Des Carlos Kicks Castleknock Into The Dublin Senior Football Final
CASTLEKNOCK 0-11
ST JUDES 1-4
Darren Cleary at Parnell Park
Castleknock have made history be reaching the Dublin Senior Football Championship final for the first time. They’ve recorded some notable scalps on the road to the last four.
Their biggest came on Thursday against a much fancied St Judes side. They had 4 points to spare as they set up a date with St Vincents
The first half was forgettable, lacking all the drama and excitement that permeated Parnell Park 24 hours earlier as Vinnies and Ballymun served up a cracker.
Declan Donnelly and Des Carlos traded points in the opening minutes before Kieran Doherty and Kevin McManamon kicked two unanswered scores for Judes.
Roscommon native Carlos narrowed the gap to one, then Mikey Galvin restored parity with an excellent effort as the sides went in all square at the break 0-3 a piece.
Castleknock had the advantage of the breeze in the second half, Carlos converted two frees to give them a 0-5 to 0-4 lead.
Two men instrumental to Dublin’s All Ireland success graced the pitch at the nell, but neither had a telling influence in the first 40 minutes.
McManamon had a free effort hit the post from 25 yards out, Kilkenny though was keeping Casteknock motoring in midfield.
Their cautious and lateral approach may not have brought much joy if not for some soft frees awarded by the referee, which Carlos duly converted.
He kicked his third placed ball of the second half to extend their lead to 2 points. That was wiped on 46 minutes with a bit of brilliance sorely needed in a dull game.
McManamon ghosted in from the left side before racing past Castleknock defender Tom Quinn and smashing the ball into the top corner to give Judes a 1-4 to 0-6 lead.
Ben Galvin responded instantly for Castleknock as he levelled the game once again before a superbly struck free from Carlos gave them the lead going into the last 10 minutes.
They never surrendered it, and St Judes failed to fashion any kind of a fightback. Scores from Carlos cemented the victory, much to the delight of the Castleknock faithful who packed Parnell Park.
Carlos was instrumental in their breakthrough success, the sharp shooter was flawless as he contributed 0-9 points as they secured their date with destiny.
There's a red ring on their calendar for November 5th, they’ll face perennial winners St Vincent’s in the decider, having come this far Castleknock can dare to dream of another memorable scalp.