GLEN 1-14, KILMACUD CROKES 2-10
Shane Walsh came agonising close to completing a stunning comeback for Kilmacud Crokes, but was left ruing a late wide as Glen held the day.
The Galway sharpshooter scored a long-range goal for Crokes, the Dublin and Leinster champions, but was wide with a free kick, in the dying embers, that would have levelled matters.
Glen were cruising at half-time - 0-9 to 0-4 up at Páirc Esler - in a match played under a blanket of heavy fog. Glen's Michael Warnock, who was named Man of the Match, told TG4:
"At one stage, Shane Walsh said to me 'Where's the ball at?' The two of us spent a while looking for it."
After 40 minutes, Kilmacud were searching for inspiration, just like fans in attendance and those watching on TV were searching for a clearer picture of what exactly was going on. The Ulster champs were 0-12 to 0-5 ahead but a 1-4 burst, in the space of 15 minutes, saw matters levelled.
Walsh produced a sublime pass [better appreciated when you wait for the replay] to set up Hugh Walsh for the equalising goal:
https://twitter.com/GAA__JOE/status/1744048463405298067
Glen the deserving winners, just about
Glen edged a point ahead after that equalising goal. Conor Glass then set up Ethan Doherty to bag a goal for the Derry side.
Shane Walsh had a long-range punt that Glen goalkeeper Connlan Bradley made a hash of. That left the Dublin side a point back but Walsh dragged a late chance to equalise wide.
Robbie Brennan, the Kilmacud manager, was very sporting after the game, admitting that while the conditions were 'unplayable,' that they wouldn't be using it as an excuse and that Glen 'deserved their win'. "We probably had a 12 minute spell where we played some way to our potential," he admitted. "It would have been a bit of steal if we nicked it."
Glen manager Malachy O'Rourke, the former Monaghan boss, said it was 'hard to know' if the right decision was made to play the semi-final in such poor visibility.
"When you’re involved in it, you just get on with it," he told TG4. "Whatever decision that was made, we were just going to get on with it. Probably today, for viewers, it wasn’t what you’d expect. It was very much on the edge."
The victory for Glen sets up a final date with St Brigid's (Roscommon) in this year's decider, on 21 January at Croke Park.
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