Clane 0-6 Naas 1-12
It wasn't always pretty from Naas but it was mightily effective as the Kildare Senior Football Championship holders made it back to back titles, securing a dream double-double of senior successes for the club.
With the hurlers having already completed the four-in-a-row, it was left up to the footballers to come good and they duly delivered with a commanding nine-point win at St Conleth's Park.
Wet and blustery conditions, allied to Clane's cautious approach, reduced the game to a dogfight at times in heavy conditions but a highly experienced Naas were more than happy to compete on those terms, leading throughout and winning with nine points to spare.
A late goal from Man of the Match Paddy McDermot glossed the scoreline somewhat but Naas were still full value for the win with goalkeeper Luke Mullins also clipping three points from placed balls.
Their 10th title comes with a rich reward - the prospect of a rematch in the Leinster club SFC with Kilmacud Crokes who beat Naas in last season's provincial decider.
Mind you, Crokes will have to overcome Na Fianna in next weekend's Dublin decider for that provincial quarter-final tie on November 5/6 to become a reality.
A strong wind favoured Clane initially but they surprisingly opted for a cautious, counter-attacking approach which they may ultimately regret.
Brian McLoughlin, an All-Ireland U-20 winner with Kildare in 2018, and Shane O'Sullivan played as a two-man inside forward line for a young Clane side but they were starved of possession for long spells and struck just four points from play overall.
It was painful viewing for Clane supporters who craved a first senior county title since 1997.
That '97 team was honoured at half-time with former Kildare stars Eddie McCormack and Willie McCreery among their ranks.
Naas rued their inability to make their lion's share of possession count in the early stages with just five points in the opening half.
They struck as many wides in that period and dropped several point attempts short into Clane goalkeeper Cian Burke's arms.
They still possessed a 0-05 to 0-01 advantage at the interval and in a low scoring contest in wet and windy conditions, it was a significant lead.
Mullins, county man Darragh Kirwan, Tom Browne and former Kildare captain Eamonn Callaghan struck the first four points of the game.
It wasn't until the 25th minute that Clane finally broke their duck and got off the mark with O'Sullivan booming one over from distance.
Alex Beirne closed out the first-half scoring for Naas who looked forward to playing with the stiff wind in the second-half.
For Clane, who conceded the kick-outs initially, the challenge was to be far more adventurous after the break and to reel in a classy and experienced Naas side.
Clane brought McLoughlin out to the half-forward line for the second-half, switching him with Adam Fanning, and McLoughlin won a free that O'Sullivan converted.
But Dermot Hanafin became the fifth point-scorer for Naas to keep four between them, 0-06 to 0-02.
Hanafin then won a free that Mullins converted and Ciaran Doyle became the holders' seventh scorer of the day to stretch the gap out to 0-08 to 0-02.
Clane badly needed a surge of inspiration and it finally came in the form of three points in a row, the third an absolute beauty from full-back Robbie Philips.
He'd started the game as a spare defender for Clane but burst forward when the need was greatest to power over a long range point in the 48th minute, cutting the gap back to just three points.
Now it was Naas who needed a score to settle themselves and they typically came up trumps, effectively deciding the game with three points in a row from Browne, Mullins and Beirne.
The Mullins score came from a converted 45 after a Kirwan shot was expertly touched around the post.
There was another goal chance for Naas too that substitute Sean Hanafin was unable to convert as the champions piled on the pressure and finished strongly.
Naas finally got the goal their performance deserved when McDermot burst through on the right in the 62nd minute and flashed an unstoppable shot to the Clane net.
Naas: Luke Mullins (0-03, 0-02f, 0-01 45); Mark Maguire, Brian Byrne, Cathal Daly; Tom Browne (0-02), Eoin Doyle, Paddy McDermot (1-00); Alex Beirne (0-02), James Burke; Paul McDermot, Dermot Hanafin (0-01), Brian Kane; Eamonn Callaghan (0-01, 0-01f), Darragh Kirwan (0-01), Ciaran Doyle (0-01).
Subs: Sean Hanafin for Burke 36, Jack Cleary (0-01) for Paul McDermot 52, Jack McKevitt for Kane 53, Kevin Cummins for C Doyle 57, Eoghan Prizeman for Browne (63).
Clane: Cian Burke; John Lynch, Chris Byrne, Harry O'Neill; Robbie Philips (0-01); Shane McCormack, Cian Shanahan, Tadhg Montgomery; Sean Christanseen, Sam McCormack (0-01); Cormac Vizzard, Sam Reilly, Adam Fanning; Brian McLoughlin, Shane O'Sullivan (0-04, 0-02f).
Subs: Cathal O'Brien for Christanseen 42, Jake Burke for Vizzard 42, Oisin Tighe for Lynch 49, Sean Callan for Fanning 60, Danny Egan for McCormack 60.
Referee: Brendan Cawley (Sarsfields).
