St Laurence's top Group B after battling draw in Kilcullen
Brianne Leahy-Hayden on the ball during this evening's drawn SFC tie between St Laurence's and Kilcullen Photo: Aisling Hyland
Kilcullen and St Laurence’s played out an entertaining draw on Tuesday evening in the final round of the group stages, a result that sees St Laurence’s top Group B of the Kildare LGFA Senior Football Championship.
St Laurence’s will maybe feel that should have won the game having been seven points ahead at one stage in the second half but Kilcullen finished really strongly and if there any more than just 30 seconds of injury time played then they looked the more likely winners but in the end there were plenty of positives for both teams to take into the knockout stages.
The home side started well and the excellent Nanci Murphy scored two points as they moved into a 0-3 to 0-1 lead but it wasn’t look before St Laurence’s got on top.
Brianne Leahy-Hayden is one of Kildare’s greatest ever players and the former All-Star showed touches of her class as Laurence’s game back into the game.
But it was Miah Ryan who scored the goal that put them ahead in the 14th minute. Two of the three Wheeler sisters in the team, Ciara and Gillian, combined to work the ball into Ryan and she shot past Roisin Browne to make it 1-2 to 0-4.
Sydney Sheridan equalised shortly after but Laurences enjoyed their best spell of the game in the final ten minutes of the first half.
Maire Kealy scored a point before an outstanding piece of fielding by Leahy-Hayden led to a move that ended with one of five points on the night for Caoimhe O’Sullivan.
O’Sullivan scored another excellent point after a mazy run in the 21st minute. Kilcullen had their struggles from their own kickout through the opening half but goalkeeper Browne showed her importance to the team with a good block a minute later to deny Deirbhle Byrne a goal.
The half finished with Ryan’s goal separating the teams, 1-7 to 0-7.
Ryan opened the scoring after the resumption of play and then Laurence’s scored their second goal of the game from the move of the match in the 35th minute. Leahy-Hayden was the orchestrator once again, feeding ball inside to Byrne. Even though the former county camogie player’s pass to the onrushing Ciara Wheeler was perfect there was still work to be done but her powerful shot to the top corner of the net left Browne with no hope.
That left the score at 2-8 to 0-7 but staring into the abyss brought the best from Kilcullen.
Amy Tyrell’s shot was well saved by Kate Whelan before Jayne Peacocke popped up with a point and then Molly Aspell’s 38th minute shot looped over the goalkeeper and into the St Laurence’s net.
Just as Kilcullen were building up a head of steam, they were reduced to 14 players when Peacocke was shown a yellow card and sent to a sin bin after a foul on Gillian Wheeler.
Nanci Murphy and O’Sullivan swapped points before Ellie O’Toole came up with a superb goalscoring block on Ryan’s 46th minute shot, at a time where another St Laurence’s goal would surely have secured the win.
But Kilcullen had an ace up their sleeve with the return of Peacocke to the action. Some players take some time to get back into the swing of things after a spell in the sin bin but Peacocke was straight on to the ball again once she returned in the 51st minute and set in motion a move that ended with Sally Murphy being fouled.
Peacocke took the free herself and her effort floated across goal before dropping in to the net at the far post to level the game. O’Sullivan scored her fifth point of the game to give St Laurence’s the lead again in the 55th minute but two minutes later, Peacocke levelled the game once again with a close range free.
It was Kilcullen doing most of the pushing for a winning score as the seconds ticked down but the final whistle came before a winning score could arrive meaning that both teams had to settle for a draw that over the course of the entirety of the game was probably a fair result.
Roisin Browne; Eabha Devenney, Ellen Coleman, Jill O’Toole, Molly O’Loughlin, Ellie O’Toole, Hanna Crowley; Nanci Murphy 0-4 (1f), Molly Aspell 1-0; Laura Comerford, Jayne Peacocke 1-4 (1-3fs), Sally Murphy 0-1, Edwina Birchall, Caoimhe Egan, Sydney Sheridan 0-1. Subs: Naoise Ginty for Egan, h/t; Amy Tyrrell 0-1 for Sheridan, 35; Niamh Liston for Comerford, 52; Zara Hurley for Crowley, 52.
Kate Whelan; Emma Walshe; Niamh Miley, Amy Cullen, Ailbhe Hennessy, Eimear Glancy, Ava Marron; Emma Wheeler, Gillian Wheeler 0-2; Miah Ryan 1-1, Ciara Wheeler 1-1 (1f), Marie Kealy 0-2, Deirbhle Byrne, Brianne Leahy Hayden, Caoimhe O’Sullivan 0-5. Subs: Joanna Ryan for Marron, 41; Megan Alcock for Leahy Hayden, 48; Avril Walshe for E Walshe, 52; Katie Dooley for Byrne, 57.
Shaun Duane.
