Full Report: Kildare minor hurlers hit 50 points against Wicklow

Leinster Minor Hurling Championship

Kildare 9-23

Wicklow 0-5

Kildare put 50 points on the board as they swept aside Wicklow in their Leinster Minor Hurling Championship clash. As many matches around the county later in the day were called off due to the poor conditions, this one proceeded in what could only be considered tough weather to be on the end of a defeat like this.

After getting three points to his name after five minutes, Kildare’s set piece specialist Charlie Carroll would get a chance to add another three in double quick time as teammate Michael Owens was fouled to draw a penalty.

Carroll stood over the ball and dispatched his low effort past Cian Redmond in the Wicklow goal. It wasn’t Carroll’s cleanest strike of the day but the power of it was enough to beat the Wicklow ‘keeper. The goal made it 1-6 to no score after 10 minutes and things looked ominous.

Points from Tom Power and Oisin Loughrane allowed them to show their quality but all were surrounded in the scoring list by Charlie Carroll frees as the Kildare centre-forward dispatched one after the next. Carroll would finish the day as Kildare’s top scorer despite being taken off at half-time and six goals arriving in the second half.

Wicklow’s first point of the game would come from their only scorer on the day Lorcan Byrne, which to his credit was a fine effort under pressure. The visitors got their first point of the afternoon after 21 minutes.

Tim Ryan would get the next goal of proceedings in fine fashion as he made a run from deep to get involved in the forward action. The on-rushing Ryan was found by a teammate and smashed the ball into the roof of the net.

The final goal of the first half came from the ash of Michael Owens as he was found by his opposite corner-forward Tom Power as two North Kildare men combined for a super goal. It’s hard to tell if it is a finishing practice by design but this goal was another that was hit high into the roof of the net. If not by design, it is certainly spectacular.

The first half-time came to a close with the scores at 3-13 to 0-2.

After ringing in multiple changes at the break, Kildare would turn this from bad to ugly for Wicklow as three goals were hit in as many minutes following the restart.

Two of which came from full-forward Mark Kiernan, who despite Kildare’s dominance was yet to get on the score sheet. As it turned out, Kiernan would finish with a hattrick as he added another fine goal in the 58th minute to his two in this chaotic spell.

Kildare’s scoring went from impressive to near farcical as I scrambled to jot down each of the scores in my notepad. Given the scoreline, the crowd was less than helpful. Voices are usually raised as a team approaches the goal but such was the lack of jeopardy I looked up from noting Mark Kiernan’s first goal to see a separate green flag be raised. I had to look longingly to a colleague and thankfully the Leinster Leader were two men strong at this game as Tommy Callaghan told me about Tom Power's first goal of the afternoon and Kildare's fifth.

Tom Power would add two goals to his tally later in the game, a game that is of little use to either side but especially to the Wicklow lads.

Scorers: Kildare, Charlie Carroll 1-8 (1-0 penalty, 0-6 frees, 0-1 65s), Tom Power 2-4, Mark Kiernan 3-0, Michael Owens 2-2, Tim Ryan 1-2, Noah Farrell 0-4 (0-2 frees), Shane Henry 0-2, Oisin Loughrane 0-1.

Wicklow, Lorcan Byrne 0-5 (0-4 frees).

l Kildare opened their Electric Ireland Leinster MHC campaign defeating Carlw in Dr Cullen Park on Monday of last week 3-23 to 1-9.

KILDARE: Fionn Kelly; Paul L'Estrange, Colm Gordan, James Bedford; Ben Mulligan, Joe Dunne, Ronan O'Malley; Tim Ryan, Oran Byrne; Oisin Loughrane, Charlie Carroll, Noah Farrell; Michael Owens, Mark Kiernan, Tom Power. Subs: Shane Henry on for Charlie Carroll (Half-time), Olan Hynes Kelly on for Tim Ryan (half-time), Cillian Power for James Bedford (half-

time), Cian Donovan for Oran Byrne (41m), Cormac Doolan for Fionn Kelly (41)

WICKLOW: Cian Redmond; Tom Meyler, Emmett Ronan, Ken Cullen; Andy Corrigan, Darragh Shannon, Daniel Burns; Alec Bartec, Oscar Lane; Lorcan Byrne, David Peppard, Jack Caffeey; Max Kehoe, Ciaraán Traynor, Fionn Darcy. Subs: Dylan Doherty on for Tom Meyler (19 minutes), Oisin O'Neill on for Fionn Darcy (43 minutes), Joshua Barry on for Jack Caffrey (45 minutes).

Referee: Rory Hanley