League title, and promotion, for Kildare
Hard earned but fully deserved win for Lilies
KILDARE 2-24
MAYO 1-19
Daire Walsh at MacHale Park, Castlebar
Following a remarkable turnaround in fortune, Kildare got their hands on the National Hurling League Division 2B crown at MacHale Park in Castlebar last Saturday.
Trailing their opponents Mayo by eight points approaching half-time in a winners-takes-all affair, David Herity’s Lilywhites rallied to ultimately triumph by the same margin. David Slattery’s goal prior to the interval had a galvanising effect for the visitors, who never looked back after rattling off seven points without reply.
Division 2A of next year’s NHL is expected to be a significant step-up in quality, but it is the kind of challenge that this motivated group will embrace.
The Lilies appeared to be on the right track towards success when Slattery and Paul Divilly fired over well-worked points during the early exchanges. Mayo did manage to settle, however, with former inter-county footballer Keith Higgins pulling the strings effectively in a withdrawn role.
Corey Scahill and Sean Regan posted points to get Mayo up and running, while the latter subsequently bagged the first goal of the contest on eight minutes with a low finish past Clane’s Paddy McKenna.
The Lilywhites issued an immediate response through the in-form Jack Sheridan, but a rampant Mayo registered fired back with five consecutive points courtesy of Higgins (two), Shane Boland, John Cassidy and Adrian Phillips.
Even though a Johnny Byrne point helped to settle the Kildare nerves, Mayo’s substantial wind advantage was keeping them in the driving seat. Whereas Brian Byrne hit a brace of wayward frees, Higgins converted place-ball efforts either side of a Cathal Freeman score on the turn.
A sublime Sheridan sideline cut on the left-hand touchline also featured in this juncture and the Naas man dissected the uprights off a long-range free on 27 minutes to keep Kildare in the hunt.
After Higgins and Johnny Byrne traded points, Kildare looked set to receive a lifeline when James Burke was hauled down by Mayo defender David Kenny just outside the large square on the half-hour mark.
This led to both a penalty and a sin-binning for Kenny, but Bobby Douglas was equal to Sheridan’s 20-metre strike. The Mayo team were given an enormous lift as a consequence, with Regan (two) and Higgins finding the target in ruthless style.
Although another Sheridan sideline and a Slattery point were squeezed into this sequence, Kildare’s most important score of the opening period arrived in the final minute of stoppage-time. Following a superb fetch off a Divilly delivery, Byrne released Slattery on goal and the Confey ace drilled to the net.
This reduced the deficit to five points for the start of the second half, when the elements and a renewed sense of confidence propelled Kildare onto greater heights. After being a link man in the opening 35 minutes, Burke took it upon himself to carry the scoring burden.
Supplementing a Sheridan free, he registered four points from play in as many minutes to spectacularly cancel out the Mayo lead. A further brace of dead-ball scores from Sheridan finally edged Kildare back into the ascendancy before Mayo eventually replied when Higgins split the posts on 51 minutes.
However, there was a sense of destiny about the Lilywhites now and five more points on the bounce – Kevin Whelan, Sheridan (two), Conor Dowling and Burke – left Mayo with considerable ground to cover.
To their credit, it wasn’t for the lack of trying and they outscored Kildare 0-4 to 0-2 to move four behind at the end of normal time. Higgins (two), Freeman and Pearse McCrann found the range for Mayo, while substitute Shane Ryan scored both of the Lilywhites’ points.
Though this might have been enough of a buffer to see Kildare through, Dowling made sure of their win by angling a low shot past Douglas on 71 minutes.
In spite of a mooted trophy presentation in the stands, it was a post-match to savour for the Kildare players. The majority of the squad had their parents in attendance, with a small crowd permitted to attend following the recent relaxation of gatherings for outdoor events.
With the Lilies set to embark on their Joe McDonagh Cup odyssey in the coming weeks, they will hope there is more reason to be cheerful as the summer progresses.
Scorers: Kildare: Jack Sheridan 0-10 (6f, 2 s/line), David Slattery 1-2, James Burke 0-5, Conor Dowling 1-1, Johnny Byrne, Shane Ryan 0-2 each, Kevin Whelan, Paul Divilly 0-1 each.
Mayo: Keith Higgins 0-8 (8f), Sean Regan 1-3, Cathal Freeman 0-3 (1f), Corey Scahill, Pearse McCrann, John Cassidy, Adrian Phillips, Shane Boland 0-1 each.
KILDARE: Paddy McKenna; Cathal Derivan, Rian Boran, Simon Leacy; Kevin Whelan, Declan Flaherty, Sean Christanseen; Kevin Aherne, Paul Divilly; Cathal McCabe, Johnny Byrne, James Burke; Brian Byrne, Jack Sheridan, David Slattery. Subs: Jack Travers for Christanseen (27), Conor Dowling for McCabe (half-time), Shane Ryan for Slattery, Tadhg Forde for Aherne (both 60), Cathal Dowling for Divilly (66), Mark Delaney for J Byrne (66-68, blood sub), Delaney for Burke (74).
MAYO: Bobby Douglas; Daniel Huane, Conor Daly, Corey Scahill; Gary Nolan, Pearse McCrann, David Kenny; John Cassidy, Sean Kenny; Adrian Phillips, Cathal Freeman, Sean Regan; Oisin Greally, Keith Higgins, Shane Boland. Subs: Conor Henry for Daly (7), Brian Hunt for Scahill, Kieran Kiely for Phillips (both 46), Brian Morley for Boland (59), Conor Murray for Kenny (66).
REFEREE: Kevin Jordan, Tipperary.