14-man Naas hold off spirited Maynooth fightback to secure back to back intermediate titles

Naas 0-15 Maynooth 1-10 Haven Hire IHC final Naas held off a spirited Maynooth comeback to secure back to back titles in the intermediate grade as they edged to a two-point victory in a tightly contested game. Trailing by six points with just 10 minutes to go, Maynooth rallied to reduce the gap to just one point in the 56^th minute thanks to Mikey Gillick’s goal, but 14-man Naas deservedly hung on to secure the honours. Naas were well in control of this encounter from the very start, and it was the assured play of their backline that was providing the platform for players further up the field to cut loose. By the midway stage of the half six different scorers had contributed to their tally, and there was some tidy inventive play that was causing the Maynooth backline myriad problems. The opening score of the game arrived after just two minutes when Conor Dowling angled over a shot from close range, and that came just moments after Maynooth ‘keeper Seán Bean had denied Kevin Aherne a goal by blocking a ball that was destined for the bottom corner. Sean Mc Donncha floated over Naas’ second score a couple of minutes later, while Darroch Mac Donncha landed another fine score when Ciaran Tobin skilfully flicked a ball out to the right wing to him. Tobin followed that up with a point from a free as Naas led by 0-4 to no score after just nine minutes. Maynooth had been highly wasteful up to that stage as they registered a number of wides, and Naas were cutting the supply lines to the full-forward line with some fine blocks and hooks around the middle. It wasn’t until the tenth minute that the north Kildare men got off the mark as midfielder Fiachra Lohan split the posts from distance, and a minute later Mikey Gillick did likewise as Maynooth finally settled into the game. Naas responded in excellent fashion as Richie Hogan pointed from long range, and James McKeon added another when finishing accurately from the left wing. Tadgh Forde hit back with a good score on the run for Maynooth, but the county panellist injured his hand while scoring and seemed to have a dislocated finger popped back into place behind the goals at the Town End. He returned to the fray with a heavily strapped left hand six minutes later. While Forde was off the field, Naas went on to score two on the trot as McKeon and Tobin raised white flags in quick succession. There was also a bizarre incident where referee Killian Jones was struck in the mouth with the sliotar as he got too close to the action after throwing the ball in between two players. Cian Forde, who also seemed to pick up a hand injury in the first half, got the last score before the interval from a free as he cut Naas’ lead to four as the reigning champions led by 0-8 to 0-4 at the short whistle. The third quarter was an extremely disjointed spell of the game as neither team really managed to seize the initiative, and there wasn’t a score from play registered until the 46^th minute. Up to that point it was a tale of two free-takers as Tobin and Forde went blow for blow. It was Tobin who opened the second half scoring in the 33^rd minute with a handy free, while Forde responded four minutes later with one of his own. In between those two scores Naas were dealt a blow as corner-back David Delahunty was shown a straight red card for an off the ball incident, leaving Naas to fight off any potential comeback with just 14 men. Tobin landed a couple of frees in succession for Naas, but once again Forde was the man who retaliated as he dissected the posts on two occasions – the second of which was a wonderful long range effort. The first point from play in the second half finally arrived in the 46^th minute when Kevin Aherne rose high to claim a puc out from Jeff Keane before turning and rifling over a tidy score. Tobin followed that up with his first point from play soon after as Naas pulled six clear with 10 minutes left to play. Maynooth warmed to their task once again however, and a point from Tadgh Forde seemed to give them a renewed sense of belief. Another pointed free from his brother Cian cut the gap down to four points, and Maynooth finally grabbed a lifeline in the 56^th minute when a long range free from Forde dropped short and was flicked into the net by Gillick. Rather than wilt under the pressure being pushed on them, Naas settled again and opened up a two-point lead as Tobin slotted over another free. Forde reduced the lead to the minimum once more, but Conor Dowling finished the game off by landing a sensational score from the left wing to ensure Naas of the victory. Scorers for Naas: C Tobin 0-7(6f), J McKeon(1f) and C Dowling 0-2 each, K Aherne, S McDonncha, D McDonnch, K Aherne and R Hogan 0-1 each. Scorers for Maynooth: C Forde 0-6f, M Gillick 1-1, T Forde 0-2, F Lohan 0-1. Naas Jeff Keane; Donal McSweeney, Conor Gormley, David Delahunty; Ruaraí Goodfellow, Diarmuid Greene, Richard Hogan; Tommy Hennessey, Rian Boran; Kevin Aherne, Ciaran Tobin, Sean MacDonncha; Conor Grogan, James McKeon, Kieron Maher. Subs used: Conor Grogan for McKeon 39mins, Al Bergin for Aherne 58mins, Brian Tobin for Maher 59mins. Maynooth Seán Bean; Matthew Doran, Joe Brennan, Shane Delaney; Ronan Dunne, Mick Dunne, Robbie Moore; Fiachra Lohan, Cian Forde, Fergie Molloy, Tadgh Forde, Mikey Gillick; John Gaule, Stephen O’Brien, Mark Cummins. Subs used: Matthew Melia for Cummins HT, Mike McCormack for Delaney 42mins, Kevin Dunne for O’Brien 45mins, Willie Lambe for Molloy 54mins, Neil Delaney for Gaule 56mins.