LEINSTER LADIES SFC FINAL
DUBLIN 5-8 KILDARE 0-12
AS often as their spirited display offered them hope Dublin kept bursting Kildare’s bubble.
Only once did the losers manage to get in front and it only lasted two minutes as the winners scored a goal to haul themselves clear, an act that would be repeated five times in total.
The scoreboard tells much of how this game unfolded but the gap between the sides at the finish doesn’t do any justice to how much Kildare troubled their conquerors. It was like a game of chess where one side kept stealing pawns. Dublin were happy to sacrifice those minor pieces because they were making all the key moves up front. Kildare had too many fires to smother and while they competed until the bitter end there was always a sense that the longer the game went on the further Dublin’s lead would grow.
Never has the value of goals been so brutally illustrated. In the first half Dublin played second fiddle but netted twice and led by three points at the break when Kildare had actually got one score more than their illustrious opponents.
The opening quarter was a frustrating affair for players and spectators alike. Not only was the game ten minutes late starting but an early injury to Noelle Earley stopped the contest gaining any momentum.
Accordingly there were just two scores in the first 13 minutes, a point for Dublin’s Elaine Kelly and one in reply from Louise Keatley.
Just as all seemed to be going smoothly for the Lilies, Mary Nevin struck a goal after Donna Berry had done well to block an initial shot.
It did nothing to dampen Kildare spirits. A run of five points in the next ten minutes was only interrupted by one Dublin score and Kildare led 0-6 to 1-2 only for a Lyndsey Peat goal to push the winners three clear at the break - and Gillian Behan sent to the sin bin for ten minutes just as the half ended for a rash tackle.
Despair might have engulfed Paul Kelly’s side when Niamh Hurley netted a third Dublin goal just three minutes after the break but Kildare cancelled it out with a trio of points.
Therese Martin had to be alert to stop another Dublin goal in the 42nd minute but it was merely a delay of the onslaught. Sinead Ahearn, held so well by a stubborn Kildare defence, finally cut loose with 15 minutes remaining, hitting 2-2 in seven minutes.
Jennings added another couple of points but the Dublin defence wouldn’t even countenance a consolation goal for the vanquished players in white.
So what now for Kildare? Their season is far from over though their quest to make the breakthrough in Leinster remains a holy grail.
Dublin are a side with serious ambitions and could well consider themselves second only to Cork in the country - a level that represents a massive jump for Kildare and being in this final was a major achievement in itself.
Winning was never expected but when they look back on the way they played it will dawn on them that winning was not completely unattainable either. Disappointment for now but there are bright days ahead for this side.
KILDARE: Therese Martin; Julie Cunningham, Donna Berrry, Clodagh Flanagan; Maria Moolick, Orla O’Shea, Aisling Holton; Brianne Leahy, Louise Keatley ( Gillian Behan (.-.), Aisling Jennings (.-., .fs), Noelle Earley; Tracy Noone, Aoife Herbert ( Deirdre Gately (.-.). Subs: Caroline Hill for Noone, ..; Kiri Lowry for L Keatley, ..; Andrea Brereton for Cunningham, ..; Christine Newton for Behan, ...
DUBLIN: Cliodhna O’Connor; Louise Kidd, Noelle Comyn, Maria Kavanagh; Colleen Barrett, Sorcha Furlong, Avril Cluxton; Lyndsey Peat (.-.), Denise Masterson; Mary Nevin (.-.), Elaine Kelly ( Kim Flood; Niamh Hurley (.- .), Sinead Ahern (.-.), Amy McGuinness. Subs: Natalia Hyland for Flood, ..; Lyndsey Davey ( for Kelly, ..; Niamh McEvoy for Nevin, ..; Siobhan McGrath for Davey, ...
REFEREE: Des McHenry, Westmeath