Inspirational Ryan leads the way as Kildare book U20 Final spot

In among all the quality football that Kildare played during their Leinster U20 Football Championship semi-final win over Meath at Cedral St Conleths Park, one moment summed up the spirit within the team early in the second half.

As the ball was played out of the Meath defence towards John Harkin on the left hand side, Ben Ryan had spotted the chance of an interception and was already on the move.

The ball had got away slightly from Harkin but the big Meath centre forward still looked favourite to reach it.

Ryan didn’t see it that way.

Cast your mind back 30 years ago and it could just as easily have been his legendary father Glenn diving on a loose ball for the Kildare cause. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree and young Ben went down bravely on the ball to secure possession.

The shocked looks on the faces of the onlookers on the sideline, captured brilliantly in the picture above by photographer James Lawlor, gives an idea of the impact.

Ryan lay momentarily motionless as the shocked crowd held their breath but thankfully he was quickly back to his feet and after dusting himself off was ready to continue.

It wasn’t a moment that counted on the scoreboard but it was a moment that told Meath that Kildare were willing to do whatever it took to get the win.

This was the definition of putting your body on the line to help your team but for Ryan, it was just another ball that had to be won.

“I just saw the ball. I didn't care what came after that, once I got my hands on the ball. Look, you have to put your body on the line in these games, especially in a semi-final. It's just part of it, isn't it? You just have to do these things,” said Ryan.

As pivotal as that moment was, it was the scores that ultimately won the game and Ryan was quick to praise the forward line where the likes of Jimmy Lynch and Colm Moran caused Meath endless problems.

“They're brilliant. I get the most of it in training, having to mark Jimmy and Ronan (Kelly) and Colm. Then you've Hughie Martin on the bench and you've Luke Mahon on the panel. From 1 to 36, it's just a brilliant panel,” said Ryan, who is joint captain of the team along with Moran.

Meath had beaten Kildare at this stage of the competition in the last two years and arrived in Newbridge after winning all their group games so Ryan said the Kildare team knew they had to be at their best to progress.

“Meath are a brilliant side and we knew coming into it that they'd be a huge, huge challenge for us. But we know ourselves that we're well able to put it up to these lads. Coming out the end of that game, we really felt like we were in control of it even though they had that bit of momentum. We just killed them off and we are delighted with how we came out of it.

“It was a great game to play in and great to play in front of the crowd. They really got behind us there, especially when it was nip and tuck there,” said Ryan.

Since Kildare last won this competition in 2023, Meath beat Louth in the 2024 final and then Louth reversed that result the following week. After getting past Meath, it’s now Louth awaiting Kildare in next week’s final and Ryan can’t wait as he will follow in the footsteps of his father and lead out a Kildare team in a Leinster final.

“We're used to the quick turnarounds now. We've been week on week on week on and now we're nearly riding the momentum. We'll put in two or three good training sessions now over the next few days and just be focused on Louth. That's all the focus is on, we're just going up to play Louth. It's a big game and we're hoping to have another big crowd behind us, and we are just buzzing for it,” said Ryan.