Murphy's scoring exploits not enough as Crettyard exit the Leinster Intermediate Club Championship

Crettyard have been knocked out of the AIB Leinster Club Intermediate Football Championship by Dublin side Naomh Mearnog in Saturday's quarter-final in Parnell Park.

Cormac Murphy was superb for Noel Delaney's side and scored four points which was all of Crettyard's tally.

Naomh Mearnog 0-8

Crettyard 0-4

It was the Dublin Intermediate champions who kicked the first score as Tommy Cosgrove was fouled which allowed Shane Kavanagh step up and split the posts after two minutes. Crettyard's first white flag was also from a free as Jonah Kelly was fouled with Cormac Murphy slotting the ball between the posts. That Murphy free would be Crettyard's only score of the opening half as Naomh Mearnog took full control of the game and prevented Crettyard getting any easy shots on goal.

Crettyard's James Kelly put in a great block to deny the home side a goal with the resulting 45' kicked wide of the target. Naomh Mearnog raised four white flags in a 17-minute period with the Naomh Mearnog midfielders kicking three of those scores. Kavanagh kicked a second free before number 8 Sean Hawkshaw and number 9 Cian Madden kicked a score each. The former then took his tally to two points as Naomh Mearnog led 0-5 to 0-1 after half-an-hour.

The half ended with another wide for Crettyard as Cormac Murphy kicked his free to the right of the posts. Karl Lynch-Bissett kicked the final score of the first period as the Dublin side led by five points at the break.

Murphy reduced the Dublin side's lead to a single score as he kicked two super scores with the first one coming from under the stand off the outside of his boot. Harry Collier and Murphy (45') traded scores but Crettyard needed to try create scoring opportunities but they couldn't do so. Substitute Kevin O'Brien fisted over the insurance point for Naomh Mearnog in 62nd minute. Crettyard ended the game with 14 men as Dara Kelly was shown a second yellow card late on.

The defeat ends a great year for Crettyard which saw them lift the Laois Intermediate Football Championship to return to the Senior grade in Laois for the first time since 2019. They'd have liked to progress further in the Leinster Championship but that was always going to be a tough task with Evan O'Carroll and Ciaran Burke ruled out with injury.