TOM BRENNAN was the ace up Na Fianna’s sleeve as they made Sarsfields look like a busted flush.
Winning gaffer Niall Ó Ceallacháin hailed the ‘outstanding dual player’, who bagged goals in each half to help the Mobhi Road men claim their first All-Ireland Club SHC title.
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Na Fianna captain Donal Burke after their side’s victory in the All-Ireland Senior Club Championship final match against Sarsfields
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Tom Brennan was the star for Na Fianna as they claimed their first ever All-Ireland title in dominant fashion
Brennan, who was drafted in for his first start of the campaign, only linked up with the Na Fianna hurlers after their footballers were ousted from the Championship in October.
And he certainly made the most of his opportunity.
County champions for the first time just last season, Na Fianna then went back-to-back in Dublin before claiming a maiden Leinster crown in November.
However, they could scarcely have imagined marking their debut appearance in an All-Ireland final with a display of such undeniable dominance.
Indeed, the scoreboard did not serve full justice to the superiority of a Na Fianna team who pulled the handbrake up when it was clear that they were home and dry.
Sarsfields needed nearly 20 minutes to register a score from play thanks to Daniel Kearney.
The long-range point from the former Cork ace had the hallmarks of a moment that could be a catalyst to turn the tide.
Yet from the puck-out, Colin Currie broke the ball for Jack Meagher and his brilliant work paved the way for Brennan to find the net.
The goal left Na Fianna leading by 1-10 to 0-3. And after keeping their foot on the throat of a team who seemed to struggle with their first experience of hurling at this altitude, the Dublin champs pushed their advantage out to 12 points by the break.
On a day when no Na Fianna player was found wanting, particularly high standards were set by AJ Murphy, Ciarán Stacey, Brian Ryan and Liam Rushe.
But the same man provided the finishing touch again when their second goal arrived. Stacey picked the pocket of Eoghan Murphy before teeing up Brennan to send his side into a 2-20 to 0-12 lead in the 42nd minute.
Na Fianna gaffer Ó Ceallacháin said: “Tom has that ability. Once he secures the ball and goes off the shoulder, he’s extremely explosive, extremely strong.
“And he’s good in the smaller areas to finish opportunities like that. Tom obviously had a very, very good day and I’m very glad for him.”
Brennan rejoined the hurling panel after the Na Fianna footballers suffered a county semi-final loss to Kilmacud Crokes.
His first appearance of the season came as a 47th-minute substitute in the All-Ireland semi-final win against Loughrea.
Ó Ceallacháin added: “It was a great day for him. Tom’s grandfather is one of the founding members of the club so I know all his family are very, very pleased.”
Sarsfields were the first Cork team to contest the final in 19 years. But thanks to their resounding triumph, Na Fianna became just the second club from the capital – after Cuala – to claim the Tommy Moore Cup.
Ó Ceallacháin, whose side had to overturn a five-point second-half deficit to beat Loughrea, said: “We’re absolutely delighted. We felt we started slowly the last day.
“We weren’t at it from the first minute so we certainly targeted that for this game over the last few weeks.
“We wanted a fast start. We wanted to go at it. We got on top early. I’m very proud of the lads that they stuck at it play by play.
“We’ve had good days but this was probably our best performance. For the lads to do that on the biggest day, I’m very, very proud of them.”
Following impressive wins over Feakle, Ballygunner and Slaughtneil, Sarsfields came to Croke Park for the first time in their history with understandably high hopes.
But the standard of decision-making and execution from the Munster champions fell well short of what was required to match what was thrown at them.
Sars manager Johnny Crowley said: “Obviously we just didn’t perform, whether it was Croke Park, whether it was just the occasion.
“I suppose ultimately we were beaten by a better team. To be fair, they were very, very sharp. They played a great brand of hurling.
“You have to give them credit as well. They were tremendous, to be fair to them.”
Na Fianna 2-23 – Sarsfields 0-20
NA FIANNA: J Tracey; S Burke, C McHugh, K Burke; P O’Dea 0-1, L Rushe, P Feeney; B Ryan 0-3, S Currie 0-1; J Meagher 0-1, D Burke 0-3, 1f, C Stacey 0-2; C Currie 0-6, 5f, 1 ’65, AJ Murphy 0-5, T Brennan 2-1.
Subs: D Clerkin for Ryan 53 mins, G King for Brennan 56, D Ryan for O’Dea 58, S Barrett for Murphy 60, S Ryan for Meagher 60.
SARSFIELDS: B Graham; C Roche, P Leopold, C O’Sullivan; B Murphy 0-1, E Murphy, L Elliott; Colm McCarthy, Cathal McCarthy; D Kearney 0-3, 1 ‘65, D Hogan 0-1, C Darcy; A Myers 0-10, 8f, J Sweeney, J O’Connor 0-5.
Subs: S O’Regan for Darcy h-t, C Leahy for Elliott h-t, L Healy for Colm McCarthy 41 mins, K Murphy for E Murphy 45, E O’Sullivan for Sweeney 51.REFEREE: L Gordon (Galway)