Kildare beat Wexford to set up early season clash with Dublin
Michael Spillane on the ball for Kildare during the O'Byrne Cup win over Wexford in Enniscorthy Photo: Aisling Hyland
Fourteen players saw competitive senior action for Kildare for the first time as an experimental outfit proved too strong for Wexford in Enniscorthy to qualify for a Diorolyte O’Byrne Cup semi-final tilt with Dublin next weekend.
Manager Brian Flanagan’s preparations for a tough-looking Division 2 campaign have been hampered by retirements, players stepping away, injuries and the Sigerson Cup, but he would have been reasonably happy with a slick enough performance in this sixty-minute match.
Kildare opened strongly, backed by the breeze, with Brendan Gibbons and Dara Crowley dominant at midfield and they opened up a 0-6 to no score lead within the first eleven minutes. Brian McLoughlin, one of only three starters who appeared in the Tailteann Cup Final, pointed from a mark in the right corner before Darragh Swords stretched the advantage with a snapshot from close range.
McLoughlin landed a long-ranger for a third point in as many minutes before Niall Dolan got in on the act with a two-pointer from play and Swords followed up with a single from in front of the posts.
Wexford’s only score of the opening half came from a Colum Feeney two-point free on thirteen minutes and Kildare stepped off the gas for much of the second quarter, though Ben Loakman landed a couple of points to keep the scoreboard ticking.
A minute from the interval, the lively Swords rounded full-back Gavin Sheehan and squeezed home a goal just under the crossbar to send Flanagan’s side into the break comfortably nine-points clear (1-8 to 0-2).
Sam Doran came to the fore early in the second half. He extended the Kildare lead with a point before Niall Hughes hit Wexford’s second score, another two-pointer, which goalkeeper Eoin Sheehan got a hand to.
Last year that would have only counted as a white flag but on this occasion, after a few moments of confusion, referee Darragh Byrne confirmed it as a two-pointer under the new rules.
Doran, however, put any chance of a Wexford comeback on the back burner, soloing through the heart of the Wexford defence to finish superbly to the bottom left-hand corner of the net, putting the Lilywhites 2-9 to 0-4 ahead.
Wexford looked to utilise the breeze with a couple more two-point attempts and Eoghan Nolan was unlucky to see one bounce off the upright and down onto the crossbar without creeping over.
Teenager Liam Kelly from Milltown came forward from corner back for a fine score for Kildare and Feeney curled one over at the other end before Wexford were granted a lifeline by a mistake by Sheehan. The Johnstownbridge netminder caught a high ball well under the crossbar but held on to the it too long in the small parallelogram and Byrne pointed to the spot.
Donal Shanley, however, made a mess of his kick, blazing over the bar for a point, to the relief of Sheehan. Raheens man Crowley then marked his debut with a fine score from long range before substitute Aaron Browne converted a free with five minutes left to round off the Kildare scoring.
Wexford did finish strongly with Liam Coleman, Nolan and Seán Ryan all finding the target but it was a convincing win for an inexperienced Kildare outfit.
Eoin Sheehan; Michael Spillane, Pádraic Spillane, Liam Kelly 0-1; James Harris, Eoin Lawlor, Brian Byrne; Dara Crowley 0-1, Brendan Gibbons; Niall Dolan 0-2 (tp), Sam Doran 1-1, Brian McLoughlin 0-2 (1m); Ben Loakman 0-2, Neil Flynn, Darragh Swords 1-2. Subs: Rob Fitzgerald for Lawlor, Colm Moran for Swords (both h-t), Eoin Bagnall for Loakman, Killian Browne for Dolan (both 38), Ryan Burke for P Spillane, Conor Doyle for McLoughlin (both 42), Aaron Browne 0-1 (f) for Flynn 45.
William Gaul; Liam O’Connor, Gavin Sheehan, Ruairí Martin; Shane Kehoe, Eoghan Nolan 0-1, Dylan Furlong; Liam Coleman 0-1, Colum Feeney 0-3 (1tpf); Donal Shanley 0-1 (pen), Páiric Hughes, Mark Rossiter; Jack Higgins, Robbie Brooks, Seán Ryan 0-1. Subs: Eoin Porter for Martin, Niall Hughes 0-2 (tp) for Higgins, Eoin Hughes for S Kehoe (all h-t), Darragh Lyons for Brooks, James Lawless for Shanley (both 48), Cathal Kehoe for Feeney (51).
Darragh Byrne (Wicklow).
