Down edge Kildare in Semi Thriller

All Ireland Senior Football Championship Quarter Final:
Down 1-16 Kildare 1-14

Down are through to the final of the 2010 GAA Football All-Ireland Championship – where they will play Cork – after a dramatic 1-16 to 1-14 semi-final defeat of Kildare at Croke Park on Sunday.

In a breathless finale, Kildare, trailing by two points deep into injury time, had a late opportunity to win the game with what was the last kick of the game, but Robert Kelly’s free kick from the 21-yard line was touched onto the cross bar by Kalum King, one of a string of Down men guarding the line.

“We worked so hard this year, we weren’t going to throw it away there in the last 10 seconds. I think Kalum (King) got a touch on it, but we weren’t going to let the ball into the net,” said Benny Coulter, the Down captain.

The harum scarum finish came after Kildare substitute David Lyons had two shots blocked by a thicket of Down defenders. Referee Pat McEnaney had hopped the ball, waving away Kildare’s penalty claims after a defender appeared to flop on the loose ball.

Down had dominated for much of the game, always maintaining a four to five-point buffer, until the closing stages when a brilliant pair of points from Hugh Lynch closed the gap to two in stoppage time.

The late drama could – and probably should – have been avoided from a Down point of view had Martin Clarke, who was superb throughout, uncharacteristically missed a free deep into injury time.

Down led by 1-9 to 0-7 at the break after Coulter’s controversial goal had given the Mourne men an early lead. Down increased their lead to seven points at one stage in the second half and appeared to be cruising into the final when a 58th minute Eamonn Callaghan goal fired Kildare’s late comeback.

As expected, Dermot Earley failed to take his place in the Kildare starting line-up. Hugh Lynch, arguably Kildare’s best performer on the day, stepped into the breach in midfield. To say it was a blow would be an exaggeration, as the Lilywhites were fully prepared to go into battle without their leader.

The Lilywhites played with the stiff breeze in the first half, and the difficulty it would cause their forwards was apparent when they kicked two wides in the opening minutes. Callaghan, however, had no such trouble with the elements, sending Kildare into the lead with a looping shot in the third minute. Further wides followed before James Kavanagh steadied Kildare’s nerves with their second point.

Down’s first incision came on nine minutes. It came from an unlikely source in Kevin McKernan, who stormed up the field from centre-back to slice a point over the bar with the outside of his boot. He’d do something similar five minutes later.

In between, the Mourne men pillaged an opportunists’ goal. It came straight from their well-thumbed playbook. Martin Clarke hit a long ball (it was in all likelihood a shot at goal) into the full-forward line where Coulter challenged with Peter Kelly and Shane McCormack, got to the ball first and fisted to the empty net. There was a hint of square ball, but referee McEnaney consulted with his umpires and the trio were happy that the green flag had been correctly raised.

McKernan then grabbed his second score of the afternoon, this time curling one over from a tight angle just under the Hogan Stand. When Poland added a free, Down were 1-3 to 0-3 ahead, having trailed by two early on.

Kildare took less than four minutes to draw level. Morgan O’Flaherty popped up in attack to lend support to his, at times, isolated team-mates. Johnny Doyle followed his lead, pitching in with two points, one from play, the second from a placed ball.

It took 25 minutes, but the Down swagger that was in evidence in their quarter-final win over Kerry came started to show. Their midfield was in total control, prompting Kildare manager Kieran McGeeney to take off Daryl Flynn, in trouble as early as the third minute with a back problem, and replace him with Ronan Sweeney on the half hour mark. By then, Peter Fitzpatrick, in for the injured Ambrose Rogers, had shown his value to Down’s cause by dominating the midfield battle.

Kildare were slow to release the ball in defence and were putting themselves under intense pressure at the back. Down’s forwards were happy to take advantage of any mistakes. Callaghan misplaced a handpass and Martin Clarke pounced, driving the ball over the bar.

James McCartan’s men finished the half with three more points without reply. The first would have come with the Down manager’s approval. McKernan scythed through the Lilywhites’ defence and laid the ball off for Paul McComiskey, who opted to fist over the bar when a goal was on the cards.

The Mourne men weren’t finished just yet. Dan Hughes added his second of the day, beating Emmett Bolton on the outside for pace and then making light of the tight angle to send his side four points. Coulter then kicked the score of the game with the outside of his right boot to leave his side 1-9 to 0-7 ahead at half-time.

Down were the first to raise their heads in a scrappy start to the second half. Martin Clarke applied the finish from a placed ball after Hugh McGrillen had fouled Coulter when beaten for pace.

Having conceded five successive points, Kildare finally ended a 14-minute spell without a score when Bolton took advantage of a Conor Garvey mistake. A minute later and Kildare’s rewards should have been much greater. Alan Smith’s quick hand pass to Callaghan sent the Naas man clear, but his shot hit a post and came back into play. Eoghan O’Flaherty blasted the rebound wide.

Down were wont to catch fire at times in attack and they enjoyed just such a period of dominance at the start of the final quarter. A Martin Clarke free and a fine effort from Conor Maginn prefaced the score of the game. Martin Clarke picked out a sublime crossfield pass for the onrushing Kalum King, who took the ball in his stride but blasted over the bar when the goal was on. Nonetheless, Down were seven points clear and apparently coasting to a late September date with Cork.

Kildare broke up the field and James Kavanagh broke a high ball for Callaghan, who made no mistake this time, drilling the ball past Brendan McVeigh. A pair of Hugh Lynch scores from play reduced the gap to just three with five minutes left. A Ronan Murtagh score for Down gave the Morne men some breathing space, but Kildare were far from finished.

John Doyle’s free and David Lyons’ point from play set up a thrilling finish. And then the drama!

A high ball into a crowded area found Kavanagh, who was fouled. His quick fed Lyons, who shot at goal immediately but his effort was blocked by a thicket of red and black shirts. The rebound fell to him and again he was blocked before a Down defender fell on the ball.

Referee McEnaney decided to throw in the ball and amid the mayhem Kildare were then awarded a free. With the clock almost at the 75th minute, Robert Kelly stood up to take the free from his hands, as the entire Down team lined the goal, but his shot, touched by Kalum King on the line, crashed off the bar. Game over.

Kildare: S McCormack; P Kelly, H McGrillen, A Mac Lochlainn; M O’Flaherty 0-1, E Bolton 0-1, B Flanagan; D Flynn, H Lynch 0-2; J Kavanagh 0-1, P O’Neill, J Doyle 0-6 (0-4f, 0-1 ’45); E O’Flaherty, A Smith, E Callaghan 1-1.

Subs: R Sweeney for D Flynn ’30, K Ennis 0-1 for E O’Flaherty ‘44, D Lyons 0-1 for M O’Flaherty ’47, R Kelly for A Smith ’55, A Smith for Ennis ’68 (Temp), Smith for Ennis ’69, T O’Connor for H Lynch ’73.

Down: B McVeigh; D McCartan, D Gordon, D Rafferty; D Rooney, K McKernan 0-2, C Garvey; P Fitzpatrick, K King 0-1; D Hughes 0-2, M Poland 0-3 (0-3f), P McComiskey 0-1; B Coulter 1-2, J Clarke, M Clarke 0-3 (0-2f).

Subs: A Brannigan for Garvey ’45, C Maginn 0-1 for J Clarke ’47, R Murtagh 0-1 for McComiskey ’61, J Colgan for Poland ’70.

Referee: Pat McEnaney (Monaghan)

Attendance: 62, 182