Heartbreak for Kildare as stunning late Donnelly point hands Tyrone victory in absolute thriller
Kildare 0-18
Tyrone 1-16
Allianz NFL Division 1
A stunning Matty Donnelly point from right out on the left sideline in the sixth minute of injury time at the end of a thrilling Division 1 battle in Newbridge sealed a vital win for Tyrone.
In what was a pulsating encounter right from the off in which both sides went at it hammer and tongs, Kildare failed to see out a game for the second week in succession as they fell to northern opposition by the smallest possible margin once again.
They were vastly improved on their performance against Monaghan seven days previous, but once again they came up short despite posting a fine tally of 18 points, with Kevin Feely chipping in with half of that total.
With the Monaghan and Kerry came postponed in Clones due to a frozen pitch, it looked like Newbridge would escape the worst of the weather as the sun shone down on St Conleth’s Park. However, a snow shower soon swept across the pitch, freezing the hands of the poor marching band providing the pre-match soundtrack.
Tyrone arrived in need of a win after two defeats to start their league season, mirroring the record of the Lilywhites to that point in Division 1.
Kildare flew out of the blocks as they built up a four-point lead in the first 10 minutes and also kept a wasteful Tyrone scoreless during that period. Their dominance was built upon a great midfield platform where the returning Tommy Moolick was superb alongside Kevin Feely, while Eoin Doyle, Fergal Conway and Johnny Byrne picked up the majority of breaks that came off the two midfielders.
It was Feely who got the game’s opening score from a free that was won by Daniel Flynn following a powerful run straight from the throw-in, while Mick O’Grady and Ben McCormack then combined to set Fergal Conway up for his first score of the game a minute later. McCormack then got his own name on the scoresheet with an exquisite curling effort from the left wing. Conway’s second point of the day typified his industrious performance as he burst through a number of men and held onto the ball with remarkable strength before lofting it over the bar.
Tyrone finally offered a response in the 12th minute when Niall Sludden slotted over a simple score, but the home side cancelled that out as a brilliant move involving a quick exchange of passes between Flynn and Byrne ended with Peter Kelly breaking through to slot over.
The Red Hands enjoyed their best spell of the half soon after when Lee Brennan opened his account with a free before Tiarnan McCann lofted over a fine point from distance, and Brennan then knocked over another to leave the scores at 0-5 to 0-4 midway through the half.
Kildare regained some momentum as Feely landed another free and goalkeeper Mark Donnellan slotted over a ’45, before the point of the game arrived when Daniel Flynn picked out Paul Cribbin with a superb crossfield ball, and the Johnstownbridge man curled over a brilliant point from 40 metres.
Sludden responded again with a point, and then came the Tyrone goal as Brennan got the wrong side of David Hyland to take a ball from McAliskey, before angling a shot into the far bottom corner of Donnellan’s net. Feely and Tyrone ‘keeper Morgan traded points from frees, and Tyrone should have netted a second when Donnellan sent a kickout straight to McAliskey, but the Clonoe clubman lofted the ball over the bar when he attempted to chip the Kildare stopper.
Sludden and Feely both scored points from play in the final couple of minutes of the half to leave Tyrone leading by 1-8 to 0-10 at the break.
It was obvious from the start of the second half that this contest was going to be a see-saw battle that would go right down to the wire, and it took just over a minute for Kildare to restore parity as Niall Kelly swerved over a sublime point off the outside of his right boot from a tight angle. Cathal McShane responded at the other end with his first score of the day, before Conway set up Flynn to smash over a close range point to level matters again. Scores from Padraig McNulty and Brennan helped Tyrone gain a measure of control, but the game then entered a period where Feely became the only scorer for Kildare as he stroked over four frees in succession, while McAliskey and substitute Darren McCurry replied at the other end for the Red Hands.
Feely’s seventh point of the game levelled the scores with 15 minutes left on the clock, before Cian O’Donoghue scored a stunning point as he caught a Morgan kickout brilliantly before playing a one-two with Chris Healy and driving the ball over.
The Ulster champions roared back into the lead thanks to points from Matty Donnelly and McShane, and when Feely and Donnellan missed opportunities from placed balls it looked like Kildare’s chance had gone. The Athy man did level matters in the fourth minute of added time, but they failed to show enough nous to pull a result from this one and Donnelly had the final say.
Scorers for Kildare: K Feely 0-9(8f), F Conway 0-2, M Donnellan, P Cribbin, C O’Donoghue, P Kelly, B McCormack, D Flynn and N Kelly 0-1 each.
Scorers for Tyrone: L Brennan 1-3(3f), N Sludden 0-3, C McAliskey(1f), M Donnelly and C McShane 0-2 each, D McCurry, P McNulty, N Morgan(1f) and T McCann 0-1 each.
Kildare
Mark Donnellan; Peter Kelly, David Hyland, Mick O’Grady; Johnny Byrne, Eoin Doyle, Cian O’Donoghue; Kevin Feely, Tommy Moolick; Fergal Conway, Niall Kelly, Paul Cribbin; Ben McCormack, Daniel Flynn, Paddy Brophy.
Subs used: Jimmy Hyland for McCormack, Luke Flynn for Moolick 47mins, Chris Healy for N Kelly 55mins, Keith Cribbin for Conway 61mins, Cathal McNally forBrophy 65mins.
Tyrone
Niall Morgan; Hugh Pat McGeary, Pádraig Hampsey, Cathal McCarron; Tiarnan McCann, Rory Brennan, Ciaran McLaughlin; Matthew Donnelly, Padraig McNulty; Conor Meyler, Niall Sludden, Peter Harte; Lee Brennan, Cathal McShane, Connor McAliskey.
Subs used: Michael McKernan for McLaughlin 38mins, Darren McCurry for R Donnelly 42mins, Ronan McNamee for McNulty 47mins, Conal McCann for Brennan 55mins, Mark Bradley for McAliskey 60mins.