Athy build an early platform for victory

KILDARE SFC FINAL

ATHY PRODUCED a stunning opening quarter to lay the foundation of their first Kildare senior football title in 24 years at St Conleth’s Park yesterday.

The south Kildare outfit had 2-5 on the board by the 16th minute to open up an eight-point gap despite playing into a stiff breeze and though that was halved by the final whistle, there was no doubting the merit of their success.

Carbury never gave up and with Athy playing within themselves any time they opened up a reasonable gap, their hopes were never completely buried.

Crucially though, on each occasion when Athy were threatened, they were able to find another gear at will to ensure that the Dermot Bourke Cup was heading south.

That this was the case was all the more noteworthy for the fact that this is such a youthful side, with seven of their players aged between 17 and 20.

Two of the youngsters, James Eaton and Cian Reynolds, scored 1-10 between them, while the likes of Darroch Mulhall and Kevin Feely were also very prominent along with the more experienced Mick Foley and Ken Brophy.

Foley has already had an outstanding season with Kildare that is likely to net him an All-Star but there is no doubt that being captain on this day will beat any personal awards.

“You train for so long and you’re at it for so long you think it’s never going to come” he explained. “It’s probably 10 years I’ve played with Athy seniors and you think as the years slip by and you’re getting closer to 30 things are never going to happen to you.”

Eaton had the ball in the Carbury net after 32 seconds, when capitalising on a fatal hesitation by Noel Kenna. He added a brace of points, while Reynolds kicked three including a magnificent effort with the outside of his right boot as Athy pulled six points clear.

The excellent Terry Rossiter slotted two points at the other end of the field, with Eoghan O’Flaherty also on target but when Mulhall deftly flicked Brophy’s delivery beyond Kenna, this game looked over.

Carbury hung in there though and when Daryl O’Brien was the victim of a foot block in injury time, Daithí Cash drove the resultant penalty to the Athy net to leave them trailing by just 2-5 to 1-4 at half time.

The response after the resumption was impressive, as Eaton kicked two spectacular points and Feely converted the score of the game after magnificent work by Eaton and Mulhall.

Again, they took their foot off the accelerator though.

Points from O’Brien and Rossiter reduced the margin to five and when O’Brien’s brilliant double-shimmy opened up a gap in the Athy defence, his convincing finish to the bottom corner of the net had it down to two with two minutes left.

Far from panicking though, Athy showed conviction. Reynolds slotted a 43-metre free before adding another from play in injury time to bring his tally to six and ensure this would be Athy’s day.

ATHY: J Roycroft; D Holligan, J Kinihan, T Gibbons; R Bell, M Foley, D Hyland; P Dunne, K Feely (0-1); A Kelly, C Reynolds (0-6, 0-3 frees), L McGovern; J Eaton (1-4), K Brophy, D Mulhall (1-0). Subs: B Kinihan for Holligan (40 mins), D O’Keeffe for Kelly (44 mins), N Kelly for Brophy (57 mins), E Kennedy for Bell (59 mins).

CARBURY: N Kenna; J Crowe, D Cummins, C Kearney; P O’Reilly, M O’Flaherty, D Boyle; L Holt, S Costello; T Rossiter (0-4), D Cash (1-0, pen), E O’Flaherty (0-2, 0-1 free); K McNamara, A Dermody, D O’Brien (1-1). Subs: D Moore for Cummins (21 mins), W Groome for Costello (half-time), G Mangan for Boyle (39 mins), P Grace for Holt (49 mins), S McLoughlin for McNamara (57 mins).

Referee: Noel McKenna (Ballyteague).