left to ponder how they can find the extra few percent to take the crucial next step in the years to come.
Luke Mullins; Mark Maguire, Conor McCarthy, Robert Fitzgerald; Brian Byrne, Eoin Doyle, Eoin Lawlor; Ryan Sinkey 0-1, Paul McDermott; Alex Beirne 1-3 (2fs), Tom Browne 0-2, Paddy McDermott 0-2; Darragh Kirwan 0-5, Dermot Hanafin, James Burke. SUBS: Neil Aherne for Browne 35, Cathal Daly 0-1 for Fitzgerald 42, Seán Hanafin 0-1 for Sinkey 44, Kevin Cummins for Paul McDermott 56, Elliot Beirne for Lawlor 56.
Ryan Scollard 0-1 (’45); Danny Conroy, Michael Fitzsimons, Eoghan O’Callaghan; Eoin Kennedy, Charlie McMorrow, David O’Dowd 0-2; Peadar Ó Cofaigh Byrne, Peter Duffy; Conor O’Brien, Cillian Dunne, Cal Doran; Luke Keating 1-1 (0-1f), Niall O’Callaghan 1-5, Con O’Callaghan 0-3 (2fs). SUBS: Michael Conroy for Dunne HT, Conor Grourke 0-3 for O’Brien 49, Cathal Ó Giolláin for O’Dowd 59, Luke Tracey for McMorrow 60+3.
David Coldrick (Meath)
