Nov 18,2024
Na Fianna 3-20 Clough Ballacolla (Laois) 1-15
New Dublin manager Niall Ó Ceallachain will continue to double job for another week at least after steering Na Fianna through to the last four of the Leinster club SHC.
A slow start aside, this was a relatively comfortable quarter-final win for the Mobhi Road men who finished strongly to stretch the gap to 11 points by full-time.
AJ Murphy top scored with 1-04 for the back-to-back Dublin champions while Ciaran and Jonathan Stacey also netted with free-taker Colin Currie helping himself to seven points.
Dublin star Donal Burke weighed in with two points also before being substituted as Na Fianna cruised through to a semi-final clash with St Martin's of Wexford back at Parnell Park next weekend.
With the Kilkenny champions now out of the picture, and considering how close Na Fianna came to winning this championship last year, they will fancy their chances of going all the way.
Visiting Clough Ballacolla hadn't played a game in six weeks since beating Rathdowney Errill by six points to claim their seventh county title.
Maybe that lack of match sharpness was a factor in the defeat - their sixth ever in the province - though initially at least, they looked more fresh than fatigued.
Stephen 'Picky' Maher, who hit 1-14 in that county decider and 2-40 in the Laois championship, scored two points as Willie Hyland's side moved 0-03 to 0-01 clear.
Maher then brought his own personal tally to 1-03 in the 10th minute when he capitalised on a mistake in the Na Fianna defence for a goal.
Willie Dunphy drove a hopeful ball in from the left wing and when Na Fianna defender Paul O'Dea slipped, Maher had the opening he needed to seize possession and rifle to the net - suggesting a potential upset result.
Now Clough Ballacolla had a commanding 1-04 to 0-03 lead but, surprisingly, they only added another three points in the half as Na Fianna finally found their range.
The Glasnevin outfit outscored the 2021 provincial finalists by 1-09 to 0-03 in the half after that Maher goal and never really looked back after that.
Na Fianna were entirely dominant around the pitch in the second quarter and when Ciaran Stacey pointed in the 23rd minute from a turnover deep in the Clough Ballacolla defence, it told a tale of how the game had turned.
Na Fianna reeled off six points in a row at one stage during the blitz and took command of the game when Stacey slammed in a terrific goal in the 29th minute.
He made space for himself with a searing run up the left wing and finished superbly, rifling beyond goalkeeper Cathal Dunne to the far top corner.
That propelled Na Fianna to a 1-12 to 1-07 half-time lead and with five first-half wides, three point attempts that dropped short, a shot off the post and another Stacey goal chance that was saved, they were full value for their advantage.
There wasn't much to report in the third quarter which played out as a score-for-score back and forth - which suited Na Fianna just fine.
The intensity wasn't off the charts but Na Fianna were happy enough to hit the final 10 minutes with their five-point lead still intact, 1-18 to 1-13.
Perhaps it was a dangerous game to toy with a side of Clough Ballacolla's calibre but Na Fianna weren't made to pay and finished the game with a burst of scores to seal the deal.
Murphy hit 1-01, his goal coming from a great Ciaran Stacey run through the centre, before sub Sean Ryan was fouled for a penalty that goalkeeper Jonathan Stacey converted.
Another Na Fianna substitute, Diarmuid Clerkin, rounded off the scoring as they waltzed through to Leinster's last four.
Na Fianna: Jonathan Tracey (1-00, 1-00 pen); Kevin Burke, Conor McHugh, Sean Burke; Paul O'Dea (0-01), Liam Rushe, Peter Feeney; Brian Ryan (0-01), Sean Currie (0-01); Jack Meagher (0-02), Colin Currie (0-07, 0-04f, 0-02 65), Donal Burke (0-02); Gavin King, AJ Murphy (1-04), Ciaran Stacey (1-01).
Subs: Diarmuid Clerkin (0-01) for King 46, Sean Ryan for Brian Ryan 52, Joe Kavanagh for Donal Burke 56, Donal Ryan for O'Dea 59, Gerry Spollen for Colin Currie 60.
Clough Ballacolla: Cathal Dunne; Cormac Hogan, Darren Maher, Joe Corby; Diarmaid Conway, Lee Cleere, Jordan Walshe; Aidan Corby (0-01), Kevin Mulhall (0-01); Robbie Phelan (0-01), Willie Dunphy, Cillian Dunne (0-02); Stephen Bergin (0-01), Mark Hennessy, Stephen Maher (1-09, 0-07f).
Subs: Joe Pearson for Darren Maher 42, Padraig Brennan for Hennessy 51, Sean Corby for Cillian Dunne 59.
Referee: Eamonn Furlong (Wexford).
