Aylmer Gaels hang on to edge past Rathangan and capture U21 B title

Aylmer Gaels     0-13 Rathangan         0-12 Tony Donohue Trophies U21 B Football Championship final The free-taking prowess of Jimmy Hyland and Brian McGrath helped Aylmer Gaels taste glory in the Kildare U21 B Championship on Saturday, edging by a fine Rathangan side in what was an engrossing county final at St Conleth’s Park. Played in bitterly cold conditions, both teams made light of the time of year to produce an enjoyable encounter that remained right in the melting pot until the end. It was a heart-breaking finish for Rathangan in the end as they managed to cut down a three-point gap to just two with three minutes still left to play, but Aran Teahan and Kevin Forde both missed opportunities late in the day to level the game as the Allenwood/Ballyteague amalgamation of Aylmer Gaels managed to hang on for dear life for the narrow win. Both sides provided a really entertaining spectacle for the crowd in the opening half. Everything from the midfield battle between Eoghan Boyle and Brian McGrath to the exceptional point-taking at either end was easy on the eye, and it remained a tight contest throughout. There was just three minutes on the clock when Rathangan’s dangerman, Aran Teahan, opened his account for the afternoon by splitting the post with a free from around 35 metres out, but Brian McGrath soon responded by slotting over a fine free of his own for Aylmer Gaels a couple of minutes later. Teahan then got the game’s first point from play with a brilliant effort from the right wing, before Kevin Forde floated over another fine score from the opposite side of the pitch to push Rathangan two points clear. Teahan’s third point arrived from a free in the eighth minute, and it looked like the men in green were in firm control of proceedings by that point, but Aylmer Gaels finally hit their stride in the middle third of the half. McGrath’s second point settled them down somewhat, before Kildare senior panellist Jimmy Hyland knocked over his first free of the afternoon from close range. Gaels then scored the point of the game as they calmly worked the ball up field through the hands at great speed, delivered one kick pass into Paudie Murphy, who in turn supplied Billy Maher and he added a neat finish to the move. Rathangan got back on track with a point from Joe Breen, but Aylmer Gaels captain Darragh Malone’s brilliant run and score cancelled that out almost immediately. Teahan launched over Rathangan’s final score of the half from the left wing in the 20^th minute, and from that point it was all Aylmer Gaels as they scored three points on the bounce to take a lead into the break. They had visibly grown in confidence as the half wore on, and the running power of the likes of Malone and Maher was crucial to their cause. Hyland levelled the game at 0-6 apiece when he won a ball out on front of his man and curled over a beautiful score, before McGrath pushed them into the lead for the first time with his third point of the half. Hyland doubled that advantage three minutes before the break with another accurate effort from a placed ball, pushing Aylmer Gaels into an 0-8 to 0-6 half-time lead. Rathangan’s failure to score until the tenth minute of the second half meant that they went almost 20 minutes with troubling the scorekeepers, and Aylmer Gaels were taking full advantage. Hyland put them three clear when he hacked over a free after 37 minutes, while a fine score from full-forward Paudie Murphy opened up a sizable looking four-point gap. Eoghan Boyle, who was quiet in the first, really began to come to life for Rathangan then, pushing them on when they needed a leader most. A powerful run from the midfielder set up Conor Jamieson as he scored from close range, before Boyle won a free close to goal after being hauled down, and Ross Teahan stroked over. Aylmer Gaels were doing just enough to stay clear of their opponents, but they were becoming largely reliant on points from placed balls as they struggled to get their inside line into the game. Hyland and McGrath both raised white flags with efforts off the ground from placed balls, re-establishing a four-point cushion for the amalgamated side. Rathangan began to fight back once more, and a fine score from Stefan Lawler offered some hope of a comeback with over 10 minutes left to play still. Aran Teahan followed up with a close range free to draw Rathangan to within two, but Hyland was punishing their indiscretions at the other end as he bombed over an excellent long range free to register his sixth point of the day. Conor Jamieson managed to reduce the arrears to just one point late on as he knocked over a couple of frees, but Rathangan couldn’t muster up the all-important late score that would have earned them a replay. Scorers for Aylmer Gaels: J Hyland 0-6(5f), B McGrath 0-4f, D Malone, B Maher and P Murphy 0-1 each. Scorers for Rathangan: A Teahan 0-5(3f), C Jamieson 0-3(2f), S Lawler, R Teahan(1f), K Forde and J Breen 0-1 each. Aylmer Gaels Luke Anderson; Darren Judge, David Randles, Jason Wyse; Mark Byrne, Ronan Guilfoyle, Gerry Melia; David Byrne, Brian McGrath; Glen Thorpe, Jimmy Hyland, Darragh Malone; Billy Maher, Paudie Murphy, Aaron Dunne. Rathangan Aaron Jamieson; Craig Walsh, James O’Loughlin, Daniel Mulpeter; Shane O’Loughlin, Michael Fitzsimons, Seán Glennon(Ross Teahan 38mins(Tommy Ryan 49mins)); Eoghan Boyle, Tiegan Kenny; Conor Jamieson, Stefan Lawler, Joe Breen; Alan Tyrrell(Robert Walsh 34mins), Aran Teahan, Kevin Forde.