Dr Crokes 3-24
Kilcummin 1-08

TWO GOALS IN quick succession from Kieran O’Leary fired Dr. Crokes to O’Donoghue Cup success this afternoon over Kilcummin at Fitzgerald Stadium.

Both sides came into the game riding high off the back of their progress through the All Ireland club championships – Dr Crokes gearing up for their semi-final with Longford side Mullinalaghta in the senior championship next February, while Kilcummin will take on Kildare’s Two Mile House in the intermediate semi-final on 20 January.

The gulf in class was clear, however, and a first-half display of immense quality inspired Dr Crokes to a 23-point victory on an overcast day in Kerry.

Jordan Kiely sand Michael Burns chipped in with early points as Crokes raced into a five-point lead in the opening 13 minutes of the game. Daithi Casey stretched the home side’s lead to nine points before the first real hammer blow came on 28 minutes.

O’Leary notched his first goal of the afternoon with less than half an hour played and followed it up with a magnificent second strike to effectively kill off any slim hopes Kilcummin had of clawing back the deficit. The gap was 15 points at the break and meant the second half would be more of a procession for Crokes.

Kiely added another goal nine minutes into the second half, as Burns, Casey and Shane Doolan kept the scoreboard ticking over.

Oscar O’Connor scored a consolation goal for Kilcummin, but Crokes had already built up an unassailable lead  to see out the rest of the game.

Murray Kinsella, Gavan Casey and Andy Dunne preview another big weekend of rugby action and dissect the week’s main talking points.

Source: Heineken Rugby Weekly on The42/SoundCloud

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