Kildare 0-12
Monaghan 1-10
Allianz NFL Division 1
This game will undoubtedly be looked upon as a massive opportunity missed for Kildare after they failed to deliver an equalising point in the final five minutes of added time in what was a frantic encounter in St Conleth’s Park.
The Lilywhites looked well off the pace at times in the first half, but a much improved second half display put them right in contention against a physical Monaghan outfit, though they never managed to get over the final hurdle and achieve at the very least a draw. Had Kildare won this game there would be no complaints from Monaghan, but a wide tally of 11 across the 70-plus minutes and numerous shots dropped short into goalkeeper Rory Beggan’s hands means that the home side can have no arguments about slumping to a second defeat in eight days. Next week’s meeting with winless Tyrone in Newbridge takes on added significance now, with Kildare’s future in Division 1 now hanging in the balance, even at this early stage.
Kildare owned possession in the early stages of the game as they kept the ball just inside the Monaghan half, but a blue and white wall of defenders meant it was extremely difficult to feed the inside forward line or punch holes for the first few minutes. A number of scoring opportunities were squandered too, with Kevin Feely striking three scoreable frees wide before he eventually got one right midway through the half, and it was Monaghan who opened the scoring in the second minute through a close range effort from Darren Hughes.
Kildare failed to get on the scoreboard until the ninth minute, and in the intervening time Dessie Ward landed an absolute peach of a score from the right wing to double Monaghan’s lead. The home side eventually got off the mark when Eoin Doyle batted a dangerous bobbling ball out of his own square to Chris Healy who played it out to Peter Kelly, and he set Paul Cribbin clear into space, and the Johnstownbridge man ate up around 70 metres of ground before knocking over a fine score.
Jack McCarron responded with a simple point from a free for the Farney men, but Kildare then enjoyed their best spell of the first half as they struck three points in a row to take the lead. Ben McCormack was the liveliest of the Kildare full-forward line throughout the opening half, and the Sarsfields man floated over his first point of the league campaign with typical accuracy after 14 minutes. He then won a free that was converted by Feely to level the game, before Cribbin curled over his second point of the day with a stunning effort after Luke Flynn and Fergal Conway had fought gamely to hold onto possession.
Monaghan owned the rest of the half however, and some good scores from McCarron and Kieran Duffy pushed them back into the lead before Cribbin levelled matters once again with his third and final point of the afternoon. Monaghan bagged the game-changing goal in the 31st minute when Ward broke down the right and delivered a fantastic pass into McCarthy, and the corner-forward burst into space before rolling a low shot around Mark Donnellan.
Kildare received a further setback when Cribbin was black-carded on 34 minutes for pulling down Darren Hughes in midfield, and another great point from Ward made it 1-6 to 0-5 at the interval in favour of Malachy O’Rourke’s men.
Kicking into the Kilcullen End, Kildare began the second half in superb fashion as they fired over three points in two minutes to bring them to within the minimum of Monaghan. The first came from a Feely free, before McCormack slotted over two in 60 seconds as Kildare got the bit between their teeth. The Lilywhites then lost McCormack as he had to be taking off as a blood substitute on 50 minutes, representing another blow to the cause.
Monaghan’s first score of the half came from their goalkeeper Rory Beggan who slotted over a long range free, but a superb point from half-time substitute Niall Kelly and another free from Feely levelled the game at 0-10 to 1-7 midway through the second half. Monaghan had the luxury of introducing Conor McManus with 15 minutes left to play, and he made an immediate impact by winning and converting a close range free, while midfielder Niall Kearns also added to their tally with a point from a free.
Cian O’Neill’s men rallied again however, and Daniel Flynn went on a trademark run to set up Paddy Brophy for a simple score, before Kelly launched over another brilliant effort to tie the game with seven minutes left of normal time to play.
In the end it was a free from the goalscorer McCarthy that separated the sides, though Kildare had plenty of time left to find a response as they threw the kitchen sink at the Farney men in the final minutes. Paddy Brophy struck the post, Eamonn Callaghan dropped a shot short and Kevin Feely fired badly wide, all three efforts a brief reflection on what was a missed opportunity for Kildare to get a much needed result on home turf before they face a Tyrone side seeking their first win next weekend.
Scorers for Kildare: K Feely(3f), P Cribbin and B McCormack 0-3 each, N Kelly 0-2 and P Brophy 0-1.
Scorers for Monaghan: C McCarthy 1-1(1f), J McCarron(1f) and D Ward 0-2 each, C McManus(1f), N Kearns(1f), R Beggan(1f), D Hughes and K Duffy 0-1 each.
Kildare
Mark Donnellan; Peter Kelly, David Hyland, Mick O'Grady; Johnny Byrne, Eoin Doyle, Cian O'Donoghue; Tommy Moolick, Luke Flynn; Fergal Conway, Chris Healy, Paul Cribbin; Cathal McNally, Daniel Flynn, Ben McCormack.
Subs used: David Slattery for Cribbin BC 34mins, Niall Kelly for McNally HT, Mark Hyland for O’Grady 43mins, Paddy Brophy for McCormack blood sub 50mins, Eamonn Callaghan for Conway BC 55mins, Jimmy Hyland for Healy 65mins,
Monaghan
Rory Beggan; Dessie Ward, Conor Boyle, Barry Kerr; Fintan Kelly, Dessie Ward, Karl O'Connell; Darren Hughes, Niall Kearns; Neil McAdam, Paraic McGuirk, Dermot Malone; Conor McCarthy, Jack McCarron, David Garland.
Subs used: Colin Walshe for McGuirk 18mins, James Wilson for Garland HT, Dessie Mone for McAdam 50mins, Conor McManus for Malone 55mins, Darren Freeman for Wilson 61mins, Owen Duffy for McCarron BC 63mins.
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