There were wins for Clane, Maynooth. Moorefield and Naas as the 2016 U21 A Football Championship kicked off this weekend.
Clane came up with the result of the round as they easily accounted for Kilcock in a one-sided contest, eventually winning on a scoreline of 1-14 to 1-5. Clane made the most of their home advantage, and they raced into a four-point lead early doors, before a Rory Nairn goal gave Kilcock a bit of a foothold in the game.
That goal proved to be somewhat of a false dawn for Kilcock, and despite Jason Gibbons and Chris McCarthy adding points for the visitors, they entered the dressing rooms 0-10 to 1-2 down at the break.
A goal from the excellent Chris Byrne in the 37th minute put the game to bed, and Clane kicked on to ease to a facile win. Wing-forward Colm O'Sullivan was excellent for the hosts, while Brian Corbett was also prominent in the full-back line. Clane were without a number of recognisable players, with minor stars Ciaran Kelly and Brian McLoughlin both missing, while Ethan O'Donoghue also suffered a cruciate ligament injury, which means he will play no part in the U21 Championship.
Maynooth also managed a rather eye-catching win in their first outing when they defeated Sarsfields on a scoreline of 2-6 to 0-10.
Sarsfields, who lined out without their senior contingent who are preparing for a Leinster quarter-final in three weeks' time, were heavily reliant on minor star Cian Costigan. The Kildare county panelist kicked eight points for the home side -most of which came from frees- but goals proved decisive for the north Kildare outfit as they edged to a two point victory.
The other Newbridge club in action today against a side from the north of the county were on the right end of a 0-15 to 2-8 scoreline, as Moorefield edged out Celbridge in a thrilling contest on the outskirts of Newbridge.
An end-to-end first half finished with Celbridge taking a three-point advantage into the break. John Costello was prominent for the blues from an early stage, and his three first half points helped them to assume their dominance. Mark Murray kicked a couple of points for Moorefield in that first half, while Aaron Masterson, Luke Doran and Ryan Houlihan were all on the scoresheet for the hosts. A Ciaran O'Regan goal on the stroke of half-time gave Celbridge a 1-5 to 0-5 lead at the interval however.
Moorefield continued to tag on points throughout the second half however, with Ian Meehan, Conor McLaughlin, Liam McDermott and Luke Doran all splitting the posts for the Moores. A fabulous score from Masterson put them two ahead, but they missed a penalty soon after, which allowed Celbridge to level matters through scores from Costello and John O'Reilly.
Moorefield were dealt a hammer blow when Sean Healy was given his marching orders after receiving a second yellow, and a goal from the influential Costello seemed to give Celbridge all the momentum. Moorefield settled however, and a couple of late points each from Ian Meehan and Mark McDermott set up a grandstand finish, with Mark Murray eventually landing a brilliant point late in the day to seal the win.
Naas hosted Athy in the first game of this year's championship on Saturday night, defeating last year's beaten county finalists by 0-20 to 1-9.
While the second half proved to be a very one-sided affair, the it was all square at the break as they two sides entered the dressing rooms level at 0-8 to 1-5.
Naas looked to be well in control early on, with Dean McHolmes looking razor sharp in attack and finishing any chances that came his way, while Darragh Merriman was creating plenty of chances from his wing-forward berth. Brian Byrne was superb in defence for the hosts throughout, while the midfield duo of Paul McDermott and Eoghan Bateman were locked into an intriguing battle with the powerful Athy pair of Pascal Connell and Rory Feely.
The first half goal offered the visitors a lifeline in this game, but Naas kicked on in the second half to outscore their opponents by 0-12 to 0-3 in an impressive display, and eventually eased towards the finish line with plenty of gas left in the tank.
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