Can Kildare keep their scoring form? After five two-pointers and 0-36 v Leitrim

Kildare 0-36 

Leitrim 0-11

A goal or two may have been the only thing missing from a comfortable Tailteann Cup opening win for Kildare. The Lilies’ mammoth 0-36 points tally was built in part by five two-pointers, another noticeable absence of late, with four of the doubles coming from Alex Beirne, who hit 0-12 on the day.

The pressure may be reduced, but the distance is still the same and if Kildare can build confidence in front of the posts from here on out they could be a much more dangerous prospect throughout Brian Flanagan’s tenure.

The Lilies kicked off as expected with three points without reply. The lead was built through two Alex Beirne frees and a well worked score that finished off the boot of Kevin Feely.

Leitrim got off the mark through Tom Prior who cut inside sharply to earn space and fire over.

The home side were then given a scare two minutes later when they were turned over in the middle of the park.

Leitrim broke at pace and Ben Guckian looked set for an assist when he slipped in Riordan O’Rourke. The Leitrim full-forward fired across goal but Cian Burke produced a save low to his right to keep that effort out.

The chance concession jolted Kildare into life, for a few minutes at least, and Kevin Feely got The Lilies on the board again.

The Kildare captain then turned provider to set up Darragh Swords for his first after some patient build-up.

Things were still too pedestrian on the whole and Leitrim made this a four-point game through Tom Prior in much the same way that he did the first time.

A couple of sloppy Kildare wides and it was easy to see how both losing and indeed missing the posts could become habitual.
Leitrim midfielder Barry McNulty put the cat amongst the pigeons with a two-point free to make this game 0-6 to 0-4 after 22 minutes.

A point at either end and Leitrim remained in touching distance with nine minutes to half-time.

The game had been uninspiring to that point, but Kildare took a hold of things and never let go from here on in.

Darragh Kirwan glided past his opposite number to push the gap to three before Darragh Swords and Kevin Feely quickly followed.

The next trio of Kildare points were all Alex Beirne’s with a two-point free kick, taken off the ground in an unusual turn for the Naas man, and another free from further in.

The Lilies were now eight clear after a four-minute burst that everyone had been waiting for.

Beirne was next on the scoresheet with little fuss as he made light work of his set-piece duties.

One of Kildare’s busiest players this summer has been Ryan Sinkey and the man now free from U20 action added two excellent points right around the 35-minute mark.

The last two scores of the half would be Leitrim’s however with Kildare’s nine-points without reply coming to an end.

White flags raised by Barry McNulty and Keith Keegan sent the sides in at the break with the home side 0-16 to 0-7 ahead.

After a brief Leitrim flirt at goal after the restart, Kildare began an unrelenting assault at the posts and, perhaps most satisfyingly, an efficient one too.

Ryan Sinkey grabbed his then fourth of the game which was followed by Mick O’Grady making use of his deployment in midfield to notch a wonderful point from a tight-angle.

Then, like a night out going south, p(o)ints turned to doubles.

Alex Beirne drilled a two-pointer from the stand side in the 40th minute to grab his first from play. However, it was the returning Jimmy Hyland that ignited the crowd. Starting his first Championship game since 2022, the injury-plagued forward curled over a superb two-pointer to add some shine to a sharp performance and conjure the biggest roar of the day.

Leitrim got their first of the second half through Barry McNulty in the 43rd minute to make this game 0-22 to 0-8.

Before departing the field to a mighty cheer of his own, Alex Beirne hit two more two-point frees off the ground to round off a stellar display.

Beirne was clapped off in the 59th minute and the man replacing him got plenty of attention too with Daniel Flynn raising the crowd as Newbridge celebrated another returning star.

Despite the bodies coming in and out, it was starting wing-forward Darragh Swords who flexed his muscles late into this game with three points in the closing 10 minutes.

Maynooth man Niall O’Sullivan was thrown on as a blood substitution for Kevin Flynn and managed to grab a point in his first Championship appearance. O’Sullivan’s injection of pace and intent was enough to earn him a full substitution into the action after Flynn returned.

In perhaps fitting style for what was now a rout, Kildare goalkeeper Cian Burke got the final score of the evening with a coolly slotted ‘45.

Kildare finished with a commanding 0-36 to 0-11 advantage and what had started as a fairly drab effort had turned into a confidence building high score.

The regret of the recent Louth defeat is no use to anyone now and Kildare must push on to secure Sam Maguire football with a Tailteann Cup win this year. Speaking to players after the game, that was certainly the sentiment and intent. The group stages will likely not present much information for this group barring Sligo, but there are teams further down the tracks that this Kildare team have already fallen short of this year.

These next few weeks is the time to build momentum for what is to come.

SCORERS
KILDARE: Alex Beirne 0-12 (0-10 frees, four-pointers), Darragh Swords 0-6 (0-1 frees), Ryan Sinkey 0-6 (0-1 frees), Kevin Feely 0-3, Jimmy Hyland 0-3 (one two-pointer), Darragh Kirwan 0-1, Mick O'Grady 0-1, Harry O'Neill 0-1, James McGrath 0-1, Niall O'Sullivan 0-1, Cian Burke 0-1 (0-1 '45).

LEITRIM: Barry McNulty 0-6 (0-4 frees, two two-pointers), Tom Prior 0-2, Keith Keegan 0-2, Riordan O'Rourke 0-1.

TEAMS
KILDARE: Cian Burke; Harry O'Neill, Mark Dempsey, Ryan Burke; Kevin Flynn, David Hyland, James McGrath; Kevin Feely, Mick O'Grady; Darragh Swords, Alex Beirne, Paddy McDermott; Ryan Sinkey, Darragh Kirwan, Jimmy Hyland. Subs: Rian Teahan for Darragh Kirwan (Half-time), Brendan Gibbons for Kevin Feely (44 minutes), Ryan Houlihan for Jimmy Hyland (52 minutes), Niall O'Sullivan for Kevin Flynn (56 minutes blood sub), Daniel Flynn for Alex Beirne (59 minutes), Kevin Flynn for Niall O'Sullivan (64 minutes blood sub reversal), Niall O'Sullivan for Harry O'Neill (66 minutes).

LEITRIM: Daire O'Shea; Éanna McNamara, Donal Casey, Kieran Clancy; James Rooney, Mark Diffley, Jack Foley; Barry McNulty, Cillian McGloin; David Feeney, Keith Keegan, Tom Prior; Ben Guckian, Riordan O'Rourke, Darren Cox. Subs: Tom Hughes for Éanna McNamara (47 minutes), Seán Harkin for David Feeney (52 minutes), Ryan Bohan for James Rooney (63 minutes), Joe McGloin for Riordan O'Rourke (65 minutes), Shane Finn for Kieran Clancy (65 minutes).

Referee: Liam Devenney, Mayo

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