Moorefield 2-14
Sarsfields 0-13
MOOREFIELD REGAINED THE Kildare Senior Football Championship with a seven-point victory over reigning champions Sarsfields in St Conleth’s Park today.
Despite trailing at the interval and missing a penalty early in the second period Luke Dempsey’s men proved two strong in the closing stages for their crosstown rivals.
Goals from Patrick Murray and full back Ger Naughton in the closing minutes finally swung the game in their favour after Sarsfields had dominated the opening thirty minutes.
Ray Cahill and Conor Tiernan were prominent for Sarsfields in the first half as they took a 0-10 to 0-7 lead at the interval but after the break Moorefield, led by recently retired Kildare star and current Waterford selector RonanSweeney, hit back and five unanswered points after Sweeney’s penalty miss, turned the game in their favour.
Sarsfields thought they had levelled matters in the closing stages but Ronan Fitzgibbon’s effort was controversially clawed from over the bar by Moorefield goalkeeper Tom Kinsella and from there Moorefield moved up the field for Murray to finish to the net. Naughton’s goal in injury time then put the icing on the cake as Moorefield took their first title since 2010.
Scorers- Moorefield: Ronan Sweeney 0-5 (4f), Adam Tyrell 0-4, Patrick Murray 1-1, Ger Naughton 1-0, Niall Hurley Lynch, Ciaran Kelly 0-2 each.Sarsfields: Ray Cahill 0-6 (4f), Declan McKenna 0-2, Alan Smith, Robbie Confrey, Barry Coffey, Conor Tiernan, Michael Browne 0-1 each.
Moorefield: Tom Kinsella; Lee Murphy, Ger Naughton, Padraig O’Flynn, Liam Callaghan, Ian Lonergan, James Lonergan; Ross Glavin, Kevin Murnaghan; Frank Hanniffy, Patrick Murray, Adam Tyrell, Niall Hurley-Lynch, Ronan Sweeney, Ciaran Kelly. Subs: Aaron Mullins for Hanniffy, h/t; Colin Lonergan for Murphy, 47; Ryan Houlihan for Callaghan, 49; Philly Wolfe for Kelly, 58
Sarsfields: Patrick O’Sullivan; Shane Hurley, Daonnachadh McDonnell, Conor Duffy, Conor Tiernan, Sean Campbell, Barry Coffey; Declan McKenna, Alan Smith; MichaelBrowne, Ray Cahill, Ronan Fitzgibbon, Dan Nea, Robbie Confrey, Sean Dempsey. Subs: Ciaran McInerney-Aspell for Hurley, 22; Dermot Earley for Dempsey, 42; Ben McCormack for Browne, 47; Padraig Brennan for Nea, 49.