Free-scoring Kildare edge to victory in final round thriller with Clare

Kildare 0-22

Clare 1-14

Allianz NFL Division 3

An enthralling game of football which featured 37 scores finished with Kildare eventually emerging with a five point victory. The Lilywhites had to dig deep to secure the win against a fine Clare team that pushed them all the way in a game that provided huge entertainment to the large crowd in St Conleth’s Park.

The opening 10 minutes of the game were as exciting as anything we have witnessed all year following this Kildare team, and there was very little to choose between the sides as Clare held a 1-3 to 0-4 lead at that juncture. It wasn’t just the quantity of the scores that made the opening exchanges so exciting, but the quality was something to behold too.

Both teams played openly and expansively, with Kevin Feely impressing in midfield for Kildare, while Gary Brennan was at the heart of many of Clare’s best moments.

It was no surprise when the first score of the game came inside the opening minute as lively Clare forward Jamie Malone pointed after some good play by Brennan. The Clare midfielder’s direct opponent in midfield, Kevin Feely, was the pivotal figure in the move that saw Alan Smith register Kildare’s first score as the Athy man played two accurate passes before his clubmate Nially Kelly fed the Sarsfields’ attacker, and he finished with aplomb.

Clare responded quickly with an Eoin Cleary score, before a pulsating four minute spell saw plenty of action at both ends. Clare almost found the net when Cleary raced through, but the corner-forward’s bundled shot was stopped on the line by the alert David Hyland. The Athy man instigated a move straight away, which saw Paul Cribbin go on a lung-busting run before exchanging a one-two with Feely and fisting over the bar.

Another sweeping team move involving Ollie Lyons and Smith gave Niall Kelly the opportunity to clip over his first score. The Banner Men responded quickly however, and a point from Malone was quickly followed by a goal from Pat Burke as the corner-forward coolly finished a move that was started by Brennan.

It was no time for the Lilywhites’ to drop their heads however, and their response was impressive as they knocked over two quickfire scores through Eoghan O’Flaherty and Alan Smith. That left the scores at 1-3 to 0-5 with 10 minutes played, but the scoring rate dropped slightly as the rain began to sprinkle down.

The discipline from Kildare was letting them down at times in the first half, and Clare’s final five points of the opening 35 minutes came from placed balls, with David Tubirdy accounting for four of those and Cleary the other.

Tommy Moolick and Eoghan O’Flaherty struck two points in quick succession to break up the Banner’s scoring run, while another brace of fabulous scores from Kelly and Smith had they momentarily ahead after half an hour.

It looked as if Kildare might have cracked the code of the Limerick defence in the early second half exchanges as they opened up a three point gap following Kelly's pointed free and a sumptuous effort from Fionn Dowling.

It was interesting that Kildare emerged for the second half before their opponents, something that hasn’t happened very often this year as Cian O’Neill has opted to keep them in the dressing room for slightly longer than whoever they are playing.

It seemed to make little difference as both sides continued to trade blows early in the second half. O’Flaherty got the hosts off the mark with a well-taken free, but Clare went on to score the next three points as David Tubirdy fired over two fine efforts, while Malone tapped over his third of the day to push the Banner Men two points in front.

A couple of O’Flaherty frees either side of a Cleary point settled Kildare back into the game, but the Lilywhites were guilty of making bad decisions in open play and struck a number of wides in a short space of time. Eamon Callaghan was thrust into the game to provide a bit more composure and the Naas man did excellently to set up a chance that allowed Cribbin to punch the ball over from close range.

Cleary and Malone were continuing to operate well in the Clare attack, and both men pointed within a minute of each other to push Clare two ahead with just 15 minutes to play.

Kildare looked rattled at that stage, but they didn’t panic as they stuck to their task superbly and really pushed out their chests and surged to victory. The home side struck seven points in a row to crush their opponents in a stunning 10 minute spell to blitz their opponents and romp home.

Fitzpatrick fisted over the first of those scores, while David Hyland pulled the Lillies level with an inspirational point after making the chance all by himself. Impressive points from O’Flaherty and Kelly edged them home side into the lead. The large crowd of Kildare supporters really got behind their team as they continued to reel off fine scores and Eamon Callaghan was massively impressive in those final few minutes.

The substitute landed an exquisite point from the left wing to go with another close range effort he sent over, while O’Flaherty also added another point to his tally.

Clare had David Tubirdy sent off late on for striking Ciaran Fitzpatrick in the face, which means the Banner Men’s pivotal forward will miss the league final against Kildare. The sight of Clare celebrating at the full-time whistle was slightly odd after they had just lost, but the visitors were cheering the fact that they had just secured promotion to Division 2 alongside their opponents, which is a fantastic achievement for a predominantly hurling county.

Scorers for Kildare: E O’Flaherty 0-6(5f)A Smith 0-4, N Kelly, P Cribbin and E Callaghan 0-3 each, C Fitzpatrick, T Moolick and C Fitzpatrick 0-1 each.

Scorers for Clare: D Tubirdy 0-6(4f), E Cleary 0-4(3f), J Malone 0-4, E Cleary 1-0.

Kildare

T Corley; P Kelly, D Hyland, O Lyons; C Fitzpatrick, F Conway, H McGrillen(K Murnaghan h/t); K Feely, T Moolick; P O’Neill(J Byrne 51mins), E O’Flaherty(E O’Connor 70mins), P Cribbin; F Dowling(E Callaghan 46mins), A Smith, N Kelly.

Clare

J Hayes; S Malone(E Coughlan 57mins), K Harnett, M McMahon; P Lillis, D Ryan, C O’Dea(S McGrath h/t(S Haugh 66mins); G Brennan, C O’Connor; S Collins, D Tubirdy, J Malone; E Cleary, K Sexton(P Collins 42mins), P Burke.