Magical minors clinch unforgettable Leinster title
The Kildare team lift the Electric Ireland Leinster Minor Football Championship trophy Photo: ©INPHO/Grace Halton
Young St Kevin’s player, Logan Tennyson, on his 17th birthday, became an overnight Kildare hero following a second half super sub appearance in which he scored 1-1 in a dramatic normal time finish to send the game into extra time and then added a last gasp extra time free to send the game to penalties. Tennyson wasn’t finished then either as he stepped up to take Kildare’s first penalty in the shoot-out and set the trend for his four colleagues who followed. Another St Kevin’s man, goalkeeper, Joe Crotty, saved Meath’s second penalty attempt and became a hero too. While Tennyson and Crotty will receive the headlines, those who started for Tommy Konstantin’s side and the five subs along with Tennyson gave a never say die display which yielded Kildare’s tenth Leinster minor trophy. Heroes all.
Kildare made a great start to the first half, a half in which the sides were level on three occasions, with points from Eoghan Lyons and Jack Reilly inside the first 90 seconds. They were rocked right back on their heels in Meath’s first real attach when a ball from Cormac Walsh seemed to be comfortably dealt with by keeper, Joe Crotty, but the ball slipped from his grasp into the path of wing back Liam O’Donoghue and he finished to an empty net to give Meath the lead for the first time in the game.
Kildare fought back and points from Greg Kelly and a Lyons free had them in front again by the eleventh minute. Meath levelled again through their captain, Harry McGuirk but after a period of dominance Kildare went two to the good with points from wing back Fionn Lawlor and midfielder Páidí Ryan. Conn Brennan and Reilly, with a free, exchanged points and Kildare still held that two-point advantage with ten minutes left in the half. Meath, however, finished the half in a strong position and outscored Kildare 0-3 to 0-1 with their points coming from McGuirk, a Milo Stafford free and Brennan with hard working full forward Kelly responding for Kildare. The sides went in level for the third time at 0-8 to 1-5.
With wind advantage Meath pushed on early in the second half and they went ahead again through another Stafford free but a great solo run by Ryan ended with Reilly bringing the sides level again in the 33rd minute. Another Reilly free for a Meath breech gave Kildare the lead again in the 38th minute after which Meath enjoyed a further period of dominance and looked like they were going to claim the trophy as they led by four points as injury time approached. They rattled off five unanswered points with the likes of McGuirk, Stafford, Brennan and Walsh all obliging. Was that to be it for Kildare? Not likely! Up stepped Tennyson to blast to the net for Kildare in the 62nd minute and the young St Kevin’s player popped up a minute later with the levelling score to send the game into extra time at 1-12 apiece.
The extra twenty minutes were no less dramatic with Kelly waltzing through the Meath defence to blast home in the 74th minute. Meath’s response was just as dramatic with a two-pointer coming from Stafford a minute later. Still Kildare held on to a one-point advantage until the 79th minute when first Meath keeper, Cormac Fitzsimons scored an acute 14 yard free off the left-hand post and Stafford followed suit with another placed ball off the same post as the referee indicated two minutes of injury time. Kildare and “Lord” Tennyson weren’t finished as the hero from Kevin’s became an even bigger hero as he levelled the game for the final time with a free for a foul on Kelly.
Both teams were given a deserved standing ovation at the end of the 80 plus minutes but the drama continued into the penalties. Tennyson and Lyons scored Kildare’s first two spot kicks but after Stafford opened Meath’s account another St Kevin’s man became a hero when keeper Joe Crotty saved McGuirk’s effort. Reilly and substitute, Callum Cowzer were both successful with their kicks for Kildare as were Brennan and Dara Loughran for Meath. Luke Shanahan stepped up to take Kildare’s final regulation kick and he made no mistake to help Kildare to their first Leinster minor title since 2019. Drama over, cue wild Lilywhite celebrations.
Joe Crotty; Eoin Markey, Ryan Crawford, Liam Mescal; Fionn Lawlor 0-1, Jack Doran, Luke Shanahan; Charlie Doran, Páidí Ryan 0-1; Jamie Flood, Aodan Tobin, Eoghan Lyons 0-2 (1 free); Jack Reilly 0-5 (4 frees) Greg Kelly 1-2, Cian Kehoe. SUBS: Logan Tennyson 1-2 (1 free) for Jamie Flood 35, Aodhán Bergin for Aidan Tobin 45, Fiachra Martin for Cian Kehoe 54, Rory Cooke for Páidí Ryan 58, Gearóid Clare for Fionn Lawlor 69, Callum Cowzer for Jack Doran 74.
Cormac Fitzsimons 0-1 (free); Ben Browne, Tomás Clarke, Niall Rogan; Liam O’Donoghue 1-0, Harry McGuirk 0-3, Niall Smyth; John Killoran, Tomás Proudfoot; Cormac McKenna, Conn Brennan 0-3, Alex Keane; Cormac Walsh 0-1, Milo Stafford 0-6 (1 X 2pt, 2 frees), Dara Loughran. SUBS: Leo Kavanagh 0-1 for Tomás Proudfoot 42, Thomas McKeever for Dara Loughran 42, Tomás Dillon 0-1 for Cormac Walsh 61, Harry Keating for Ben Browne 61, Dillon Glynn for Niall Rogan 83, Dara Loughran for John Killoran 83.
Enda Kelly (Westmeath)
