Christy Ring Cup glory for Kildare

Christy Ring Cup Final

Kildare 4-21

Derry 1-22

Kildare are the Christy Ring Cup champions once again after a brilliant encounter with Derry in Croke Park. The Lilies and The Oak Leaf were the second face-off in a sequence of three hurling finals on a sun-kissed afternoon at Headquarters.

It was a bright start to this final for Kildare when Simon Leacy’s point after two minutes was soon followed by a Kildare goal.

A scramble up the pitch meant Cian Boran forced the Derry backline to squander possession and the loose ball found its way to Moorefield’s Muiris Curtin. The corner-forward finished in some style too as he drilled his effort into the top left-hand corner of the net.

Derry’s opening two scores came from Cormac O’Doherty frees as they struggled to break Kildare down.

Two booming scores from the middle of the pitch from Cathal McCabe and Conan Boran would lift Kildare spirit as they nudged further ahead.

The trailing side’s first score from play came from Darragh McGilligan reducing the gap before a Jack Sheridan free made it 1-4 to 0-2 after 10 minutes.

After a slow start, Derry were now mixing it with Kildare as the teams went toe-to-toe in the minutes that followed where there were six points scored in just three minutes.

Another O’Doherty free was answered at the other end by Paul Dolan. John Mullan would then flick over from close range to bring the gap back down to four.

James Burke set up Simon Leacy for his second point of the afternoon, but two points from Cormac O’Doherty brought Derry to within three after 15 minutes.

After consultation with Hawkeye, Cian Boran added a point to his tally to extend Kildare’s lead to four.

Leacy would then turn provider for Burke as he sent his Naas teammate through on goal. Burke would have a decent effort at goal that produced an immaculate save from Oisín O’Doherty in the Derry goal.

It was then time for John Mullan to drag Derry back to within a point all on his own. The corner-forward hit three brilliant scores in as many minutes to make this game 1-7 to 0-9 after 22 minutes.

Kildare’s wastefulness to that point would then be somewhat solved for them as Derry began to concede needless fouls. Jack Sheridan, after a very quiet game to that point, hit four points in a row, three of which were set-pieces.
Sheridan’s run was only split by another John Mullan point between them.

Three minutes before half-time Kildare were awarded a penalty after James Burke was judged to have been fouled inside the box. The long ball into the tall Naas was taken brilliantly before the referee blew his whistle and signalled for the penalty.
Sheridan made no mistake from the spot and moved Kildare seven clear at 2-11 to 0-10.

Cian Boran would extend that advantage further before Derry scores from Cormac O’Doherty and Christy McNaughton sent the sides in at 2-12 to 0-12 at half-time.

That lead had almost disappeared seven minutes into the second half as Derry came flying out of the blocks.

Four points from Cormac O’Doherty and one from John Mullan brought the trailing side back to within one at 2-12 to 0-17.
It was an alarming turning of the tide, but Kildare responded well and stemmed the flow with two converted frees.

Simon Leacy then turned the ball over and sent through David Qualter. The Maynooth forward delivered in the biggest moment of this game so far and found the top-corner in exceptional style to push Kildare 3-14 to 0-17 ahead.

Qualter’s goal was the winning of this game for Kildare as they held strong to never let their opponents get closer than six points to them again.

Scores were frequent in the minutes that followed Qualter’s goal, but it was tit for tat as Kildare maintained their lead.
Derry substitute Jack Cassidy made an impact when he came on with a fine point, but James Burke answered at the other end inside the same minute.

Kildare’s captain would turn provider when McKenna brilliantly found Cian Boran out wide, who then converted in brilliant style.
Cassidy would again make his presence felt for the trailing side as he added a second point to his tally from close range.

It was then the turn of the two number 11’s to convert frees as Sheridan and O’Doherty notched at either end before a brilliant long-range score from James Burke lifted the crowd on 57 minutes.

Burke would get Kildare’s fourth goal following a weak effort from Jack Sheridan. His shot was parried out before being swept home by his Naas teammate.

