Kildare too strong in superb minor final

Tier 2 All-Ireland Minor Championship final

Kildare 2-12

Cavan 1-10

Paul Fitzpatrick at Páirc Tailteann

Cavan minors (U17) came up short after a highly-entertaining clash in the first-ever Tier Two All-Ireland Minor Championship final last Saturday in Navan.

There was little to choose between the teams for most of the contest but an impressive Kildare side finished strongest, with a 58th-minute goal helping them win by five in the end.

Cavan came into this game buoyed by an impressive win over Tyrone last time out, in the process avenging the Ulster quarter-final loss to the same opposition, and a previous victory over a useful Wicklow side.

The Lilywhites have been very strong at minor and U20 levels for the last decade and were fancied to win the Leinster Championship this year only to lose by a point to Dublin in the semi-final thanks to a last-gasp goal.

The first half began at a rip-roaring pace and it didn’t relent. While the match was error-ridden at times, it was played at frenetic speed and the exchanges ebbed and flowed from end to end throughout, with both sides looking to attack as quickly as possible, which made for a terrific spectacle.

Joshua Shehu, who terrorised the Kildare defence when Cavan could get him the ball but at times could have brought others into the play more, opened the scoring when he beat a defender and curled in after taking a pass from Odhran Madden.

Kildare’s captain Evan Boyle galloped through moments later and blasted over when he could have found the net and a Cavan mistake coming out with the ball was punished by wing-back Paddy Ryan as the Leinster side grabbed the lead.

Dylan O’Dwyer and Shehu (free) traded scores to leave it all square at 0-3 apiece at the end of the first quarter.

Ruaidhrí Lawlor kicked a lovely left-footed point to nudge the Lilywhites in front but Cavan again levelled when Shehu won possession well and was fouled, with Nathan Quigley slotting over the resulting free.

The young Denn man, who is still underage next year, then hit the jackpot when, after a beautiful pass from Ryan Nwaneri, he out-fielded a defender, turned and rifled home for a brilliant goal which made it 1-4 to 0-4 on 21 minutes.

Speedster Austin Donegan, a livewire throughout, won a free for Dylan O’Dwyer to convert and then pointed himself after Kildare pinched a Cavan kick-out and by the 27th minute, the sides were level again following a well-taken point from Donegan again.

That was how it remained at half-time as the sides finally drew breath following a rip-roaring first half hour. A superb strike with the outside of the boot by Ultan O’Reilly nudged Cavan in front early in the second half but it was quickly cancelled out by a Ronan Kelly free.

Donegan again showed his class to engineer another but, in keeping with the nature of proceedings, Shehu was felled and Quigley registered from the free to make it 0-9 to 1-6.

Lawlor and Quigley (fee, after a foul on Jamie Clarke) traded scores as the pace finally dropped a bit. Cavan hit the front when Odhran Madden sent over a 45-metre free from the ground, again after a foul on Shehu, but the turning point arrived moments later.

The ball agonisingly slipped from Clarke’s grasp at midfield, Kildare lumped it long down the left wing and it fell kindly for Harry Donnelly, whose finish to the net was perfection itself.

Cavan replied with a Madden free, won by sub Charlie Fallon, but again Donnelly raised a white flag for the Leinster side.

Cavan carved out a goal chance when Clarke, on the square, fielded well but his handpass to Quigley went astray but the Breffni lads made light of it and Gowna’s Fiachra Brady steadied himself to slot over and reduce the arrears to one, 1-11 to 1-10.

That was how it remained with two minutes left on the clock until Kildare put the game to bed. In the closing stages, the Kildare subs had given their side a new lease of life and they looked fitter and more purposeful as the exertions of earlier on and the pace of the game had clearly taken a toll on the Cavan lads.

In the 58th minute, Kildare attacked down the heart of the Cavan defence and Lawlor did well to find Kelly, who buried the ball to the net to put four between them.

Cavan pressed again, Madden recorded a wide – Cavan’s fifth of the second half – and then they forced a goal chance but Nwaneri’s effort was stopped by the goalkeeper.

In the dying seconds, Ollie Deller dinked over a point for a five-point winning margin which, while they were deserving victors, flattered the champions, who collected the inaugural Paul McGirr Cup.

While this was ultimately a disapoointing result for Cavan, the Tier Two competition served them very well, with wins over Wicklow, Louth and Tyrone and a creditable performance in the final.

Cavan made too many mistakes on the day – nerves are always a factor at this age group – but didn’t give up and proved themselves a talented bunch of players  - and the future looks bright for many of them.

Cavan: Cian McConnell (Butlersbridge), Aaron Dowd (Ballyhaise), Conor Doyle (Cavan Gaels), Senan Macken (Castlerahan), Fiachra Brady (Gowna, 0-1), Oisin Maguire (Mullahoran), Andrew Hill (Shercock), Jamie Clarke (Castlerahan), Thomas Gilsenan (Killygarry), Joshua Shehu (Cavan Gaels, 0-2, 1f), Ryan Nwaneri (Munterconnaught), Odhran Madden (Gowna, 0-3f), Nathan Quigley (Denn, 1-3, 3f), Finn Crowe (Cavan Gaels), Seamus O’Reilly (Swanlinbar)

Subs: Ultan O’Reilly (Mullahoran, 0-1) for T Gilsenan (20), Freddie McGuigan (Killygarry) for C Doyle (ht), Charlie Fallon (Killygarry) for F Crowe (43), Shane McCabe (Cootehill Celtic) for F McGuigan (50), Tadhg Sheils (Mullahoran) for S O’Reilly (53)

Kildare: Conor McDonnell, Rian Beagan, Liam McDonald, Cian Cahill, Paddy Ryan (0-1), Finn Dowling, Liam Kenny, Evan Boyle (0-1), Ruaidhrí Lawlor (0-2), Cian McKevitt, Ronan Kelly (1-1, 1f), Brian Caffrey, Dylan O’Dwyer (0-2, 1f), Austin Donegan (0-3), Tadhg Donlon

Subs: Harry Donnelly (1-1) for D O’Dwyer (ht), Luke Murray for T Donlon (42), Ollie Deller (0-1) for C McKevitt (50), Peter Fagan for L Kenny (53), Senan Gallagher for R Lawlor (58)

Ref: Alan Coyne (Westmeath)