Kildare hurlers one win from Joe McDonagh final after shock Laois win

Kildare 4-20

Laois 1-18

Kildare are within 70 minutes of reaching a first ever Joe McDonagh Cup final after they produced a superb performance to overcome a more fancied Laois side by eleven points on Sunday afternoon in Laois Hire O Moore Park Portlaoise.

The win backed up a superb win over Carlow a week earlier and with six points on the board the visit of Down to Cedral St Conleths Park next Saturday means Kildare have their destiny firmly in their own hands. A win over Down will guarantee a final spot while a winner in the Carlow V Laois game will be enough to secure a top two spot regardless of the Down result.

On a day more suited to the beach the searing heat made for difficult conditions but like the win over Carlow a week earlier Kildare showed great fitness levels in recording a massive win.

The opening exchanges were tight but David Qualter from a free and James Burke had the Lilywhites into an early lead. Aidan Corby opened the Laois account but Cathal Dowling quickly added a third for Kildare. Gerry Keegan with two and a long range effort from Cian Boran had Kildare 0-6 to 0-2 ahead after 15 minutes.

Two Tomas Keyes frees and a point from last week's five goal hero James Duggan helped keep Laois in touch.

The sides were level at seven and eight points each as Gerry Keegan pointed either side of Aidan Corby and Ben Conroy efforts for Laois.

Kildare had the strong wind in that opening half and they closed out the opening 35 minutes in style.Janes Burke and Daire Guerin eased Kildare two ahead but a superb David Qualter pass to Cathal McCabe saw the Maynooth man fire to the Laois net at the second time of asking. His initial attempt was well saved by Cathal Dunne but McCabe showed great composure to leave Kildare 1-10 to 0-8 ahead as the sides went to the dressing rooms.

Laois were in devastating goal scoring form last week against Kerry but such was Kildare's defensive superiority in the opening half, last week's hero James Duggan was called ashore at half time.

Despite an early Ben Purcell point after the restart it was Kildare who struck for goal number two with only 38 minutes on the clock. David Qualter capitalised on a sublime Paul Dolan pass before low to the Laois net. Kildare were full value for their eight point lead.

Cathal McCabe was having his most impressive game of the season, mixing his time between defence and attack. It was a ploy that Laois never came to terms with. McCabe hit two beautiful long range efforts either side of a Laois goal from Charlie Dwyer. Dwyer firing home a quickly taken free as the Kildare defenders retreated back to the goal line. David Qualter and Tomas Keyes swapped frees but Kildare were on the verge of goal number three.

After a year away from inter county action, because of work commitments, Gerry Keegan turned back the years with some superb hurling during that second 35 minutes. His pace was a constant threat to a sometimes static Laois rear guard and when he broke onto a loose ball on 48 his clever pass to Jack Sheridan saw the Naas man finish to the net without touching the ball. Given those opportunities a player of Sheridan's calibre is never going to miss those chances.

Kildare had moved eight ahead and a third win in a row became a real possibility. Laois threw everything at Kildare but a solid defensive display meant Laois couldn't find a much needed second goal David Qualter and Tomas Keyes swapped frees before Darragh Melville and Laois captain David Dooley repeated the feat.

As we closed in on the closing 15 minutes Rian Boran, who was now free of looking after James Duggan, got forward to add a point that maintained Kildare's eight point buffer. David Qualter's fifth free extended it to nine and Kildare were on the verge of a famous win.

Laois hit three in a row through Charlie Dwyer, Padraig Delaney and John Lennon but in truth were just seeing out the closing four minutes of normal time. Kildare finished the stronger, Qualter added his sixth before Gerry Keegan showed amazing reserves of energy beating two Laois defenders before setting Jack Sheridan free. With the angle closing and defenders converging Sheridan let go with a one handed effort that flashed past a stranded Laois net minder. James Burke rounded off a superb display with his third as Kildare ran out 4-20 to 1-18 winners.

The last three weeks has seen Kildare in dreamland with wins over Westmeath, Carlow and now Laois and while many would have questioned their credentials for Division 1B after the Kerry defeat it's safe to say they have responded in style and the prospect of a McDonagh Cup final on June 8 means the Down game takes on a new meaning.

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