2022 AIB GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Club Championship Semi-Final – Kilmacud Crokes (Dublin) 1-14 Kerins O’Rahillys (Kerry) 0-14

Kilmacud Crokes (Dublin) defeated Kerins O’Rahillys (Kerry) by 1-14 to 0-14 in the 2022 AIB GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Club Championship Semi-Final on Sunday January 8th at Croke Park.

Kilmacud clinch All-Ireland spot despite Kerins O’Rahilly’s fightback https://t.co/R8iq0zYctI

— Irish Examiner Sport (@ExaminerSport) January 8, 2023

Kilmacud clinch All-Ireland spot despite Kerins O’Rahilly’s fightback

KILMACUD CROKES (Dublin) 1-14 KERINS O’RAHILLY’S (Kerry) 0-14

Report by John Fogarty for the Irish Examiner newspaper

A strong second-half performance powered Kilmacud Crokes into the club’s fourth ever All-Ireland club final.

A towering individual effort by David Moran for Kerins O’Rahilly’s wasn’t enough to stop last year’s runners-up from advancing to the decider at the end of the month.

Leading 0-8 to 0-6 at half-time, Crokes shot into a six-point lead five minutes into the new half when Shane Foley was unable to halt Hugh Kenny’s goalbound shot. Kenny followed it up with a point, Aidan Jones added his second of the game and Crokes thought they were out of reach O’Rahilly’s mustered just one point in the third quarter, a Jack Savage free, and 19 minutes passed before Tommy Walsh sent over the side’s eighth score of the semi-final. The Munster champions rallied to thrice reduce the difference to five points. In additional time, they cut the gap to three but a nervy Crokes couldn’t be reeled in.

Moran’s prominence on kick-outs was key to O’Rahillys staying in touch in the first half. At both the outset and end of the period, he was either winning the restarts, being fouled on them or causing enough of a distraction to Crokes to allow a team-mate to collect the ball.

Crokes were scoring more freely, though, and all but Shane Walsh in the forward line had scored from play by the 20th minute. They had also come the closest to scoring the first goal of the game through Shane Horan in the seventh minute and Hugh Kenny in the 22nd minute when he was set up by Shane Walsh. However, Shane Foley was equal to his shot.

Walsh opened his account with a free in the final minute of first half regulation time but O’Rahillys struck the last two points of the half, corner-forwards Conor Hayes and Barry John Keane splitting the posts, before they earned bookings on the stroke of the interval.

Scorers for Kilmacud Crokes: H. Kenny (1-2); S. Cunningham, D. Mullin, A. Jones, S. Walsh (free) (0-2) each; C. O’Connor, S. Horan, C. Dias, T. Fox (0-1 each).

Scorers for Kerins O’Rahilly’s: J. Savage (0-7, 6 frees); B.J. Keane, C. Hayes (0-2 each); G. O’Brien, T. Walsh, G. Savage (0-1 each).

KILMACUD CROKES: C. Ferris; D. O’Brien, T. Clancy, M. Mullin; A. McGowan, R. O’Carroll, A. Jones; B. Shovlin, C. Dias; C. O’Connor, D. Mullin, S. Horan; H. Kenny, S. Cunningham (c), S. Walsh.
Subs for Kilmacud Crokes: T. Fox for S. Horan (43); C. O’Shea for A. McGowan, C. Casey for B. Shovlin (both 46); L. Ward for C. O’Connor (52); P. Purcell for S. Cunningham (60).

KERINS O’RAHILLY’S: S. Foley; C. Coffey, R. O’Callaghan (c), D. McElligott; C. Barrett, K. Mullins, P. Neenan; D. Moran, G. O’Brien; C. Hayes, T. Walsh, B.J. Keane.
Subs for Kerins O’Rahilly’s: D. O’Sullivan for C. Barrett (35); B. Hanafin for D. McElligott (42); D. O’Connor for T. Hoare (46); R. Carroll for C. Sayers (56); G. Szvage for C. Hayes (60+1).

Referee: N. Cullen (Fermanagh).