Kildare 2-12
Cork 0-14
IT WAS HARD to forecast this outcome in Thurles after witnessing a half hour of the action.
Kildare had only notched three points in that opening segment of the game yet their improvement thereafter was striking, particularly on the scoreboard, as Jack O’Connor’s team moving into a winning position. They hit four points from that 30th minute mark alone until the interval and that put their noses in front of opponents Cork.
Then they accelerated clear in the second half of this Allianz League Division 2 South clash. A pair of goals settled it as a contest, both created by the excellent Darragh Kirwan – a constant threat throughout as an inside attacking target man – with composed finishes from Kevin Flynn in the 49th minute and Jimmy Hyland on the hour mark. A solid start then for the Lilywhites, a rewarding trip to Tipp in a game moved from Cork’s home patch due to their breach of rules over training sessions last January.
Kildare didn’t add to their scoring tally after Hyland’s 60th minute goal, which arrived moments after he lofted over a superb point from a mark, but they had built up a sufficient advantage. Cork reeled off the last five points of this game, a quartet of frees from Cathail O’Mahony and one from the returning Ciaran Sheehan, but never threatened Mark Donnellan’s goalmouth. Their day was compounded by the late red card shown to substitute Brian Hartnett for an off the ball incident.
Cork began brightly but translating that into points on the board was a troublesome aspect for the Rebels. They snapped over three points without reply inside the first seven minutes, all of their full-forward line of John O’Rourke, Brian Hurley and O’Mahony contributing. But they only scored 0-4 from ten shots in the first quarter and finished the half with tallies of six points, six wides and three shots short into goalkeeper Mark Donnellan’s arms.
Kildare looked lethargic early on but were shaken into life as the match progressed. Daniel Flynn rifled over two nice points yet was withdrawn from the action before the midway mark. His replacement Neil Flynn slotted a free for the last score of the half to put Kildare ahead 0-7 to 0-6 at the interval.
Kildare got their play moving impressively in third quarter, a phase of control that swung the match their way. They wrestled momentum back from Cork around midfield, where Ian Maguire had began forcefully, and got great joy out of mining possession from their opponents kickout.
Paul Cribbin kicked a superb point before the goals arrived either side of the water break. Cork lost Brian Hurley to injury after he was involved in a shuddering collision with Kevin Feely in a battle for possession and Hartnett was dismissed late on. They kept powering forward and O’Mahony found his range but the scores only ever shaved the deficit rather than engineering a major comeback.
Scorers for Kildare: Jimmy Hyland 1-2 (0-1 mark, 0-1f), Neil Flynn 0-3 (0-2f, 0-1 ’45), Kevin Flynn 1-0, Daniel Flynn, Darragh Kirwan, Paul Cribbin 0-2 each, Luke Flynn 0-1.
Scorers for Cork: Cathail O’Mahony 0-6 (0-5f), John O’Rourke, Brian Hurley (0-2f), Ian Maguire 0-2 each, Kevin O’Driscoll 0-1, Ciaran Sheehan 0-1.
Kildare
1. Mark Donnellan (Maynooth)
2. Mark Dempsey (Moorefield), 3. Mick O’Grady (Celbridge), 4. Eoin Doyle (Naas).
5. Kevin Flynn (Celbridge), 6. David Hyland (Athy), 7. Ryan Houlihan (Moorefield).
8. Luke Flynn (Johnstownbridge), 9. Aaron Masterson (Moorefield).
10. Alex Beirne (Naas), 11. Daniel Flynn (Johnstownbridge), 12. Paul Cribbin (Johnstownbridge).
13. Jimmy Hyland (Ballyteague), 14. Kevin Feely (Athy), 15. Darragh Kirwan (Naas).
Subs
21. Neil Flynn (Maynooth) for Daniel Flynn (30)
18. Con Kavanagh (Sarsfields) for Houlihan (52)
19. Fergal Conway (Celbridge) for Luke Flynn (54)
20. Conor Hartley (Sarsfields) for Beirne (54)
17. Darragh Malone (Allenwood) for Cribbin (65)
23. Brian McLoughlin (Clane) for Kirwan (71)
Cork
1. Micheál Martin (Nemo Rangers)
6. Sean Powter (Douglas), 2. Daniel O’Mahony (Knocknagree), 4. Kevin Flahive (Douglas).
3. Sean Meehan (Kiskeam), 5. Paul Walsh (Kanturk), 7. Mattie Taylor (Mallow).
8. Ian Maguire (St Finbarr’s), 9. Kevin O’Driscoll (Tadhg MacCarthaigh).
10. Colm O’Callaghan (Éire Óg), 11. Sean White (Clonakilty), 12. Ruairi Deane (Bantry Blues).
13. John O’Rourke (Carbery Rangers), 14. Brian Hurley (Castlehaven), 15. Cathail O’Mahony (Mitchelstown).
Subs
22. Brian Hartnett (Douglas) for O’Callaghan (half-time)
24. Dan Dineen (Cill na Martra) for Hurley (inj) (40)
23. Ciaran Sheehan (Éire Óg) for O’Driscoll (58)
19. Kevin O’Donovan (Nemo Rangers) for Powter (58)
26. Blake Murphy (St Vincent’s) for Deane (63)
20. Tadhg Corkery (Cill na Martra) for Maguire (67)
Referee: Maurice Deegan (Laois)
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