Éire Óg Corra Choill win dramatic Kildare Minor Hurling B Championship final

Éire Óg Corra Choill 0-19

Clane 1-14

It was breathless, brilliant, blood and thunder and after all of it Éire Óg Corra Choill were crowned 2025 Future Ticketing Minor Hurling B Champions with a superb win over Clane. It was an electric final that both teams could be enormously proud of being a part of, but it is the men from Caragh that will remember it fondly. 

These teams finished the first half as they started, level, but that does little to describe an all-action opening half hour.

Éire Óg’s set-piece man Donnchadh Fitzpatrick opened the day’s scoring but the early throws of this game belonged to Clane who hit the game’s next three. That trio all came from the ash of Callum Durnin who hit two frees and a fine score from play in that sequence.

Fitzpatrick was the man to restore Éire Óg to parity after two frees and a point from play of his own with a point from Charlie Doran going the other way to leave this game at 0-4 to 0-4 after 13 minutes.

These sides would not be separated by more than a score for the remainder of the half as they doubled their respective tallies to head in at half-time level at 0-8 apiece. 

Éire Óg were the team to finally put meaningful distance between the sides in the second half when they scored six of the first seven scores after the restart. Jack Doran got the only point for Clane in that sequence while Éire Óg shared the responsibility with Rory Cooke, Oisin McAfee, Conor Crowley, and Oisin Curran (three times) got on the scoresheet.

Oisin Curran’s second half contribution earned him the Man of the Match award and his three brilliant scores from play in an electric sequence from Éire Óg were a huge part of that.

However, Clane were set for a run of scores of their own with three points without reply being followed by a goal from Aidan Maddock to give them the lead at 0-14 to 1-12 after 48 minutes. Two from Durnin and one from Doran preceded Maddock’s brilliant goal in which he spun two men in maroon and flicked the ball over the head of the on-rushing goalkeeper.

Donnchadh Fitzpatrick was the man to level things up moments later with a well-taken free and these teams were never far away from one another again until the dying embers.

Clane’s tricky corner-forward Niall Vizzard got their noses back in front before back-to-back Rian Curran frees edged Éire Óg ahead again.

Vizzard then won the free that allowed Callum Durnin to make this game level pegging with three minutes to go.

After 59 minutes of thrilling hurling action, Rian Curran was the man to give Éire Óg the lead that they would never relinquish from a free which was won by Man of the Match Oisin Curran.

Equally as vital was the point that followed, which came from top-scorer Donnchadh Fitzpatrick who was found by Oisin McAfee after the centre back superbly intercepted the ball. Fitzpatrick turned sharply in midfield and uncorked a brilliant effort that he knew was over from the time it left his hurl.

As a result, Clane had to push for a goal with time running out and Éire Óg were able to scrap the ball away and close out to win this year's Future Ticketing Minor Hurling B Championship.

Éire Óg Corra Choill, Donnchadh Fitzpatrick 0-7 (0-5 frees), Rian Curran 0-5 (0-3 frees), Oisin Curran 0-3, Simon Connolly 0-1, Conor Crowley 0-1, Oisin McAfee 0-1, Rory Cooke 0-1.

Clane, Callum Durnin 0-7 (0-4 frees), Aidan Maddock 1-2, Jack Doran 0-2, Niall Vizzard 0-2, Charlie Doran 0-1.

CLANE: Jack O'Dea; Devan O'Neill, Dylan McBride, Dan Connell; Adam Corbett, Eoghan Little, Rory Maguire; Joseph Finn, Charlie Doran; Aidan Maddock, Callum Durnin, Jack Doran; Adam Conway, Cian Muldoon, Niall Vizzard. Subs: Barry Delaney for Cian Muldoon (43 minutes), Callum Fogarty for Devan O'Neill (55 minutes).

ÉIRE ÓG: Cillian Hennessy; TJ Carr, Oisin Duane, Fionn Hamill; Rian Cramer, Oisin McAfee, Rian Duane; Morgan Dunne, Rory Cooke; Donnchadh Fitzpatrick, Simon Connolly, Conor Crowley; Rory Thompson, Rian Curran, Oisin Curran. Subs: Alex Shields for Fionn Hamill (39 minutes), Eanna O'Shaughnessy for Simon Connolly (48 minutes), Ben Brennan for Rory Thompson (54 minutes).

Referee: Niall Colgan

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