Dublin 2-10
Kildare 0-8
Brendan Graham reports from Portlaoise
TWO GOALS IN a dominant second-half display saw Dublin defeat Kildare by eight points in the Electric Ireland Leinster minor football final this evening.
After a cautious enough start from both sides it was Kildare who struck first on the scoreboard with a Joey Cunningham point from close range on three minutes.
It took Dublin that little bit longer to settle into the game as they kicked three disappointing wides in the space of three minutes, Joseph Quigley sending two ’45s wide as he looked to settle his side.
To their credit the succession of wides didn’t knock them with their fantastic pressure and press on Kildare rewarded with fine points from Paul Reynolds- Hand and Quigley as they led for the first time in the game on eleven minutes.
Kildare struggled for spells to clear their lines at all in the opening half with Dublin’s intensity for possession leaving them with no other option but to foul within range. Quigley was only too happy to capitalise and add to his tally for the final.
With five minutes remaining in the opening half Killian Browne stood up for Kildare to kick his first point and then two minutes later followed it up with the score of the game to narrow the gap to just one.
Kildare took the lead once more on the stroke of half-time as another two frees from the impressive Browne left them leading 0-5 to 0-4 at the break.
A dream second half start for Dublin saw them blitz Kildare as they scored 1-2 inside the first four minutes. A composed finish high into the goal from defender Ryan Mitchell either side of points from Luke O’Boyle and Reynolds-Hand put four between the sides.
Without Browne the challenge for Kildare would have looked a lot more sizeable but the Celbridge man kept the Lilywhites in touch.
Dublin should have had their second goal with ten minutes remaining but superb last-ditch defending from Tom Kelly on the line denied Clive Burke his moment of glory.
Dublin’s second goal of the game came courtesy of O’Boyle with two minutes remaining and they stretched their lead to eight points to confirm the title of Leinster minor football champions for 2022.
Dublin are Leinster Minor Football Champions 🙌👕
— Dublin GAA (@DubGAAOfficial) May 18, 2022
Well done lads 💙#UpTheDubs pic.twitter.com/x20Dy6F7Uc
Scorers for Dublin: Luke O’Boyle 1-1, Ryan Mitchell 1-0, Joe Quigley 0-3 (0-2f), Paul Reynolds-Hand 0-3 (0-2f), Clive Burke 0-2, Charlie McMorrow 0-1.
Scorers for Kildare: Killian Browne 0-7 (0-6f), Joey Cunningham 0-1.
Dublin
David Leonard
Emmet Brady, Daniel McCarthy, Ryan Mitchell
James Brady, David Lucey, Tim Deering
Dylan Clark, Nathan Fitzgerald
Paul Reynolds-Hand, Jamie McCarville, Luke O’Boyle
Joe Quigley, Ciaran Donovan, David Mulqueen
Subs
Clive Burke for Jamie McCarville (31)
Charlie McMorrow for Nathan Fitzgerald (31)
Jamie Smith for James Brady (48)
Conal Ó Riain for Joe Quigley (59)
Shane Mullarkey for David Mulqueen (62)
Kildare
Fintan Quinn
Niall Cramer, Eoin Lawlor, Ben Ryan
Jamie McGuirk, James Harris, Joey Cunningham
Ryan Sinkey, Ryan Rainey
Eoin Cully, Ben Loakman, Cian O’Reilly
TJ Nolan, Killian Browne, Tom Kelly
Subs
Killian Geraghty for Ben Loakman (42)
Conor Kelly for Cian O’Reilly (46)
DJ Percival for TJ Nolan (52)
Referee: Patrick Coyle (Meath)