Kilcoo reach All-Ireland Club final with extra-time victory over St Finbarr's
Down and Ulster champions Kilcoo booked a place in the All-Ireland final after dominating extra time against St Finbarr's in Saturday's semi-final.
Aidan Branagan's reckless red card in injury time cost Kilcoo a chance to win the game in normal time in Portlaoise.
It finished 1-10 each after the hour and Kilcoo outscored the Cork side by eight points to three in extra time.
They will play Dublin champions Kilmacud Crokes in the All-Ireland final in Croke Park on February 12.
Kilcoo lost their only previous All-Ireland final appearance to Corofin in 2020.
Kilcoo may see Branagan hearing
The Down club's assistant manager Conleith Gilligan told BBC Sport NI they may seek a personal hearing for Branagan whose red card stands to rule him out of the final.
"I thought it was soft given some of the big hits that were dished out," said Gilligan.
"We will have to look at it and see what was in it and what the referee's report says. It is one of those things we will have to look at when the dust settles."
Steven Sherlock top-scored with 0-10 for St Finbarr's, all from frees, but they were too passive in extra time with Kilcoo showing more ambition to get the winning scores.
It was going to be a long car ride home - Daryl Branagan
Both sides finished with 14 players. The Munster champions' fullback Jamie Burns received a straight red late on followed by a back for Dylan Ward.
Kilcoo struck the first blow in the game with Ryan Johnston's goal after five minutes of a fiesty first half that was littered with late hits and heavy blows.
Jerome Johnston passed back to his brother standing unmarked on the edge of the large square and while John Kerins got a hand to it, the ferocity of his shot high into the roof of the net beat the goalkeeper for pace.
After an unconvincingly start, the Barrs grew more into the game with Steven Sherlock and Eoin McGreevy on target from frees as Kilcoo went 18 minutes without a score.
A point chipped over on the run by Aaron Branagan stopped the flow of Cork scores but the Munster champions won a vital turnover just before half time which led to a goal.
Daryl Branagan was put under pressure after a poor pass from Ryan McEvoy and coughed up the ball to Eoin Comyns.
Shealin Johnston scored two points for Kilcoo
He fed Sherlock whose unselfish pass put McGreevy through on goal, he rounded the 'keeper and slotted the ball low into the net to give St Finbarr's a 1-5 to 1-3 interval lead.
Although a Sherlock free immediately after the interval stretched that lead, Kilcoo enjoyed a great third quarter dominating their opponents kickouts.
They scored four points in a row which included points from play from Shealin Johnston and Eugene Branagan to retake the lead.
Two Sherlock frees edged St Finbarr's in front again but the sides were level five times in the second half, defender Daryl Branagan going forward to hit two points from play, and extra time seemed inevitable.
Kilcoo could have been spared extra time but for Aidan Branagan's moment of madness.
With Paul Devlin, who moments earlier had scored a wonder point, standing over a potential match-winning free deep in stoppage time, Branagan's reckless off-the-ball hit left referee Brendan Cawley no option but to throw the ball up and it signalled the end of the game, the scores level at 1-10 apiece.
Kilcoo bossed the first period of extra time with a Paul Devlin brace and another point from Miceal Rooney stretching them ahead 1-15 to 1-12 by half time in extra time.
As their opponents grew increasingly ragged, Kilcoo picked off further scores to return to the All-Ireland final for the first time since 2020, when they lost to three-in-a-row champions Corofin of Galway.
What they said
Daryl Branagan, speaking about his brother Aidan's reckless red card, said: "I was thinking this is going to be a long car ride home, nobody's going to be talking!"
"Listen, it would have been worse if we were a point down. We knew going into extra time that we had another chance to redeem ourselves.
"Two years ago in the final we didn't make the most of our extra time so we knew to learn from our mistakes today.
"We knew we had the legs. Everyone knew we had the fitness to do it. We are in the form of our lives, I would say."
