HURLERS HIT THE GROUND RUNNING
KILDARE 4-29
DONEGAL 0-14
Kildare expertly put Donegal to the sword at St Conleth’s Park, Newbridge on Saturday to get their National Hurling League Division 2B campaign off to a flying start.
The Lilies chief marksman throughout 2020, inside forward Brian Byrne finished the contest with 0-11 to his name. One of eight Naas players in the starting line-up, he is once again expected to have a major say in his side’s fortunes this year.
While he was top-scorer on the day, there was a good spread of scores throughout the Kildare squad. His club-mate James Burke 2-1, while Johnny Byrne – who was making his return to the fold along with fellow Coill Dubh stalwart Declan Flaherty – came away with an impressive haul of 1-3.
Kildare manager David Herity also took full advantage of the new rule that allows up to seven permanent substitutions to be made. With Conor Dowling and Caolan Smith leading the way, the hosts’ replacements contributed a combined tally of 1-7.
The major concern surrounding Kildare heading into this game was the fact that they were left idle for last weekend’s opening round of fixtures. The uneven number of teams in the division (five) meant they got the short straw, but any fears of potential rustiness were quickly allayed.
Inside the opening 60 seconds of the contest, the experienced duo of Paul Divilly and Flaherty had found the range with quickfire points. Flaherty was a dominant presence at centre half-back and helped to launch a succession of Kildare attacks.
Brian Byrne (two), Kevin Aherne and Divilly followed with unanswered points, before Declan Coulter finally opened Donegal’s account through an 18th-minute free. 0-6 to 0-1 in front at the first water breaks, Kildare moved further ahead after Brian Byrne raised white flags either side of a similar contribution from Coulter.
The floodgates looked set to open when Kildare were awarded a penalty on 26 minutes, but Donegal netminder Luke White was equal to Burke’s 21-metre strike. This was only a temporary speed bump for the Lillies, however, and Burke made no mistake when presented with a second penalty opportunity in first-half stoppage-time.
This arrived after Donegal corner-back Mark Callaghan had been dismissed for a cynical foul that had occurred outside of the large square. To the O’Donnell County’s credit, they responded to this set-back with Danny Cullen and Coulter points.
Still, with namesakes Brian and Johnny Byrne stepped up to the plate in the minutes that preceded the maiden goal from Burke, Kildare brought a richly-deserved 1-12 to 0-5 advantage into the interval.
The 2020 Christy Ring Cup champions were only just getting started and further daylight was created on the resumption. Burke’s influence on the game was beginning to grow and when he gathered a crossfield delivery on 37 minutes he finish to the net with minimal fuss.
The hard-working Coulter later cancelled out salvos from the Byrnes as Donegal searched for some kind of solace.
The northerners secured the Nicky Rackard Cup and a Division 3A league title in 2020 but – despite earning a first round win against Roscommon – it is proving to be a major step-up for Mickey McCann’s outfit.
As the final-quarter approached, Kildare started to turn on the afterburners. Divilly, Brian Byrne (two), Aherne and Burke rattled off points in effortless style and all Donegal could produce in response was another Coulter free.
With the final outcome well beyond doubt, Herity started to call on the cavalry. Johnny Byrne enhanced his candidacy with a goal off a 58th-minute breakaway attack, but Smith made his own claim for selection with points before and after this major. Sean Whelan (two) and Conor Kielty also recorded points, while Naas’ Dowling served notice of his quality with a superb catch and finish for a 63rd minute goal.
To Donegal’s credit, they persevered with their challenge and Coulter’s midfield partner Ciaran Mathewson amassed three pointed frees after the Setanta club man had been withdrawn. Nonetheless, Johnny Byrne and Smith (his third) were also on target in the dying minutes as Kildare sent out a message of intent to their Division 2B rivals.
TEAMS & SCORERS
SCORERS
Kildare: Brian Byrne 0-11 (7f, 2 ’65’), James Burke 2-1 (1-0 pen), Johnny Byrne 1-3, Conor Dowling 1-1 (0-1f), Paul Divilly, Kevin Aherne, Caolan Smith 0-3 each, Sean Whelan 0-2, Declan Flaherty, Conor Kielty 0-1 each.
Donegal: Declan Coulter 0-7 (7f), Ciaran Mathewson 0-2 (3f), Danny Cullen 0-3 each, Niall Cleary 0-1.
TEAMS
Kildare: Paddy McKenna (Clane); Cathal Derivan (Leixlip), Rian Boran (Naas), Simon Leacy (Naas); Kevin Whelan (Naas), Declan Flaherty (Coill Dublin), Sean Christanseen (Clane); Cathal Dowling (Naas), Paul Divilly (Confey); Kevin Aherne (Naas), Johnny Byrne (Coill Dubh), James Burke (Naas); Tadhg Forde (Maynooth), Shane Ryan (Naas), Brian Byrne (Naas). Subs: Colm Chan (Confey) for Dowling, Cathal McCabe (Maynooth) for Forde (both 45), Conor Dowling (Naas) 1-1 (0-1f) for Ryan (48), Cian Forde (Maynooth) for Whelan, Caolan Smith (Clane) 0-3 for Burke (both 54), Sean Whelan (Ardclough) 0-2 for Divilly, Conor Kielty (Éire Óg Corra Choill) 0-1 for B Byrne (60), James Dolan (Éire Óg Corra Choill) for Flaherty (62-63, blood sub).
Donegal: Luke White; Gavin Brown, Stephen Gillespie, Mark Callaghan; Christopher McDermott, Sean McVeigh, Michael O’Donaghue; Declan Coulter, Ciaran Matthewson; Danny Cullen, Richie Ryan, Jack O’Loughlin; Bernard Lafferty, Ronan McDermott, Gerry Gilmore. Subs: Padraig Doherty for Browne (half-time), Niall Cleary 0-1 for McDermott, Conor O’Grady for O’Donaghue, Josh Cronolly McGhee for Lafferty (all 49), Ruari Campbell for Ryan (58), Oisin Grant for Coulter (60), Dylan Duffy for Gilmore (67).
Referee: Chris Mooney, Dublin.