Kildare U20s with not enough Power to keep up with brilliant Wexford

Kildare travelled to Chadwicks Wexford Park for Round 3 of the Fulfil Leinster U20 Hurling Championship and came up well short in a 5-28 to 2-14 defeat against a fine Wexford side. This fixture could be best described with Kildare having elite quality in a few positions while Wexford formed a much more rounded force, with a few standouts of their own.

The home side raced into a three-point lead in the opening five minutes. A spell in which both sides were denied a goal by superb saves from the respective opposition goalkeepers.

Tom Power put Kildare on the board from a ‘65 following their goal chance which had been created by beautiful stick work from Tim Ryan.

Wexford’s first half efficiency was nothing short of remarkable with 16 points from 20 shots at the posts with two late wides taking some of the shine off their startling shooting statistics.

A run of scores from The Yellowbellies which included points from Ryan Doran, Colin Carley and back-to-back white flags from midfielder Doran Daly O’Toole left them 0-8 to 0-2 ahead after 11 minutes of play.

Wexford then hit the net through Tom Dempsey and this fixture looked in serious danger of being somewhat of a procession for the home side.

It did not pan out as such, early on at least, with The Lilies managing to get back within a single point of Wexford following an incredible burst from their star men.

Scores of real quality Tom Power and Mark Kiernan were followed by Power finding the net after he latched a rebounding ball from a Tim Ryan effort at goal.

Wexford replied with a point from Darragh Ryan but less than a minute later Kildare raised their second green flag. A fine fetch from Oisín O’Neill created the space to slip in Tim Ryan who galloped towards goal and rifled the ball into the back of the net to make this game 1-9 to 2-4 after 17 minutes. A Tom Power free on the 20-minute mark made this a one-point game.

Wexford however had a ruthless run of scores in their locker too and put up 1-7 in the 10 minutes that passed before half-time.

A point each from the Wexford full-forward line was followed by two frees from different takers and a superb point from Jack Nolan to round a rampant run. The wing-forward’s fine point made this game 1-14 to 2-5 with five minutes until the break.

Wexford put real distance between the sides when Seán Brien found the net after being put in by Ryan Doran. Doran then pointed himself before Tom Power stopped the rot for Kildare just before the break as the sides went in at half-time with Wexford leading 2-16 to 2-6.

There was a point each after the restart but a third Wexford goal all but ended this game as a contest. Doran Daly O’Toole’s surging run from midfield and fine finish past Cormac Doolan in the Kildare net made this a 13-point game four minutes after the resumption of play.

Kildare’s star man Tom Power was bizarrely sent off for an innocuous challenge that no player nor coach nor fan in Wexford colours appealed for just before full-time. The Yellowbellies added another late goal after the dismissal and finished as 5-28 to 2-14 winners.

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Wexford, Ryan Doran 2-5, Seán O'Brien 1-5 (0-1 frees), Darragh Ryan 0-6 (0-3 frees, 1 x '65), Doran Daly O'Toole 1-2, Jack Nolan 0-4, (0-1 frees), Tom Dempsey 1-0, Colin Carley 0-3, Ronan Shannon 0-1, Podge Doyle 0-1, Conor Fanning 0-1.

Kildare, Tom Power 1-9 (0-5 frees, 2 x '65), Tim Ryan 1-0, Tom Boran 0-1, Mark Kiernan 0-1, Oran Byrne 0-1, Odhran Conaty 0-1, Cormac Doolan 0-1.

Wexford: Paddy Quigley; Ryan Donohoe, Niall Furlong, Corey Ryan; Charlie Mooney, Ciarán Doyle, Charlie Roark; Doran Daly O'Toole, Ronan Shannon; Tom Dempsey, Colin Carley, Jack Nolan; Darragh Ryan, Seán O'Brien, Ryan Doran. Subs: Podge Doyle for Darragh Ryan (38 minutes), Oisín Moore for Ciarán Doyle (42 minutes), Conor Fanning for Doran Daly O'Toole (45 minutes), Ian Reilly for Corey Ryan (49 minutes), Joshua Roche for Ryan Donohue (53 minutes).

KILDARE: Cormac Doolan; Paddy Connolly, Darragh Devine, Dylan Doherty; Cillian Power, Cian Brody, Michael Owens; Oran Byrne, Odhran Conaty; Oisín O'Neill, Tim Ryan, Alex Bell; Mark Kiernan, Tom Power, Tom Boran. Subs: Sean Gavigan for Oisín O'Neill (42 minutes), Charlie Carroll for Alex Bell (48 minutes), Killian Harrington for Mark Kiernan (54 minutes). 

Referee: Dean Alford (Dublin)