An inspired display from Ciaran Kilkenny and a brilliant save from goalkeeper Morven Connolly sees Castleknock through to the Dublin SFC quarter finals.
Their final group game against Raheny was a straight shoot-out for a place in the last eight and the fourteen men of Castleknock came out on top.
Having had Tom Quinn sent off after five minutes, things looked bleak for Castleknock who trailed by four points after a quarter of an hour.
Ciaran Kilkenny was superb for Castleknock. Sportsfile.
But they came back into the game with full forward Ger McDermottroe on form from play and from frees.
They led by a point on a half-time scoreline of 0-9 to 0-8 but still had it all to do facing into the breeze and with that numerical disadvantage in the second half.
But their talisman Ciaran Kilkenny came into his own, dominating the closing half with a composed display. He scored 0-2 but it was his calmness in possession that really stood out, dictating the whole game as Castleknock edged ahead of their opponents.
65 nóim @GAA_BEO @CastleknockGAA 0:14 @RahenyGAA 0:11
Pointe iontach aimsithe ag Luke Swan!🙌
Swan points at one end but Brian Howard nearly grabs a draw at the other!
BEO/LIVETG4 AR @TG4TV 📺 @DubGAAOfficial #GAABeo pic.twitter.com/n4Z3i4rdcT
— Spórt TG4 (@SportTG4) September 8, 2024
It looked as if it was going to be a comfortable win for Brian Farrell's side, leading by three points deep into injury time but Raheny almost snatched a draw.
They came searching for an equalising goal with a last-gasp chance falling to Brian Howard. But he was superbly denied by Connolly who got down fast to save the low shot.
"A good performance," said man-of-the-match Ger McDermottroe afterwards.
"When we got the red card, we were kind of at sea. We needed to adapt quickly, it probably took longer than we wanted. But once we clicked, we stuck together and clipped them scores during that purple patch," he added.
Castleknock are now through to the quarter finals along with group winners Na Fianna who drew with Lucan Sarsfields on the day. It's disappointment for Raheny as their interest in the championship is now over.
