Kilmacud Crokes see off Padraig Pearses

Kilmacud Crokes' win over Pádraig Pearses wasn’t memorable, but it was efficient, controlled and disciplined, and once manager Robbie Brennan went to his subs bench late in the tie, he found the firepower to enable his players finish to strongly and set up a clash with Kilcoo in the All-Ireland Club Championship final in a fortnight’s time.

As was the case in the Leinster final against Naas, Crokes struggled to break free from the shackles of their inexperienced opponents for three quarters of this evening’s contest, but in the closing stages they found an extra gear.

The south Dublin side fired over the final five points of the game after a strong third quarter from Pearses left them well-positioned to challenge, before that late flurry of scores.

On four separate occasions, Pádraig Pearses cut their deficit back to a point in the second half but every time Kilmacud Crokes were able to conjure a response.

The Dublin side are now just a win away from lifting their third All-Ireland crown after showing admirable resilience in a fiery encounter.

Paul Carey and Niall Daly scores for Pearses helped cut their three-point half-time deficit back to the minimum but both times Crokes found the score they craved.

In a tense second half, these well-matched sides traded blows as Tom Butler reduced his side’s deficit to the minimum again but the impressive Shane Horan found the target for the Leinster champions.

A Hubert Darcy score in the 47th minute helped Pearses slash their arrears to a point once more but Paul Carey missed a 45-metre free to level the contest.

This proved to be the last chance for Pearses to mount a comeback as Kilmacud Crokes’ bench made a notable impact.

Substitute Cian O’Connor fired over twice before Conor Casey