Kildare ladies turn on the style to beat Offaly
Lidl Ladies National Football League Division 3 Round 5
Kildare 3-17
Offaly 2-6
It was the perfect response to last week’s defeat for Kildare ladies as they got back to winning ways with a huge victory over Offaly. The Lilywhite ladies were back to their best at the weekend with their crisp passing and movement being far too much for Offaly to handle.
Often a large margin of victory is unfairly attributed to a lower quality of opposition but in this case it must be said that Kildare’s big win was massively down to their own fine play.
It didn’t start that way however as there appeared to be a slight nervous hangover from the Louth game for Kildare. The opening minutes were nervy and after eight minutes the visiting Lilies had no meaningful attacks and had conceded two points.
As would go on to be the case a lot more on the day, Neasa Dooley changed all that when got Kildare’s first point of the day with a high, looping effort that dropped straight between the posts.
This score set off a chain reaction and took Kildare immediately out of their early funk. Kildare in the space of five minutes would turn a two-point deficit into a four-point lead as they kicked another five points following Dooley’s in as many minutes.
Star player Róisín Byrne operated as a full-forward on the day with Neasa Dooley at left corner-forward, a tactical tweak that worked for brilliantly for both and yet another example of why people have been so impressed with Diane O’Hora’s management of this Kildare side thus far.
Byrne would get three of the scores in the five-minute blitz that put Kildare in the driving seat. The game settled into a more natural rhythm again but Ellen Dowling got another Kildare score before the 20-minute mark to make it seven points on the trot for the visitors.
Offaly broke their barren spell with a Saorah Doyle free-kick to reduce the gap back to four. The resurgence was short-lived however as Kildare turned on the style at the other end. A slick move that combined Lara Curran, Róisín Byrne and finished in the hands of Neasa Dooley was routinely finished by the latter as the Kildare forward-line cut Offaly open.
Just two minutes later Kildare were in again and as she was bearing down on goal, Ellen Dowling was fouled by Offaly goalkeeper Kelley Cunningham. Cunningham, who is trained as a referee, knew she was in trouble after she dragged the Kildare forward to the ground. Neasa Dooley stood over the penalty and made no mistake with a confident finish into the bottom right corner to make it 2-7 to 0-3.
The sides exchanged points late in the first half but there was a glimmer of hope for Offaly before the break as Saorah Doyle went through on goal. Doyle blasted her effort off the crossbar but the action wasn’t done there as Róisín Mealiff finished the rebound. A reminder of the potential dangers of lax defending for Kildare.
The sides entered the break at 2-9 to 1-4.
The slight hope the goal before half-time gave the home side was soon extinguished upon the restart as Kildare started kicking points for fun once more as the usual suspects of Dooley, Byrne and Curran were on the scoresheet again.
In a similar vein to the first goal, there was a stunning combination of passes that carved open the Offaly backline. Lara Curran found Ellen Dowling who smartly offloaded to Neasa Dooley who bagged her hattrick with a brilliant finish as she blasted the ball past Cunningham in the Offaly net. Dooley would finish the day with 3-5 to her name, in a display that was nothing short of exceptional.
The goal came in the 38th minute and in truth Kildare’s work had been done but to their credit standards didn’t drop as the game slowed down. Kildare continued to work those passes that perhaps should have resulted in even more goals for the visitors.
The changes were rang in and perhaps the only disappointment for the names that were introduced was that they didn’t get in on the scoring act themselves. In the end, a great win for Kildare and another two points on the board.
Kildare, Neasa Dooley 3-5, Róisín Byrne 0-6, Lara Curran 0-3 (0-1 frees), Ellen Dowling 0-3.
Offaly, Róisín Mealiff 2-0, Saorah Doyle 0-3 (0-3 frees), Michelle Mann 0-1, Emily Bailey 0-1, Saoirse McGuinness 0-1 (0-1 frees).
KILDARE: Mary Hulgraine; Lauren Burke, Laoise Lenehan, Lara Gilbert; Trina Duggan, Ruth Sargent, Sarah Munnelly; Grace Clifford, Aoife Rattigan; Claire Sullivan, Róisín Byrne, Aoife Clifford; Ellen Dowling, Neasa Dooley, Lara Curran. Subs: Mia Doherty on for Lauren Burke (44 minutes), Grainne Kenneally on for Trina Duggan (48 minutes), Róisín Forde on for Claire Sullivan (48 minutes), Fiona Troute on for Aoife Clifford (53 minutes), Holly Tyrell on for Lara Curran (56 minutes).
OFFALY: Kelley Cunningham; Kaytlin Flynn, Ava Dolan, Anna Grehan; Nicole Farrelly, Emer Nally, Róisín Ennis; Emma Maher, Amy Gavin Mangan; Michelle Man, Emma Hand, Marie Byrne; Emily Bailey, Saorah Doyle, Róisín Mealiff. Subs: Saoirse McGuinness on for Emma Hand (Half-time), Anna Heavin on for Saorah Doyle (39 minutes), Ciara Walsh on for Emer Nally (42 minutes), Eve Kelly on for Marie Byrne (53 minutes).
Referee: Ger Canny