Kildare hold off second-half Sligo surge to clinch third All-Ireland U20 title

The Lilywhites laid the demons of last year’s decider defeat to Tyrone to rest in Cavan.

Kildare 1-17

Sligo 0-12

Kevin Egan reports from Kingspan Breffni

KILDARE LAID THE demons of last year’s final defeat to Tyrone to rest this afternoon in Cavan, as they held off a second-half surge from a resilient and injury-ravaged Sligo side before clinching their third All-Ireland U20 title thanks to an exquisitely-chipped goal from substitute Killian Browne with a couple of minutes remaining.

Sligo’s remarkable journey through this campaign saw them take out several heavyweight opponents along the way, but those wins came at a cost, with key men Dillon Walsh and Canice Mulligan among the walking wounded that didn’t make it to Kingspan Breffni in full health. Those concerns were compounded this afternoon as they were forced to use all five substitutes by the ninth minute of the second half, and by then they were already in a world of trouble.

Kildare had the aid of the breeze in the first half and used it very well, dominating both kickouts while Seán Hanafin caused havoc on the edge of the Sligo square.

The big Naas man may have only weighed in with a single point, but his dominance in the air forced Sligo to drop their sweepers that bit deeper, which in turn left more space out around half-forward, and with the wind at their backs, the Lily Whites began raining points over the Sligo crossbar.

sligo-fans-hold-up-signs-during-the-game Sligo fans hold up signs during the game. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO

Niall Dolan, Callum Bolton and a Cormac Barker free — all from distance — made it 0-3 to no score and when Hanafin followed up with a close range point, Sligo were in huge trouble. Their possessions all seemed to start from deep positions as Kildare hoovered up break after break under the long kickout, and while there were good scores from James Donlon and Daire O’Boyle to keep them in touch, Kildare kicked on again in the second quarter to lead by 0-9 to 0-4 at the interval, with Adam Fanning chipping in with two fine hooked kicks in that period.

Injuries continued to hamper Sligo. Centre forward James Donlon was the next key player to make way, but his replacement Brian Byrne turned out to be one of their best attacking weapons. As Hanafin did in the first half, Byrne offered a big physical presence in front of goal and his ability to win and convert direct ball yielded two points and one free that Luke Marren converted, while the Sligo-dominated crowd gave perhaps their biggest roar of the day when Tomas Von Engelbrechten appeared to come through the back of the Curry club man inside the square midway through the second half.

Referee Martin McNally was right there and decided that no penalty was warranted, but Sligo kept coming, and Marren’s sixth free of the afternoon meant it was 0-13 to 0-11 with just under ten minutes remaining.

Watch the Full-Time Highlights of Kildare v Sligo in the All-Ireland U-20 Football Final here on #GAANOW pic.twitter.com/ZrSWCwtG0X
— The GAA (@officialgaa) May 13, 2023

It felt like the game was right in the balance, until all of a sudden, it wasn’t. Seán Hanafin seized one short kickout and clipped the ball back over the crossbar, and then from the next restart, the ball also flew a little low, Killian Browne pulled it down with an excellent leap around 25 metres from goal, and his chipped shot was immaculately measured, bouncing on the goal-line before nestling in the net to double the lead and leave Sligo with a Ben Bulben-size mountain to climb, one that ultimately proved far too steep to scale.

Scorers for Kildare: Killian Browne 1-1, Adam Fanning 0-3, Oisín O’Sullivan 0-2, Seán Hanafin 0-2, Callum Bolton 0-2, Cormac Barker 0-1f, Niall Dolan 0-1, Ryan Sinkey 0-1, Tomas Von Engelbrechten 0-1, Harry O’Neill 0-1, Shane Farrell 0-1f, Eoin Cully 0-1.

Scorers for Sligo: Luke Marren 0-7f, Brian Byrne 0-2, James Donlon 0-1, Daire O’Boyle 0-1, Dylan Walsh 0-1.

Kildare

1. Cormac Barker (Kilcullen)

2. Harry O’Neill (Clane), 3. Tomas Von Engelbrechten (Johnstownbridge), 4. Ryan Burke (Caragh)

5. James Harris (Castlemitchell), 6. James McGrath (Athy), 7. Jack McKevitt (Naas)

14. Niall Dolan (Raheens), 9. Shane Farrell (Kilcock)

10. Ryan Sinkey (Naas), 11. Callum Bolton (Sarsfields), 12. Colm Dalton (Sallins)

13. Adam Fanning (Clane), 8. Seán Hanafin (Naas), 15. Oisín O’Sullivan (Clane)

Subs

Eoin Cully (Carbury) for O’Sullivan (38)
Ethan Mountaine (Sarsfields) for Harris (45)
Killian Browne (Celbridge) for Sinkey (48)
Sam Savage (Rathangan) for Dolan (56)
Daire Guerin (Naas) for Fanning (60+2).

Sligo

1. Ethan Carden (Enniscrone/Kilglass)

2. Ross Chambers (Drumcliffe/Rosses Point), 3. Conor Johnston (Coolaney/Mullinabreena), 4. Luke Casserly (St. Molaise Gaels)

5. Dylan Walsh (Eastern Harps), 6. Dylan McLoughlin (Curry), 7. Rossa Sloyan (Easkey)

8. Conor Sheridan (Shamrock Gaels), 9. Ross Doherty (Coolera-Strandhill)

12. Ronan Niland (St. Mary’s), 11. James Donlon (Drumcliffe/Rosses Point), 10. Mark McDaniel (Coolera-Strandhill)

13. Luke Marren (Bunninadden), 14. Daire O’Boyle (Calry St. Joseph’s), 24. Matt Henry (Eastern Harps)