Minor hurlers' Tier 1 hopes ended by Laois
Kildare's Oisin McAffee in action is tackled by Dan Bowe of Laois Photo: James Lawlor
Kildare’s ambitions of qualifying for Tier 1 of the Electric Ireland Leinster Minor Hurling Championship were extinguished by a stronger Laois outfit in appalling conditions at Manguard Park on Saturday afternoon.
A diagonal gale force wind courtesy of Storm Dave, accompanied for much of the game by squally showers, made for a low-scoring, low-quality game that offered little opportunity for players to demonstrate their skills, though Laois forward LJ Cuddy stood out as a player who could feature in the adult game in the near future.
Cuddy scored six points in all and was a focal point for the Laois attack all through and it was he and wing forward Dan Downey who combined to set up corner-forward Cillian Hoey for the game’s only goal, and its defining score, after seventeen minutes.
Laois had already been in the ascendancy up to that point. Each of their inside forwards, Cuddy, Oisín Gilligan and Hoey had scored from play inside the opening ten minutes and with Cuddy adding two frees, the only response a nervous-looking Kildare side could muster was a Cuan Óg Mac Aogain free after nine minutes.
After Hoey’s goal, Bobby O’Connor added a point to make it 1-6 to 0-1 and it was an uphill battle for the home side from there.
Kildare did hit back in the run-up to half-time, outscoring their opponents four points to one to hint at a possible comeback in the second half, with Mac Aogain adding two more frees and the lively Eoghan Lyons scoring twice from play with Cuddy responding from another free.
It could have been closer at the break had Mac Aogain not shot weakly at goalkeeper Ryan Keeshan after rounding his marker on 27 minutes but having seen his side struggle to get into it in the first half, manager Brian Murnane may not have been too upset with a five-point interval deficit (1-7 to 0-5).
With conditions worsening after the break, though, Laois managed to limit Kildare’s scoring opportunities without troubling the scoreboard much themselves. Indeed, the first twenty minutes of the half saw the sides add just one point each, with Cuddy and Oisín McAfee scoring from play.
Cuddy tried to liven things up when driving a free low at goal but substitute Senan Boran, the latest in the family production line, cleared with ease. A subsequent melee saw two players booked from each side.
Any hopes of a late Kildare revival died out when Laois hit quick-fire points from Cuddy (free) and Callum Jones from close range to stretch the gap to seven points by the 51st minute.
The Lilywhites pressed from there to the end but never looked likely to find the goal that would have revived any hopes of a comeback. Mac Aogain scored from a free four minutes from the end and after Keeshan denied the Naas man twice from frees, the Laois ‘keeper tipped over McAfee’s late effort from another placed ball for the game’s final score deep into injury time.
The O’Moore men now progress to a final play-off for a place in the Tier 1 competition while Kildare must settle for the Peadar Ó Liatháin competition for Tier 2 counties.
Ryan Keeshan; Conor Hickey, Jack Rice, Darragh Keeshan; Harry Donoghue, Dan Bowe, Oisin McRedmond; Luke Hynes, Jamie Mahony; Dan Downey, Callum Jones 0-1, Bobby O’Connor 0-1; Oisín Gilligan 0-1, LJ Cuddy 0-6 (4fs), Cillín Hoey 1-1. Subs: Rory Standish for D Keeshan 44, Tadhg Lowry for Hoey 53, Luke Delaney for Mahony 55, Killian James for Gilligan 59.
Elliot Dwyer (Celbridge); Conor Dunphy (Naas), Cathal Cosgrove (Leixlip), Jack King (Celbridge); Senan Nicholson (Leixlip), Charlie Allen (Kilcock), Dara Lynch (Confey); Aaron Moylan (Rathangan), Finnan O’Rourke (Naas); Michael Reilly (Leixlip), Adam Conway (Clane), Oisín McAfee (Éire Óg Corra Choill) 0-2 (1f); Eoghan Lyons (Leixlip) 0-2, Seán Higgins (Naas), Cuan Óg Mac Aogáin (Naas) 0-4 (4fs). Subs: Senan Boran (Naas) for Allen HT, Patrick O’Brien (Celbridge) for Higgins 47, Bobby Gallagher (Kilcock) for Conway 51, Luke Cahill (Broadford) for Lyons 57.
Conor Dawson (Wexford).
