By Irishexaminer.com,John Fogarty

Copyright irishexaminer

A Cathal Tighe goal less than two minutes into the second half put Ballymun Kickhams 11 points clear, but there was virtually only one team in the remainder of a game during which former Clare footballer Keelan Sexton helped himself to 1-4.

In the space of two minutes, Na Fianna goalkeeper David O’Hanlon sent over three points from two placed balls and while Ballymun responded with a brace of points when Sexton curved over his first two-pointer there was seven between the teams.

Ciarán Reddin’s third of four points made it six and then came the penalty, Sexton punishing an Eamon Hill foul on Na Fianna substitute and current Dublin hurler Conor McHugh in the 47th minute.

A much-needed Paddy Small two-pointer in the 50th minute stretched Ballymun’s lead to five but that was their scoring completed for the afternoon. At the other end Conor Early, Brian O’Leary and Reddin sent over points prior to Sexton’s levelling two-pointer in the 57th minute.

Ballymun were finding it difficult to win frees but they did have a chance to go ahead again only for John Small’s outside-of-the-boot strike to go wide. It was Doran who proved the match-winner when he slalomed through a tiring Ballymun defence to complete an absorbing turnaround.

The game had largely followed a tit-for-tat pattern in the first quarter. Rock began his game with a two-point free four minutes but at the other Reddin and O’Leary were finding their range with some impressively executed kicks.

Na Fianna had three wides to their name by the 11th minute, though, and were always the ones doing the chasing. With the breeze, David Leonard was scoring for Ballymun and Dillon Keating also pointed after he profited from a long ball that Jonny Cooper initially kept away from Rock.

Reddin’s second point brought Na Fianna level after 17 minutes but they didn’t score for the remainder of the half, their lot amounting to a couple of wides. Instead, Ballymun hit them for eight points, over half of them courtesy of Rock’s free-taking.

Ballymun’s press combined with their dominance in midfield gave them the platform to dominate the quarter.

Keating and Leonard doubled their personal tallies either side of a James McCarthy point. An infringement on Paddy Small outside the arc was punished clinically by Rock to make it a double score game and he finished the half with three more points from frees in additional time.

When Tighe pounced on a ball in from Paddy Small to find the Na Fianna net, Ballymun seemed to be the team joining Crokes, Cuala and Ballyboden in the last four draw. Instead, what followed was a fightback of epic proportions.

Scorers for Na Fianna: K. Sexton (1-4, 1-0 pen, 2 tps); C. Reddin (0-4); D. O’Hanlon (1 tp free, 1 45), B. O’Leary (0-3 each); C. Early (0-2); D. Lacey (free), J. Doran (0-1 each).

Scorers for Ballymun Kickhams: D. Rock (0-8, 3 tpfs, 1 free); C. Tighe (1-0); D. Keating, D. Leonard, C. Keeley, J. Small (tp) (0-2 each); J. McCarthy (0-1).

NA FIANNA: D. O’Hanlon; O. Donohoe, J. Cooper, F. Potts; E. Murchan, A. Rafter, N. McGovern; J. Doran, K. Deeley; C. Early, B. O’Leary, D. Quinn; D. Lacey, C. Reddin, S. Caffrey.

Subs: K. Sexton for D. Lacey (inj 15); V. Flynn for K. Deeley (36); C. McHugh for S. Caffrey (47); D. Kennedy for O. Donohoe (45); D. Clerkin for C. Reddin (58).

BALLYMUN KICKHAMS: E. Comerford; E. Dolan, D. Conlon, E. Hill; J. Grant, J. Small, D. Leonard; J. McCarthy, C. McCormack; C. Tighe, C. Keeley, B. Ashton; P. Small, D. Rock, D. Keating.

Subs: R. Bolger for D. Keating (37); A. Hubbard for J. Grant, A. Eliot for C. McCormack (both 47); L. Young for E. Dolan (54).

Referee: S. McCarthy (St Vincent’s).