Senior Footballers Fall To Defeat To Kildare In Dioralyte O'Byrne Cup Semi Final

DUBLIN 1-13

KILDARE 1-22

Kildare produced an impressive second-half display as they ultimately eased past Dublin by nine points in their Dioralyte O’Byrne Cup semi-final at Cedral St Conleth’s Park on Saturday afternoon.

The experimental Dublin selection controlled decent chunks of the first-half with Jamie McCarville’s 27th minute goal handing them a well-deserved 1-8 to 0-8 interval advantage.

However, the Lilies enjoyed a marked supremacy after the break with Harry O’Neill’s 44th minute goal turning the tide in their favour as they finished the contest strongly with a plethora of points.  

Despite enjoying a fair degree of possession in the early stages, the Dubs fell behind to Ben Loakman’s fine score in the 3rd minute and the Lilies doubled their lead through Sam Doran two minutes later.

A well-struck ‘45’ from goalkeeper Sam Moloney opened the away account in the 7th minute but an economical Kildare side restored their two-point buffer thanks to Alex Beirne soon after.

Dublin soon gained reward for their possession with Clyde Burke kicking a superb two-pointer to level matters in the 10th minute while Niall O’Callaghan handed the visitors the lead for the first time within thirty seconds.

The Blues could and should have extended their lead as the contest evolved but missed a couple of presentable chances before Burke showcased his kicking from distance with another sublime effort to leave Dublin three points clear by the end of the first quarter.

Beirne continued to impress at the opposite end as he added two further points and Kildare trimmed their deficit to the bare minimum thanks to Brian McLoughlin’s 24th minute effort.

The Dubs finally put a degree of daylight between the sides three minutes later as Conor Dolan’s speculative shot allowed McCarville to rise highest and palm into the back of the net.

Eoin Kennedy added to that lead from Jack Lundy’s precise pass but another brace from Beirne reduced Dublin’s lead to three points by the break.

McLoughlin added momentum to the Kildare challenge as he pointed within thirty seconds of the restart but Dublin’s defence continued to impress with Fiachra Potts and Eoghan O’Callaghan looking comfortable in the corner-back positions.

While Robert Shaw and Dolan added points to the away tally, a two-pointed free by Beirne and McLoughlin’s third score of the game restored parity by the 41st minute.

The hosts looked far more threatening at this stage and seized the initiative towards the end of the third quarter as redeployed corner-back Harry O’Neill put the finishing touches to a well-worked move down the heart of the Dublin defence.

While McCarville and substitute Dylan Kettle (2) offered hope with excellent scores, they proved of little resistance as the hosts piled on the pain through scores by James Harris, Eoin Cully, Darragh Swords and Aaron Browne in the closing stages.            

Scorers – Dublin: C Burke 0-5 (2 P2); J McCarville 1-1; D Kettle 0-2; S Moloney (’45), R Shaw, E Kennedy, C Dolan, N O’Callaghan 0-1 apiece. Kildare: A Beirne 0-7 (1 F2, 1f, 1 ’45); J Harris (1 P2), B McLoughlin 0-3 each; H O’Neill 1-0; S Doran, D Swords, E Cully 0-2 each; K Feely, B Loakman, A Browne (f) 0-1 apiece.

Dublin: S Moloney; E O’Callaghan, L Smith, F Potts; R Shaw, E O’Connor Flanagan, C Tyrrell; E Kennedy, C Dunne; C Dolan, J Lundy, C Burke; J McCarville, N O’Callaghan, J Quigley. Subs: J Feehan for O’Connor Flanagan (half-time), L Gifford for Quigley (half-time), S Kirwan for Smith (36), P Duffy for Dolan (46), D Kettle for N O’Callaghan (46), L O’Brien for McCarville (53), D Knight-Sands for Burke (53), F Bruton for Tyrrell (53).

Kildare: D Cordonnier; M Dempsey, P Spillane, H O’Neill; E Lawlor, B Byrne, D Crowley; K Feely, B Gibbons; B McLoughlin, A Beirne, L Killian; B Loakman, N Dolan, S Doran. Subs: D Swords for Killian (half-time), M Spillane for Dempsey (half-time), E Cully for Dolan (42), J Harris for Lawlor (42), R Fitzgerald for Spillane (42), E Bagnall for Beirne (46), A Browne for Loakman (53), A McNally for Byrne (61).   

Referee: Eamonn O’Connor (Offaly)