Moorefield 2-13
Rathnew(Wicklow) 2-7
AIB Leinster Club SFC semi-final
People will be suggesting that Moorefield should start games with 14 men anymore. They came from behind to beat Naas in a league final this year with 14 men. They sensationally played more than 40 minutes with 13 men against Celbridge and still found a way to win, and on Sunday they sealed their place in a Leinster final for just the second time ever despite playing the final 25 minutes of this game with 14 men following the dismissal of Cian O’Connor.
This game was summed up by one of the final plays. 18-year-old Mark Dempsey, tasked with marking Rathnew veteran Leighton Glynn, intercepted a ball in midfield, drove forward and played a one-two with Eddie Heavey before calmly slotting home the goal that finished off this game in stoppage time, capping a monumental display by the rookie defender.
Fabulous performances from Niall Hurley-Lynch and Eanna O’Connor were critical to the win also, with both men continuing their brilliant seasons on an individual level by chalking up 1-11 between them.
They now face into a Leinster final against Westmeath champions St Loman's, who edged out Simonstown Gaels in the other semi-final on Sunday. It will be an interesting encounter, not least because Loman's are managed by former Moorefield manager Luke Dempsey. The Moores only previous appearance in the Leinster showpiece event was in 2006, when they beat Rhode to claim the provincial title.
Moorefield were missing two of the lynchpins of their charge towards the Kildare senior title, Adam Tyrrell and Ryan Houlihan, both of whom left on army duty to go overseas a few days after the epic quarter-final win over Portlaoise. They were boosted by the return of Daryl Flynn to the starting team following suspension, while David Whyte also came back into contention following his own ban after being sent off in the county final.
Moorefield, as ever, had the back of a sizable Newbridge following, and that was clear by the stream of cars tricking through Baltinglass and towards the picturesque Wicklow venue, something that was noted by the stadium announcer who welcomed the travelling supporters.
In a first half where both teams looked somewhat tetchy and were playing below their best, it was Moorefield who struck the first big blow as the electric Hurley-Lynch slammed home a third minute goal. It came from a brilliant interception by young Mark Dempsey as he prevented a long ball from reaching Rathnew talisman Leighton Glynn, and when the ball was worked up the left to Eddie Heavey he picked out Hurley-Lynch with a sublime Crossfield pass, and the livewire corner-forward struck a low shot that deflected in off the leg of marker Paul Merrigan.
Hurley-Lynch then won a free that was converted by Eanna O’Connor, giving Moorefield a four-point lead after six minutes.
Their standards dropped drastically over the next 15 minutes however, with constant turnovers in the middle of the park disrupting their play as Rathnew flooded, and controlled, the centre. Three points in the space of eight minutes pulled them right into this encounter as Eddie Doyle got them off the mark from a free, before Glynn sold two beautiful dummies and lofted a shot over the bar. Midfielder James Stafford then pulled them to within one point with a close range effort.
Moorefield’s only outlet in the full-forward line that was getting on possession was Hurley-Lynch, and he finally ended a 15 minute scoring drought as he took on Merrigan, shrugged him to the floor and hacked over a point. Two monstrous efforts from the lively Doyle at the other end tied the game up for the first time, and the Rathnew forward was causing all manner of problems by dropping deep and dictating play.
Moorefield began to get a grip five minutes before the break, and points in quick succession from Ian Meehan and Hurley-Lynch pushed them two clear, but Rathnew burst into the lead just before the break when they netted the game’s second goal. It came rather fortuitously as Graham Merrigan’s shot across the goal was turned into his own net by the desperately unlucky Liam Healy as he tried to get back on the line.
The Kildare champions ensured that they would go into the break level however, as O’Connor struck over and extravagant point off the outside of his boot after selling the mother of all dummies to Jamie Snell.
With the scoreboard reading 1-5 apiece at the break, Moorefield would have had plenty of confidence knowing that they would have the backing of the wind in the second period.
They enjoyed an excellent start to the second half as Hurley-Lynch picked up where he left off in the first, darting into space and smashing a shot off the bar that went over. Danny Staunton restored parity for the Wicklow men with a close range point before a tumultuous period of the game followed.
A sweeping move that saw Heavey find Hurley-Lynch close to goal finished with the corner-forward laying it off to O’Connor who struck low to goalkeeper Peter Dignam’s left, but the huge goalkeeper got a foot to it to divert the ball onto the post and out for a ’45. Before the ’45 could be taken Cian O’Connor was sent off for striking out at Glynn, leaving Moorefield facing an uphill battle for the final25 minutes of the game.
They were absolutely superb from that point onwards, every man putting his hand to the pump to keep Rathnew at bay and eventually pull away. Cian’s brother Eanna showed unerring composure for the remainder of the afternoon. He excellently dispatched the ’45 despite the mayhem that surrounded him, and he followed that up with a superb long range free. Rathnew then had the influential Eddie Doyle black-carded for pulling down Hurley-Lynch off the ball, and Moorefield continued their dominance by pulling further away through points from Meehan and another effort from play from O’Connor as he pounced on a loose ball before clipping over from close range.
Four points down, Rathnew needed a lifeline, and they duly got it when referee John Hickey, who hadn’t endeared himself to the Moorefield faithful, awarded the Wicklow men a penalty as Daryl Flynn gently pushed James Stafford over in the square. Glynn stepped up and sent goalkeeper Tom Kinsella the wrong way, cutting the gap to the minimum with 15 minutes left to play. They could have pulled closer were it not for a fabulous block by Liam Healy on Mark Doyle which prevented a certain goal, and Moorefield regained momentum as O’Connor took control of the tie by striking three points from frees in quick succession.
Jody Merrigan cut the gap late on, but Dempsey’s stoppage time goal put the game beyond doubt to ensure another famous victory for Moorefield and seal their place in the Leinster final.
Scorers for Moorefield: E O’Connor 0-8(6f), N Hurley-Lynch 1-3, I Meehan 0-2.
Scorers for Rathnew: E Glynn 1-1, E Doyle 0-3(1f), L Healy 1-0 OG, J Stafford, D Staunton and J Merrigan 0-1 each.
Moorefield
Tom Kinsella; Liam Callaghan, Mark Dempsey, Liam Healy; Sean Healy, James Murray, Kevin Murnaghan; Aaron Masterson, Daryl Flynn; Ian Meehan, Eddie Heavey, Cian O’Connor; Eanna O’Connor, Ronan Sweeney, Niall Hurley-Lynch.
Subs used: David Whyte for A Masterson 44mins, Sean Dempsey for S Healy 56mins, Padraig O’Flynn for L Callaghan 60mins, Aaron Mullins for N Hurley-Lynch 62mins.
Rathnew
Peter Dignam; Paul Merrigan, Damien Power, Jamie Snell; Warren Kavanagh, Ross O’Brien, Enan Glynn; James Stafford, Theo Smith; Stephen Byrne, Danny Staunton, Graham Merrigan; Mark Doyle, Leighton Glynn, Eddie Doyle.
Subs used: Jody Merrigan for E Doyle BC 40 mins, Nicky Mernagh for S Byrne 49mins, John Manley for E Glynn, Christopher Healy for R O’Brien,
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