The first half of this round 5 encounter in Lewis Road was a cagey affair with both sides committing bodies to defence and space being a rare commodity.

We were boosted pre match by the availability of Kerry U20 Jake Foley who replaced the injury stricken Donagh Buckley at full back and picked up Dr Crokes dangerman, Cian McMahon.

Conor Hayes opened the scoring in the 3rd minute when he evaded his marker and raised a white flag but this was quickly cancelled out with David Shaw, operating around the middle kicked a fine two pointer to edge the home side in front; thereafter, despite some good defensive work, Dr Crokes tacked on the next 3 points to lead by 5 points to 1 as the first quarter drew to a close.

Jack Savage quickly followed with close in pointed frees as Tom Hoare began to exert a firm grip in midfield and we were quite happy at this stage as we were facing the strong breeze.

David Shaw quickly added another point before Billy Courtney raised an orange flag with a fine free from in front of the stand but we had the final say as Ryan Carroll, up supporting the attack, found the target to leave the half time score at 0-08 to 0-04 at the interval.

The second half, in contrast to the hushed standoff of the first, sprang into life and though Crokes stretched their lead by another point, a David Shaw free, Darragh O’Connor and then Barry John with a two pointer had us within one score, 0-09 to 0-07 as he split the posts from beyond the 40m arc.

The next score though was a green flag for the home side following a harshly awarded penalty which saw Alex Hennigan strike a ground shot low to Rob’s left and we wondered if there would be a response but the boys in blue answered that unspoken question emphatically.

First up was Ryan Carroll,  who not only defended like his life depended on it but also got forward at every opportunity,  and he signalled a clear statement of intent when steering the ball over the bar for a superb two pointer - shortly afterwards, Tom Hoare, who now seemed to be everywhere, got in on the act and suddenly there was just a point separating the sides, 1-09 to 0-11.

You could now see the shift in the body language, the increased urgency in the runs and the willingness to take risks in possession.

The next score was the defining moment of the game as Daniel Bowler cleverly intercepted in attack, Conor Hayes played him through and he deftly found the bottom corner with a sweet strike off his weaker right foot.

It was game on now, and when Darragh O’Connor pointed from 25 metres out we were 3 to the good, 1-12 to 1-09.

Con Barrett was readied to enter the fray but the departing Gearóid Savage saw yellow for the second time leaving us to battle on with 14 - the numerical disadvantage was compounded when both Conor Hayes and Jack Savage incurred the wrath of the referee resulting in second yellows for both and we were now down to 12 men - this significantly altered the tactical landscape and it was no surprise to see Crokes surge forward in search of the winning scores. 

David Shaw replied from a free and Billy Courtney added his second two pointer, again from a placed ball to tie up the scores at 1-12 each; Alex Hennigan then got in on the act to put Crokes back in front and seemingly on course for the win. 

However, we were defiant — and we turned the tide.

The resultant kick out saw Tom Hoare rise highest and when his tap and go was impeded the referee brought the ball forward - Darragh O’Connor took the responsibility and retreating behind the 40M arc, sent the ball unerringly between the posts to edge us ahead once more.

The final minutes were fought out intensely but we showed great heart, sheer defiance and admittedly had  a dollop of luck as the home side spurned chances to equalise - the final whistle brought a collective exhale of relief from the travelling support as we prevailed in the face of adversity.

Final Score: 

Kerins O’Rahillys 1-14 

Dr Crokes            1-13.

Team: Robert O’Connor, Ben Hanafin, Jake Foley, Darragh McElligott, Gearóid Dillane, Ryan Carroll ( 0-03), Daniel Bowler ( 1-0), Tom Hoare ( 0-02), Barry John Keane ( 0-02), Gearóid Savage, Jack Savage ( 0-02), Padraig Griffin ( 0-01), Conor Hayes ( 0-01), Conor O’Sullivan, Darragh O’Connor ( 0-03). 

Subs used: Con Barrett