Down Ladies stun Kildare
Kildare Ladies 1-9
Down Ladies 4-9
ALL-IRELAND IFC GROUP 1
By DAIRE WALSH
DOWN Ladies produced an outstanding second half display at St Conleth’s Park, Newbridge on Sunday afternoon to round off their LGFA All-Ireland Intermediate Championship Group One campaign in style.
Leading by a single point at the break, a host of goals helped the Mourne outfit to pull away from Kildare.
Despite the comprehensive nature of this result, they ultimately fell short in their quest for a quarter-final spot.
A win by 13 points or more would have seen the Ulster side progressing at Kildare’s expense and they were perilously close to achieving this goal in a frantic finale.
After the hosts spurned a couple of early opportunities, Bryansford’s Natasha Ferris broke the deadlock with an expertly-taken point.
During a tentative start to the contest, Kildare eventually fired back through Neasa Dooley and Molly Price.
Their lead proved to be short-lived as Down pounced for a goal in the 12th minute.
Capitalising on excellent approach play by Lauren Cunningham and Ferris, Sarah Dougherty struck beyond the reach of Dervla McGinn from close-range. In a game that Down badly needed to win in order to maintain their push for national glory, this score acted as an ideal morale booster.
As expected, Kildare persisted with their challenge in front of an enthusiastic home crowd. Supplementing Price’s second point of the half, Lara Curran converted a free to bring the sides back on level terms.
Despite some frustration, Down regained the initiative through Jessica Foy’s set-piece effort on 23 minutes. A superb Siobhan O’Sullivan strike restored parity once more, but Kildare suffered a hammer blow when the influential midfielder was sin-binned for a high tackle on Cunningham.
Bredagh corner-forward Anna McKee then opened her personal account, before Dooley and Dougherty received yellow cards for an off-the-ball incident in the dying moments of the opening period.
This meant that Down not only had an advantage on the scoreboard (1-3 to 1-5) for the restart, but also enjoyed a numerical supremacy. Nevertheless, Kildare initially dug deep with 13 players and edged into the ascendancy when Ellen Dowling’s speculative shot drifted past opposition skipper Kate McKay.
This was only a minor set-back for Down, who complimented another Ferris point with a smooth Foy major. A Curran free kept Kildare in touch – only for them to lose Orlaith Sullivan a minute after her introduction as a substitute.
The pendulum was beginning to swing in Down’s direction and they immediately enhanced their buffer with unanswered scores courtesy of Cunningham and Ferris.
Daniel Moynihan’s Lilywhites had a goal disallowed on 43 minutes and Dooley subsequently struck the crossbar with McKay out of position. A barren scoring spell ensued for both teams, until Down half-back Mairead Kavanagh split the posts in superb fashion on the left wing.
This heralded a powerful blitz for the visitors, which moved them to within touching distance of a place in the knockout rounds. Cunningham and Ferris raised white flags either side of a yellow card for another Kildare replacement, Sarah Munnelly.
The marauding Kavanagh rolled to the net off a resulting attack and Foy coolly slotted home a penalty after Rachel Cribbin pulled down the raiding Ferris. This lifted Down into an 4-9 to 1-7 cushion, leaving them just two points shy of a season-defining outcome.
The prospect of a fifth goal loomed large when they once again found space inside the Kildare ’45’, though their path to the target was shut down in the nick of time.
The home team remained on the brink of elimination and needed a mini-surge deep into stoppage time in order to advance towards the next phase.
Curran and Sullivan slotted frees between the posts, reducing their final deficit to nine points in the process.
While there was clear disappointment for them on the day, Down can reflect positively on an impressive showing over the course of the hour.
Kildare: Dervla McGinn; Rachel Cribbin, Lara Gilbert, Amy Horan; Gemma Harnett, Trina Duggan, Emily Birch; Siobhan O’Sullivan (0-1), Grace Clifford; Lara Curran (0-4, 4 frees), Neasa Dooley (0-1), Molly Price (0-2); Shauna Kendrick, Sally Murphy, Mikaela McKenna. Subs: Ellen Dowling (1-0) for Murphy, Sarah Munnelly for Birch (both h-t), Orlaith Sullivan (0-1, 1 free) for McKenna (35), Claire Sullivan for Horan (46), Lauren Murtagh for Gilbert (50).
Down: Kate McKay; Emily Martin, Kim White, Eve McArdle; Adair Trainor, Clara Mulvenna, Mairead Kavanagh (1-1); Orla Duffy, Oonagh Lavery; Lauren Cunningham (0-2), Jessica Foy (2-1, 1-0 pen, 0-1f), Sarah Dougherty (1-0); Anna McKee (0-1), Natasha Ferris (0-4), Megan Doherty. Subs: Ciara Byrne for Kavanagh (45), Natalie McKibbin for Mulvenna (57), Eimear Fitzpatrick for Martin (63), Aisling Cull for White (69).
Referee: Kevin Corcoran (Mayo).