A winning penalty, goalkeeping heroics and six cards as Kildare ladies keep themselves at Senior level

TG4 All-Ireland Senior Championship Championship Relegation Final

Kildare 1-10

Laois 1-8

On Saturday afternoon, Neasa Dooley stood over the most pressurised kick in all of Gaelic Football. Penalties have been missed and chances not taken to miss out on medals, but few kicks will ever hold the weight of your county’s long-term prosperity on them.

Now trailing 1-8 to 0-10 after a chaotic second half, it was no overestimation to say this penalty, deep into added time, was to decide which county was relegated from Senior football.

After Róisín Byrne’s late free hit the upright, Lara Gilbert won possession before being cleaned out as she moved away. Phillip Conway signalled for the penalty and Dooley was handed the ball.

Dooley took her strides towards the ball and gave it just enough to beat the replacement Laois ‘keeper. The ball was hit low, hard, and not all that far from the second-half substitute goalkeeper.

It hit the bottom of her studs and bounced into the roof of the net, and with it came a tension release like no other, with rarely a Kildare cheer to be heard, but more accurately guttural screams.

For Laois, it was heartbreak. All that could be said about the pressure and significance of Dooley’s penalty could also be used to portray the harsh nature of this loss.

There was nothing uneventful about how the game reached that point either. The game was tied at 0-3 each just before the 20-minute. The Lilies had been lacklustre and Laois less so.

Mo Nerney’s sin-bin for a foul on Claire Sullivan was the opening half's big moment. The key Laois forward’s stroll to the sideline ignited Kildare to kick on before the break.

They reacted immediately with points from Mia Doherty and Leah Doran, both of which could be deemed as goal chances and both created by Róisín Byrne.

Byrne would score herself three minutes later when she got her shot away brilliantly under huge pressure.
From a sloppy start, Kildare were now even turning on the style. Erin Brereton Foley hit a lovely point with her trademark move of cutting inside onto her left-foot. A swift counterattack ended with a fine score from Lara Gilbert, who was exemplary on the day.

The last of the half and perhaps the biggest flourish came from Neasa Dooley when she unleashed an exceptional outside of the boot effort that sailed between the posts.

Spirits were high as Kildare led 0-9 to 0-3 at half-time.

Kildare went seven clear after the break through Róisín Byrne, but after Mo Nerney’s return, it was The Lilies’ turn to go down to 14. Claire Sullivan was second best in a 50:50 and before she could be taken off for the injury she suffered in the clash, she saw yellow.

The incident came from a Kildare kickout. Kildare’s restarts have been an issue all year and whether no plan had been devised for them or just not executed is irrelevant now. Anna Dunlea was left out to dry on multiple occasions as she held the ball in her hands and looked for options. The sluggish restarting of play would be followed by the Raheens ‘keeper looking left and right for any option that wasn’t static, there were few.

Laois then closed the gap through an Aoibhe Byron free. Their lead was still six, but then in the 47th minute Kildare were reduced to 13 players when Róisín Byrne was bafflingly judged to have been charging. Byrne changed direction away from her opposite number and was sent to the line.

Laois’ tails were up and they had two huge goal chances before Kildare were back to 14. Both of whcih were brilliantly kept out by Anna Dunlea

Points from Mo Nerney, Laura Marie Maher and Katie Donoghue left Laois three behind with five to go.

Grace Clifford was then sent to the line as Kildare returned to 13 players. Laois would go down to 14 permanently when Anna Moore struck Leah Doran off the ball in a brilliant spot by the man in the middle, who showed Moore red.

The clock hit the hour mark and Dunlea emerged as saviour again as she tipped Katie Donoghue’s goalbound effort over the bar.

Dunlea’s goal was breached just a minute later after she punched away a long searching effort into her box. Laura Marie Maher arrived on the scene first and hit her effort low into the net. 61 minutes in and Laois led 1-8 to 0-10.
Laois would join Kildare on 13 players when Mary Cotter was yellow carded for a cynical foul.

All of this drama set-up the big finish and Neasa Dooley’s penalty heroics as Kildare retained their Senior Championship place in the most spectacular of circumstances.

MAIN PLAYER
Anna Dunlea
The Kildare goalkeeper was nothing short of exceptional on the day. Dunlea was especially vital when Kildare down to 13 with five minutes to go as The Lilies were being carved open at will.

In that spell, Mo Nerney saw her close-range effort brilliantly saved by Dunlea. Laois captain Andrea Moran was next to have a clear effort at her goal, but was brilliantly blocked down by the Kildare ‘keeper. It was a performance for the ages and one that allowed the last-minute penalty drama to take place at all.

TURNING POINT
There were many, but Róisín Byrne's controversial sin-bin rocked Kildare and it was backs to the wall from then. Thankfully the pendulum swung again.

TALKING POINT
Ladies football rules need a revamp. In consecutive weeks a Kildare attacking player has been punished with a yellow card for “charging” after changing direction to avoid a tackle. A beyond ridiculous rule in its current application.

WHAT NOW?
Rest.

Scorers: Kildare, Róisín Byrne 0-4 (0-2 frees), Neasa Dooley 1-1 (1-0 Penalty), Ellen Dowling 0-1, Mia Doherty 0-1, Erin Brereton Foley 0-1, Leah Doran 0-1, Lara Gilbert 0-1.

Laois, Laura Marie Maher 1-1, Mo Nerney 0-3 (0-1 frees), Katie Donoghue 0-2, Andrea Moran 0-1, Aoibhe Byron 0-1 (0-1 frees).

KILDARE: Anna Dunlea; Ellie O'Toole, Alex Reynolds, Aoife Clifford; Fiona Troute, Mia Doherty, Lara Gilbert; Grace Clifford, Leah Doran; Claire Sullivan, Ellen Dowling, Lisa Shaw; Neasa Dooley, Róisín Byrne, Erin Brereton Foley. Subs: Aoife Rattigan for Ellen Dowling (Half-time), Sarah Munnelly for Claire Sullivan (51 minutes).

LAOIS: Eimear Barry; Faye McEvoy, Sinéad Farrelly, Gráinne Lalor; Mary Cotter, Anna Moore, Lauren Kearney; Andrea Moran; Laura Marie Maher; Katie Donoghue, Aerin Ryle; Gráinne Moran; Mo Nerney, Orla Hennessy, Emily Lacey. Subs: Aoibhe Byron for Gráinne Moran (Half-time), Aishling Fitzpatrick for Emily Lacey (49 minutes), Naomi Luttrell for Eimear Barry (56 minutes), Isobel Finlay for Orla Hennessy (64 minutes).

Referee: Philip Conway (Armagh)