Kildare 5-16 Down 1-8
Report: Charlie Keegan
O’Raghallaigh’s GAA Drogheda was the venue for this All Ireland Minor B Shield final against Down on Saturday 28th April. The pitch was in fine order, the weather was dry with a slight breeze blowing towards the M1 motorway end and Kildare played with this breeze for the first half. Down started brightly and scored the first point of the game after 3 mins from left half forward Clara Cowan. From the puck out Kildare went on the attack but Caoimhe Maher’s first shot went just wide. After 7 minutes Kildare got their first score with a fine long range point by centre forward Emma Kielty.
From the restart Caoimhe Shiels won the ball in midfield and raced down the centre to fire home a cracking goal. This seemed to settle the Kildare girls as the forwards began to find their rhythm and pile the pressure onto Down. Caoimhe Maher pointed after racing out to meet a low struck ball from Aoife Stynes. Down were battling hard in midfield but the Kildare duo of Mc Inerney and Shiels were equal to all that was thrown at them and continued to deliver vital ball into the lively inside forward line. Laoise Dunne was commanding at centre back all during this half.
Eleven minutes in, Holly Tynan latched onto a loose ball in the corner and showed a clean pair of heels to her marker firing home a second goal for Kildare. Two minutes later that girl Maher was on target with a goal of her own after burning the full back with her pace to deliver a shot past the helpless Down keeper. Kildare continued to trouble the Down backs with long range deliveries from
Kildare keeper and when Aoife Fitzgerald broke through from Left half forward the defender dragged her down for a free which Maher converted. Down pressed hard for goals midway through this first half but keeper Emma Cully pulled off a number of fine saves to keep the Down attack at bay and during this vital time.
The full back line of Zara Mc Geever, Sarah Cullen and Ruth Millett were cutting out attack after attack and only one point was conceded to Saoirse Sands on sixteen minutes. Maher tagged on two more points from frees following fouls on Aoife Stynes and Emma Kielty out on the half forward line.
By now Down had deployed a sweeper to protect their full back line but the Kildare girls had more in their armoury and after 20 minutes Caoimhe Shiels delivered another fine point following a run from midfield to leave the score at 3-5 to 0-2. The two wing backs Ella Connor and Caoilfhionn Halissy were setting up numerous attacks for Kildare and three minutes later Tynan had the ball in the Down net again when she picked up on the 20 meter line to smash home.
In the other corner Niamh Keegan was looking equally dangerous and took her point on 24 minutes when she had beaten her marker and could have opted for goal. Realising this option, a minute later Keegan won the ball again, this time it was goal on her mind and made no mistake with her shot to the net.
Aoife Fitzgerald was a constant thorn to the opposition and followed up with a point from left half forward. Down applied much physicality to try and curb the fast moving Kildare girls and following an incident in midfield, referee showed a red card to the Down number nine. The last point of the half came to Down’s Clara Cowan, leaving the scoreline: Kildare 5-8 to Down’s 0-3. Kildare introduced Aibhe Tyndall for Niamh Keegan, Ciara Harrington for Zara Mc Geever and similar to the first half it was joint captain Emma Kielty who kick started the Kildare girls into the second half with a great point from the hard working centre forward. Down immediately struck back for a goal by Aoibhinn Bretnall.
The next three scores were all the Maher show as she delivered points from play in the thirty fourth, thirty sixth and thirty ninth minutes. Down’s response was a point from Bretnall on forty four minutes and another from Sands on forty seven minutes. Maher, the other member of the dual captain partnership, kept the scoreboard ticking over with a free when the Down full back fouled Holly Tynan to prevent her attacking the goal. Tynan tagged on another point from play 3 minutes later. With 15 minutes remaining Kildare introduced Ann Marie Travers for Niamh Mc Inerney and Roisin Maguire for Aoife Stynes. Both girls were into the action quickly and Travers made a telling run through the centre, delivering a pass to Maher who struck for another point.
Down were trying everything to get into the game and managed to win and score three frees in the middle period of second half through Saoirse Sands. Laoise Dunne picked up second yellow with ten minutes remaining but by this time Kildare were home and dry. Fittingly the last score of this game would fall to the player of the match Caoimhe Maher.
Below - Management: Mary Coughlan, Tony Maher, Charlie Keegan and Breda Wall
This panel of players have worked hard since last December, many of them leading busy school schedules. Manager Tony Maher thanked all for their dedication over the past number of months and wished those undertaking leaving cert exams every success in the coming weeks. Some of these minor players had seen game time in the previous weeks relegation game, when the senior team lost out to an experienced and Physical Down side.
However, these young players are learning quickly and are capable of making impact on the adult inter county scene if they continue to work hard and receive the continued support from their senior colleagues.
Team: Emma Cully, Zara Mc Geever, Sarah Cullen, Ruth Millett, Ella Connor, Laoise Dunne, Caoilfhionn Halissy, Niamh Mc Inerney, Caoimhe Shiels(1-1), Aoife Stynes, Emma Kielty(0-2), Aoife Fitzgerald(0-1), Niamh Keegan(1-1), Caoimhe Maher(1-10 (5 frees)), Holly Tynan(2-1).
Subs: Ciara Harrington for Zara Mc Geever, Ann Marie Travers for Niamh Mc Inerney, Ellen O Boyle for Ruth Millett, Roisin Maguire for Aoife Stynes, Aibhe Tyndall for Niamh Keegan. Sarah Doyle Ryan, Fiona Kyne, Emily Dunne, Amy Gallagher, Roisin Roche.