Johnston's heroics send Kilcoo to All-Ireland football glory

The old adage of goals winning matches rang through in dramatic fashion in the All-Ireland Club Football Championship Final when Jerome Johnston struck deep in to added time of extra time, seeing Kilcoo past Kilmacud Crokes.

As reported in the Irish Examiner, Kilmacud looked well on their way to sealing their third national title since 1995 at Croke Park this evening until Johnston hit the net for Kilcoo.

The Down champions were chasing the game, finding themselves two-points behind with 80-minutes on the clock.

Mickey Moran's side kept working and forced a turnover high up the pitch which resulted in Ryan Johnston's effort being repelled right into Jerome Johnston's path for a tap in.

Robbie Brennan's men were methodical in their build-up throughout the first-half, with Dara Mullin and Shane Horan splitting the posts to carve out a 0-8 to 0-2 lead by the interval.

When former Dublin panellist Craig Dias fired over just after the restart, it put the Stillorgan side on a steady footing.

However, when Kilcool netminder Niall Kane watched his 45-metre kick zip into the goal, it was the start of a resurgence.

Points from joint-captain Conor Laverty and Paul Devlin split the difference and it sent the game into extra-time on a scoreline of 1-7 to 0-10.

Cian O'Connor, for Crokes, and Devlin, for Kilcoo, traded blows as the sides remained insuperable midway through the extra periods.

It appeared to the Dublin club's day when O'Connor added another to his tally and Callum Pearson registered a score.

That was until Johnton's late, late effort to raise a memorable green flag.

Scorers for Kilcoo: J Johnston (1-1); P Devlin (0-4, 3 frees); N Kane (1-0, 45); C Laverty (0-2); Anthony Morgan (0-1).

Scorers for Kilmacud Crokes: C