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Kildare didn’t follow in Kerry’s footsteps and succumbed to a surprising championship outing to his close neighbors tonight in Portlaoise, but they left the door open for Offaly until the last minutes, only creeping up the line thanks to an enormously worthwhile cameo. by alternate Neil Flynn.
Maynooth’s forward kicked three dead ball scores in the fourth quarter, one from each side and another from 45 yards, to close out a victory that always seemed, but was never certain.
Jack O’Connor might feel like his team could have been much further ahead throughout 70 minutes of action, having fired 14 goals against Offaly’s three, but Fiel’s men will balance that by saying they had the only chances. goal in the game. , unable to convert any of the three opportunities that made their way off Mark Donnellan’s goal.
The Kerryman will be delighted with the performance of his array of rookies, and he said a lot that the five players who made their first appearance in the championship watched the game, with two of them: winger Shea Ryan and forward Darragh Kirwan. – possibly the two main lights of the Lilywhites.
On Offaly’s side, they also had a young star that embellished their credentials, as Cian Farrell shot seven points, including two of 45 and three touchdowns from the game, terrifying the defense of the county he grew up with.
Kirwan scored his first touchdown for Kildare after just 20 seconds, only to see Bernard Allen finish off a great team play at the other end of the field to tie the game.
Kildare had plenty of pace and strength near the goal, with Paddy Brophy and Jimmy Hyland also posting early scores, and they certainly had plenty of possession to work with as well, as Kevin Feely and Aaron Masterson (another championship rookie) established a solid. base in midfield.
At the other extreme, when possession came, Farrell was excellent. He scored two excellent opening points to keep Offaly in touch as Kildare’s count began to rise, although he will feel like he missed a trick when Peter Cunningham hit him in goal and his low shot was blocked by Shea Ryan.
Over and over again Kildare walked two or three points away, only for Offaly to return to the fight.
A one point lead at halftime became 0-12 to 0-10, and finally 0-15 to 0-11 in the second half, but Offaly rallied again with a series of touchdowns and when goalkeeper Paddy Dunican huddled on a free, the gap narrowing to a single point.
However, the fatal blow that the homeless needed never came.
Bernard Allen fought his way through the goal but couldn’t beat Mark Donnellan with his low shot, while winger Colm Doyle got into the goal but couldn’t find a way to get past Kildare’s goalkeeper, charging directly at him and granting a free. outside.
Enter Neil Flynn to show all the poise and precision his colleagues lacked, and Kildare had done enough. Not much more, but enough.
Kildare: Mark Donnellan; Mark Dempsey, Shea Ryan, Kevin Flynn; Darragh Malone (0-01), With Kavanagh, David Hyland; Kevin Feely, Aaron Masterson (0-01); Fergal Conway (0-01), Ben McCormack (0-02), Paddy Brophy (0-02); Darragh Kirwan (0-06, 0-01 mark), Daniel Flynn (0-01), Jimmy Hyland (0-02, 0-01 free).
Subs: Mattie Byrne for Conway (rest), Paul Cribbin (0-01) for Daniel Flynn (42), Neil Flynn (0-03, 0-02 free, 0-01 mark) for McCormack (55), Luke Flynn for Masterson (60), Eoin Doyle for Kevin Flynn (68).
Offaly: Paddy Dunican (0-01, free); Eoin Rigney, Declan Hogan, Niall Darby; Eoin Carroll, Johnny Moloney, Colm Doyle; Jordan Hayes, Cathal Mangan; Anton Sullivan (0-01), Ruairí McNamee (0-02), Peter Cunningham; Cian Farrell (0-07, 0-02 free, 0-02 45’s), Niall McNamee (0-03, free), Bernard Allen (0-01).
Subs: Joseph O’Connor (0-01) for Hayes (27), Rory Egan for Cunningham (56), Carl Stewart for Mangan (66), Conor McNamee for Rúairí McNamee (68), Aaron Leavy for Allen (70).
Referee: David Coldrick (Meath)
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