Kildare GAA: Kennedy clinches Minor 'B' Championship for Athy with last minute free against Clane

Manguard Plus 'B' Football Championship final

Athy 2-11

Clane 1-13

Athy are Minor ‘B’ Football champions following a dramatic win over Clane. Athy led for a lot this game but the sides would only be separated in the 59th minute.

The score would come courtesy of one of the stars of the afternoon, Cathal Kennedy. The Athy centre-forward scored 1-4 on the day, the last of which was the most important of them all.
Kennedy stood over a free-kick with just a minute to go in normal time. Kennedy took the free with a coolness that would make you believe he was practising in his back garden as the ball glided between the posts with a minimum of fuss.

The route to this point was far from simple. The first score of the game came from Clane’s star man Sean Tighe. Tighe’s opener was a part of a strong opening spell for Clane, but Athy would instantly respond in superb fashion with a blistering counter-attack. The surge would be rounded off by Cathal Kennedy who beat Hugh Muldoon in the Kill goal to draw the first green flag of the afternoon.

Athy were undoubtedly on the back foot but their defensive work was second to none as the broke up Clane’s attack’s and looked to spring out themselves. A defensive performance that has to be commended is Athy’s Padraic Spillane, the centre-back won possession for his team and drove out with the ball an almost countless number of times. Spillane wasn’t just stopping Clane attacks, he was starting Athy’s too.

The counter-attack would catch Clane out again as the ball was sent long into Ronan Kelly, missed by his marker the ball was on the ground as the Muldoon closed down Kelly’s angle. Kelly decided there was no time to gather the ball into his hands and produced a finish that any Premier League striker would have been proud of as he slotted the ball through the ‘keeper's legs. Athy were on the back foot but now leading by 2-4 to 0-4.

The sides would enter the break at 2-6 to 0-8 and for all Clane’s Possession, they had a lot less to show for it.
In truth, this game for much of the second half looked like it was going to quietly tail off into an Athy win as they kept Clane at arm’s length. The 53rd minute arrived and Clane were worse off than they were at half-time as they trailed by five.

Two fine scores from midfielder Daire O’Doherty and Adam Fitzpatrick would reduce the gap to three and insert some jeopardy into the closing moments. But nobody was ready for Clane to draw level in a flash after trailing since the second minute of this game.

Sean Tighe found himself on the touchline with four men between him and the goal and decided he was the man to bring this game back. Tighe drove at Athy, riding challenges and dribbling past flying red shirts. His run had a finish to match as he found the top right hand corner with a sublime finish.
Athy would recover and rely on Kennedy’s closer to claim the Championship win and it is what might have been for Clane.

Scorers; Athy, Cathal Kennedy 1-4 (0-2 frees), Brian Kelly 0-5 (0-2 frees), Ronan Kelly 1-1, Harry Bradbury 0-1.
Clane, Sean Tighe 1-3, Adam Fitzpatrick 0-3, Rhys Vaughan 0-2, Tadgh O'Donoghue 0-2 (0-2 frees), Callum Doran 0-1, Sean Dunne 0-1, Daire O'Doherty 0-1.

ATHY: Will Kenny; Joseph Fennin, Liam Byrne, Dara English; Feidhlim Behan, Padraic Spillane, Colm Moran; Conor Kelly, Harry Bradbury; Cian Keaveney, Cathal Kennedy, Cormac Byrne; Brian Kelly, Ruairi Scully, Ronan Kelly. Subs: Aidan Henry on for Harry Bradbury (Half-time), Rory Walsh on for Feidhlim Behan (34 minutes), Jack Dooley on for Ruairi Scully (50 minutes).

CLANE: Hugh Muldoon; Stephen Lohan, Paddy Connolly, Andrew O'Neill; Ethan Farrell, Darren Ward, Callum Doran; Daire O'Doherty, James Donlon; Daragh Mullahy, Sean Tighe, Rhys Vaughan; Tadgh O'Donoghue, Adam Fitzpatrick, Danny Malone. Subs: Killian O'Sullivan on for Tadgh O'Donoghue (36 minutes), Shane Henry on for Andrew O'Neill (38 minutes), Sean Dunne on for James Donlon (42 minutes), Riann O'Neill on for Danny Malone (56 minutes), Danny Malone on for Callum Doran (61 minutes).

REFEREEE: Fergus Devereux