Kildare’s defence was brilliant on the day and were an enormous part of their success in this final.

The Lilies’ backline were denied a clean sheet late on when a dubious penalty was awarded to Derry. O’Doherty’s effort from the penalty was almost kept out by Paddy McKenna, but ultimately found the net.

The Derry captain's effort went low to the Clane man's left and was almost flicked above the crossbar, but stayed just under to hit the roof the net.

That will matter little to the Kildare captain, who, 10 minutes later, was walking up the steps of the Hogan Stand to lift the Christy Ring Cup for his county after a 4-21 to 1-22 win over Derry.

Kildare’s consistent success in the Christy Ring brings joy with a tinge of disappointment at their inability to quite make the step up a level. The Lilies were considered dark horses for the Joe McDonagh Cup last year before relegation restored their Ring status.

However, new manager Brian Dowling will see this is a fresh start after winning the Christy Ring at the first attempt and will seek to make promotion stick in 2025.

That being said, this is chatter for another day and it is now time to enjoy the winning days as they come. The setting of context and looking forward can be done later, when the club action closes and the nights draw in.

For now, it is time for this Kildare team to bask in the glory of another trophy being added to the cabinet.

Cill Dara Abú!

MAIN MAN
Simon Leacy
This award could have gone to any of Kildare’s backline alongside Paddy McKenna. That being said, Leacy was exceptional for Kildare on the day and added to his 0-2 tally by setting up two goals. An instrumental contribution forThe Lilies in Croker.

TURNING POINT
This final was a one-point game after a run of five Derry scores on the bounce after half-time. Two frees settled Kildare, but David Qualter’s goal was the defining moment that turned this game back in The Lilies favour in the second half.

TALKING POINT
Other than the joy of success, the only talking point is now is about the Joe McDonagh Cup. The level above is clearly where this team see themselves moving forward and it is now time to make promotion stick under new manager Brian Dowling.

WHAT NOW?
It is now time for celebrations and plenty of them before these lads return to club action.

SCORERS
KILDARE: Jack Sheridan 1-9 (1-0 Penalty, 0-8 frees), James Burke 1-2, Muiris Curtin 1-0, David Qualter 1-0, Cian Boran 0-3, Simon Leacy 0-2, Declan Flaherty 0-2, Cathal McCabe 0-1, Conan Boran 0-1, Paul Dolan 0-1.

DERRY: Cormac O'Doherty 1-11 (1-0 Penalty, 0-9 frees), John Mullan 0-6, Jack Cassidy 0-2, Darragh McGilligan 0-1, Christy McNaughton 0-1, Richie Mullan 0-1.

TEAMS
KILDARE: Paddy McKenna; Daniel O'Meara, Mark Grace, Cian Shanahan; Paul Dolan, Conan Boran, Rian Boran; Simon Leacy, Cathal McCabe; James Burke, Jack Sheridan, Daire Guerin; Muiris Curtin, Cian Boran, David Qualter. Subs: James Dolan for Daire Guerin (45 minutes), Declan Flaherty for Muiris Curtin (53 minutes), Harry Carroll for Cian Shanahan (55 minutes), Cathal Dowling for Cathal McCabe (61 minutes), Mark Delaney for James Burke (69 minutes).

DERRY: Oisin O'Doherty; Paddy Kelly, Mark Craig, Niall Farren; Sean Cassidy, Richie Mullan, Meehaul McGrath; Callum O'Kane, Corey O'Reilly; Darragh McGilligan, Cormac O'Doherty, Cahil Murray; John Mullan, Christy McNaughton, Ruairí Ó Mianáin. Subs: Jack Cassidy for Callum O'Kane (39 minutes), Seán Kelly for Christy McNaughton (52 minutes), Dara Mooney for Corey O'Reilly (62 minutes), James Friel for Cahil Murray (66 minutes).

Referee: Brian McKeon, Galway