Kildare find five-star Cork too hot to handle
Kildare and District Underage League Kennedy Cup squad that beat the Limerick County League at UL.
The KDUL fell to defeat in their second and final group game at this year’s Kennedy Cup, meaning Kildare have finished second in their group and will now enter the Bowl competition tomorrow.
Ciaran Killaly’s side had an impressive victory in their opening group game against Limerick County, but they faced far stiffer competition this afternoon against the Rebels.
In truth, the full-time scoreline flattered Cork, in a game the KDUL side were competitive in for large periods.
This season’s SFAI U14 Inter League champions started the game well, but it was Cork who took the lead after five minutes. The Kildare defence failed to deal with a long ball, which allowed Seán Hogan to finish past Jacob Browne Larkin in the KDUL goal.
After this, the men in red and white grew into the game, and they doubled their lead just under 15 minutes later, when Hogan grabbed his second, following a fine individual effort. The impressive attacker picked the ball up on the left flank and whipped a right footed effort from outside the box into the back of Browne Larkin’s net.
In the 33rd minute, Hoban got his hat-trick when Jacob Larkin’s clearance was blocked down by the attacker, and the ball ended up in the back of the Kildare net.
Killaly’s men didn’t give up though and they were unfortunate not to reduce the deficit, when Cathal McAuliffe’s free kick almost found its way into the Cork net, just before the break.
The southerners started the second half just like the first, and they made it 4-0 inside the first five minutes of the second period, following a fine goal by Brandon Slattery.
Unfortunately for Kildare, the number of chances they created in the second period were few and far between.
Conor Barry rounded off the scoring for the victors in the 59th minute, when his close-range effort was rifled to the back of the KDUL net.
Cork now advance to the knockout stages of the Kennedy Cup, and they will be a stern test for any team left in the competition, while the KDUL will have to dust themselves down for their Bowl competition opener tomorrow.
