Na Fianna secured the Go-Ahead Ireland Intermediate All County Football Championship title when getting the better of Kilmacud Crokes by 0-13 to 1-6 at O’Toole Park on Saturday afternoon.
The Glasnevin outfit dominated throughout as Crokes struggled to find any cohesion over the sixty minutes, despite points scored by Conor Kelly, Conor Kane, Mark Coughlan and Mossy O’Neill.
In contrast, Na Fianna were well organised and efficient in their play, allowing the likes of Andy Baxter, Niall McGovern, Dan Day and Dan Morley to impress in their defence.
At the opposite end, points from Jack Burke and Tomo Connell kept their scoreboard ticking along but Kilmacud were handed a lifeline when Darragh Jones netted after the break to leave just a point between the sides.
That goal failed to prompt a grandstand finish however as a brilliant Seán Smith free and further scores by Baxter and Brian Fox saw Na Fianna end up deserving winners by the final whistle.
On Sunday morning, Craobh Chairáin delivered an excellent team display as they eased past Ranelagh Gaels by 2-16 to 1-7 en route to claiming the Go-Ahead Ireland Junior 1 Club Football Championship crown at O’Toole Park.
Billy Ryan was in exceptional form up front for the winners, finishing the game with 1-6 to his name, while Robbie Mahon also impressed as he kicked 1-2.
The likes of Cian Derwin (0-3) and Francis Usanga (0-2) also caught the eye in attack with the Craobh scoring completed through points from Eoin Forbes, Kevin Hetherton and Matthew Forbes.
Darren Kelly played a captain’s role for the Donnycarney side, who maintained their stranglehold on proceedings thanks to the efforts of Hetherton, Darren McCarthy and Gary Kelly.
It proved a tough morning for Ranelagh, who struggled into the breeze initially but they gradually played their way into the game with goalkeeper Ryan Haughey making a number of excellent saves, including one from a penalty.
However, despite his heroics and the defensive efforts of Patrick Crehan, Shayne O’Reilly and John Ryan, they couldn’t find a way back into the contest with Greg Jordan accounting for all of their scores.
In Balgriffin, there was another relatively comfortable victory in the Junior 1 All County decider as Ballinteer St John’s dominated from the outset to defeat Fingallians by 1-16 to 0-8.
St John’s were quickest out of the traps with the threat of John Clair and Joey Quirke causing numerous headaches for the Fingallians defence as they led by double scores approaching the break.
Crucially, they put further distance between the sides as Clair netted, prompting a healthy 1-8 to 0-3 interval lead for Ballinteer.
Replacement goalkeeper Oisín Cronin made an outstanding save in the second-half to preserve his team’s advantage and with Clair taking his personal tally to 1-7 by the final whistle, St John’s made sure of their success thanks to late points by Finn Nolan and Johnny Quirke.
IFC County Final: Kilmacud Crokes 1-6 Na Fianna 0-13.
JFC1 Club Final: Craobh Chiaráin 2-16 Ranelagh Gaels 1-7.
JFC1 County Final: Fingallians 0-8 Ballinteer St John’s 1-16.
