Kildare convincingly secure Division 1B safety with big win over Carlow

Kildare finished as 3-22 to 1-19 winners when they met Carlow in Round 6 of Allianz Hurling League Division 1B. The Lilies put this game to bed within 10 minutes of the half-time restart but went off the boil for the remainder to let Carlow close the gap to what ended up being a flattering nine-point margin.

A reliable free-taker is the backbone of every hurling team and these sides had their  respective sharpshooters, David Qualter and Martin Kavanagh, on hand to get them off the mark in this game.

The Lilies took the lead for the first time after three minutes when Gerry Keegan linked with Muiris Curtin to score. Kildare went two clear when Tim Ryan, in his first league start in the white of Kildare, slotted a lovely score after four.

The first of Paul Dolan’s four first half points from wing-back put The Lilies 0-6 to 0-2 ahead after eight minutes.

The Dolmen responded with points from Jack Treacy and Chris Nolan before three Kildare points on the spin, one from Muiris Curtin and two from David Qualter, put them back to five clear.

Two at either end maintain that gap until The Lilies once again put together a run of scores without reply. This time it was a sequence of four as Kildare capitalised on their dominance in both aerial and ground contests to put distance between the teams.

Two set-pieces from David Qualter and two from his own half from Paul Dolan put Kildare 0-15 to 0-6 ahead.

Another couple at each end sent Brian Dowling’s men in with an 0-17 to 0-8 lead at the break. Kildare looked better all over the field in the opening half with strong shot accuracy putting the finishing touches on assured play from one to 15.

The Lilies didn’t rest on their laurels after the restart either and instead looked to kill this game. An excellent James Dolan point kicked things off before Daire Guerin rattled the back of the net.

Brilliant work by Muiris Curtin finished with a slick hand-off to Guerin who found the top of the net in convincing style when faced up with the always superb Brian Tracey in the Carlow goal.

A David Qualter free was followed by Kildare’s second goal of the afternoon when Cathal McCabe found the net this time. A surging run by Simon Leacy pierced the visiting defence before he found the Maynooth man who sidestepped the ‘keeper to score. McCabe’s goal made this game 2-19 to 0-8 after 44 minutes.

Just three minutes later, Kildare handed Carlow a goal of their own when Cathal McCabe hit a poor free to Martin Kavanagh who then took aim at the posts. The forward’s effort was dropping into the net but was batted away by a retreating Paddy McKenna, unfortunately for the Clane stopper substitute Paddy Boland was on hand to find the net.

The Lilies got a goal back of their own fairly quickly through Muiris Curtin who capitalised on a scrap in the Carlow box to score and restore their 17-point lead.

Kildare then took a bit of a nap in this game and conceded six points on the spin, in the midst of which Carlow top-scorer Martin Kavanagh was sent off for a second yellow card offence.

The Lilies gargantuan lead saw them over the line in a rather limp finish to an initially brilliant showing, but they secured Division 1B survival with 3-22 to 1-19 win.

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Kildare, David Qualter 0-10 (0-9 frees, 0-1 '65), Muiris Curtin 1-2, Paul Dolan 0-4, Cathal McCabe 1-1, Daire Guerin 1-0, Gerry Keegan 0-2, Tim Ryan 0-1, Conan Boran 0-1, James Dolan 0-1.

Carlow, Martin Kavanagh 0-6 (0-5 frees), Chris Nolan 0-5 (0-1 frees, 0-1 '65), Paddy Boland 1-1, Jack Treacy 0-2, Jon Nolan 0-2, Donagh Murphy 0-1, Fiach O'Toole 0-1, Fiachra Fitzpatrick 0-1.

KILDARE: Paddy McKenna; Liam O'Reilly, Rian Boran, Dan O'Meara; Paul Dolan, Cian Boran, Simon Leacy; Daire Guerin, Conan Boran; Cathal McCabe, Gerry Keegan, Tim Ryan; David Qualter, Muiris Curtin, James Dolan. Subs: Harry Carroll for Cathal McCabe (49 minutes), Caolan Smith for James Dolan (51 minutes), Darragh Melville for Conan Boran (66 minutes), Cathal Derivan for Liam O'Reilly (68 minutes).

CARLOW: Brian Tracey; Niall Bolger, Tadhg O'Neill, John Michael Nolan; Fiach O'Toole, Kevin McDonald, Paidi O'Shea; Kevin Kavanagh, Fiachra Fitzpatrick; Jon Nolan, Donagh Murphy, Eric English; Martin Kavanagh, Jack Treacy, Chris Nolan. Subs: Colm Beck for Kevin Kavanagh (23 minutes), Conaill Fitzpatrick for Eric English (43 minutes), Ciaran Whelan for Tadhg O'Neill (57 minutes), Colm Kavanagh for Donagh Murphy (66 minutes).

Referee: Niall Malone, Clare