Dream start for Flanagan
Kildare's Brian McLoughlin holds off Fermanagh's Ronan McCaffrey Photo: Sean Brilly
A highly promising Kildare performance got the Brian Flanagan era off to a flying start with a comprehensive dismantling of Fermanagh in Division 3 of the Allianz Football League in Cedral St Conleth’s Park on Saturday evening.
Kildare revelled in the open spaces provided by the rule ‘enhancements’, making hay from Ross Bogue’s kick outs to dominate possession in the first half. With Bogue forced to go long, the Erne men were under all sorts of pressure against a lively, fluid Kildare outfit who peppered the first half with some wonderful scores having opened their account through full-back Mick O’Grady inside two minutes.
Debutants James McGrath, Ryan Sinkey and Colm Dalton from Flanagan’s All Ireland under-20 winning team, repaid the faith shown in them by the Johnstownbridge man.
Sinkey and Dalton scored two points apiece as Kildare, without even attempting a two-pointer from outside the arc, tore their visitors’ defence to shreds in notching up thirteen first half points.
The value of the two-pointer was illustrated in the few minutes before half-time however as an outgunned Fermanagh finally gained some traction, this time off Kildare goalie Didier Cordonnier’s kick outs, and Darragh McGurn notched three points, including the game’s opening orange flag, as they closed the gap to six points by the interval.
Kildare settled again early in the second half but conceded a calamitous goal on 47 minutes when Kevin Feely’s attempted pass across his own goal was gobbled up by Shane McGullion, who finished past Cordonnier. That narrowed the gap briefly to five points.
The Lilywhites recovered impressively and finished the stronger with Niall Kelly and Alex Beirne (free) landing two pointers and when Dalton led a break towards goal and offloaded for Kirwan to finish to the net on the hour there was no way back for Fermanagh.
Feely played on from a forward mark to help set up a second goal, palmed home by 20 year old Sinkey from substitute Darragh Swords’ pass and David Hyland rounded off a fine evening for the Lilywhites with their third two-pointer as they ran out fifteen point winners.
Didier Cordonnier; Harry O’Neill, Mick O’Grady 0-1, Brian Byrne; David Hyland 0-2 (tp), James McGrath, Ryan Houlihan 0-1; Kevin Feely, Callum Bolton 0-2; Brian McLoughlin 0-1, Alex Beirne 0-4 (2f, 1tpf), Colm Dalton 0-2; Ryan Sinkey 1-2, Darragh Kirwan 1-6 (2fs), Niall Kelly 0-3 (1tp). Subs: Kevin Flynn for Houlihan 50, Aaron Masterson for Kelly 53, Dean O’Donoghue for O’Neill 61, Cathal Hagney for McLoughlin 61, Darragh Swords for Bolton 67.
Ross Bogue 0-2 (1’45); Lee Cullen, Aaron Jones, Joe McDade; Jonathan Cassidy, Declan McCusker 0-1, Diarmuid Owens; Ronan McCaffrey, Darragh McGurn 0-3 (1 tp); Shane McGullion 1-0, Fionán O’Brien 0-1 (f), Paul Breen; Josh Largo Elis, Garvan Jones 0-3 (3fs), Conor Love 0-1. Subs: Ultan Kelm 0-1 for Jones 29, Jack Largo Elis for Owens h-t, Ryan Lyons for Breen 52, Che Cullen for McDade 58, Oisín Murphy for McGurn 66.
Barry Judge (Sligo).
