Kildare SFL: Dogged Sash turn over Naas at home

Sarsfields 2-18

Naas 2-13

After leading early and being pegged back, Sarsfields deservedly took the points away from their clash with Naas.

The Kildare county champs  handed the visitors the first point with a 3v3 infringement.

The error and subsequent score kicked this game into life with Sarsfields following it up with a point from Conor O’Donovan and a superb two-pointer from Daragh Ryan.

Naas got their first in the 12th minute with a second soon to follow, but Sarsfields remained on top in the opening half.

After a sharp solo & go from Harry Redmond grabbed himself a point before a Ben Loakman two-pointer put Sash five points clear at 0-7 to 0-2.

The visitors deserve huge credit for their first half display, but Naas managed to do all their damage in a seven-minute spell.
Centre-forward Dermot Hanifin had his effort blocked down superbly on the counter-attack, but the ball broke to Lee Kennedy who volleyed the ball into the net.

Paul McDermott’s second point of the day made this a one-point game before Naas then shot in front in the 24th minute.

Neil Aherne punched a hole in the Sarsfields backline and laced an effort in the back of the net off his left side to give his team a 2-3 to 0-7 lead.

Sarsfields would have been shocked to have been behind and, to their credit, they answered in the best possible way.

Ben Loakman, Gavin Anderson, and Shea Ryan all added quick-fire points before Conor O’Donovan grabbed a goal late into the half to send the visitors in with 1-10 to 2-3 lead.

However, Naas were back level just seven minutes after the restart and looked set to kick on following points from Neil Aherne and a two-point free from goalkeeper Luke Mullins.

There was little to separate the teams from then on and they would get no more than a point away from one another until the 55th minute of this game.

Daragh Ryan’s second two-pointer was the score to do it and a Shane Doyle free-kick won moments later had the visitors in the driving seat coming down the home stretch.

A late Cathal White goal put the finishing touches on a great Sash performance and a 2-18 to 2-13 win as they beat Naas on their own turf.

Sarsfields, Conor O'Donovan 1-1, Daragh Ryan 0-4 (two two-pointers), Cathal White 1-0, Shane Doyle 0-3 (0-2 frees), Ben Loakman 0-3 (0-1 frees, one two-pointer), Shea Ryan 0-2, Harry Redmond 0-2 (0-1 frees), Karl Hartley 0-1 (0-1 frees), Gavin Anderson 0-1, Conor Hartley 0-1.

Naas, Neil Aherne 1-2, Lee Kennedy 1-0, Paul McDermott 0-3, Luke Mullins 0-2 (0-2 frees, one two-pointer), Kevin Cummins 0-2 (0-1 frees), Sean Hanifin 0-1, Tim Ryan 0-1, Dermot Hanifin 0-1, Fintan Quinn 0-1.

SARSFIELDS: Marc Courtney Byrne; David Higgins, Kieran Dwyer, Daragh Conlon; Ciaran McEnerney Aspell, Daragh Ryan, Cathal White; Gavin Anderson, Shea Ryan; Harry Redmond, Ryan Kearney, Ben Loakman; Conor O'Donovan, Conor Hartley, Karl Hartley. Subs: Cian Costigan for Ciaran McEnerney Aspell (Half-time), Shane Doyle for Ben Loakman (45 minutes), Alan Scully for Gavin Anderson (45 minutes), Jake Loakman for Conor O'Donovan (55 minutes).

NAAS: Luke Mullins; Jamie McGuirk, Mark Maguire, Rob Fitzgerald; Tim Ryan, Eoin Doyle, Eoghan Prizeman; Sean Hanifin, Paul McDermott; Tom Kelly, Dermot Hanifin, Kevin Cummins; Lee Kennedy, Fintan Quinn, Neil Aherne. Subs: Daniel Lenehan for Lee Kennedy (50 minutes), Dallan Gallagher for Dermot Hanifin (55 minutes).

Referee: Henry Barrett

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