Flynn sizzles for Kildare in the Clonmel heat
Kildare's Daniel Flynn tries to avoid the challenge of Tipperary's Jimmy Feehan. Photo: Sean Brilly
The mercurial Daniel Flynn turned back the clock as Kildare made it two wins from two in the Tailteann Cup with a somewhat flattering fourteen-point defeat of Tipperary.
Making his first start under Brian Flanagan as one of seven changes from the facile win over Leitrim, Flynn sizzled in the searing Clonmel heat, weighing in with 2-4, the goals his first in championship football since the Leinster Final of 2021.
Starting instead of Darragh Kirwan, the Johnstownbridge man might have added at least one more goal, a delightfully deft chip over goalkeeper Shane Ryan bouncing back off the crossbar in the opening half.
Kildare, playing into a breeze in the opening half, were nonetheless all over Tipperary at the start, and points from Flynn and Alex Beirne had them two up within ninety seconds. Flynn might have laid on a goal for Jimmy Hyland but failed to find the lively Ballyteague man. The two inside men did, however, link up superbly throughout.
With O’Brien struggling to find a colleague on his kickouts, Kildare continued to dominate, and Tommy Gill, Brendan Gibbons, Ben McCormack, and a Beirne free had them six points to no score ahead by the fifteenth minute.
Tipperary gained a foothold when a two-point free from Cian Smith opened their account after twenty minutes, and Daithí Hogan followed that immediately with a single to cut the gap in half.
Kildare should have settled when McCormack sent Flynn through for his first goal, confidently finished to the goalkeeper’s left, particularly as it was followed by points from Darragh Swords and Hyland to make it 1-8 to 0-3.
But after Smith pointed for the Premier men, they benefited from a rare errant kickout from Didier Cordonnier, who failed to find his intended target Ryan Sinkey, and Hogan set up full-forward Darragh Brennan for an emphatic finish to the net.
Flynn might have matched that score when Hyland’s superb crossfield pass found him one-on-one with Ryan, but his delicate chip was denied by the crossbar on 28 minutes.
Undeterred, Flynn added his second point, but Tipp’s dander was up going into the break when Smith landed a quite brilliant two-pointer from play to make it a three-point game (1-9 to 1-6).
If Kildare got a rocket from Flanagan at half-time it didn’t show, the only score of the first seven minutes after the restart coming from Tipp wing back Jack O’Neill after a piercing run.
Micheál Freaney might have levelled with a two-point attempt, but Kildare hit back with their second goal. It came from a push on Hyland in front of the posts as he attempted to finish off a fine hand-passing movement involving Beirne and Kevin Flynn.
Jerome Henry had no hesitation in awarding the penalty, and Beirne’s conversion was emphatically struck to Ryan’s left.
Still, Kildare couldn’t shake off the home side, and their captain Steven O’Brien landed a two-point free, making it three orange flags to nil in the 45th minute.
David Hyland soon addressed that statistic with arguably the game’s most important score, shooting over from just outside the ‘arc’ to extend the visitors’ lead to five points (2-11 to 1-9).
With their bench, including captain Kevin Feely and the returning Tony Archbold, having a strong impact, Kildare pushed for home from there as Tipperary wilted somewhat in temperatures around the mid-twenties.
Beirne’s delightful ball into Daniel Flynn was offloaded to Jimmy Hyland coming on the loop for the Ballyteague man’s second score, and Flynn followed that up with another after a one-two with namesake Kevin. Brennan replied with a free for Tipperary.
Jimmy Hyland added his third point, Daniel Flynn registered his fourth of a productive afternoon, and Beirne landed a two-point free before the Naas man’s pass across goal gave Daniel the opportunity to palm to the net for his second goal with two minutes left.
A Beirne free and a nice point from Archbold rounded off the Kildare scoring before corner back Luke Boland pointed for Tipperary, who will feel a little hard-done-by with the scoreline, even if there was no doubting Kildare’s superiority.
Didier Cordonnier; Brian Byrne, Mark Dempsey, Ryan Burke; Tommy Gill 0-1, David Hyland 0-2 (2p), Mick O’Grady; Aaron Masterson, Brendan Gibbons 0-1; Ryan Sinkey, Alex Beirne 1-5 (1-0pen,1tpf,2fs), Ben McCormack 0-1; Darragh Swords 0-1, Daniel Flynn 2-4, Jimmy Hyland 0-3.
Kevin Flynn for O’Grady h/t, Eoin Cully for Sinkey 43, Kevin Feely for Gibbons 47, Tony Archbold 0-1 for McCormack 54, Jack McKevitt for Burke (temp 59-61), McKevitt for K Flynn (temp 63-65), McKevitt for Gill 68.
Shane Ryan; Manus McFadden, Jimmy Feehan, Luke Boland 0-1; Mark Stokes, Paudie Feehan, Jack O’Neill 0-1; Paudie Feehan, Mark Russell; Micheál Freaney, Steven O’Brien 0-2 (tpf), Daithí Hogan 0-1; Cian Smith 0-5 (1tf,1tp), Darragh Brennan 1-1 (0-1f), Seán O’Connor.
Eoin O’Connell for Russell 28, Ben Comerford for O’Connor h/t, James Morris for P Feehan 54, Eoghan Power for Freaney 60, Emmet Moloney for O’Brien 66.
Jerome Henry (Mayo).
