Promotion One Step Closer As Johnny Shines For Hurlers
GAA: ALLIANZ NATIONAL HURLING LEAGUE DIVISION 2B ROUND 3
KILDARE 5-17
DERRY 1-14
By Daire Walsh
KILDARE took a further step towards promotion from Division 2B of the National Hurling League with an emphatic 15-point victory against Derry at the Manguard Plus Kildare GAA Centre of Excellence in Hawkfield on Sunday afternoon.
In his second appearance since returning to the panel – after bringing the curtain down on his inter-county football career last winter – Johnny Byrne came away with a superb personal tally of 3-4. Stationed at left half-forward, the Coill Dubh ace was at the centre of all that was good about the Lilywhites on the day.
Aside from Byrne, there was a good spread of scores throughout the Kildare side. James Burke made it three goals in two games for the season courtesy of a clinical 29th minute strike, while Paul Divilly and Brian Byrne emerged with three points apiece to their names.
A late addition to the starting line-up in place of his Naas colleague Shane Ryan, a fit-again Jack Sheridan converted a brace of long-range frees when Kildare were under the cosh in the opening half. Conor Dowling bagged a goal as a substitute for the second weekend in succession and having registered 1-7 between them against Donegal in St Conleth’s Park last Saturday, this week’s Kildare reserves claimed a combined total of 1-3.
This win ensures the Lilies currently sit on top of the table. With every other team in the five-team division having lost at least one game, there is a sense that David Herity’s charges are beginning to build up a head of steam.
While this was always expected to be a step-up, the Lilies sought to hit the ground running in the same manner as they had done in their comprehensive triumph over Donegal. Just six seconds were on the clock when Divilly split the uprights on the run, but the visitors quickly responded through a Se McGuigan point.
Although Divilly once again found the target in the fourth-minute, their Oak Leaf counterparts meant business during the early exchanges. Slaughtneil full-forward Brian Cassidy was magnificent throughout and he fired over back-to-back efforts to edge the Ulster men in front.
He added a third point as a direct reply to a similar effort by Brian Byrne, before Kildare finally hit their stride with three scores in quick succession. Either side of a terrific Johnny Byrne single, Brian Byrne and Sheridan converted frees for the Lilies.
Cormac O’Doherty also made no mistake off a placed-ball to leave Derry a single point in arrears at the first half water break. It remained tight and tense when the action resumed, with a Burke contribution squeezed in between Cassidy and O’Doherty points.
Sheridan’s second of the action offered Kildare some breathing space and this was swiftly followed by the opening goal of the contest just shy of the half-hour mark. After superbly gathering a long delivery on the edge of the square, Burke fired beyond the reach of opposition custodian Oisin O’Doherty.
A majestic Cassidy sideline cut briefly halted Kildare’s momentum, only for the probing Tadhg Forde to release Johnny Byrne for his maiden goal of the tie. Centre-back John Mullan and O’Doherty pointed to offer Derry some form of respite, but with Johnny Byrne and Divilly doing likewise, Kildare brought a convincing 2-10 to 0-10 advantage into the dressing rooms at the break.
A torrential downpour greeted the two teams on the resumption and this threatened to ruin the game as a spectacle. Unsurprisingly – given it is their main training base – Kildare were the ones who adapted better to the conditions.
In the space of just under three minutes at the beginning of the second half, Forde, Johnny Byrne and Ryan (who had indirectly taken over from midfielder Cathal Dowling prior to the interval) raised white flags to leave Derry with a mountain to scale.
One man who was up for the fight in the northerners’ camp was the excellent Cassidy. He once again dissected the posts off a sideline to enhance his already-impressive individual haul.
This did keep Kildare on their toes but, in the blink of an eye, they effectively placed the final outcome beyond all doubt. Johnny Byrne discovered a massive hole through the heart of the Derry defence on 42 minutes and after balancing the sliotar effortlessly on his hurl, he buried past the helpless O’Doherty.
Byrne’s hat-trick was complete two minutes later when he got on the end of an overlap and angled a left-sided drive into the far corner of the net. Despite the fact there was still a large portion of the game to play, Kildare were already 14 points to the good.
This left Lilywhites manager Herity in the enviable position of being able to use his full compliment of replacements for a second consecutive game. In their first acts upon being introduced, Cathal McCabe executed a neat pass into the path of Conor Dowling for his three-pointer on the third-quarter mark.
Cassidy had temporarily disrupted Kildare’s flow with another point from play and his brother Shea also got his name on the scoresheet, but it was damage limitation for Dominic McKinley’s side at this stage.
Kildare continued to play with great freedom around the middle-third, with further scores from Brian and Johnny Byrne being perfectly complimented by Confey duo Colm Chan and David Slattery.
Clane netminder Paddy McKenna was perilously close to achieving a second clean sheet for 2021, until Cassidy bagged the goal that his performance deserved with a fine finish from a tight-angle deep into stoppage-time.
This was only a minor blot on Kildare’s copy book, however. An away trip to Roscommon on Sunday week is next on the agenda for the Lilywhites and another win there will leave them within sight of a spot in next year’s NHL Division 2A.
KILDARE: Paddy McKenna; Cathal Derivan, Rian Boran, Simon Leacy; Kevin Whelan, Declan Flaherty, Sean Christanseen; Cathal Dowling, Paul Divilly 0-3; Kevin Aherne, James Burke 1-1, Johnny Byrne 3-4; Tadhg Forde 0-1, Jack Sheridan 0-2, 2f, Brian Byrne 0-3, 3f. Subs: Shane Ryan 0-1 for Cathal Dowling (30), Conor Dowling 1-0 for T Forde, David Slattery 0-1 for Sheridan (both 47), Cathal McCabe for Aherne (49), Colm Chan 0-1 for Divilly, Cian Forde for Christanseen (both 57), Cian Shanahan for Burke (64).
DERRY: Oisin O’Doherty; Conor Kelly, Brian McGilligan, Darragh McCloskey; Sean Cassidy, John Mullan 0-1, Meehaul McGrath; Eoghan Cassidy, Gerald Bradley; Mark McGuigan, Cormac O’Doherty 0-4, 3f, 1 ’65′, Richie Mullan; Odhran McKeever, Brian Cassidy 1-7, 0-2 s/lines, Se McGuigan 0-1. Subs: Shea Cassidy 0-1 for McKeever (47), Conor McAllister for R Mullan (55), Deaghlan Foley for McGuigan (58).
REFEREE: Kevin Jordan (Tipperary).