Kilmacud v Castleknock, DSFC QF

Kilmacud Crokes 2-8

Castleknock 1-10

Kilmacud Crokes caused a minor shock at Parnell Park on Friday evening as they beat last year's finalists Castleknock in the Dublin Senior Football Championship quarter-finals. Two first-half goals set the Lower Kilmacud Road men on their way, but they were made to battle all the way to the end.

Mark Vaughan rolled back the years for the game’s opening score. He collected the ball in the left corner, took on his man, beat him, and hit a sweet shot from a tight angle to give Crokes the lead.

The Glenalbyn men put some distance between themselves and their northside opponents in the seventh minute. Pat Burke latched on to Vaughan’s effort, which he had dropped short, before turning and burying the ball to the net.

Dessie Carlos finally got last year’s beaten finalists on the scoreboard with a close range free in the tenth minute. Carlos then added one from play, before Paul Mannion showed everyone present why he’s such a crucial player for Jim Gavin’s All-Ireland champions.

He went on a run from a full thirty metres out, got passed two Knock players, before smashing the ball passed Morven Connolly. With fourteen minutes on the clock, Crokes were five points clear.

Castleknock scored two of the next three, including a fine effort from play by Kevin Kindlon, to reduce the deficit to four in the twentieth minute.

The gap was down to the minimum by the twenty-sixth minute. James Sherry got in at the back post to punch a long ball passed David Nestor. And the gap remained at one until the break, although, with Crokes having kicked five wides, and dropped four short, they could have been out of sight.

Séamus O’Carroll equalised for Castleknock inside three minutes of the second-half. But Callum Pearson got the next score, four minutes later, to put Crokes back in front. But it was short lived, as Shane Boland scored a monster effort to bring the sides level once more just ninety seconds later.

But Crokes were showing resolve, and two frees from Mannion had them two clear mid-way through the half. Uncharacteristically Carlos then stuck a close free wide, before Mannion converted one at the other end, and Crokes took a three point lead into the last ten minutes.

That gap was wiped out in five minutes as Carlos made up for his earlier free miss, and then O'Carroll kicked two from play. But again Crokes responded. Dias appeared to throw the ball in the build up, but there was nothing wrong with Burke's finish, as he kicked it straight over the black spot from thirty yards.

Mannion kicked a free deep into stoppage time, to put the southsiders into the last four.