South Dublin club Thomas Davis became contenders for underdog story of the year last night after booking their spot in the Dublin Senior 1 Football Championship final in Parnell Park.
Only 12 months ago the club were competing in the Dublin Senior 2 final and although they triumphed there, few were giving them a chance to succeed against the star-studded sides in the top tier of Dublin football. Nevertheless the club pulled off a major shock under the lights in Donnycarney, beating last year's champions Kilmacud Crokes by five points.
They will now play Ballyboden St Enda's, who defeated St Jude's in last night's other semi-final, for the chance to progress on to the Leinster senior football club championship.
Ciaran Farrelly disposses David Nestor and hits the Kilmacud Crokes net. Are the Dublin SFC champions in trouble? Watch live on @RTE2 or RTÉ Player https://t.co/hzPmwWtuKM #GAA pic.twitter.com/UhMeJCrLaJ
— RTÉ GAA (@RTEgaa) October 26, 2019
It will be the club's first final appearance in the biggest game of the Dublin club calendar since 1991 when the outfit completed a historic three-in-a-row.
Speaking to RTÉ Sport after last night's game the club's manager Paul Kelly claimed the spirit of the collective played a huge role in the side's success.
It's been a fantastic journey over the last couple of years, winning last year. Winning is a habit. We've put an awful lot of work in over the last few years bringing in new lads, young lads, up through the club.
The one thing we don't lack is teamwork and a collective spirit. We've a lot of football skills as well, as I think people would have seen here today.
Second half goals from Ciaran Farrelly and Brendan Kirby proved crucial for the underdogs after the sides had initially gone in at the interval level.
But Davis soon found momentum, insisted Kirby, that will see the club return to the North Dublin venue for at least one more big game this season.
I've been playing senior 14 or 15 years and I thought this chance was gone to be honest. It's phenomenal. We've been on a journey over the last couple of years.
We just built momentum, momentum and when we have our full team together we can compete with them all.
