AIB Leinster Club SFC Quarter-Final

Naas 2-12 Summerhill 0-8

By Ger McNally at Manguard Park, Hawkfield

Goals in either half from Sean Hanafin and Eoghan Prizeman eased Naas into a Leinster semi-final after a largely dominant display against Meath’s Summerhill at Manguard Park today. 

Naas created a number of goal chances in the first half but only had Hanafin’s seventh minute strike to show for their efforts and they should have been more than just five point ahead at the break. 

It looked like they might pay for their profligacy in front of goal when Summerhill got back to within two points with 11 minutes to play, but Prizeman’s 50th minute goal finished the game as a contest and they pulled away in the final ten minutes. 

Joe Murphy’s Naas side started with real intent and after Jack McKevitt pointed after just 30 seconds, Darragh Kirwan added a second point in the fourth minute. 

It took just seven minutes for their first goal when a quality ball on to the edge of the square by Alex Beirne was batted down by Dermot Hanafin to his younger brother Sean who blasted to the net.

Kildare’s U20 All-Ireland winning manager Brian Flanagan is part of the Summerhill coaching set up and could only watch as two players, McKevitt and Hanafin, contributed 1-1 in the opening minutes for Naas. 

Naas defended superbly through the first half, although Summerhill didn’t help their cause with some poor shot selection and execution and they finished the first half 1-5 0-3 behind after hitting eight wides. 

It could have been worse had Darragh Kirwan taken either of the gilt-edged goal-scoring opportunities Naas created for him, but one was saved by Sean Muddiman and another flashed just wide of the post. 

Summerhill were better through the third quarter and Eoghan Frayne scored three points through this period.

Barry Dardis nicely found the target in the 49th minute to leave two in it, but a beautifully constructed Naas goal a minute later finished off the tie. The pace and directness of Paddy McDermott was at the heart of it and after playing a give-and-go with Darragh Kirwan, he sent the ball into Prizeman and the wing back made no mistake in finding the net from close range. 

Naas took complete control after that with the experience of Eamonn Callaghan playing a big role off the bench. 

The three-in-a-row Kildare champions have still only been beaten by Kilmacud Crokes in the last three years of championship football and they now face an away semi-final against St Loman's of Westmeath in two week's time.

Scorers for Naas: S Hanafin 1-0, E Prizeman 1-0, D Kirwan 0-3 (1f), A Beirne 0-3, E Callaghan 0-2fs, J Burke 0-1, J McKevitt 0-1, L Mullins 0-1f, Kevin Cummins 0-1f. 

Scorers for Summerhill: Eoghan Frayne 0-6 (5fs), C Frayne 0-1, B Dardis 0-1. 

Naas: Luke Mullins; Cathal Daly, Brian Byrne, Mark Maguire; Paddy McDermott, Eoin Doyle, Eoghan Prizeman; Paul McDermott, Sean Hanafin, Jack McKevitt; Darragh Kirwan, Dermot Hanafin, Conor McCarthy.

Subs: Eamonn Callagan for Hanafin (42), Tom Browne for McKevitt (42), Neil Aherne for McDermott (54), Kevin Cummins for Kirwan (59).

Summerhill: Sean Muddiman; Iarla Hughes, Padraig Jennings, John Lavelle; Adam McDonnell, Ross Ryan, Padraig Geraghty; Adam Flanagan, Michael Byrne; David Larkin, Eoghan Frayne, Diarmuid McCabe; Conor Lyons, Conor Frayne, Barry Dardis.

Subs: Kevin Ryan for Lyons (41), David Dalton for C Frayne (55), Jamie O’Shea for McDonnell (58), Ben Moran for Jennings (60). 

Referee: Alan Coyne (Westmeath).